Tephritis zernyi Hendel 1927

Korneyev, Severyn V. & Korneyev, Valery A., 2019, Revision of the Old World species of the genus Tephritis (Diptera, Tephritidae) with a pair of isolated apical spots, Zootaxa 4584 (1), pp. 1-73 : 67-70

Tephritis zernyi Hendel 1927

( Figs 1b ; 40–41 )

Tephritis zernyi Hendel 1927: 197 ; Hering 1944: 19; Mihályi 1960: 64; Foote 1984: 134; Merz 1994: 78; 2001b: 95; Norrbom et al. 1999: 220.

Type material: Lectotype ♂ (designated by Hardy 1968: 125): Spain: Aragon: Albarracin , 22– 30.06.1924 (Zerny) (NHMW) (examined). Paralectotypes: Aragon: Albarracin , 17– 18.07.1924, 1♂, 1♀; 22– 30.06.1924, 1♂, 2♀ (Zerny) ( NHMW) (examined) ( Figs 40–41 ) .

Non-type material: Czech Republic : Bohemia orient., Krolovice-Pelhrimov , 0 8.1959, 1♀ (Dirlbek) (NMP);

Bohemia merid., Vimperk-Boubin, 0 8.1961, 1♂, 1♀ (Dirlbek) (NHMW); Bohemia, Rana , 0 7.1968, 1♂, 1♀ (Dirlbek) ( NMP) ; Bohemia, Louny , 0 7. 1969, 1 ♀ (Dirlbek) ( NMP) ; Bohemia, Jablonec , 0 9.1976 (Dirlbek) ( NMPC) ; France: Korsika, 55318, 1♂, idem, 55535, 1♂, 1♀, (Becker) ( MNKB) ; Barre des Ceveñ, Lozère , 10.08.1935, on Arctium , 2♂, 1♀ (Lhomme) ( MNKB) ; Spain: Albarracin , 1200 m, 18.07.1965, 9♂, 7♀ ( RMNH) .

Diagnosis. Reddish yellow, medium-sized species with brownish yellow wing pattern. It can be easily differentiated from all other Tephritis species by the following combination of characters: wing with yellow Yshaped pattern unbroken on r-m crossvein and 2 spots at apices of R 4+5 and M separated from remaining pattern, relatively small size (WL <5.0 mm; AL<1.5 mm), and scales on ventral side of eversible membrane conspicuously enlarged. The other species with similar yellowish brown wing pattern are conspicuously larger (WL>5.0 mm; AL>2.0 mm in T. kogardtauica and T. valida ).

T. zernyi is very similar to T. bardanae in the shape of its wing pattern, differing by the reddish yellow, ochreous microtrichose scutum and abdomen (mostly dark bown, grey microtrichose in T. bardanae ), and coloration of the wing (with yellownish brown pattern with yellow dots in T. zernyi and dark brown pattern with hyaline dots in T. bardanae ). Oviscape of T. zernyi at least as long as (or longer than) 4 posteriormost tergites of abdomen, whereas in T. bardanae it is shorter than tergites 4-6 of abdomen. In T. zernyi AL>1.15 (in 95% of specimens 1.20–1.40 mm), whereas in T. bardanae AL<1.20 (in 95% of specimens 0.9–1.15 mm). In addition, medial anteroventral scales on eversible membrane do not differ from the othe scales as in figs 31c – d (conspicuously enlarged in T. bardanae , as in Fig. 6c ).

Description. Head and legs: as described for T. bardanae .

Thorax ( Figs 40a – c ): Ground colour yellow, white microtrichose. Scutellum yellow. Thoracic setae usual for Tephritis ; All dark brown or black (posterior anepisternal and anepimeral setae brown), except posterior notopleural seta white and lanceolate. Apical scutellar setae 1/3 as long as basal scutellar setae. Calypters white, with whitish fringe; upper calypter conspicuously lobate; almost as long as wide, lower calypter narrow. Halter yellow.

Wing ( Figs 1b ; 40e – f ): similar to that of T. bardanae . Cell bc hyaline. Cell c hyaline, with small brown spot at middle. Pterostigma dark, usually with 2 light spots in basal and apical areas. Cell r 1 posterior to pterostigma brown, 2 trapeziform hyaline spots separated by narrow dark band; apex of r 1 brown, sometimes (15% of analyzed specimens) with tiny hyaline or yellowish spot. Cell r 2+3 hyaline at base, with dark area posterior to pterostigma; 3 hyaline spots posterior to spots in r 1 in its medial portion partly fused, medial one 3–4 × as wide as spots aside. Preapical brown area (posterior to cell r 1 apex) with some (2–6) tiny hyaline spots. Apex hyaline with small triangular dark spot on R 4+5 vein. Cell br hyaline in basal half and dark in apical half, y with 2 small round hyaline spots. Crossvein r-m dark or surrounded by 1–4 small hyaline spots. Cell r 4+5 at level of dm-cu with 2–3 hyaline spots, which can fuse into 1 spot as wide as cell; medial third of r 4+5 brown, with 5–15 small round hyaline dots, subapical hyaline spot in cell r 4+5 almost rectangular, apex with small triangular dark spot on M vein.

Cell dm with hyaline base, apex is dark with 2–3 hyaline spots, the middle of cell is divided by 2–3 narrow dark and several merged hyaline spots, with very variable sizes, specimens with almost hyaline dm cell with dark apex are usual. Cell m with 5–10 partly fused hyaline spots of different sizes and variable shapes; 2 large basal spots usually fused and “8” shaped; apical hyaline spot of cell m usually widely fused with spots anterior to it in r 4+5 and r 2+3 to form entire subapical hyaline band separating apical spots from remaining dark pattern.

Cell cu with pale reticulate pattern including numerous hyaline and dark spots of various size. Anal cell and anal lobe usually with several pale brownish spots.

Abdomen ( Fig. 40d ): Abdominal tergites reddish yellow; white microtrichose, setulose and setose; male tergite 5 and female tergites 5 and 6 with brown marginal setae; male tergite 5 often with pair of dark spots in anterior half.

Terminalia: Male. Epandrium and phallus similar to T. bardanae . Female. Oviscape as long as 4 abdominal tergites combined (2–6), dark red, widely white setulose ventrally and on anterolateral corners dorsally, black setulose and setose dorsomedially and posteriorly. Eversible membrane (in paralectotype female) with 2 pairs of taeniae 0.3 × as long as membrane itself; membrane with small dentate scales ( Figs 41 c–d). Aculeus 1.1–1.2 × as long as cell c, 5.5 × as long as wide, apex slightly rounded ( Figs 41 a–b). 2 moderately long, papillose spermathecae 5 × as long as wide ( Fig. 41e ).

Measurements. WL = 3.2–3.8 (n=5) (♂), 3.6–4.2 (n=5) (♀) mm; CL = 0.9–1 mm. AL = 1.2–1.4 mm (n=2).

Host plants. Arctium minus ( Merz 1994) .

Distribution. Austria, Bulgaria ( Merz & Korneyev 2004), Czech Republic ( Heřman & Kinkorová 2009; this paper), France ( Merz & Korneyev 2004; this paper), Greece, Hungary ( Merz & Korneyev 2004), Italy ( Belcari et al. 1995), Slovakia ( Merz & Korneyev 2004), Spain (type locality; Merz 2001 b), Switzerland ( Merz 1994).

Remarks. Identity of specimens from Central Europe referred to T. zernyi needs additional confirmation. As an extensive reared material has not yet been examined, the possibility exists that both this species and T. bardanae have a wider variability of body coloration and ovipositor (oviscape and aculeus) length than currently reported. At least, the material from Czech Republic (see above), represented by “yellow specimens” was found to differ from the Pyrenean specimens in having a slightly shorter aculeus and the membrane covered by uniformly small scales, as in T. bardanae .

Specimens from Czech Republic identified as T. zernyi , were found to have the same structure of eversible membrane as in ususal T. bardanae rather than in T. zernyi from the type locality. Thus, either this character, or the body and wing coloration are variable. It also makes necessary further thorough examination of the “yellow specimens” recorded from Czech Republic, and also possibly from other Central European countries ( Slovakia, Hungary, Romania), from which T. zernyi was recorded.

Further studies are needed to clarify if the “ T. bardanae associated with Arctium minus ” mentioned by Diegisser et al. (2004) are somehow related to T. zernyi . In this work, we provisionally follow the “wide” concept of T. zernyi as formulated by Merz (1994), including here all the predominantly ochreous specimens from Southern and Central Europe.

Riaz & Sarwar (2014) reported T. zernyi based on a single specimen in fair or poor condition, reared from Cirsium wallichii DC in Pakistan. It appears to be a teneral specimen, which otherwise looks similar to any other known species and might belong to an undescribed species rather than to T. zernyi , which does not use Cirsium spp. as the host plant.

Figures

FIGURES 1a–h. Tephritis, spp. wings: a—T. bardanae; b—T. zernyi; c—T. ghissarica; d—T. kyrghyzica; e—T. hyoscyami; f—T. hendeliana; g—T. postica; h—T. theryi. Scale bar = 1 mm.

FIGURES 6a–g. Tephritis bardanae: a—tip of aculeus, ventral view; b—aculeus, ventral view; c—eversible membrane, ventral view; d—spermathecae; e—eggs; f—epandrium, posterior view; g—glans of phallus, lateral. Scale bar = 1 mm.

FIGURES 40a–f. Tephritis zernyi: a–b—habitus (paralectotypes) ♀—c—head and thorax, dorsal; d—abdomen, dorsal ♀; af—wing. Scale bar = 1 mm.

FIGURES 41a–f. Tephritis zernyi: a—tip of aculeus, ventral view; b—aculeus, ventral view; c—eversible membrane, ventral view; d—eversible membrane, dentate scales; e—spermathecae. Scale bar = 1 mm.