Elaphropeza plagiata (Bezzi)

Grootaert, Patrick & Shamshev, Igor, 2013, The flies of the family Hybotidae (Diptera, Empidoidea) collected during the Boyekoli Ebale Congo 2010 Expedition in Democratic Republic of Congo, Zootaxa 3603 (1), pp. 1-61 : 53

Elaphropeza plagiata (Bezzi)

Drapetis (Ctenodrapetis) plagiata Bezzi, 1908: 380 . Type locality: Kinchassa [D.R. Congo]. Elaphropeza plagiata: Smith, 1980: 432 ( Drapetis ( Elaphropeza )); Yang et al., 2007: 377.

Type material examined: HOLOTYPE, 3 labelled: small label with 3; Kinchassa/ Waelbroeck/ 15 Mars 1899; M. Bezzi det., 1908: Drapetis (Ctenodrapetis) plagiata Bezzi ; TYPE [pink]; cf. Ann. Soc. Ent. Belg. vol. 52 (1908), p. 380; Drapetis / plagiata / 3 n. sp. [Bezzi's hand-written] ( RBINS).

Diagnosis. A species of the E. ephippiata -group; basal antennal segments, palpus, entire thorax and legs yellow; hind tibia with 2 anterodorsal bristles; halter with brown knob and yellow stem.

Re-description. Male. Length: wing 2.2 mm. Occiput black, subshining, finely greyish pollinose (including vertex and ocellar tubercle); inner verticals long, brown, outer verticals short. Anterior ocellars nearly as long as verticals, brown. Frons subshining, very narrow. Antenna with yellow basal segments. Proboscis brownish yellow. Palpus yellow, small, rounded, bearing scattered setulae, subapical seta short, thin.

Thorax yellow, shining (except scutellum and metanotum), large bristles brownish. Prothoracic episterna without long upturned seta just above fore coxa. Postpronotal seta not prominent. Mesonotum with 2 long notopleurals (anterior missing), 1 similar postsutural supra-alar, 1 very short postalar and 4 scutellars (apical pair very long, cruciate; lateral pair minute); acrostichals short, arranged in 2 rows, lacking on prescutellar depression; dorsocentrals 1–2 serial, short, 1 pair of prescutellars long (nearly as long as notopleurals).

Legs yellow, long, slender. Coxae and trochanters with unmodified setation. Fore femur with rows of short anteroventral and similar posteroventral setae, bearing rather long subapical seta anteriorly. Fore tibia lacking prominent bristles (except subapicals). Hind femur with short anteroventrals. Hind tibia with 2 long, strong anterodorsal bristles; apical projection rather small, pointed.

Wing normally developed, finely infuscate, covered with uniform microtrichia; veins mostly yellowish brown, basal section of M1+2 (including short area beyond crossvein bm-cu) and crossvein r-m pale; basal section of vein CuA1 thicker than basal section of vein M1+2. Costal vein with moderately long setulae along anterior margin. Costal bristle missing. Costal index: 44/24/43. Vein Rs nearly as long as crossvein bm-cu. Vein R2+3 evenly bowed. Veins R 4+5 and M1+2 parallel near wing apex, both slightly bowed. Crossvein bm-cu transverse. Crossvein r-m before middle of cell bm. Halter with brown knob and yellow stem

Abdomen. Tergite 1 pale, tergites 2–3 subtriangular viewed laterally, pale viewed dorsally, with unmodified setation; tergite 4 broad, dark brown, with squamiform setae.

Female. The female of E. plagiata has not been described yet, although, recorded by Raffone (2011) among material from Sierra Leone.

Distribution. D.R. Congo, Sierra Leone.

Remarks. Bezzi (1908) described E. plagiata from a single male. The holotype (glued to card) is in poor condition, missing are postpedicel + stylus on both antennae; right fore leg, left mid leg and right mid tibia and tarsus and a hind leg. One hind leg (without tarsomeres 2–5), right wing; apical part of abdomen (distal from segment 5) are glued to the card. Among species described from D.R. Congo E. plagiata is most similar E. motane sp. nov. having thorax and legs yellow. Elaphropeza plagiata differs from E. motane sp. nov. by having two anterodorsal bristles on the hind tibia (vs. 3) and halters with brown knob and yellow stem (vs. black). Also, E. plagiata could be compared with E. angustifacies ( Sierra Leone) in possessing an entirely yellow thorax, but, in the latter the hind tibia bears only 1 posterodorsal bristle (vs. 2) and the halter is entirely yellow (vs. with brown knob).