Geron Meigen, 1820

Greathead, D. J. & Evenhuis, N. L., 2001, Annotated keys to the genera of African Bombylioidea (Diptera: Bombyliidae; Mythicomyiidae), African Invertebrates 42 (1820), pp. 105-224 : 142

Geron Meigen

Geron Meigen, 1820: 223 . Type species: Geron gibbosus Meigen, 1820 [= Bombylius gibbosus Olivier, 1789 ], by subsequent designation (Duponchel in d’Orbigny, 1845: 206).

Amictogeron Hesse, 1938: 918 . Type species: Amictogeron meromelanus Hesse, 1938 , by original designation. Comments: Hesse (1938) proposed the genus Amictogeron for African species with dark vestiture and a tendency for the wings to be tinged smoky brown, various subtle differences in the external morphology, and male genitalia. However, Bowden (1974) showed that there is no clear distinction between species of Amictogeron and Geron sensu stricto. He also synonymised Pseudoammictus with Geron , but Evenhuis (1979 a) retained it as a subgenus. There are few external characters for distinguishing species, but the males have complex genitalia, and the females a subgenital plate providing both sexes with good characters for the separation of species. Examination of the genitalia is essential for accurate identification, and older distribution records based on external characters are not reliable (Greathead 1999 c).

Subgenus Geron Meigen

Keys: Palaearctic, Engel (1932 –7); Egypt, Efflatoun (1945) ; Mediterranean Basin, Greathead (2001 b in press); Afrotropical, Bezzi (1924); southern African species, Hesse (1938) as Geron spp. and Amictogeron spp.

Hosts: Endoparasitoids of pupae of Lepidoptera , mostly Pyralidae and Psychidae ( du Merle 1975; Yeates & Greathead 1997).

Distribution: Cosmopolitan. North Africa, Canary Islands: 7 species. Africa South of the Sahara: 61 species. Madagascar: 3 species; G. candidulus Bowden , G. dilutus Bowden , G. varicapillis Bowden. Cape Verde Islands: 2 species; G. phallophorus Bezzi , G. priapeus Bezzi.Aldabra ; 1 species; G. dilutus . Seychelles; 1 species; G. seychellarum Greathead. Socotra: 1 species; identified as G. gibbosus by Becker (1910), but this is undoubtedly a misidentification.

Subgenus Pseudoammictus Bigot

Pseudoammictus Bigot, 1892: 342 (as genus). Type species: Amictus heteropterus Wiedemann, 1821 (as ‘ Ammictus ’), by original designation.

Pseudempis Bezzi, 1921 a: 94 . Type species: Amictus heteropterus Wiedemann, 1821 [misidentification, = Pseudoamictus bezzii Paramonov, 1930 ], by original designation.

Key: Hesse (1938) keyed the species as a separate genus, Pseudoammictus .

Distribution: Southern Africa: 3 species; Geron (P.) bezzii Paramonov, G. (P.)

heteropterus Wiedemann, G. (P.) luctuosus Bezzi.