Culicoides irregularis Santarém, Felippe-Bauer & Castellón, 2014

Santarém, Maria Clara Alves, Trindade, Rosimeire Lopes Da, Silva, Tiago Do Nascimento Da, Castellón, Eloy Guillermo, Patiu, Cátia Antunes De Mello & Felippe-Bauer, Maria Luiza, 2014, New Neotropical Culicoides and redescription of Culicoides reticulatus Lutz (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae), Zootaxa 3795 (3), pp. 255-274 : 265-266

Culicoides irregularis Santarém, Felippe-Bauer & Castellón sp. nov.

Figs. 5 A–F; Fig. 9

Diagnosis. Female: This species is easily distinguished by the following combination of characters: palpus 3 rd segment with a multiple, shallow, irregular sensory pit; PR 2.0– 2.9; moderately long proboscis; mandible with 16 teeth; two unequal ovoid spermathecae.

Female. Head. Brown. Eyes bare ( Fig. 5 B), narrowly separated, smaller than ½ ommatidium. Pedicel brown, flagellum pale brown, first eight flagellomeres paler on proximal ½; AR 1.04–1.25 (1.12, n= 24) ( Fig. 5 C); sensilla coeloconica on flagellomeres 1,6– 8; two on 1, three on 6–7 and three - four on 8. Palpus ( Fig. 5 F) brown, 3 rd segment swollen with a multiple, shallow, irregular sensory pit in ventral, dorsal and lateral side of segment; PR 2.0– 2.9 (2.6, n= 31). Proboscis moderately long; P/H ratio 0.80–0.94 (0.84, n= 28); mandible with 16 teeth.

Thorax. Dark brown. Scutum without distinct pattern in slide mounted specimens. Wing ( Fig. 5 A) with contrasting pattern: second radial cell including dark spot, pale spot over R-M extending from M 1 to the costal margin, subdivided; r 3 with four small and separated pale spots: first, rounded, between the second radial cell and M 1; second, poststigmatic, extending behind second radial cell, abutting wing margin; third, rounded, in middle of cell; fourth, distal pale spot slightly reaching wing margin; m 1 with two pale spots, the distal one far from wing margin; m 2 with four pale spots: one proximal, two between the medial and mediocubital forks, a distal one not reaching wing margin; cua 1 with a rounded pale spot in the middle of cell; anal cell with a basal pale area and a pale spot near mediocubital forks; wing base with a pale spot on M; M 1,M 2 and CuA 1 with pale apex; macrotrichia scarcely distributed on the distal third of wing; wing length 0.85–1.05 (0.98, n= 31) mm; breadth 0.37–0.47 (0.44, n= 31) mm; CR 0.58–0.68 (0.65, n= 31). Halter knob brown in middle, stem pale. Legs ( Fig. 5 D) mostly brown; femora with subapical pale bands, tibiae with subbasal pale bands; hind tibia pale apically; hind tibial comb with four spines, the one nearest the spur longest.

Abdomen. Brown. Two unequal ovoid spermathecae ( Fig. 5 E), measuring 48.2 µm (n= 25) by 37.5 µm (n= 25) and 39.5 µm (n= 23) by 33 µm (n= 23), with sclerotized ducts measuring 7.5 µm (n= 20); long, slender, rudimentary third spermatheca present (17.2 µm); slightly sclerotized ring present (7.5 µm).

Male. Unknown.

Type data and depository. Holotype female, BRAZIL, Roraima, Maracá, 26.VI. 1987, CDC light trap, "mata 1m ", E. Castellon & S. Gomes cols. ( CCER); paratypes 32 females, same data except: three (2 CCER; ILMD); three, "mata 10 m " (2 CCER; MNRJ); three, 15.VIII. 1987, "mata 5m " (2 ILMD; CCER); one, 30.VII. 1987 "mata 10m " ( CCER); one, "mata 5m " ( CCER); one, 24.VI. 1987 ( ILMD); two, 24.VII. 1987 "mata 5m " ( CCER; ILMD); one, 24.V. 1987 "mata 5m " ( ILMD); one, 25.VI. 1987 "mata 5m " ( CCER); one, 25.VII. 1987 ( ILMD); one, 25.VI. 1987 "mata 10m " ( ILMD); one, 21.V. 1987 ( CCER); one, 17.VI. 1987 ( ILMD); one, 16.VI. 1987 ( CCER); one, 23.VI. 1987 "mata 5m " ( CCER); one, 23.VII. 1987 "mata 5m " ( ILMD); one, 27.VII. 1987 ( CCER); one, 27.V. 1987 "mata 5m " ( ILMD); one, 27.V. 1987 "mata 10m " ( ILMD); one, 28.VII. 1987 ( CCER); two, 22.VI. 1987 "mata 10m " ( ILMD); one, 31.VIII. 1987 ( ILMD); one, 31.VIII. 1987 "mata alagada" ( ILMD); one, Rio Pardo, Amazonas, 21- 22.VI. 2010, "peridomicilio", CDC light trap, F. Pessoa col. ( ILMD).

Distribution and bionomics. This species is restricted to Brazilian states of Roraima and Amazonas ( Fig. 9). It was associated with forest environments far from coastal regions.

Etymology. The name of this species is related with the irregular sensory pit present in third palpal segment (Latim—irregulare = irregular).