Megaselia lucifrons (Schmitz, 1918)

Haeggqvist, Sibylle, Ulefors, Sven Olof & Ronquist, Fredrik, 2015, A new species group in Megaselia, the lucifrons group, with description of a new species (Diptera, Phoridae), ZooKeys 512, pp. 89-108 : 100-101

Taxon classification Animalia Diptera Phoridae

Megaselia lucifrons (Schmitz, 1918)

Aphiochaeta lucifrons Schmitz, 1918

Material examined.

Lectotype: male, pinned, Netherlands, Baaksem, Holl. Limbg. 11. VIII. 1915, coll. Schmitz (ZFMK).

Swedish material.

Suppl. material 1.

Differential diagnosis.

Males are easily distinguished from Megaselia subnitida by the triangular-shaped lighter patch on the base of the hind femur. Megaselia lucifrons also has a shiny frons (hence its name), whereas the frons is matte in Megaselia subnitida . Males can be distinguished from Megaselia albalucifrons by the broader left lobe of the hypandrium (Fig. 6a). The lobe is also darker in Megaselia lucifrons than in Megaselia albalucifrons . The left side of the epandrium has long thin hairs at the lower apical part that are typical for the species (Fig. 5a).

Distribution.

Megaselia lucifrons is widely distributed in Sweden and has been found in all 29 SMTP traps from which we have studied material. The species is also reported from many other European countries (e. g. Prescher et al. 2002; Brenner 2004; Schmitz 1928; Durska et al. 2010; Schmitz 1934; Bonet et al. 2011), however, for findings after 1988, when Megaselia subnitida was synonymized with Megaselia lucifrons , it is often impossible to determine from the literature alone whether the records refer to Megaselia lucifrons or Megaselia subnitida .

Biology.

Material from the SMTP shows that Megaselia lucifrons likely has two generations per year (Fig. 8), alternatively the flies overwinter as adults, as has been found for a number of other Megaselia species ( Disney 1994). Megaselia lucifrons is found in different kinds of habitats from the SMTP, often in connection to trees or forest (Suppl. material 1).