Dicerura iridis (Kaltenbach, 1873)

Jaschhof, Mathias & Spungis, Voldemars, 2018, Towards reliable identification of male Dicerura: descriptions of three new and seven poorly known species in the Palearctic region (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae, Porricondylinae), Zootaxa 4422 (1), pp. 85-103 : 96

Dicerura iridis (Kaltenbach, 1873)

Figs 22–24

Dicerura iridis , the most commonly found species of Dicerura in Europe, is redescribed here based on specimens

from Latvia ( Spungis 1987).

Diagnosis. This is the only Dicerura in which the apices of the ejaculatory apodeme are not smooth but appear frayed ( Fig. 24 , ↓1), a detail discernible only at high magnification. Other characters of diagnostic merit are as

follows. The gonostylus, which is 2.5 times longer than wide, has a pointed, slightly bent apex and a long

mediobasal lobe that is only slightly protruding and provided with dense, large microtrichia, a few setulae, and 5–6

short bristles ( Fig. 22 ). The gonocoxites have conspicuously few ventral setae; the ventral emargination is shallow and angular ( Fig. 22 , ↓2); the two pairs of processes bordering the emargination are same size, rounded, and

provided with both microtrichia and fine setae; the dorsal portions are angular-shaped posteriorly; and the dorsal apodemes are conspicuously long and thin ( Fig. 22 , ↓3). The apical portion of the tegmen, whose outline is

basically semicircular, is truncate to slightly concave on the crest and provided with 4–5 inconspicuous barbs on either side ( Fig. 24 , ↓4). The bilobed apex of the ninth tergite is covered with dense, thick microtrichia, especially

along the posterior edge and on the inside ( Fig. 23 ).

Material examined. Latvia: 3 males, Sigulda, 20 May 1978, V. Spungis (in IBUL).

Figures

FIGURES 22–24. Dicerura iridiS, male, from Latvia. 22: Genitalia, ventral. 23: Ninth tergite, dorsal. 24: Tegmen and ejaculatory apodeme, ventral. Scales 0.05 mm. Arrows refer to characters described in the diagnosis.