Blepharoneura tau Norrbom & Condon, 2010

Norrbom, Allen L. & Condon, Marty, 2010, Revision of the femoralis group of Blepharoneura Loew (Diptera: Tephritidae) 2374, Zootaxa 2374 (1), pp. 1-139 : 112-113

Blepharoneura tau Norrbom & Condon , new species

Figs. 66, 105, 118

Blepharoneura sp. 41: Norrbom & Condon 1999: 138.

Diagnosis. This species differs from most species of Blepharoneura by its T-shaped abdominal pattern which is unique within the genus except for a few specimens of B. splendida , which differ in having the anepisternum brown medially and the apex of the hind femur brown. B. tau differs from other species with oblique apical bands on the wing in having the anepisternum with a dorsal brown spot, the marginal brown area in cells r2+3 and r4+5 as broad as the subapical hyaline band, cells r4+5 and dm without hyaline marks between crossveins r-m and dm-cu except for a short band extending across vein M, and cell cu1 without a subapical hyaline spot. The female is unknown.

Description. Head: Dark brown area on ocellar tubercle extended to postocellar seta. Medial occipital sclerite with pair of faint brown submedial vittae on ventral half. Occipital suture narrowly dark brown. Small diffuse brown area lateral to occipital suture ventral to lateral vertical seta.

Thorax ( Fig. 105 ): Scutum nonmicrotrichose except posterior to dorsocentral seta and laterally; with 2 pairs of brown vittae; submedial vitta extended to transverse suture, red brown, posterior third faint; sublateral vitta red brown bordering medial corner of postpronotal lobe, continuing faintly almost to transverse suture (posterior 2/3 faint), anterior half of postsutural part faint and slightly more medial than dark brown posterior half, very narrowly separated from mark on posterior margin and extending lateral to scutellum (fused with normal spot lateral to scutellum); posterior margin with single broad triangular dark brown mark, broadest medially. Notopleuron with large dark brown spot posteriorly on lateral margin, extended to posterior seta. Short dark brown vitta extended from anterior to lateral to postsutural supra-alar seta, but well separated from lateral margin and postalar seta. Scutellum with pair of submedial brown spots on basal half of disk. Subscutellum narrowly brown laterally. Mediotergite with pair of brown vittae, yellow area between them broader than lateral yellow margin. Pleuron mostly yellow, with following brown areas: anepisternum with small spot dorsal to anterior seta; posterior third of anepimeron; dorsal third of katatergite; and most of anatergite except anterodorsal margin and posteroventral corner. Basalare entirely yellow. Dorsocentral seta aligned slightly anterior to postalar seta.

Legs: Mostly yellow. Mid femur with anteroventral brown mark on apical 1/4. Hind femur with anteroventral and posteroventral brown marks on apical 1/4.

Wing (Fig. 66): Length 5.54 mm, width 2.87 mm, ratio 1.93. Crossvein r-m at 0.54 distance from bm-cu to dm-cu. Cell c with 2 hyaline spots, basal spot small, rounded or triangular, reaching subcosta, extending half distance to costa, distal spot subrectangular, reaching costa and subcosta; medial brown area slightly paler than area in cell r1 posterior to pterostigma, sometimes paler posteriorly, much broader than basal hyaline spot and slightly broader to slightly narrower than distal spot. Pterostigma without subapical hyaline spot [#3]. Cells r1 and r2+3 basally (proximal to apex of R1) without hyaline spots. Radial cells medially with tapering basal marginal hyaline mark in cell r1 [#5] and aligned spot in r2+3 [#8] forming acute triangular mark, extended to vein R4+5; cell r4+5 without hyaline spot aligned with r1 mark, but with posterior hyaline mark [#15?] aligned between r1 mark and dm-cu, aligned and connected with anterior subapical hyaline mark [#25?] in cell dm forming short band. Distally cell r1 without hyaline spots and cell r2+3 without marginal hyaline marks. Cell r4+5 with hyaline band from posteroapical margin, extending more or less parallel to costa into cell r2+3 reaching vein R2+3, slightly tapering anteriorly, as broad as marginal brown area. Cells m and r4+5 with inverted V-shaped mark [fusion of at least #26A, #26, #27, #29], extending to vein R4+5 anteriorly and both arms reaching margin in cell m, distal arm slightly constricted along vein M. Cell br with subbasal hyaline spot [#12]. Cell bm with only ovoid medial hyaline spot [#20]. Posteromedial part of wing with only 2 elongate hyaline marks in addition to elongate mark across apex of vein A1+Cu2 [fused #34, #39]; anterior proximal band [fused #13, #21, #22] extending from cell br subapically, across cell dm; and posterior distal band [fusion of at least #33, #36] extended medially across cell cu1. Cell cu1 without subapical marginal hyaline mark [#37].

Abdomen ( Fig. 118 ): Dark brown except following yellow areas: basal half of syntergite 1+2 extending on lateral margin almost to posterior margin, then extending slightly medially, and somewhat T-shaped mark, with transverse medial mark subapically on syntergite 1+2, almost connected to lateral yellow area and connected medially to basal area and posteriorly to narrow, tapering, irregular margined, medial vitta extending posteriorly to tergite 5.

Male terminalia: Medial surstylus with prensisetae separated by several times width of medial prensiseta, medial prensiseta on moderately long lobe, lateral prensiseta subequal to medial prensiseta.

Distribution. Costa Rica. The holotype was collected at 1600 m elevation at a site bordering Braulio Carrillo National Park.

Type data. Holotype ♂ ( USNM USNMENT00048626 ), COSTA RICA: San José: Zurquí de Moravia , 10°03'N 84°01'W, 1600 m, Malaise trap, Aug 1995, P. Hanson.

Etymology. The name of this species is a noun, the Greek letter tau, in reference to the somewhat Tshaped yellow mark on the abdomen.

Figures

FIGURES 102–105. Thorax, dorsal: 102–104, B. marshalli (holotype; Argentina: Camino la Cornisa, USNMENT00054210, USNMENT00054211); 105, B. tau (holotype).

FIGURES 113–118. Abdomen, dorsal: 113, B. femoralis (USNMENT00054204); 114–115, B. marshalli (Argentina: Camino la Cornisa, USNMENT00054210–11); 116–117, B. chaconi (InBio002151664; INBio002539948); 118, B. tau (holotype).