Novakia miloi, Kerr, Peter H., 2007

Kerr, Peter H., 2007, Revision of the Holarctic genus Novakia Strobl (Diptera: Mycetophilidae), Zootaxa 1554, pp. 27-40 : 29-33

Novakia miloi sp. nov.

( Figures 1–9 , 19 B)

Type Material

Holotype: ♂, USA: CA: Calaveras Co., Calaveras Big Trees SP, South grove old fire rd., MT♂4, 3814.44’N 120°15.71’W 1390masl, 22.v.–11.vi.2007 P.H.Kerr & M. Hauser 07LOT089 [ CSCA]. Complete specimen on gray point mount.

Paratypes: 1 ♂, 1 Ψ, USA: CALIFORNIA, same data as holotype [ CSCA]; 5 ♂♂, 6 ΨΨ, USA: CALIFOR- NIA: Calaveras Co., Calaveras Big Trees St. Pk., 38°15’N 120°15’W, 4658’ elev., 8–15.vii.2005, A.R. Cline & S.D. Gaimari, ex: Malaise trap in meadow 06LOT234 [ PHKC]; 11 ♂♂, 21 ΨΨ, USA: CALIFORNIA: Calaveras Co., Calaveras Big Trees St. Pk., 38°14.9’N 120°15.45’W, ~4600’ elev.; 8–26.vii.2005, A.R. Cline & S.D. Gaimari, ex: Malaise Sequoia forest 06LOT289 [ ANSP / CASC / CSCA / PJCC / UCDC / USNM]; 1 ♂, 1 Ψ, USA: CA: Alpine Co.; Grover Hot Springs St. Pk., forest/meadow edge, 38°41.980’N 119°50.744’W; 1800m, 25.v.–8.vi.2006 P.H.Kerr & A.R.Cline, Malaise trap (site ♂4) 06LOT305 [ USNM]; 8 ♂♂, 24 ΨΨ, USA: CA: San Bernardino Co., 9 km SE Wrightwood. Lone Pine Canyon, 34°18.17’N, 117°31.81’W, elev. 4127’, 21–28.v.2005, S.L. Winterton & A.R. Cline, Malaise CDFA 2005-010 [ PHKC / USNM / CSCA-FTC, database det. number 07Y152]; 3 ♂♂, 1 Ψ, USA: CA: Los Angeles Co., 1 km NW Wrightwood, Big Pines Hwy., 3422.53’N 117°40.18’W, elev. 6476’, 21–28.v.2005, S.L. Winterton & A.R. Cline, Malaise in wash CDFA 2005-011 [CSCA-FTC, database det. number 06X 278].

Additional specimens examined: 37 ΨΨ, USA: CALIFORNIA, same data as holotype; 6 ΨΨ, USA: CALI- FORNIA: Calaveras Co., Calaveras Big Trees St. Pk., 38°14.9’N 120°15.45’W, ~4600’ elev.; 8–26.vii.2005, A.R. Cline & S.D. Gaimari, ex: Malaise Sequoia forest 06LOT289; 11 ♂♂, 25 ΨΨ, USA: CA: San Bernardino Co., 9 km SE Wrightwood. Lone Pine Canyon, 34°18.17’N, 117°31.81’W, elev. 4127’, 21–28.v.2005, S.L. Winterton & A.R. Cline, Malaise CDFA 2005-010; 1 ♂, 3 ΨΨ, USA: CA: San Bernardino Co., 4 km SE Wrightwood, Lone Pine Canyon, 3419.03’N, 117°34.93’W, elev. 5388’, 21–28.v.2005, S.L. Winterton & A.R. Cline, Malaise CDFA 2005-008; 3 ♂♂, 2 Ψ, USA: CA: Alpine Co.; Grover Hot Springs St. Pk., nr. Hot Springs Creek, 3841.997’N 119°50.805’W; 1796masl, 11–25.v.2006 P.H.Kerr & A.R.Cline, 6m Malaise trap (site ♂6) 06LOT277.

Diagnosis

This species is most similar to N. scatopsiformis Strobl in having black to brown legs, medial stem faint to absent and about as long as medial fork, and the gonostylus of the male terminalia with a long, slender internal process. Novakia miloi n. sp. may be differentiated by the form of the gonostylus, which on its outer surface is rounded evenly and not elongate ( Fig. 19 ).

Description

Body length: 1.6–2.1 mm. Wing length: 1.6–2.3 mm. Females generally slightly larger than males.

Coloration. Face and top of head dark brown to black. Clypeus dark brown to black, basal palpomeres brown, segments becoming increasingly white distally; palpomere 5 entirely white. Antenna brown to dark brown. Scutum and scutellum dark brown to black. Thoracic sclerites brown to black. In male, fore coxa black at uppermost margin, otherwise pale brown; fore femur, tibia and tarsus pale brown. In female, foreleg brown. Mid and hind coxa, femur, and tibia brown; tibial spurs yellowish brown to brown; tarsus brown. Wing hyaline without markings, costa and radial veins thick and brown, other venation very faint light brown, cubital veins darker than medial veins (all veins slightly darker in female); haltere stem and knob pale to dark brown. Abdominal segments dark brown, with faint black band at posterior margin. Terminalia dark brown to black in male; in female, cercus very pale brown to pale yellowish.

Head ( Figs. 1–2 ). Ocelli of approximately equal size; lateral ocellus approximately twice its widest diameter from eye margin. Frons with short brown setae. Frontal tubercle between antennal bases; transverse frontoclypeal membrane present; face wider than long, with 7–9 short dark setae on ventral half, ventral half projecting forward beyond rest of face; clypeus wider than long, with 5–7 short dark setae scattered medially, projecting forward, beyond rest of head. Area between base of antennae and clypeolabral articulation (= face + clypeus) slightly wider than long. Palp longer than head; segments l–2 short, lacking setae; palpomere 3 longer, with short dark setae scattered throughout, also with small and inconspicuous multi-pocketed shallow pits on basal half of inner surface containing 8–10 (female with 13–16) sensilla cochleariformis, attaching to palpomere 4 subapically; palpomere 4 longer than palpomere 3, with short pale brown setae; palpomere 5 cylindrical and elongate, longer than combined length of palpomeres 3 and 4, approximately or slightly less than twice length of palpomere 4, with short pale colored setae. Antennal length in male 2.4–2.8 times the length of head; in female, antennal length 1.3–1.4 times the length of head; antennal bases separated by approximately 1/3 width of scape; scape with ring of dark setae around distal margin, setae approximately as long as length of scape, slightly longer ventrally; pedicel in lateral view wider than scape, with ring of dark setae distally, approximately as long as length of pedicel; all flagellomeres densely setulose, flagellomeres 1– 13 wider than long (becoming less so distally), terminal flagellomere longer than wide.

Thorax. Posterior edge of scutellum bearing two to three rows of setae; anterior-most row with setae of equal size, as on scutum; following row with two pairs of long black setae, between each of these pairs, laterally, is one seta of intermediate length; the other setae of the scutellum are as on the scutum. Fore and mid coxa with pale setae anteriorly, hind coxa setose at posterior, distal half only. Femur covered in short, pale to dark brown setae, approximate femur length to tibia length ratio 1.2 (foreleg), 1.2 (midleg), and 0.9 (hindleg). Tibia and tarsus with longer trichia, as long or nearly as long as tibial setae; all tibial setae short, shorter than width of tibia; fore tibia with ovate anteroapical depressed area bearing several rows of small yellowish brown setae; mid tibia with 6 anterior setae, a row of dorsal setae, and a short row of posterior setae on apical third; hind tibia with a row of approximately 14 anterior setae, a row of dorsal setae, and a short row of posterior setae on apical third, and a cluster of approximately 25 short setae posteroapically. In male, tarsal claw finely dissected terminally, modified into a 8-tined comb ( Fig. 3 ); in female, tarsal claw simple; empodium pulvilliform. Wing ( Fig. 7) with small, irregularly arranged microtrichia over cell membrane surface; costal vein extends approximately 0.4 of distance between R5 and M1; vein R1 shorter than half length of r-m; crossvein rm close to R along length; where they join, r-m and R5 appear to arch toward R and become fused with R for short distance just before R1 arises; stem of medial fork very faint and mostly absent, length of medial fork about as long as presumed length of medial stem (from r-m approximately level with humeral crossvein at costa to base of medial fork); medial veins setulose on upper surface; cubitus and its anterior branches (CuA1 and CuA2) with setulae on upper surface; anal vein short, setulose on upper surface.

Male Terminalia ( Figs. 4–6 , 8 , 19 B). Epandrium (= tergite 9) posterior margin emarginate. Gonocoxal lobes ( Søli, 1997) separated by small notch medially; base of gonostylus with row of 5 setae, decreasing in size distally; outer surface of gonostylus flattened and projected distally into thin plane, rounded symmetrically, bearing setae shorter than gonostylus width evenly across exterior surface; internal lobe of gonostylus present, extends past midline, arcs upwards (dorsally), with 3 fine setae on apical half of posterior surface. Aedeagus with central fold, arching dorsally, extending beyond parameres.

Female Terminalia ( Fig. 9 ). First cercus segment broad, with moderately produced dorsal lobe, second cercus segment ovoid, often flattened; spermathecae spherical, connected directly to genital chamber via short spermathecal ducts, spermathecal duct length approximately same as two-segmented cercus.

Comments

The wing of “ Novakia sp.” illustrated in the Manual of Nearctic Diptera ( Vockeroth 1981) is identical to the wing of Novakia miloi and I believe that the two are the same species. The wing slide used for this illustration remains at the Canadian National Collection (CNC), however the associated specimen has been lost. Thus, the species determination cannot be confirmed. The collection data for the CNC specimen is McBride Springs, Mt. Shasta, California, collected on the 7.XII.76, (no collector name).

This species is commonly caught in Malaise trap samples in California (Alpine, Calaveras, and San Bernadino counties) in or near forested areas above 1200m.

Figures

FIGURE 8. Novakia miloi, male genitalia. A, hypandrium, dorsal view; B, epandrium, dorsal view. Scale bar = 0.1 mm.

FIGURE 9. Novakia miloi, female genitalia. A, terminalia, lateral view; B, sternite 8, ventral view. Scale bar = 0.1 mm. Abbreviations: cerc = cercus; spmth = spermatheca; st = sternite; tg = tergite; s = seta.

FIGURE 19. Male genitalia, lateral view. A, Novakia scatopsiformis; B, N. miloi. Scale bar = 0.05 mm.

FIGURES 1 – 6. Novakia miloi, male. 1, head, anteroventral view; 2, head, oblique lateral view; 3, first tarsus, ventral view; 4, genitalia, lateral view; 5, genitalia, dorsal view; 6, genitalia, terminal view. In figures 1 – 2 and 4 – 6, scale bar = 0.1 mm; in figure 3, scale bar = 0.01 mm. Abbreviations: clyp = clypeus; fc = face; fr tub = frontal tubercle; frclyp memb = frontoclypeal membrane.