Trigonospila panamensis (Townsend, 1919)

Fleming, AJ, Wood, D. Monty, Janzen, Daniel H, Hallwachs, Winnie & Smith, M. Alex, 2015, Three new species of Trigonospila Pokorny (Diptera: Tachinidae), from Area de Conservacion Guanacaste, northwestern Costa Rica, with a key for their identification, Biodiversity Data Journal 3, pp. 4595-4595 : 4595

Trigonospila panamensis (Townsend, 1919)

Materials

Type status: Other material. Occurrence: occurrenceDetails: http://janzen.sas.upenn.edu; catalogNumber: DHJPAR0018446 ; recordedBy: D.H. Janzen & W. Hallwachs; individualID: DHJPAR0018446; individualCount: 1; sex: F; lifeStage: adult; preparations: pinned; otherCatalogNumbers: 96-SRNP-9740; Taxon: scientificName: Trigonospilapanamensis; phylum: Arthropoda; class: Insecta; order: Diptera; family: Tachinidae; genus: Trigonospila; specificEpithet: panamensis; scientificNameAuthorship: Townsend, 1919; Location: continent: Central America; country: Costa Rica; countryCode: CR; stateProvince: Guanacaste; county: Sector Horizontes; locality: Area de Conservacion Guanacaste ; verbatimLocality: Sitio La Dama; verbatimElevation: 105; verbatimLatitude: 10.786; verbatimLongitude: -85.558; verbatimCoordinateSystem: Decimal; decimalLatitude: 10.786; decimalLongitude: -85.558; Identification: identifiedBy: AJ Fleming; dateIdentified: 2015; Event: samplingProtocol: Host Collection; verbatimEventDate: 04-Oct-1996; Record Level: language: en; institutionCode: CNC; collectionCode: Insects; basisOfRecord: Pinned Specimen Type status: Other material. Occurrence: occurrenceDetails: http://janzen.sas.upenn.edu; catalogNumber: DHJPAR0035626 ; recordedBy: D.H. Janzen & W. Hallwachs; individualID: DHJPAR0035626; individualCount: 1; sex: F; lifeStage: adult; preparations: pinned; otherCatalogNumbers: 09-SRNP-13144; Taxon: scientificName: Trigonospilapanamensis; phylum: Arthropoda; class: Insecta; order: Diptera; family: Tachinidae; genus: Trigonospila; specificEpithet: panamensis; scientificNameAuthorship: Townsend, 1919; Location: continent: Central America; country: Costa Rica; stateProvince: Guanacaste; county: Sector Santa Rosa; locality: Area de Conservacion Guanacaste ; verbatimLocality: Cafetal; verbatimElevation: 280; verbatimLatitude: 10.858; verbatimLongitude: -85.611; verbatimCoordinateSystem: Decimal; decimalLatitude: 10.858; decimalLongitude: -85.611; Identification: identifiedBy: AJ Fleming; dateIdentified: 2015; Event: samplingProtocol: Host Collection; verbatimEventDate: 26-Jun-2009; Record Level: language: en; institutionCode: CNC; collectionCode: Insects; basisOfRecord: Pinned Specimen Type status: Other material. Occurrence: occurrenceDetails: http://janzen.sas.upenn.edu; catalogNumber: DHJPAR0036435 ; recordedBy: D.H. Janzen & W. Hallwachs; individualID: DHJPAR0036435; individualCount: 1; sex: M; lifeStage: adult; preparations: pinned; otherCatalogNumbers: 09-SRNP-13124; Taxon: scientificName: Trigonospilapanamensis; phylum: Arthropoda; class: Insecta; order: Diptera; family: Tachinidae; genus: Trigonospila; specificEpithet: panamensis; scientificNameAuthorship: Townsend, 1919; Location: continent: Central America; country: Costa Rica; stateProvince: Guanacaste; county: Sector Santa Rosa; locality: Area de Conservacion Guanacaste ; verbatimLocality: Cafetal; verbatimElevation: 280; verbatimLatitude: 10.858; verbatimLongitude: -85.611; verbatimCoordinateSystem: Decimal; decimalLatitude: 10.858; decimalLongitude: -85.611; Identification: identifiedBy: AJ Fleming; dateIdentified: 2015; Event: samplingProtocol: Host Collection; verbatimEventDate: 16-Jun-2009; Record Level: language: en; institutionCode: CNC; collectionCode: Insects; basisOfRecord: Pinned Specimen Type status: Other material. Occurrence: occurrenceDetails: http://janzen.sas.upenn.edu; catalogNumber: DHJPAR0036444 ; recordedBy: D.H. Janzen & W. Hallwachs; individualID: DHJPAR0036444; individualCount: 1; sex: M; lifeStage: adult; preparations: pinned; otherCatalogNumbers: 09-SRNP-13112; Taxon: scientificName: Trigonospilapanamensis; phylum: Arthropoda; class: Insecta; order: Diptera; family: Tachinidae; genus: Trigonospila; specificEpithet: panamensis; scientificNameAuthorship: Townsend, 1919; Location: continent: Central America; country: Costa Rica; stateProvince: Guanacaste; county: Sector Santa Rosa; locality: Area de Conservacion Guanacaste ; verbatimLocality: Cafetal; verbatimElevation: 280; verbatimLatitude: 10.858; verbatimLongitude: -85.611; verbatimCoordinateSystem: Decimal; decimalLatitude: 10.858; decimalLongitude: -85.611; Identification: identifiedBy: AJ Fleming; dateIdentified: 2015; Event: samplingProtocol: Host Collection; verbatimEventDate: 15-Jun-2009; Record Level: language: en; institutionCode: CNC; collectionCode: Insects; basisOfRecord: Pinned Specimen Type status: Other material. Occurrence: occurrenceDetails: http://janzen.sas.upenn.edu; catalogNumber: DHJPAR0042319 ; recordedBy: D.H. Janzen & W. Hallwachs; individualID: DHJPAR0042319; individualCount: 1; sex: M; lifeStage: adult; preparations: pinned; otherCatalogNumbers: 11-SRNP-67043; Taxon: scientificName: Trigonospilapanamensis; phylum: Arthropoda; class: Insecta; order: Diptera; family: Tachinidae; genus: Trigonospila; specificEpithet: panamensis; scientificNameAuthorship: Townsend, 1919; Location: continent: Central America; country: Costa Rica; stateProvince: Alajuela; county: Sector Rincon Rain Forest; locality: Area de Conservacion Guanacaste ; verbatimLocality: Baches; Identification: identifiedBy: AJ Fleming; dateIdentified: 2015; Event: samplingProtocol: Host Collection; verbatimEventDate: 15-Feb-2011; Record Level: language: en; institutionCode: CNC; collectionCode: Insects; basisOfRecord: Pinned Specimen

Description

Male, previously unknown from the original description of T. panamensis Townsend 1919 (Fig. 6a, b, c), 8 mm. Head (Fig. 6b): frontal vitta dark black, narrowly tapered apically to just slightly greater than the width of the ocellar triangle, parafrontal as wide as frontal vitta; frontal bristles arise no lower than level of first antennal segment; antennae black; frontoorbital plate silvery-gold turning to black apically; parafacial silvery to slightly gold tinged; palpi black gray with orange tips; gena 1/10 height of head. Thorax (Fig. 6a): yellow when viewed dorsally with four longitudinal black vittae, these appear to be distinct and separate throughout their length; dorsal lines remain separate post suturally covering 2/3rds of thorax; three postsutural dorsocentral bristles; scutellum bearing white or yellowish pruinosity occupying ½ or more of total area; 3 pairs of scutellar marginal bristles; subapical scutellars widely divergent, lateral scutellars reduced, almost half the length of the subapicals, these closer to apex, than to basal scutellars; legs black. Wings: pale smoky grayish in color, with one bristle arising at the joint between R1 and R2+3. Abdomen (Figs 1b, 6a): ST1+2, dark velvety black with very slight infiltration of yellow band from next tergite, along its posterior margin, T3, T4, and T5, all with bright, narrow yellow bands covering 1/3rd or more of tergal surface, these bands wrapping around to underside of tergites; bright yellow bands straddling the margin between tergites ST1+2, T3, and the anterior margin of T4; tergal bands not possessing a sharp mid-dorsal peak, instead the margins of the bands appear as jagged on both T3 and T4; yellow bands wrapping around to the underside of the abdomen.

Female (Fig. 6d, e, f), 5.5 mm. Head (Fig. 6e): frontal vitta dark tawny, parallel sided apically equal to twice the width of the ocellar triangle, parafrontal 1.5 times as wide as frontal vitta; frontal bristles arise no lower than level of first antennal segment; proclinate orbital bristles present; antennae with orange present throughout first flagellomere; frontoorbital plate gold up to last proclinate orbital then turning to silver; parafacial narrow, silvery tinged; palpi orange tips, slightly haired along upper surface; gena 1/10 height of head. Thorax (Fig. 6d): yellow when viewed dorsally with four longitudinal black vittae, outer lines appear shorter than inner pair pre-suturally, these remaining separate postsuturally, appearing as four distinct lines covering just over 1/2 of thorax postsuturally; three postsutural dorsocentral bristles; scutellum bearing white or yellowish pruinosity over all of its area; 3 pairs of scutellar marginal bristles; subapical scutellars widely divergent, lateral scutellars reduced, almost half the length of the subapicals, these closer to apex, than to basal scutellars. Wings: pale smoky grayish in color, with one bristle arising at the joint between R1 and R2+3. Abdomen (Figs 2b, 6d): pointed downward apically so as to appear strongly curved; ST1+2, dark velvety black with very slight infiltration of dull, grayish or bright yellow bands from next segment along posterior margin, T3, T4, and T5 with dull, grayish bands covering extending to cover more than ½ of T3, banding on T4 covering all but 1/5th of tergal surface; abdominal bands wrapping around to the underside which is entirely gray; bright yellow bands straddling the margin between ST1+2 and T3 with yellow-gray color extending up to and beyond insertion point of median marginal bristles on ST1+2; T3 and T4 possessing 1 pair of medial discal bristles, insertion point of abdominal bristles punctuated by a black outline appearing as black spots.

The authors wish to caution that this species-level identification is based solely on morphology, since no DNA barcoded specimens of T. panamensis are available for molecular comparison.

Diagnosis

Small black and gray fly, with 4 prominent black stripes on the thorax, these do not smudge together and remain distinctively separate in females, scutellum gold. Males with a straight conical, and apically pointed abdomen, with 3 gold bands interspersed with black wrapping the abdomen, terminating in a black tip. Female abdomen with a strong down-pointing curved abdomen, abdominal bands mid-dorsally pointed joining the next segment’s gold band so that 4 small black dashes become apparent on abdomen.

Distribution

Panama, Taboga Island; Costa Rica, ACG, Prov. Alajuela and Guanacaste, rain forest and dry forest, 105-280 m elevation.

Ecology

Reared from, Crambidae , Elachistidae , Tortricidae , and Pyralidae (7 records). One fly larva per caterpillar.