Anthrax cephus Fabricius, 1805

Cunha, André Mallemont & Lamas, Carlos José Einicker, 2004, Description of five Anthrax Scopoli puparia (Diptera, Bombyliidae, Anthracinae, Anthracini), Zootaxa 741, pp. 1-14 : 4-6

Anthrax cephus Fabricius, 1805

( Figs. 7–13 )

Anthrax cephus Fabricius, 1805: 124 ; Wiedemann, 1828: 297; Macquart, 1840: 59; Walker, 1849: 266; Marston, 1970: 42, 57–59; Hull, 1973: 441; Painter, Painter & Hall, 1978: 31; Evenhuis & Greathead, 1999: 296.

Anthrax noctiluna Walker, 1849: 266 .

Argyramoeba cephus: Kertész, 1909: 62 .

Male: Length: 16.8 mm. Head width: 2.5 mm. Thorax width: 3.0 mm. Abdominal width 4.0 mm tapering to 2.4 mm on anal segment. Coloration: light brown; cephalic and anal tubercles and abdominal chitinous rods dark brown, darker apically; setae yellowish.

Head. Cephalic tubercles armed with three pairs of spines fused basally; first pair two times longer than second; third pair 1/3 length of first pair, placed laterally ( Figs. 8 and 9 ). Central pair of spines with two pairs of setae, first pair on dorsal surface, near its base, second placed laterally on basal half of the spine ( Fig. 9 ). In ventral view, both anterior and posterior facial tubercles present, the first with a pair of setae placed laterally, additional pair on posterior margin ( Fig. 10 )

Thorax. With four pairs of setae, two pairs on dorsal surface placed close together, two pairs on lateral surface; prothoracic spiracle heavily sclerotized, dark brown, raised above surface and located immediately behind head ( Fig. 7 ).

Abdomen. Segment I with transverse row of long setae, interrupted in center; segments II–V with transverse row of chitinous rods intercalated with long, thin setae, row of setae interrupted in center; segments VI–VII with reduced chitinous rods, resembling small spines, intercalated with thin setae, row of setae interrupted in center ( Fig. 11 ); segment VIII with scattered reduced chitinous rods and thin setae; pleura with tufts of strong and long setae, sternites with row of strong setae located in apical third of the segments ( Fig. 7 ); anal tubercle with three pairs of spines, central pair of spines with two pairs of projections, first pair converging and fused near apex, second pair ventral and placed near the base of the spine. Second and third pairs of spines tiny and placed on the base of the first pair, on dorsal and ventral surfaces respectively; additional single spine on dorsal base of the tubercle ( Figs. 12 and 13 ). Abdominal spiracles slightly darker and more sclerotized than surrounding area, raised above surface and placed laterally on segments I–VII.

Female: unknown.

Hosts: Hymenoptera ­ Auplopus sp. ( Pompilidae ).

Distribution: Neotropical: Brazil (Amazonas, Goiás, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Minas Gerais, Paraná, Rio de Janeiro, Santa Catarina, São Paulo), Costa Rica, Panama.

Examined material: BRAZIL, São Paulo: Reserva Jatai, VIII­1999, 1 male, R. C. Peruquetti leg. (MNRJ).

Figures

FIGURES 7 – 13. Anthrax cephus pupae: 7. General lateral view; 8. Cephalic tubercle, dorsal view; 9. Cephalic tubercle, lateral view; 10. Head, ventral view; 11. Tergite of segment VI, dorsal view; 12. Anal tubercle, dorsal view; 13. Anal tubercle, lateral view.