Culicoides quasiregalis Majumdar & Das Gupta

Sarkar, Ankita, Banerjee, Paramita, Sinha, Shuvra Kanti & Mazumdar, Abhijit, 2023, A taxonomic revision of the Indian species of the ‘ Aterinervis’ group of Culicoides Latreille Subgenus Hoffmania Fox (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae), Zootaxa 5258 (4), pp. 405-428 : 417-418

Culicoides quasiregalis Majumdar & Das Gupta

( Fig 7a–g )

Culicoides quasiregalis Majumdar & Das Gupta , in Majumdar, Das Gupta & Gangopadhyay 1997: 30; Majumdar 1972: 180– 183; Nandi 2014:101–102

Materials examined. Holotype (1 ♀), Darjeeling Govt. College, August, 1968, Coll. Dr. S.K. Das Gupta.

Diagnosis. Poststigmatic pale spot ended before vein M 1; anal cell with two separated proximal pale spots and narrowly constricted distal pale spot.

Female.

Head ( Figs 7a and 7b ). Eyes contiguous for 2 facets. Antenna with SCo on flagellomeres 1, 9–13. Third palpal segment long, slender with numerous capitate sensilla, without sensory pit; first, fourth, fifth segments short, stout; second segment long.

Thorax ( Fig. 7c ). Brown; scutum with dark linear streaks; scutellum with 8 bristles; postscutellum brownish.

Legs ( Figs.7d and 7e ). Brownish; fore femora with pale apical bands, mid femora with pale basal and apical bands, hind femora with basal band, fore and mid tibiae with broad pale basal bands, hind tibiae with pale broad basal and apical bands; hind tibial comb with 5 unequal spines, second from spur longest; spur tip frayed; claws equal.

Wings ( Fig. 7f ). A clear dark marking on anal corner; pale spot on r-m crossvein extending distally to vein M; poststigmatic pale spot covering most of 2 nd radial cell, not reaching vein M 1; a large pale spot in cell r 3; cells m 1 and m 2 each with two spots; a pale streak bordering vein M 1; cell cua 1 with a triangular pale spot, extending from vein CuA 1 to wing margin; anal cell with a narrowly constricted distal pale spot.

Abdomen ( Fig. 7g ). Brown with dark streaks; two well developed, brown, unequal, ovoid, spermathecae well sclerotized with short necks; rudimentary spermatheca small.

Male. Unknown

Immatures. Unknown

Larval habitat. Unknown

Distribution. India (Darjeeling, Kurseong, West Bengal)

Remarks. C. quasiregalis most closely resembles C. pseudoregalis as both have grayish wing, hind tibial comb with 5 spines but the two species differ in antennal and palpal ratios ( Table 1 ) and the presence of a discrete constricted distal pale spot in the anal cell.This character may be variable, assumed to be a variant of C. pseudoregalis but this requires further investigations.

Figures

FIGURE 7. Culicoides quasiregalis. a) head; b) maxillary palp; c) thorax; d) fore tarsis; e) hind tibial spines; f) wing and g) spermathecae with ring