Stilobezzia (Stilobezzia) maculata Lane, 1947

Da Silva, Irene M., Ferreira-Keppler, Ruth L. & Cazorla, Carla G., 2023, Stilobezzia Kieffer (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) from the Brazilian Amazon: three new species, redescription of S. (Stilobezzia) maculata Lane and new records, Zootaxa 5249 (4), pp. 485-499 : 492-494

Stilobezzia (Stilobezzia) maculata Lane

( Figures 34–43 , 50)

Stilobezzia maculata Lane, 1947: 207 (male; Brazil); Ortiz 1950: 429 (female; Venezuela); Lane & Forattini 1958: 215 (distribution); Lane & Forattini 1961: 86 (in key); Das Gupta & Wirth 1968: 141 (in the world checklist); Borkent & Spinelli 2000: 54 (in New World Catalog south of USA; distribution); Borkent & Spinelli 2007: 87 (in Neotropical Catalog; distribution); Cazorla 2016: 188 (Record to Argentina); Huerta & Grogan 2017: 408 (in key to Mexican Stilobezzia ); Borkent & Dominiak 2020: 180 (in Online World Catalog); Santarém & Felippe-Bauer 2022: 19 (Brazilian biting midges Catalog; distribution)

Type. Holotype male, labeled Stilobezzia (Stilobezzia) maculata Lane , BRAZIL, Rio de Janeiro, road Rio- S. Paulo, km 47, xi–1944, P. Wygodzinsky col. ( FSP, examined).

Previous distribution. Argentina (Misiones), Brazil (Rio de Janeiro), Mexico (Yucatan), Panama, Venezuela (Maracay).

Material examined. BRAZIL, Amazonas , Manaus, Mindu Municipal Park, 03°14′44″ S – 60°00′28″ W, light trap, 14.viii.2018, I.M. Da Silva and R. L. Ferreira-Keppler, 1 male, 3 females .

Diagnosis. Only extant species of Stilobezzia (Stilobezzia) in the Neotropical Region with yellowish thorax and scutum with three dark marginal spots on thorax, one anteromedial and two anterolateral. Male with gonocoxites connected by a stout and sclerotized basal projection. Female with flagellomeres 1–9 basally pale brown and distally dark brown, and 9–13 dark brown, and a single round spermatheca with a broad opening.

Redescription. Male. Head ( Fig. 35 ) pale brown; flagellomeres 1–10 pale brown basally, brown distally; flagellomeres 11–13 dark brown; AR 1.01. Palpus dark brown; PR 4.57. Thorax yellowish, scutum with 3 black marginal spots, 1 anteromedial, 2 anterolateral; scutellum with black lateral margins, with 5 setae. Legs yellowish except dark apex of hind tibia, mid tibia paler; hind tibial comb with 10 spines; prothoracic TR 2.20; mesothoracic TR 2.4; metathoracic TR. Wing ( Fig. 37 ) membrane hyaline except a small spot over the r-m crossvein, anterior veins darker; second radial cell 4X longer than first; cubital fork distal to level of base of the r-m crossvein; wing length 1.57 mm; width 0.47 mm; CR 0.69. Halter stems pale brown, knob dark brown. Abdomen whitish, tergites 1–2 light brown; tergites 3–7 yellowish with lateral and central spots. Genitalia ( Fig. 40 ) tergite 9 extending 0.80X the length of the gonocoxite with rounded posterior margin. Cerci well developed, conspicuous. Sternite 9 7.7X wider than long; posterior margin irregular. Gonocoxite 2.68X longer than wide, each connected basally by a stout, sclerotized projection. Gonostylus slightly curved distally, shorter than gonocoxite, with curved pointed apex. Parameres ( Fig. 41 ) curved, widest basally, apical portion pointed, directed laterally. Aedeagus ( Figs. 42 ) composed of two slender sclerites, with extreme curved apices.

Redescription. Female. Similar to male, with the following notable sexual differences: Head ( Fig. 34 ) with flagellomeres 1–9 pale brown basally, dark brown distally; flagellomeres 9 – 13 dark brown; AR 1.18 – 1.55 (1.36; n= 2). PR 3.2 – 4.11 (3.65; n= 4). Mandible ( Fig. 36 ) with 7–8 teeth. Thorax ( Fig. 34 ). Legs: apex of hind femur, tibia black; tarsomeres 5 of all legs with pair of batonnets ( Fig. 38 ); hind tibial comb with 11 spines; prothoracic TR 2–2.21 (2.10, n= 4); mesothoracic TR 2.09–2.25 (2.17; n= 4); metathoracic TR 1.94–2.11 (2.02; n= 4); claws slightly shorter than tarsomere 5; with moderately long basal tooth. Wing ( Fig. 39 ) length 1.55–1.65 mm (1.61; n= 4); width 0.62–0.65 mm (0.63; n= 4); CR 0.70–0.74 (0.72; n= 4). Abdomen ( Figs. 34, 43 ): Sternite 8 with V-shaped posteromedial excavation; sternite 10 with 2 pairs of setae; cerci short, rounded; spermatheca rounded with a very short neck and wide opening, measuring 60–85 µm and 50–80 µm.

Taxonomic observations. Stilobezzia maculata was described by Lane (1947) based on the male holotype. The type specimen studied at the Faculdade de Saúde Pública is pinned, except the male genitalia, which is mounted on a microscope slide ( Fig. 40 ). Although the genitalia of the only male specimen collected in Manaus is fractured, it is possible to see clearly the parameres and aedeagus sclerites. In addition, it should be noted that at the time of collection the specimens had a reddish abdomen, which became paler after storage in 70% ethanol.

This species resembles Stilobezzia bimaculata Lane & Forattini, 1956 by the yellowish coloration and the presences of a small spot on the transverse r-m cross-vein. However, S. bimaculata is easily distinguished by the thorax with only two anterolateral dark spots and the male genitalia that lacks an evident, sclerotized stem connecting the gonocoxites. We provide the first record of Stilobezzia maculata from the state of Amazonas, Brazil, in an urban forest fragment, in the city of Manaus. In Brazil, this species also occurs in an urbanized area, in the Atlantic Forest Biome, the Rio/S„o Paulo highway. S. maculata was also recorded in the province of Misiones, Argentina, in a village surrounded by the Paranaense rainforest; in Panama (Puerto Obaldia), where the predominant biome is the tropical rainforest; in Venezuela (Maracay), a tropical forest region, and in Mexico, in the state of Yucatan, where the evergreen forest predominates.

Figures

FIGURES 34–43. Stilobezzia (S.) maculata, male 35, 37, 40–42; female 24, 36, 38–39, 43; 34. Habitus, lateral view; 35. Head, dorsal view; 36. Palpus, dorsal view; 37–39. Wing; 38. Claws, lateral view; 40. Allotype, genitalia, ventral view; 41. Parameres removed; 42. Aedeagus removed; 43. Abdomen, ventral view.