Stomorhina rugosa (Bigot, 1888)

Thomas-Cabianca, Arianna, Villet, Martin H., Martinez-Sanchez, Anabel & Rojo, Santos, 2023, South African nose flies (Diptera, Calliphoridae, Rhiniinae): taxonomy, diversity, distribution and biology, Biodiversity Data Journal 11, pp. 72764-72764 : 72764

Stomorhina rugosa (Bigot, 1888)

= Rhinia rugosa Bigot, 1888: 591. Type locality: Sierra Leone.

= Stomorhina mitis Curran, 1931: 18. Type locality: South Africa, Natal [KwaZulu-Natal].

= Rhinia hyphena Séguy, 1958: 188. Type locality: Guinea.

Distribution

Afrotropical: Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Guinea (today could be Guinea, Guinea-Bissau or Equatorial Guinea), Kenya, Lesotho*, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Sudan (reported as Anglo-Egyptian Sudan), South Africa (Fig. 25 ), eSwatini*, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Palaearctic: Saudi Arabia.

Notes

Preferred environment: coast scarp forest, grassland, scrub and wooded grassland area, near streams, on the margin of dune forest, sewage-seepage area, bushveld and in picnic area. In Zimbabwe, the species was collected indoors and in Namibia, it was collected at a damaged termite mound and is apparently restricted to the Mesic Savannah Biome ( Kurahashi and Kirk-Spriggs 2006). Recorded elevations: 10-1480 m a.s.l. Seasonality: present year-round with greatest abundance from November to February and least in May, August and September in South Africa. In Namibia, it was recorded in January and December in low numbers ( Kurahashi and Kirk-Spriggs 2006). Behaviour and ecology: females were observed ovipositing in newly-excavated termite mounds. Peris (1952a) indicated that S. rugosa was caught on dung in Nigeria and seen buzzing over a termite nest in South Africa. In Ethiopia, a female of S. rugosa was seen emerging from a caterpillar of Fall Army Worm Spodoptera frugiperda (Smith) ( Lepidoptera , Noctuidae ) and the pupa was found inside the caterpillar (Tadele Tefera and Robert Copeland, personal communication). Specimens were collected on flowers of Cussonia sp. and Poinsettia Graham in South Africa. Cuthbertson (1934) (as S. mitis ) found adults on daisy flowers in Eastern Victoria (Zimbabwe) in June 1932. Peris (1952a) reported specimens collected on honey-bearing wild flowers and on wild flowers in Zambia. Life cycle and developmental stages: unknown, but Cuthbertson (1934) indicated that eggs are large (1.5 mm) and hatch immediately after being deposited in soil. Collection methods: Malaise, blue pan and light traps. In Namibia, it was collected with Malaise traps ( Kurahashi and Kirk-Spriggs 2006). Illustrations and photographs: male habitus as in Fig. 26 . Male terminalia as in fig. 33 in Zumpt (1958).

Material examined: Suppl. materials 1, 2.

Figures

Figure 25. Stomorhina rugosa occurrence map in South Africa, including eSwatini (eSw) and Lesotho (Le); horizontal axis longitude east and vertical axis latitude south.

Figure 26. Habitus, left lateral view of Stomorhina rugosa male BMSA DIP 92522 from Malawi; scale bar = 2 mm.