Lispe flavicornis Stein, 1909

Zhang, Dong, Ge, Ying-Qiang, Li, Xin-Yu, Liu, Xian-Hui, Zhang, Ming & Wang, Rong-Rong, 2016, Review of the Lispe caesia - group (Diptera: Muscidae) from Palaearctic and adjacent regions, with redescriptions and one new synonymy, Zootaxa 4098 (1), pp. 43-72 : 55-57

Lispe flavicornis Stein, 1909

( Figs. 1 E; 2C; 3E; 14–16; 30C; 31I, J) Lispa flavicornis Stein, 1909: 260 .

Lispa vidua Becker, 1914: 85 .

Lispe flavicornis Stein : Pont, 1977: 508; Xue & Chao, 1996: 997; Xue & Zhang, 2005: 119; Zhang et al., 2005: 356.

Material examined. 7 males and 10 females, China: Guangdong: Nan’ao Island, 27.VII.2013, Coll. W. Li & Y.Q. Ge; 8 males, same location as above, 13.VIII.2014, Coll. W. Li. All in MBFU.

Redescription. Male. Body length 5.2–5.6 mm. Head ( Figs. 14 B, C, D): Eye bare, facet a little expanded on anterior margin in median part; frons broad in median part, becoming narrow anteriorly; median part about 0.33– 0.35 times of head-width; frontal triangle with golden pollinosity; frontal vitta, frontal triangle and frontal-orbital plate with obvious boundary; frons, face and gena with silvery pollinosity; upper orbital setae 2, frontal setae 3 and with 1 row of short setae on outer part; parafacial bare, slightly shorter than width of postpedicel; facial ridge low, concave; antenna orange, postpedicel about 2.8–3.0 times as long as broad (1.4–1.6 times as long as pedicel), arista plumose, longest setula equal to width of postpedicel; face planate, without facial carina; epistoma not projecting to vibrissal angle; vibrissa strong, slightly longer than length of distance between them; genal height about 1/5 of eye height; postocular setae 3 rows, posteriormost row situated in occiput; postgena with black setulae; proboscis short; labella small, with 2 prestomal teeth on posterior margin, prementum shinning; palpi yellow, compressed, expanded in distal part, towards apex becoming spoon-shaped, both inner and outer surfaces sparsely setulose.

Thorax: Ground color black with dense silver grey pollinosity except scutellum with brown pollinosity; acr 0+1 (thin); presutural 5 rows of acrostichal setulae; dc 2+3; ia 1+2, without pra; basal and apical scutellar setae all developed; scutellum bare on lateral surfaces and underneath; notopleuron bare; the median part of anepimeron with numerous bristles; prosternum, meron and katepimeron bare; spiracles brown, posterior one small and with 4 or 5 setae on posterior lower margin; katepisternal setae 1+2.

Wings: Slightly hyaline; veins becoming brown apically; tegula, basicosta and subcostal sclerite yellow; costal spine unobvious; vein C with ventral setulae; other veins bare; vein R4+5, M and crossvein dm-cu straight; calypteres white; haltere yellowish brown; cell r2+3 usually with faint cloud; WIPs with 4 demarcated color bands (blue, magenta, red and yellow) at posterior part of the wing, of which magenta and red bands narrow ( Figs. 31 I, J).

Legs: Black except basal part of tibia and apical part of femur reddish; with dense silver grey pollinosity; fore femur with 1 pd row, 1 pv row and a elongated v; fore tibia with 1 developed pv; mid femur with 1 submedian pd; mid tibia with 1 pv, 1 preapical d; hind femur with 1 v row on basal half, 1 complete ad row; hind tibia with 1 preapical d and 1 submedian v; first hind tarsomere distinctly swollen ( Figs 1 E; 30C), with close-set elongated setulae at postoventral margins, shorter than the summed length of other tarsomeres; tarsi shorter than tibia; claws and pulvilli small.

Abdomen: Ground color black, oval, with grey pollinosity; tergites 3 and 4 dusted with large triangular lateral brown patches on sides, tergite 5 with pair of small brown patches on both anterior and posterior margins ( Fig. 14 E).

Female. Body length 7.0– 7.4 mm. General characters as in male but differing from male in: frons about 0.31– 0.33 times of head-width at median part; face and gena with golden pollinosity; thorax entirely with brown pollinosity; apex of wing without cloud; first hind tarsomere not swollen ( Fig. 16 A); abdomen with yellowish brown pollinosity throughout, tergite 5 with smaller patches.

Remarks. According to Pont (1977), L. flavicornis was only recorded in Taiwan, China before. The specimen studied in this paper was collected on a salt pan in Nan’ao Island, Guangdong, China, at a similar latitude of Taiwan. Species from this group breed on salty mud rather than temperate habitats where some other speciesgroups, such as L. tentaculata group, multiply. This species is the most brightly colorful one in the group due to its orange postpedicel and golden frontal triangle in both sexes (in Fig. 16 the female’s postpedicel lost some orange pollinosity). Among 15 males, ten specimens are spotted in cell r2+3 and 5 are not spotted, while none female is spotted.

Distribution. China (Guangdong, Taiwan), Indonesia, Philippines, Sri Lanka.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Swollen and setulose first hind tarsomeres of males from Lispe caesia - group. A, L. aquamarina Shinonaga & Kano, right leg, posteroventral view, from Liaoning, China. B, L. caesia caesia Meigen, right leg, ventral view, from France. C, L. caesia microchaeta Séguy, left leg, posterolateral view, from Xinjiang, China. D, L. candicans Kowarz, left and right legs, posterior view, from France. E, L. flavicornis Stein, right leg, anteroventral view, from Guangdong, China. F, L. halophora Becker, left leg, posteroventral view, from Egypt. G, L. lanceoseta Mou, right leg, anteroventral view, from Shanxi, China. H, L. leucocephala Loew, right leg, ventral view, from Egypt. I, L. palawanensis Shinonaga & Kano, left and right legs, lateral view, from Phillipines. J, L. patellitarsis Bekcer, left leg, posteroventral view, from Zhanjiang, China. Scale bars: A – J = 0.50 mm.

FIGURE 14. Lispe flavicornis Stein, 1909. Male, from Guangdong, China [in MBFU]. A, habitus, lateral view. B, head, lateral view. C, head, anterolateral view. D, head, anterior view. E, abdomen, dorsal view. Scale bars: A = 2.00 mm, B – D = 0.50 mm, E = 1.00 mm.

FIGURE 16. Lispe flavicornis Stein, 1909. Female, from Guangdong, China, [in MBFU]. A, habitus, lateral view. B, head, lateral view. C, head, anterolateral view. D, head, anterior view. E, abdomen, dorsal view. Scale bars: A = 1.00 mm, B – E = 0.50 mm.

FIGURE 31 (to be continued). Wing interference patterns of Lispe caesia - group, dorsal view. A. male of L. aquamarina Shinonaga & Kano. B. female of L. aquamarina Shinonaga & Kano. C. male of L. caesia caesia Meigen. D. female of L. caesia caesia Meigen. E. male of L. caesia microchaeta Séguy. F. female of L. caesia microchaeta Séguy. G. male of L. candicans Kowarz. H. female of L. candicans Kowarz. Scale bars: A – H = 1.00 mm.