Philodicus tenuipes Loew, 1858

Londt, Jason G. H., 2015, A review of the genus Philodicus Loew, 1848 in southern Africa (Diptera: Asilidae), African Invertebrates 56 (3), pp. 747-747 : 762-765

Philodicus tenuipes Loew, 1858

Figs 1 , 21–25

Philodicus tenuipes Loew, 1858: 361 [1860: 212]; Blasdale 1957: 139 (pl. I. fig. 6 ♂ gen., pl. II. fig. 3 ♀ S*); Londt 1978: 422 (figs 4 ♂ gen, 10 aed); Hull 1962: 456; Oldroyd 1980: 343 (catalogue).

Loew (1858) described the species on Wahlberg collected material from ‘Caffraria’ [Eastern parts of South Africa]. Blasdale (1957) discusses the close similarity between this species and cinerascens , giving the distribution of tenuipes as ‘ Southern Rhodesia [ Zimbabwe], Pretoria [in South Africa], Cape Colony [formerly a large part of South Africa] and South West Africa [ Namibia]’.

Material examined: ANGOLA: 2♂ 1♀ ‘ Cuanza [Kuanza] Riv. Mouth [? Longa River mouth c. 10°14'S 13°30'E 1 m] / 40mi. S. Luanda / Angola. Jan 1972 ’, ‘ Collectors / B. Stuckenberg’ ( NMSA)*. MOZAMBIQUE: 1♀ ‘ Chinde [c. 18°35'S 36°28'E 5 m] / Mozamb. / K.H. Barnard / Nov.1912 ’, ‘ Philodicus ♀ / fraternus Wied’, ‘ Ricardo / determ.’ (pale blue), ‘SAM-DIP / A007808’ ( SAMC); 1♀ ‘ Chinde [c. 18°35'S 36°28'E 5 m] Zambezi / River Delta / Port East Africa / P.J. Usher’, ‘5.xi.57’ ( NMSA)*; 1♂ 1♀ ‘ Bazaruto [Island c. 21°40'S 35°27'E 0 m] / 8/3/71’ ( NMSA)*; 1♂ 3♀ ‘ BenguÉrua [Benguerra c. 21°52'S 35°25'E 10 m] / 6/3/71’ ( NMSA)*; 1♀ ‘ Magaruque [Island c. 21°58'S 35°26'E 35 m] / 5/3/71’ ( NMSA)*; 1♂ ‘BanguÉ [ Island c. 22°02'S 35°27'E 0 m] / 6/3/71’ ( NMSA); 2♂ 1♀ ‘BanguÉ / 7/3/71’ ( NMSA)*; 1♂ ‘ Moçambique / Namaacha [c. 25°59'S 32°02'E 535 m] / 28/7/1980 / Coll. H.R. Feijen’ ( NMSA); 7♂ 8♀ ‘ Inhaca Is. [c. 26°01'25"S 32°57'18"E 50 m] Mozam. / No. 942-950, 956-960 [respectively] / 17-I-1964 / Coll. A.L. Moore’, ‘USNMENT01100114– USNMENT01100126 [respectively]’ ( USNM). NAMIBIA: 2♂ 2♀ ‘ Otjimbumbe [c. 17°30'S 14°15'E 1064 m] / Kunene R. / Mar. 1932 ’ ~ ‘ S.W. Africa / Mus. Exped. ’, ‘SAM-DIP / A007828 & 29’ ( SAMC)*; 1♂ 1♀ ‘ Hoarusib [c. 18°31'58"S 12°50'31"E 435 m] Otshu / S.W.A. ’ ~ ‘ Mus. Exped. / Mar.1926 ’, ‘SAM-DIP / A007832’ ( SAMC)*; 2♀ ‘ Namibia 20.iii.1984 / 60km E Otjiwarongo / Rd 101 20 39'S 17 05'E [c. 1490 m] / Londt & Stuckenberg / Acacia thornveld and dry river course’ ( NMSA); 1♂ 2♀ ‘ South West Africa 2115 Ba / Omaruru Dist. 50km N.W. Omaruru [c. 21°26'S 15°56'E 1215 m], 1200m. 5-ii-1974 / M.E. Irwin, flood plain / with large Acacia trees’ ( NMSA)*; 4♂ 1♀ ‘ Namibia 29.iii.1984 / 26km N Windhoek. Road / 1/6. 22 20'S 17 04'E [c. 1470 m] / Londt & Stuckenberg / Dry stream bed Acacia / riparian woodland’ ( NMSA); 3♂ ‘ Namibia 16.iii.1984 / 18km E Windhoek Road / 6/1. 22 32'S 17 14'E [c. 1880 m] / Londt & Stuckenberg / Damp riverbed with / Acacias Stony ground’ ( NMSA); 1♂ 3♀ ‘ Namibia 18.iv.1983 / Aris [c. 22°45'S 17°08'E 1805 m] 30km S Windhoek / 2217 CA Stuckenberg / & Londt Thornveld’ ( NMSA); 1♀ ‘ Rehoboth [c. 23°19'S 17°05'E 1405 m] / S.W.A. ’ ~ ‘ Bell-Marley / Nov – Jan 1938 ’, ‘SAM-DIP / A007830’ ( SAMC)*; 1♀ ‘ Cayimaeis [?] / S.W.A. ’ ~ ‘ Mus. Exped. / Mar. 1925 ’, ‘SAM-DIP / A007831’ ( SAMC)*. SOUTH AFRICA: 1♀ ‘ Sth Africa: Limpopo / Messina Nature Reserve / 22°24'54"S 30°05'12"E / J.G.H. Londt & T. Dikow / 487m 14.ii.2005 Mopane / dry woodland Sand Riv’ ( NMSA); 2♂ 2♀ ‘ Sth Africa: Limpopo / Ben Lavin Nature Res. / 23°08'38"S 29°57'03"E / J.G.H. Londt & T. Dikow / 865m 13.ii.2005 Acacia / Zizyphus dry woodland’ ( NMSA); 1♀ ‘ South Africa Tvl / D'Nyala Nat Res Ellis- / ras 23.45S 27.49E / 850m 5–6.x.1989 / M.W. Mansell’ ( SANC); 2♂ ‘ South Africa N.W. Tvl / Mogol Nature Reserve / Ellisras Dist. 23.58S / 27.45E 19–23.xi.1979 / G.L. Prinsloo, M.W. Mansell / S.J. van Tonder, C. Kok’ ( SANC); 2♂ 1♀ 1? ‘ South Africa N.W. Tvl / Mogol Nature Reserve / Ellisras Dist. 23.58S / 27.45E 19–23.xi.1979 / M.W. Mansell’ ( SANC); 1♀ ‘ South Africa / Trsvl., 5mi. W. / Warmbad [= Bela-Bela c. 24°53'S 25°17'E 1150 m] / 24-25 Feb. 1968 / Krombein & Spangler’, ‘USNMENT01100128’ ( USNM); 1♂ 2♀ ‘ South Africa Transvaal / Kruger Park 9.xii.1972 / Timbetene Tswiri waterholes / savannah woodl and nr Skukuza [c. 25°00'S 31°36'E 285 m] / B & P Stuckenberg 2431 Dc’ ( NMSA)*; 1♂ 1♀ [♂ as prey for ♀] ‘ South Africa: Transvaal / Kruger Park 9.xii.1972 / Lower Sabie Camp area [c. 25°07'S 31°55'E 175 m] / open savannah & riverbanks / B & P Stuckenberg 2531 Bb’ ( NMSA)*; 1♀ ‘ S Africa: N-W Province / Pilanesberg National Park / Manyane Trail 15.xi.1999 / 25°15'12"S 27°13'25"E / J.G.H. Londt 1200m’ ( NMSA); 1♀ ‘ Boekenhoutskloof [c. 25°30'S 28°27'E 1180 m], S.A. / (30km NE Pretoria) / 7.xii.77 / G. Bernon’ ( NMSA); 1♂ 1♀ ‘ Noordkaap River [c. 25°44'S 30°59'E 650 m] at / Barberton Nelspruit Road / 2530 DB Transvaal / 7 Nov 70 Stuckenberg / Riverbank bushveld’ ( NMSA)*; 1♂ ‘ Pretoria [c. 25°45'S 28°11'E 1345 m] / L. Schunke / 2-85 [ii.1885]’, ‘SAM-DIP / A007833’ ( SAMC); 1♂ ‘JHB [= Johannesburg c. 26°10'S 27°58'E 1760 m] / P. Leniare / Feb 1963 / Natal A.R.I. ’ ( NMSA); 1♂ 1♀ ‘ South Africa. Natal / Kosi Bay – Estuary [c. 26°54'S 32°53'E 10 m] / 2632DD 16–19.iii.1982 / Coll: D.A. Barraclough’ ( NMSA); 1♂ ‘ South Africa: Natal / 5km S Ndumu [= Ndumo] Game Res [c. 26°57'S 32°15'E 50 m] / 2632CD 6.x.1982 / coll. J. & B. Londt / Woodland near stream’ ( NMSA); 2♂ 1♀ ‘ South Africa / Natal, Zululand / Sodwana Bay [c. 27°32'49"S 32°40'10"E 40 m] / 2732DA / 8.v.1981 C. Car’, ‘SAM-DIP / A007834’ ( SAMC); 1♂ ‘ South Africa / Natal, Zululand / Sodwana Bay / 2732DA 15.v.1981 / C. A. Car dunes / on beach’, ‘SAM-DIP / A007836’ ( SAMC); 1♀ ‘ Bonamanzi / Reserve [c. 28°03'S 32°18'E 20 m] / Sand path / through sand / Forest 21.xi.95’ ( NMSA); 1♂ 1♀ ‘ South Africa, Natal Prov / Cape Vidal [c. 28°07'S 32°33'E 30 m], 20mi N St. Lucia; ME & BJ Irwin 0 to / 20m; coastal dune forest / Nov. 24. 1971 (2832 Ba)’ ( NMSA)*; 9♂ 8♀ ‘ South Africa: Natal / St. Lucia Nature Res. [c. 28°16'S 32°29'E 40 m] / 2832AD 18–20.xii.1981 / Londt & Stuckenberg / Coastal bush & forest’ [1♀ with prey Apidae ( Apis mellifera )] ( NMSA); 1♂ 4♀ 2? ‘ South Africa, Natal Prov / Zululand , St. Lucia [c. 28°22'S 32°25'E 25 m], Nov. 24 / 1971; ME & BJ Irwin (2832 Ad) / coastal dune assoc. 8m el.’ ( NMSA)*; 1♂ 1♀ ‘ South Africa: Natal / St. Lucia Park Reserve / ca. 28°22'S 32°25'E / J.G.H. Londt 20m / 2.ii.1988 Dune forest’ ( NMSA); 2♀ ‘ Dukuduku [Forest c. 28°23'S 32°19'E 175 m] between / St Lucia & Matubatuba / Zululand S. Africa / B & P Stuckenberg / 7–8 April 1960 ’ ( NMSA)*; 4♂ 2♀ ‘ S Africa: KwaZulu-Natal / Greater St. Lucia Wetland / Park Sugarloaf Camp area / 28°23'01.9"S 32°25'07.4"E / J.G.H. Londt 9.iii.2004 / - 6m sand at estuary edge’ ( NMSA); 1♀ ‘ South Africa: Natal / St. Lucia Estuary [c. 28°23'S 32°25'E 0 m] / Coastal bush grassland / Date: 7.x.1983 / Coll: B.R. Stuckenberg’ ( NMSA); 1♂ 5♀ ‘ South Africa: Natal / St. Lucia Estuary [c. 28°23'S 32°25'E 0 m] / 22.ii.1979 2832AD / JGH Londt Beach’ ( NMSA); 1♂ ‘ South Africa Natal / St Lucia sea level / Oct 31, 1972, M.E. / Irwin, coastal dunes’ ( NMSA)*; 1♂ 3♀ ‘ South Africa: Natal / Umfolozi bridge / 7km SW Mtubatuba [c. 28°27'S 32°09'E 20 m] / 3.xii.75 WL Overal / DJ Brothers’ ( NMSA); 1♂ ‘ South Africa: Natal / Richard’s Bay [c. 28°40'S 32°05'E 5 m] area / 3205E 2850S 12.iii.83 / PE Reavell 25m / In sand dunes’ ( NMSA); 1♀ ‘ South Africa: Natal / Enseleni Reserve [c. 28°41'S 32°00'E 30 m] / Grassveld / Date: 4.iv.81 / Coll: P. Reavell’ ( NMSA); 1♂ ‘ Mfongosi [c. 28°43'S 30°50'E 575 m] / Zulu L. [Zululand] / W E Jones’ ~ ‘ Dec. 1914 ’, ‘SAM-DIP / A007825’ ( SAMC)*; 1♂ 2♀ ‘ R.S. A.: KZ-Natal #81 / Umlalazi Nature Reserve / 28°57'S 31°46'E 50m / Date: 8.xi.1997 / Coll:JGH & A Londt / Dune forest & margins’ [1♀ with prey Caenagrionidae] ( NMSA); 2♂ 1♀ ‘ South Africa: Natal / Umlalazi Nature Res [c. 28°57'S 31°46'E 5 m] / 2831DD 2–10.x.1982 / coll. J.G.H. Londt / Dune-forest & edges’ ( NMSA); 1♂ 1♀ ‘ South Africa: Natal / Umlalazi Nature Res. / 26–27.i.1987 / JGH Londt SE 2831DD / Dune forest & margin’ ( NMSA); 1♂ ‘ Sth Africa: KZN Prov / Umlalazi Nature Res. / 28°57'02"S 31°47'13E / J & A Londt 12.xi.2014 / 8m Estuary sandy edge’ ( NMSA); 1♂ 1♀ ‘ South Africa: Natal / Umlalazi Nature Res. [c. 28°57'S 31°46'E 5 m] / 26–27.i.1987 / JGH Londt SE 2831DD / Dune forest & margin’ ( NMSA); 1♂ ‘ South Africa: Natal / Umlalazi Nature Res. / ca. 28°57'S 31°40'E / 20m 28–29.i.1988 / Dune Forest J. Londt’ ( NMSA); 5♂ 3♀ ‘ S Africa: KwaZulu-Natal / Umlalazi Nature Reserve / 28°57'19"S 31°46'31"E / 5m 21.ii.2011 J.G.H. Londt / Estuary banks & forest’ ( NMSA); 3♂ 2♀ ‘ So. Africa: Nata; / 1, 5 km / E. Mtunzini 2831 Dd / Umlalazi Nature Res. [c. 28°57'S 31°46'E 5 m] / 24–25.iii 1979 R. Miller / Coastal dune veget.’ ( NMSA); 2♂ 1♀ same data but 28.i.1979 ( NMSA); 1♂ 1♀ same data but 4 Nov 1979 ( NMSA); 1♀ same data but 15 Feb 1981 ( NMSA); 3♂ same data but 19–27 Jan 1980 ( NMSA); 1♀ ‘ Mtunzini [c. 28°58'S 31°46'E 10 m] / Natal RSA / 14.2.85 / M.H. Villet / (coastal dunes)’ ( NMSA); 4♂ 2♀ ‘ Sth Africa: KZN Prov / Mtunzini Forest Lodge / Area 10–14.xi.2014 / 28°58'02"S 31°47'18E / J & A Londt 10m / Coastal dune vegetation’ ( NMSA); 1♀ ‘ South Africa: Natal / Mhlopeni Nature Res. [c. 29°01'S 30°25'E 915 m] / 15km SE Muden 2930AB / Coll: J.G.H. Londt / Date: 4.ii.1984 ’ ( NMSA); 5♂ 2♀ same data but 22.xii.1983 ( NMSA); 1♂ ‘ South Africa: N Cape / Kenhardt Hartebeest Riv. / 29°20'47"S 21°08'42"E / 14.xi.2011 780m / J & A Londt Dry river bed / Sandy Acacia savanna’ ( NMSA); 2♀ ‘ Blythedale [c. 29°22'S 31°21'E 5 m] / Beach / Natal / 16.3.1963 / T.W. Schofield’ ( NMSA)*; 1♀ ‘ Town Bush [Reserve c. 29°33'S 30°20'E 1000 m] / Pietermaritzburg / South Africa / T. Schofield / 31.v.57’ ( NMSA)*; 3♂ 4♀ ‘ South Africa: Natal / Tongaat Riv. mouth [Mdloti River c. 29°39'S 31°08'E 5 m] / 2931CA 22.xi.1978 / open sandy area / J.G.H. Londt’ ( NMSA). ZIMBABWE: 2♂ 2♀ ‘ Country Rhodesia / Loc Chirundu [c. 16°02'S 28°51'E 400 m] / Date 18-5-1965 / Coll R. Borthwick’ ( NMSA); 1♂ ‘ Hillside [Harare c. 17°50'S 31°05'E 1485 m], S. Rhod / 17.xi.1922 / Swinburne & / Stevenson’ ( NMSA)*.

Material not studied: Londt (1978) records: ‘ 1♂, Mtunzini [c. 28°58'S 31°46'E 10 m], xii.1961, W.E. Lawson (D.M.); 1♀, Twinstreams [c. 28°59'S 31°44'E 15 m], Mtunzini, 15.xii.1963, Lawson & Bouguin (D.M.); 1♂, M’Fongosi [Mfongosi c. 28°43'S 30°50'E 575 m], Zululand, xii.1914, W.E, Jones (S.A.M.).’ also ‘ 2♂ 2♀, Otjimbumbe [?], Kunene River, iii.1923, S.A.M. Exped. (S.A.M.); 1♂, Hoarusib Otshu, iii.1926, S.A.M. Exped. (S.A.M.); 1♀, Cayimaeis, iii.1923, S.A.M. Exped. (S.A.M.).’ In additional material listed as unstudied includes: Holotype “ Caffraria’: 1♀, (Rijksmuseum)’ and ‘ South West Africa: Hoarusib [c. 18°21'S 13°00'E 590 m], Otshu , iii.1926, S.A.M. Exped. (S.A.M.); Rehoboth [c. 23°19'S 17°05'E 1405 m], xi–xii.1935, Mell-Marley (S.A.M.).’

Distribution, phenology and biology: A fairly widespread species in southern Africa ( Fig. 25 ). The species has been collected sympatrically with fraterculus at Bela Bela and dubius at Umlalazi Nature Reserve. Data presented in this paper confirm the presence of the species in Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe, and records, for the first time, material from Mozambique and Angola (which is not strictly speaking a southern African country). The species flies from October through to May – there being a single record for July ( Table 1 ). Although a fairly commonly collected species, only 5 prey records are known (all associated with females): Odonata : Caenagrionidae (1). Diptera : Calliphoridae (1), Sarcophagidae (1). Hymenoptera : Apidae (2 – Apis mellifera ). The female ovipositor is distally broad and spade-like so may be adapted for digging in loose sand.

Figures

Fig. 1. Philodicus tenuipes Loew, 1857. Male habitus.

Figs 21–24. Philodicus tenuipes Loew, 1857. (21–23) male terminalia: (21) lateral, (22) dorsal and (23) ventral views. (24) female distal end of S8.

Fig. 25. Southern African distribution of Philodicus tenuipes Loew, 1857.