Tipula (Vestiplex) Bezzi, 1924

Starkevich, Pavel, Podėnas, Sigitas, Podėnienė, Virginija, Park, Sun-Jae & Kim, A-Young, 2021, Tipula (Vestiplex) crane flies (Diptera, Tipulidae) of Korea, ZooKeys 1061, pp. 23-55 : 23

Tipula (Vestiplex) Bezzi, 1924

Tipula (Vestiplex) Bezzi 1924: 230; Edwards 1931: 79; Alexander 1934: 396; 1935: 117; 1965: 355; Mannheims 1953: 116; Savchenko 1964: 132.

Type species.

Tipula cisalpina Riedel, 1913.

Vestiplex was first proposed by Bezzi (1924) as a subgenus of the genus Tipula for the type species T. cisalpina Riedel, 1913, which was recorded from the Western Palaearctic (Italy and Switzerland). No fossil species of T. (Vestiplex) are described so far and only Matthews and Telka (1997) mentioned ovipositors of possibly T. (Vestiplex) females from Cape Deceit Formation in Western Alaska (1.8 MY old).

The world fauna of the subgenus T. (Vestiplex) includes 177 recent species and subspecies, which are distributed throughout the Nearctic, Palaearctic, and Oriental regions ( Oosterbroek 2019). The majority of the species are associated with mountain systems (Pyrenees, Alps, Caucasus, and Himalayas) where adults are commonly found at altitudes ranging from 700 to 2500 m and rarely up to 4500 m ( Savchenko 1960).

Females belonging to subgenus T. (Vestiplex) are characterized by the ovipositor having powerful cerci, which are heavily sclerotized, and serrated along outer margin (but smooth in several Asiatic species), and small to rudimentary hypovalva ( Alexander 1935, 1965; Alexander and Byers 1981). The male genitalia are extremely polymorphic ( Savchenko 1964), typically with the ninth tergite forming a shallowly concave and sclerotized saucer, with other species having their ninth tergite completely divided longitudinally by a pale membrane ( Alexander 1935; Alexander and Byers 1981).

Just seven species have described larvae. Two are North American species, T. (V.) arctica Curtis, 1835 and T. (V.) platymera Walker, 1856 ( Alexander 1920a, Gelhaus 1986), and five are European species, T. (V.) excisa excisa Schummel, 1833, T. (V.) hortorum Linnaeus, 1758, T. (V.) nubeculosa Meigen, 1804, T. (V.) semivittata Savchenko, 1960, and T. (V.) scripta Meigen, 1830 ( Chiswell 1956; Theowald 1965; Savchenko 1986; Podeniene 2003; Lantsov 2003).

The immature stages develop in terrestrial habitats such as the uppermost layer of soil under leaf or needle litter, or under mosses ( Chiswell 1956; Rogers 1942; Theowald 1967; Teale and Gelhaus 1984; Lantsov 2003; Podeniene 2003). Larvae of T. (Vestiplex) are easily recognized because of a brown band separating the anus from the anal papillae. The lobes surrounding spiracular field are subconical with the lateral lobe situated dorsolaterally. The sclerotization of the dorsal lobe varies depending on species, with some species bearing a sclerite only on the basal part of the posterior surface, while in other species the entire anterior and posterior surfaces are sclerotized. In this case the apex of the dorsal lobe is sclerotized, pointed, and directed anteriorly. The lateral lobe may possess a narrow and vertical sclerite, but it may be entirely absent in some species. The ventral lobe is the smallest and trianglar. It varies from extensively sclerotized to possessing only a small sclerite. Larvae have two pairs of short, blunt anal papillae. The length and macrosetal arrangement is consistent on the dorsum and tergum among all known species. Short microscopic hairs are arranged in transverse rows and cover most of the abdomen.

List of Korean Tipula (Vestiplex) crane flies

Tipula (Vestiplex) coquillettiana Alexander, 1924

Tipula (Vestiplex) kuwayamai Alexander, 1921

Tipula (Vestiplex) serricauda Alexander, 1914

Tipula (Vestiplex) tchukchi Alexander, 1934

Tipula (Vestiplex) verecunda Alexander, 1924