Megaselia callunae García-Romera, 2014

García-Romera, Carlos & Barrientos, Jose Antonio, 2014, Nine new species of Phoridae (Insecta: Diptera) from Spain, Zootaxa 3857 (2), pp. 244-260 : 248-249

Megaselia callunae García-Romera sp. nov.

( Figs 5–6 )

Etymology. The species is named after the holotype habitat, Calluna scrubland.

Diagnosis. Antials bristles lower on frons than anterolaterals, but no situated nearly directly below these; preocellars bristles as far apart or further apart than upper supra-antennals; lower faces of labella with dense fields of short pale spines; mesopleuron bare; notopleuron with two bristles and no cleft in front of these; scutellum with a posterior pair of bristles and an anterior pair of hairs; left side of epandrium with one hair which is more robust than hairs of cerci, which are a little weaker than terminal hairs on proctiger; posterior lobes of hypandrium well developed; anal tube about as long as dorsal face of epandrium; all femora yellow; knob of haltere yellow; subcostal vein (Sc) not reaching R1; costal index at most 0.40.

Description (male). Head. Frons brown, about as broad as long, with 88–90 hairs. Upper supra-antennal bristles clearly longer and stronger than lower pair, and they are slightly closer together than pre-ocellars, which are at about the same level on frons than mediolaterals and clearly closer together than either is from a mediolateral bristles. Upper supra-antennals at the same level than antials, which are lower on frons than anterolaterals bristles, and about as far apart from these as from upper supra-antennal bristles. Gena with two long bristles and three shorter ones. Antennal postpedicel subglobose, brown and relatively small (diameter 0.10 mm), without SPS vesicles. Palps yellow, 0.12–0.16 mm long and 0.05 mm maximum width, with seven bristles, the longest bristle being longer than greatest width of palp. Labella slightly enlarged, yellow, with numerous short spinules below and a few long hairs. Labrum dusky yellow, about 0.8 × as wide as an antennal postpedicel.

Thorax. Light brown. Mesopleuron bare. Two notopleural bristles and no cleft in front of these. Scutellum with an anterior pair of small hairs and a posterior pair of bristles. Propleura with four hairs on posterodorsal edge and 3–4 on posteroventral one.

Abdomen. Tergites brown, with scattered short hairs, longer at rear margins of T5 and T6, especially in the latter, where they are as long and strong as hairs of cerci. Venter yellow, with one row of hairs on segments 3–6, gradually increasing in size from the anterior to posterior segments.

Hypopygium ( Figs 5–6 ). Left side of epandrium light brown, with only one hair slightly stronger than those on cerci, which are a little weaker than those on proctiger. Hypandrium light brown, with left posterior lobe developed and with minute hairs below. Anal tube yellow, about as long as dorsal face of epandrium.

Legs. Yellow, apart from brown tip of hind femur. Front legs with a posterodorsal hair palisade on tarsal segments 1–4 and metatarsus not enlarged. Length ratios of fore tarsal segments 3–3.3:1.6:1.1–1.3:1:1, with fifth segment about as wide as fourth one. Mid legs with a dorsal hair palisade on tibia extends about 3/4 of its length. Longest hairs below basal half of hind femur clearly longer (1.5 ×) than those of anteroventral row of outer third. Hind tibia with 12 differentiated posterodorsal hairs and spinules of apical combs simple.

Wing. Length 1.44–1.48 mm. Membrane lightly tinged grey and veins light brown; with two axillary bristles. Subcosta (Sc) not reaching R1. One hair present at base of vein Rs, 0.05 mm long. Costal index 0.38–0.40; costal ratios 3.4:1.3–1.4:1. Costal cilia (section 3) 0.07–0.08 mm long, shorter than longest axillary bristle (0.11–0.12 mm). Knob of haltere yellow, brownish at tip.

Recognition. In the keys to the males of the British species of Megaselia ( Disney, 1989) this species runs to couplet 220, to M. berndseni (Schmitz) ; it clearly differs from the new species on hypopygium, especially in the shape of epandrium. M. nigrescens (Wood) which run to couplet 222 in the British key, has a very similar hypopygium to the new species, but it differs in the shape and hairs of epandrium.

Material examined. Holotype ♂ Spain, Barcelona: Montseny, Montseny Natural Park, Calluna scrubland, UTM 31TDG542245, 1520 m a.s.l., 27/ 06-07/07/1990. Window trap. J.A. Barrientos leg ( UAB).

Paratype ♂, same locality and capture method as holotype, but beech forest, UTM 31TDG532273, 1170 m a.s.l., 01-14/07/1990. (CCG-R).

Figures

FIGURES 5 – 6. Megaselia callunae García-Romera sp. nov. male. 5, left face of hypopygium. 6, right face of hypopygium. Scale bars = 0.1 mm.