Billaea ficorum ( Townsend, 1916 )

Zhang, Chun-Tian, Shima, Hiroshi, Wang, Qiang & Tschorsnig, Hans-Peter, 2015, A review of Billaea Robineau-Desvoidy of the eastern Palearctic and Oriental regions (Diptera: Tachinidae), Zootaxa 3949 (1), pp. 1-40 : 9-11

Billaea ficorum ( Townsend, 1916)

Figs. 16–19, 68, 77

Theresiopsis ficorum Townsend, 1916: 301 .

Billaea ficorum (Townsend) .— Crosskey 1976: 177 (as comb. n.).— Crosskey 1977: 601 (catalog).

Trichostylum fasciata Townsend, 1928: 380 .

Billaea fasciata (Townsend) , syn. nov.:— Crosskey 1976: 177 (as comb. n.), 278 (lectotype designation).— Crosskey 1977: 601 (catalog).— Dear & Crosskey 1982: 114 (key).

Diagnosis. Wing with brown marking on anteromedian portion, postsutural scutum with a broad black transverse band on anterior half and abdomen with black transverse band on each tergite. Redescription. Body length 6–15 mm.

Male. Head ( Figs. 68 , 77 ). With dense whitish pruinosity; antenna brown, pedicel, basal 1/3 of flagellomere 1 and thickened part of arista yellowish; palpus reddish yellow, darkened on base. Vertex 0.19–0.22 of head width, frontal vitta strongly widened anteriorly, about twice as wide as fronto-orbital plate at middle; parafacial 2–2.5 times as wide as flagellomere 1 at middle height; face weakly convex and lower margin of face only slightly warped forward, facial carina weak and short, at most 2/3 as long as antenna; genal height 0.35–0.4 of eye height in profile; occiput flattened. Inner vertical seta rather fine, at most 2/5 of eye height; outer vertical seta absent; ocellar seta about 2/3 times as long as inner vertical seta; lowest frontal seta nearly level with base of scape; fronto-orbital plate with 1–3 rows of fine short hairs which do not descend below base of lunule; vibrissa nearly level with lower margin of face. Flagellomere 1 3–3.5 times as long as pedicel; arista long plumose, total width including plumosity about 3 times as wide as flagellomere 1. Prementum 3–4 times as long as wide; palpus about as long as prementum.

Thorax. Black, with dense yellowish white pruinosity on dorsum, with 2 broad outer and 3 narrow inner longitudinal vittae on presutural scutum, which are fused on anterior 3/5 when seen from behind, anterior 3/5 of postsutural area black between base of wings; scutellum black on basal 2/5 and grayish white on apical 3/5; pleura with grayish white pruinosity. Postpronotal lobe with 3 setae standing in a straight line; 2–3 presutural and 2–3 postsutural acrostichal setae; 3 presutural and 4 postsutural dorsocentral setae, 2 postsutural intra-alar setae; 4 supra-alar setae; 2 katepisternal setae. Wing. Hyaline, distinctly tinged with brown on basal and anterior portion, from level of bm-cu crossvein to apex of vein R4+5 between costa and vein R4+5, basal 1/3 of cell r4+5, basal 1/2 of cell dm, along vein M to its bend and vein CuA1 to dm-cu crossvein, whitish on basal area from base to level of bm-cu crossvein below stem of vein R and alula; tegula and basicosta black; lower calypter white, with short fringe on outer margin. Relative lengths of 2nd, 3rd and 4th costal sectors approximately as 4:5.5:3; bend of M with short appendix, closer to wing margin than to dm-cu crossvein (2.5:1.5). Legs. Black; pulvilli pale yellowish. Fore tibia with a row of short anterodorsal setae and 1 posterodorsal seta; mid tibia with 2 anterodorsal, 2 posterodorsal and 1 ventral setae; hind tibia with a rather dense row of anterodorsal, 3 posterodorsal and 2 ventral setae, no strong submedian seta among anterodorsal row. Fore claws and pulvilli shorter than 5th tarsomere in male.

Abdomen. Black, dorsum with dense yellowish white, somewhat grayish, pruinosity on anterior 2/5 of tergite 3 and 1/2 of tergites 4 and 5, posterior transverse black band on tergite 3 expanded obliquely to anterior margin on both sides. Hairs fine, short, rather dense and recumbent, dense and erect on tergite 5; syntergite 1+2 and tergite 3 without median and lateral marginal setae, at most with a pair of fine lateral marginal setae on tergite 3; tergites 4 and 5 each with a row of strong marginal setae, without discal setae. Male terminalia (Figs. 16–19). Posterior lobe of sternite 5 rounded at apex, V-shaped median cleft wide and slightly shallow. Cerci long, narrowed apically; surstylus long and narrow apically in caudal view and wide and rounded apically in lateral view; pregonite slender, postgonite about as long as basiphallus; distiphallus slender, sclerotized basal part about as long as membranous apical part; ejaculatory apodeme medium in size, shorter than 1/2 length of aedeagal apodeme.

Female. Head with dense whitish pruinosity; upper fronto-orbital plate somewhat with grayish pruinosity; antenna reddish yellow. Vertex 0.28–0.31 of head width; frontal vitta slightly widened anteriorly, 1.5–2 times as wide as fronto-orbital plate at middle; parafacial slightly widened below, about twice as wide as flagellomere 1 at middle height; face convex, facial carina very weak and short, only developed at basal 1/3 of antenna; lower margin of face rather weakly warped forward, well beyond vibrissal angle; occiput flattened. Inner vertical setae crossing, slightly longer than 2/5 of eye height; outer vertical seta 3/4 as long as inner vertical seta; ocellar seta as long as outer vertical seta; 1 fine and short outwardly directed prevertical seta; 2–3 proclinate orbital setae, anterior seta stronger and slightly shorter than inner vertical seta; 6–8 pairs of frontal setae, lowest seta nearly level with base of lunule; fronto-orbital plate with 2–3 rows of fine short black hairs, which do not descend below lowest frontal seta; vibrissa nearly level with lower margin of face. Flagellomere 1 3.5–4.2 times as long as pedicel; arista plumose, including plumosity about twice width of flagellomere 1. Palpus subequal in length to pedicel and flagellomere 1 combined.

Thorax. Black, with dense grayish white pruinosity; dorsum with 2 broad outer and 3 narrow inner longitudinal vittae on presutural scutum, median vitta only on anterior 1/2 of presutural scutum, outer vitta broad and 4–5 times as wide as inner one; postsutural scutum with 2 broad vittae which are tapered posteriorly; 3 supraalar setae; scutellum with a pair of discal setae, apical scutellar setae shorter than scutellum and discal setae. Wing. Hyaline, distinctly tinged with brown along veins R1 and R2+3 from base to apex and along veins R4+5 and M from base to r-m crossvein; tegula black; basicosta dark brown; lower calypter whitish. Relative lengths of 2nd, 3rd and 4th costal sectors approximately as 3.6:5:2.5; bend of vein M with short appendix, distinctly closer to wing margin than to dm-cu crossvein (3:1). Legs. Black; pulvilli pale yellowish. Fore claws and pulvilli shorter than 5th tarsomere. Mid tibia with 3 anterodorsal setae; hind tibia with 4 posterodorsal and 3 ventral setae, with or without a strong submedian seta among row of anterodorsal setae.

Abdomen. Brown, sides of tergites 3 and 4 reddish, with dense pale yellowish white pruinosity, pruinose portion narrowed medially on tergite 3 and triangularly narrowed on sides of tergite 4, narrowly weakened posteriorly on tergite 5. Hairs on tergites dense, fine, short and recumbent; syntergite 1+2 and tergite 3 each with a pair of lateral marginal setae. Other characters are same as in male.

Type material examined. Holotype ♀ of Theresiopsis ficorum Townsend , INDONESIA, Pekalongan (109°40′E, 6°53′N), Java, iii.1912, reared from Ficus borer, K.W. Damermann ( USNM). Lectotype ♂ of Trichostylum fasciata Townsend (by designation of Crosskey 1976: 278), Butuan (125°32′E, 8°57′N), Mindanao, PHILIPPINES, Baker ( USNM).

Other material examined. INDONESIA: 1♂, Fort de Kock, Sumatra ( BMNH). MALAYSIA: 1♂, Perak, Malaya, 1♀, Kuching, Sarawak ( BMNH); 2♂♂ and 1♀, Inobong, 500 m, Crocker Range, Sabah, 1–5.ii.2006, H. Shima ( ITBC, KUM); 1 ♂, Sabah, Crocker Range Inobong, 500 m, 1.ii.2006, H. Shima ( BLKU); 1♀, Long Pa Sia, Sabah, 24.xii.2006, H. Shima (KUM). PHILIPPINES: 2♂♂, Mt. Kibungol, 20 km SE of Gingoog, 700–800 m, Misamis Oriental, Mindanao Is., 9–18.iv.1960, H. Torrevillas ( BPBM).

Distribution. Indonesia (Java, Sumatra), Malaysia ( Malaya, Sabah, Sarawak), Philippines (Mindanao).

Remarks. This species is distinguished from other members of Billaea in having brown markings on anteromedian portion of wing, broad black transverse band on anterior half of postsutural scutum and black transverse band on posterior portion of each abdominal tergite. Billaea ficorum is very similar to B. fasciata and appears to be a color variation of its female. We treat B. fasciata here as a new synonym of B. ficorum .

Figures

FIGURES 64 – 72. Billaea spp., heads of male in lateral view. 64. B. atkinsoni (Baranov). 65. B. brevicauda sp. nov. 66. B. carinata sp. nov. 67. B. chinensis sp. nov. 68. B. ficorum (Townsend). 69. B. flava sp. nov. 70. B. fortis (Rondani). 71. B. kolomyetzi Mesnil. 72. B. kurahashii sp. nov. Scale bars = 0.5 mm.

FIGURES 73 – 81. Billaea spp., heads of male in anterior view. 73. B. atkinsoni (Baranov). 74. B. brevicauda sp. nov. 75. B. carinata sp. nov. 76. B. chinensis sp. nov. 77. B. ficorum (Townsend). 78. B. flava sp. nov. 79. B. fortis (Rondani). 80. B. kolomyetzi Mesnil. 81. B. kurahashii sp. nov. Scale bars = 0.5 mm.