Melanagromyza dianthereae (Malloch)

Lonsdale, Owen, 2021, Manual of North American Agromyzidae (Diptera, Schizophora), with revision of the fauna of the " Delmarva " states, ZooKeys 1051, pp. 1-481 : 1

Melanagromyza dianthereae (Malloch)

Figs 272-276

Limnoagromyza dianthereae Malloch, 1920: 147.

Melanagromyza dianthereae . Frick 1952a: 378, 1959: 364; Spencer and Steyskal 1986b: 22.

Description.

Wing length 3.4-3.9 mm (♂), 4.4-5.0 mm (♀). Length of ultimate section of vein M4 divided by penultimate section: 0.6-0.8. Eye height divided by gena height: 2.8-3.4. Male first flagellomere slightly enlarged, rounded, with longer hairs past base. Fronto-orbital plate and parafacial visible laterally, broadly rounded, and continuing under eye as very narrow cheek; fronto-orbital plate well-developed, setae slightly inset. Ocellar triangle long and narrow with anterior point open. Gena relatively short, slightly angled upwards anteriorly. Clypeus broadly rounded with anterior margin slightly thickened. Scutum with faint, thin longitudinal pruinose stripes medially.

Chaetotaxy: Three or four ori; two ors (one in CNC female paratype). Orbital setulae in three irregular rows, reclinate to erect, sometimes proclinate anteriorly. Ocellar setulae erect. Eye bare. Three dorsocentrals, with anterior seta close to second and ~ 3/5 length. Acrostichal setulae in ten irregular rows. Mid tibia with two posteromedial setae.

Colouration: Body, including halter, dark brown in base colour. Head nearly black and with greenish tint. Notum with greenish shine; anterolateral margin lighter brown with postpronotum particularly pale and with yellowish spots. Calypter margin and hairs white. Abdomen brown with green shine, sometimes becoming more blue posteriorly or with colour most pronounced medially and on posterior 1/2 of tergites.

Genitalia: (Figs 272-276 ) Epandrium without small posterodistal spine. Surstylus shallow and subtriangular, with long marginal setae and several shorter, stouter setae. Hypandrium broad and stout with lobe thick. Metepiphallus smooth; lateral portion nearly divided into separate sclerite and with two crossing ridges. Proepiphallus minute. Basiphallus U-shaped with ends tapered and dorsum very broad and ill-defined with thick transverse medial ridge. Distiphallus large, bulbous, close to phallophorus, tapered apically; with long, thin dorsomedial process; ventrolateral tubules strongly arched, level with mesophallus; internal surface shallowly textured and outer surface minutely tuberculate dorsally.

Hosts.

Acanthaceae - Justicia americana (formerly treated as Dianthera ).

Distribution.

USA: DC*, IL, IN, MD, VA*.

Type material.

Holotype: USA. IL: Muncie, 15.viii.1917, Frison and Malloch (1♀, INHS). [Not examined]

Paratypes examined.

USA. IN: Lafayette, 19.viii.1916, J.M. Aldrich, swept from Dianthera wildcat Cv. (1♂, USNM), swept from Dianthrea americana (1♂, USNM), Lafayette, on Dianthera americana , 2.vi.1915, J.M. Aldrich, CNC356825, CNC358427 (1♂ 1♀, CNC).

Additional material examined.

USA. DC: Rock Creek Park , 18.vii.1933, J.M. Aldrich (1♂ 2♀, USNM), Rock Creek Park, 14.viii.1931, on Dianthera americana (1♂, USNM), IN: Lafayette, J.M. Aldrich, swept from Dianthera americana , 11.v.1915 (1♂, USNM), 11.vi.1915 (3♂, USNM), 18.vi.1915 (2♂ 2♀, USNM), 21.viii.1916 (1♂, USNM), Lafayette, J.M. Aldrich, 18.viii.1916 (1♂, USNM), 10.vi.1915 (4♂ 5♀, USNM) 11.vi.1915 (1♂, USNM), vi-iv.1915 (1♀, USNM), 21.viii.1916 (1♀, USNM), Lafayette, on Dianthera 26.vi.1915 (2♂, USNM), 29.vi.1916 (1♂, USNM), “vii-14” (1♂, USNM), Lafayette, A.L. Melander, “vi-2” (3♂ 1♀, USNM), MD: Plummers Isl. , 6.vii.1963, G. Steyskal (1♂ 1♀, USNM), Plummers Isl. , K.V. Kromberin, 3.viii.1962 (1♂, USNM), 11.vii.1962 (4♂ 1♀, USNM), 9.vi.1963 (7♂ 2♀ 1?, USNM), 5.viii.1962 (1♂, USNM), 7.viii.1962 (1♂ 1♀, USNM), 1.ix.1962 (3♂ 6♀, 2?, USNM), 31.vii.1962 (2♂, USNM), VA: Fairfax Co., Potomac River at Scott Run, 7.vi.1955, C.W. Sabrosky (2♀, USNM) .

Figures

Figures 272 - 276. Melanagromyza dianthereae (Malloch), male genitalia 272 external components, posterior 273 external components, ventral 274 hypandrium, ventral 275 hypandrial complex, left lateral 276 phallus and proepiphallus, ventral.