Balbagathis janjezeki Ibáñez-Bernal, 2015

Ibáñez-Bernal, Sergio, Suárez-Landa, Teresa & Inecol, 2015, Balbagathis janjezeki sp. nov., a new species of moth fly from Mexico (Diptera: Psychodidae: Psychodinae), Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 55 (2), pp. 485-494 : 487-492

Balbagathis janjezeki Ibáñez-Bernal , sp. nov.

( Figs 1–11 )

Type locality. Mexico, Veracruz, Municipality of Atzalan , Plan de Arroyos (19°53′41″N, 97°06′30″W, 820 m a.s.l.). Type material. HOLOTYPE: J, ‘ Mexico, Veracruz, Municipality of Atzalan, Plan de Arroyos, 27.ii.2008, Jurisdicción Sanitaria V, col. Malaise trapʼ. PARATYPES: 2JJ, same data as holotype ; 4♀♀, same data as holotype except 26.ii.2008, CDC miniature UV light trap ; 2 ♀♀, same data as holotype except 2.ix.2008, CDC miniature UV light trap ; 2 ♀♀, same data as holotype except 15.v.2008, CDC miniature UV light trap 1 ♀, same data as holotype except 16.v.2008. All specimens are deposited in the Psychodidae collection of Instituto de Ecología,A. C., Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico .

Description. Male. Head ( Fig. 1 ) nearly rounded in frontal view, with a slightly expanded vertex. Eyes nearly contiguous, with the eye bridge formed by 3 rows of facets, except the last line that has 4 facets; interocular suture short and simple arched; 2–3 large supraocular alveoli, frons and vertex with two patches of small alveoli regularly spaced, finely and not at all clearly divided at center by a nude line which expands dorsally at vertex; frons below eye-bridge and between antennae with a patch of seta alveoli forming a bilobed superior margin; clypeus with a patch of larger alveoli evenly distributed on the inferior two-thirds of the sclerite. Mouthparts shorter than clypeus; labium with an inverted-Y-shaped sclerotization, labella expanded, each labellum with 3–4 short spiniform setae at internal margin and some simple setae distributed over all its surface ( Fig. 5 ); palpus about as long as flagellomeres 1–3 ( Fig. 1 ), with four segments; relative proportion of palpal segments 1.0: 1.3: 1.2: 1.1; first palpal segment with a small patch of sensory rods (Newstead’s sensillae) near the center over the internal face; all palpal segments with 1–3 long setae, apical segment rigid without striations ( Fig. 4 ). Antenna about 0.75 the length of wing, composed by a nearly cylindrical scape, an oval pedicel, and 14 flagellomeres ( Fig. 1 ); scape about as long as pedicel + fl- agellomere 1; flagellomere 1 oval, small, about 0.5 the length of flagellomere 2 and without ascoids ( Fig. 2 ); flagellomeres 2–13 nodiform and excentric, flagellomere 14 with a long apiculus ( Fig. 3 ); flagellomeres 2–14 each with a pair of extremely long and tortuose simple ascoids ( Figs 2 and 3 ).

Wing narrow, as long as 2.86 its maximum width; membrane uniformly clear; basal costal nodes well visible; Sc short, ending about level of the distal end of the third costal node; R 1 ending distal to middle of wing and before the level of CuA 1 apex; radial fork basad to medial fork; R 3 and M 2 with bases incomplete, just insinuated but without alveoli; R 5 ending at wing apex; A

1

present but short ( Fig. 6 ).

Thorax without scent or specialized organs. Anepisternum with a vertical patch of setae alveoli. All coxae with a vertical row of seta alveoli on external surface; proportion of femur, tibia, and tarsomere 1: front leg 1.6: 2.1: 1.0; mid leg: 1.8: 2.3: 1.2; hind leg: 2.0: 3.0: 1.1; fore tibial claws nearly straight just with a small insinuated discontinuity at inferior margin.

Terminalia as in Figs 7–9 . Epandrium about 2.0 times wider than long, surface without setae alveoli and no pseudospiracular opening, anterior margin nearly straight, reinforced, and thicker at midline from which the pair of subepandrial tongue-like sclerites originate and diverge posteriorly to the epandrial lobe bases (surstyli), posterior margin deeply concave, reaching one-half the maximum length of epandrium, leaving greatly exposed tergum and sternum 10, both distally rounded; epandrial lobes 1.5 times as long as epandrium, narrow and tapered, with 2–3 perennial setae at base on internal margin, evenly distributed alveoli all over its surface and ending in a single clavate tenaculum ( Fig. 7 ); gonostylus nearly straight tapering to apex and about 0.75 the maximum length of gonocoxite; gonocoxite about as long as epandrium, simple, without lobes or special features except 3 long rigid setae originated basally on internal margin; gonocoxites anterior condyles expanded as large plates, with the anterior-external margin rounded, and meeting each other at midline as a T-shaped keel; gonocoxites posterior condyles articulating with the hypandrial preapical reinforcement and also with the posthypandrial aedeagal sheath ( Fig. 9 ); hypandrium a large transversal oval transparent plate, which is about the same size of epandrium, very difficult to see (probably this is the reason by which this structure only is mentioned as a band between gonocoxites), having a pair of preapical transversal sclerotized reinforcements which articulate with the union of basiphallus with distiphallus; the reinforcement of one side has a small posterior blurred branch that lost its darkness before it is fused with the paramere of the same side, and the reinforcement of the other side has a longer sclerotized fusiform branch that is apically fused with the other paramere ( Figs 8 and 9 ); posthypandrial sheath formed by two asymmetric claw-like parameres, both with basal half wide and abruptly thinning with apex directed to the same side in dorsoventral view, one about as long as gonocoxite and the other shorter, about 0.75 its length; the pair of parameres flanking a short membranous distally truncate periaedeagal membrane, that surround the short curled distiphallus, which is displaced to the shorter paramere side; basiphallus large, flared anteriorly, and with anterior border sclerotized and forming a keel at midline ( Fig. 9 ).

Female. As in male except for the following characteristics: eye-bridge with 3 rows of facets; antenna with first and last flagellomeres without ascoids. Female terminalia ( Figs 10–11 ): subgenital plate triangular in general view, anterior margin sclerotized, lateral margins nearly straight without angles or strong curvature, external surface with setae alveoli on apical three-fourths; subgenital plate lobes heavily setose, relatively wide and separated each other by a space similar to the width of one lobe, lobe base diagonal with the external anterior angle ending at 0.75 the length of lateral margin of plate from base to its apical margin; chitinous arch more or less rhomboid in outline with rounded apex, laterally articulated with cerci and anteriorly projected as a tubular structure ending anteriorly as a nipple; subgenital plate internal surface with a sclerotized transversal reinforcement that surrounds two oval translucent spaces, each of them with three translucid pores; genital chamber very complex with a group of three sclerites at each side one inverted Y-shaped sclerite at midline and between the oval pair of anterior structures, which has the external margin striated and are crossed by a sclerotized strut.

Measurements (in mm). Male: Head height: 0.40; proboscis length: 0.05; palpus length: 0.21; antenna length: 1.45; wing length: 1.97: wing width: 0.69; gonocoxite length: 0.16; gonostylus length: 0.12; epandrial lobe length: 0.26; aedeagus length: 0.26. Female: Head height: 0.38, proboscis length: 0.07; palpus length: 0.22; antenna length: 1.60; wing length: 1.86; wing width: 0.70; cercus length: 0.30; subgenital plate (from anterior border to lobe apex): 0.17; subgenital plate width (anterior margin): 0.25.

Etymology. This species is dedicated to our friend Jan Ježek, a prolific contributor to the knowledge of World Psychodidae , on the occasion of his 70 th birth anniversary.

Differential diagnosis. The male of Balbagathis janjezeki sp. nov. can be separated from B. discuspis Quate & Brown, 2004 , B. sinuosa Quate & Brown, 2004 , and B. trispica Quate & Brown, 2004 , because in these species the hypandrium reinforcements do not produce branches posteriorly; additionally, B. discuspis has the gonostylus nearly straight but has a long distiphallus, whereas B. sinuosa and B. trispica have a strongly sinuous gonostylus. Balbagathis barva Quate & Brown, 2004 differs principally by the eye-bridge with 4 rows and by the hypandrial posterior reinforcement branches that are claw-like, curved toward midline. Balbagathis talamanca Quate, 1996 , and B. dissimilis Quate & Brown, 2004 , are different because the periaedeagal membrane is triangular and long (described by QUATE & BROWN (1996), as a central triangular projection of hypandrium), in spite that the hypandrial posterior reinforcement branches are similar to those observed in B. janjezeki which has an intermediate branch size, but both species possess a median long shaft apparently attached to the posterior portion of basiphallus (interpreted as distiphallus by QUATE & BROWN 2004). Balbagathis manuensis Quate & Brown, 2004 , has the hypandrial posterior reinforcement branches similar in shape and size with rounded tips, whereas B. agrestis Quate & Brown, 2004 has long distiphallus shafts and parameres, the central one long, reaching or surpassing the level of gonostyli tips. Balbagathis confraga Quate & Brown, 2004 has the hypandrial posterior reinforcement branches similar in size but triangular in shape. Balbagathis intricata Bravo, 2004 , differs because the hypandrial posterior reinforcement branches are very long, one wider at middle and the other near the apex.

The females of B. sylvatica , B. sinuosa , B. barva , B. talamanca , B. dissimilis , and B. agrestis are known. In these species the subgenital plate has the lateral margin nearly straight converging distally (except B. agrestis and B. talamanca which has an angle or curvature near middle), the chitinous arch is exposed between the lobes, the latter usually being slender, compact, and widely separated. The form and separation of the subgenital plate lobes differs enough to separate the species, in addition to the very complex internal structures that are evidently different between species, but difficult to interpret. The female of Balbagathis janjezeki sp. nov., is similar to B. sylvatica , but differs by having the subgenital plate lobes wider, separated by one lobe basal width (transversally measured), with their bases externally beginning in the apical third of the distance between the internal base of lobe and the anterior margin of the subgenital plate, whereas in B. sylvatica the lobes are slender, separated by 3–4 basal width of lobe (transversally measured), and with their bases externally beginning at middle of the distance between the internal base of lobe and the anterior margin of the subgenital plate.

Figures

Figs 1−6. Balbagathis janjezeki sp. nov., male, holotype. 1 – head, frontal view; 2 – basal portion of antenna (scape, pedicel and flagellomeres 1–3 (ascoids of flagellomere 3 not completely drawn; 3 – apical portion of antenna, flagellomeres 12–14 (not all ascoids completely drawn); 4 – right palpus; 5 – mouthparts; 6 – wing. Figures 2–5 at same scale; all measurements in millimeters.

Figs 7−8. Balbagathis janjezeki sp. nov., male, holotype. 7 – epandrium and segment X; 8 – hypandrium. Abbreviations: Epa – epandrium; Epl – epandrial lobe; Gcx – gonocoxite; Hrpb – hypandrial reinforcement posterior branches; Hyp – hypandrium; Hyr – hypandrial reinforcement; Ses – subepandrial sclerite; StX – sternum X; Ten – tenaculum;TeX – tergum X.At same scale;all measurements in millimeters.

Fig. 9. Balbagathis janjezeki sp. nov., male, holotype. Terminalia, epandrium retired. Abbreviations:Bph – basiphallus; Dph – distiphallus; Gac – gonocoxite anterior condyle; Gcx – gonocoxite; Gst – gonostylus; Hrpb – hypandrial reinforcement posterior branch; Hyp – hypandrium; Pam – periaedeagal membrane; Par – parameres. Measurement in millimeters.

Figs 10−11. Balbagathis janjezeki sp. nov., female, paratype. 10 – ventral view of terminalia, cercus retired; 11 – terminalia, complete view showing the proportion of cerci. Abbreviations: Cha – chitinous arch; Gch – genital chamber; Lsp – lobe of the subgenital plate; Sgp – subgenital plate. Measurements in millimeters.