Austrosolieria londti Cerretti & O'Hara

O'Hara, James E. & Cerretti, Pierfilippo, 2016, Annotated catalogue of the Tachinidae (Insecta, Diptera) of the Afrotropical Region, with the description of seven new genera, ZooKeys 575, pp. 1-344 : 280-281

Taxon classification Animalia Diptera Tachinidae

Austrosolieria londti Cerretti & O'Hara sp. n. Figs 17, 18a, c, e, g

Type material.

Holotype ♂: S[ou]TH AFRICA: K[wa]Z[ulu]-Natal/ Garden Castle Nat[ure] Res[erve]/ 29°44′51″S 29°12′36″E / 25.i.2005 J.G.H. Londt/ 1790m Open grassland/ Resting on large rocks (NMDA). Paratype ♀: same data as holotype (NMDA).

Etymology.

Dedicated to our colleague Jason G.H. Londt (KwaZulu-Natal Museum, Pietermatizburg, South Africa), who collected the types.

Description.

Body length: ca. 8 mm.

Male. Colouration (Fig. 17): Fronto-orbital plate, occiput and genal dilation black in ground colour; frontal vitta dark brown; remainder of head pale yellow. Head covered with white to grey reflecting microtomentum. Antenna with scape and pedicel yellow, postpedicel mostly black except yellowish on inner basal portion. Palpus yellow. Thorax black in ground colour, with grey reflecting microtomentum. Presutural area of scutum with 4 dark vittae; median pair narrow, running straight from transverse suture to prothorax; lateral pair short, varying from subtriangular to subrectangular, not reaching posteriorly to transverse suture and ending anteriorly before base of posthumeral seta. Femora mostly dark brown to black but red apically and on distal third ventrally; tibiae yellow; tarsi proximally yellow shading into brown distally. Tegula reddish-brown; basicosta yellow. Wing membrane hyaline. Abdominal syntergite 1+2 and tergite 3 extensively red dorsolaterally and with a black median vitta; tergites 4 and 5 entirely black in ground colour. Tergites 3-5 with a narrow basal band of grey reflecting microtomentum.

Head (Fig. 17a, b): Frons about 1.2 times as wide as compound eye in dorsal view. Fronto-orbital plate with a row of 8-9 frontal setae descending to about level of middle of pedicel. One upper lateroclinate orbital seta, one upper medio-reclinate orbital seta. Fronto-orbital plate with 3-4 proclinate orbital setae and a few short setulae lateral to frontal row. Parafacial convex, at its narrowest point 1.2-1.3 times as wide as width of postpedicel. Postpedicel subrectangular with dorsoapical tip pointed, about 1.6 times as long as pedicel. Gena in profile about 0.4 times as high as compound eye. Upper occiput with 1 irregular row of black setulae behind postocular row. Palpus clubbed and covered with stout setulae; prementum short, about 2/3 the length of palpus.

Thorax: Four to 6 postpronotal setae, the 3 strongest basal setae arranged in a line. Scutum with 1-2 + 0 acrostichal setae; 3 + 3 dorsocentral setae; 0 + 2-3 intra-alar setae (if 2, then distance between postsutural intra-alar setae shorter than distance between anterior seta and transverse suture). Metathoracic spiracle small and rounded, posterior lappet slightly larger than anterior one.

Legs: Fore tibia with 4-7 anterodorsal setae. Fore claws about as long as fifth tarsomere. Mid tibia with 2-4 anterodorsal setae (median 2 distinctly longer than the others). Hind tibia with 6-8 anterodorsal setae, unequal in size.

Wing: Base of vein R4+5 with 2-3 strong setulae. Bend of vein M1 obtuse and rounded. Section of M1 between crossveins r-m and dm-m slightly longer than section between dm-m and bend of M1. Section of M1 between dm-m and bend of M1 longer than postangular section of M1. Crossveins r-m and dm-m normal.

Female differs from male as follows. Abdomen (Fig. 18e) mostly black in ground colour (dark brown laterally on syntergite 1+2), entirely covered with thick, iridescent, grey microtomentum. Frons about 1.4 times as wide as compound eye in dorsal view. Fronto-orbital plate with 2 proclinate orbital setae. Fifth fore tarsomere enlarged, ovoid; fore claws shorter than fifth tarsomere.

Distribution.

South Africa.