Polyteloptera apotropa Hendel, 1909

Kovac, Damir, Kameneva, Elena P., Korneyev, Severyn V., Araújo, Alexandre Santos, Savaris, Marcoandre, Smit, John T., Schneider, Alexander, Schreiber, Robert & Korneyev, Valery A., 2024, Revision of the Aspistomella group of genera (Diptera: Ulidiidae: Pterocallinae: Lipsanini), Zootaxa 5530 (1), pp. 1-117 : 83-85

Polyteloptera apotropa Hendel, 1909

Figs 4 H , 48–49

Polyteloptera apotropa Hendel 1909b: 263 , 1910: 11, 44, 45; Steyskal 1968: 54.22.

Material examined. Type. Syntypes 5 ♂ ♀ Brazil: “aus Brasi1ien (S. Paulo), gesammelt von A. A. Barbiellini ” (not located, possibly lost) .

Non-type. Brazil: Barueri , São Paulo, 21.02.1955, 1♀ (K. Lenko) ( MZUSP) ; idem, “3420”, 18.10.1955, 1 ♂ [K. Lenko leg.] ( MELQ ESALQENT001786 ) , “3530”, 26.10.1955, 1 ex. [abdomen missing], “223”, 15.11.1954, 1 ex. [genitalia missing] [K. Lenko leg.]; Est. S.[ão] Paulo, S. [ão] Paulo, Cid. [ade] Jardim , 01.1945, 1♀ (Barretto) ( MZUSP) ; São Paulo, 26.11.1971, 1♂ (V. Alin leg.) ( SIZK) ; Minas Gerais: Cambuquira , 02.1942, 1 ex. [abdomen missing] (H. S. Lopes leg.) ( MZUSP) .

Diagnosis. This species can be distinguished by the combination of a dorsally incised, apically pointed claw-like postpedicel and an apically broadened wing with a short apical section of vein M 1 and a characteristic wing pattern.

Wing with four brown crossbands: narrow subbasal, extremely wide subtriangular discal, and subapical and apical crossbands separated by two oblique hyaline interspaces; the first oblique hyaline marginal interspace distal to vein R 1 crossing the wing, reaching the posterior margin at end cell m 4; the second, submarginal oblique hyaline interspace from cell r 1 to posterior margin of wing at cell m 1. The ultimate section of the vein M 1 shorter than the penultimate.

Description. Head ratio (length: height: width) = 1: 1.43: 1.55; frons, face above transverse fold, parafacial, and gena reddish to yellowish brown, epistome and occiput mostly dark brown with metallic blue tingue. Frons moderately narrow, 0.9–1× as long (from lunule to anterior ocellus) or 1.4× (from lunule to inner vertical seta) as width at lunule, with subshining black ocellar triangle and vertical plates; orbits, vertex, gena and occiput silver-white microtrichose; parafacial narrow, reddish-yellow, white microtrichose. Frontal plate with 6–8 short lateroclinate parafrontal setulae, frontal vitta sparsely whitish microtrichose, with 4–6 frontal and 1 (rarely 2) interfrontal setae on each side ( Fig. 4C ). Eye 1.5× higher than long. Face white microtrichose above epistome; epistome black to brown, sparsely white microtrichose, with metallic bluish sheen, 2.2× higher than clypeus. Clypeus black, sparsely white microtrichose, with steel blue sheen ( Fig. 48 C ). Gena brownish yellow, narrowly white microtrichose along orbit, with 1–2 long genal seta and 6–7 additional long peristomal setae anterior of it, slightly shorter than genal seta. Occiput brown, with slight metallic sheen, greyish microtrichose.

Antenna yellow to reddish brown, inserted below the middle of the eye; scape with black setulae; postpedicel moderately long, apically pointed and incised dorsally. Mouthparts brown to black, prementum black, sparsely microtrichose. Palp yellow to reddish brown ( Figs 48 A, E, F ).

Thorax brown to black, sparsely whitish microtrichose with blue sheen, more prononced on pleura; scutellum dark brown, somewhat flattened dorsally ( Fig. 48 D ).

Wing 4.0– 5.2 mm long, 2.5–2.6× longer than wide, black to brown with four hyaline interspaces ( Figs 4 H , 48 G ). Wing base with basicostal cell hyaline, costal cell brown in basal 1/4 and apical 1/10, with costa slightly curved and forming inconspicuous cleft before apex of vein Sc; pterostigma entirely brown, narrowly triangular, 2.0–2.2× longer than wide, vein R 1 bare, ending proximally of crossvein r-m level; vein R 2+3 slightly arcuate in basal half, almost straight at apex. Crossvein r-m distal to middle of cell dm, almost at 2/3 of its length. Cell r 4+5 4.1–4.2× longer than wide. Cell m 1 narrow triangular; ultimate section of M 1 1.9× longer than crossvein dm-m and 0.89× longer than penultimate section. Subbasal crossband narrow, reaching alula; discal crossband subtriangular or trapezoid, extremely wide posteriorly, separated from subapical crossband by oblique interspace from apex of R 1 distally of r-m into apex of cell dm; subapical crossband oblique narrow, 0.5–0.8× longer than surrounding interspaces; apical crossband narrowly touching subapical crossband at costa and reaching posteriorly through the apex ov vein M 1 into the very apex of cell m 1. Alula pale grey in apical half. Calypters yellowish. Halter with yellowish knob and reddish brown stalk.

Legs ( Figs 48 A, B ) with brown coxae and black, bluish tinged femora; tibiae dark brown; fore tarsus blackish, mid and hind tarsi brownish yellow to reddish brown, apical segments blackish; black setose and setulose. Fore femur uniformly setulose, with 2 posterodorsal rows of setae, but no posteroventral row. Mid femur anteriorly with short suberect setulae; mid tibia ventrally with single long apicoventral seta 1.1× longer than tibia width.

Abdomen brown to black, with dull blue sheen, sparse setulose.

Male genitalia: epandrium globular, setulose; outer surstylus wide and short, mesally incised, with short and wide mesally directed ventral lobe bearing short triangular process; inner surstylus without thickened setulae or prensisetaev ( Figs 49 D, E ); cerci well developed, elongate, subparallel, narrowly separated ( Figs 49 C, D ). Phallus moderately long, bare, strongly coiled, 2–3 times as long as epandrium height ( Figs 49 A, B, F ).

Female terminalia ( Fig. 49 G ): Oviscape 0.35 mm long, narrower than abdomen, as long as wide; aculeus 0.59 mm long, 7.2× longer than wide basally, cercal unit elongate, apically narrowed but blunt ( Fig. 49 H ). Spermathecae not examined.

Figures

FIGURE 4. Ulivellia, Polyteloptera and similar genera, wing. A, U. amnoni sp. nov.; B, U. inversa Speiser; C, U. laetitiae sp. nov.; D–E, U. arcuata sp. nov. (D—male, E—female); F, U. tenoris sp. nov.; G, U. pseudinsolita sp. nov.; H, P. apotropa Hendel; I, “Euxesta” insolita Hendel; J, Gen. sp. near insolita; K, Axiologina ferrumequinum Hendel. Abbreviations. Veins and cells: bm—basal medial cell; br—basal radial cell; c—costal cell; C—costal vein; cua—anterior cubital cell; CuA+CuP— anterior branch of cubital vein + posterior branch of cubital vein; dm—discal medial cell; dm-m—discal medial crossvein; h—humeral crossvein; M1—first branch of media; m1—first medial cell; M4—fourth branch of media; m4—fourth medial cell; ptstg—pterostigma; R1—anterior branch of radius; r1—first radial cell; r2+3—second + third radial cell; R2+3—second branch of radius; R 4+5 —third branch of radius; r 4+5 —fourth + fifth radial cell; r-m—radial-medial crossvein; Sc—subcostal vein. Wing pattern: DB = discal band; HB = humeral band; AAB = anterior apical band; SAB = subapical band; SCB = subcostal band. Scale bar: 1 mm.

FIGURE 48. Polyteloptera apotropa Hendel. A, ♂ habitus, left; B, ♀, same; C, head, anterior; D, head and mesonotum, dorsal; E, head, left; F, head and mesonotum, left; G, wing, basal part. Scale bars: 1 mm. (A–D photographs by Marcoandre Savaris; E—redrawn from Hendel, 1910.)

FIGURE 49. Polyteloptera apotropa Hendel, ♂ (A–F) and ♀ (G, H). A, postabdomen, posterior, left; B, same, left; C, cerci and epandrium, posterior; D, same, lateral; E, same, anterior; F, phallus; G, aculeus; H, cercal unit. (All photographs by Alexandre Araujo and Marcoandre Savaris.) Abbreviations: cerc—cerci; ej apod—ejaculatory apodeme; epand—epandrium; hypd—hypandrium; ph—phallus; s—seta; sur—surstylus. Scale bars: 0.2 mm.