Stipomorpha crematogastri, Reemer, Menno, 2013

Reemer, Menno, 2013, Taxonomic exploration of Neotropical Microdontinae (Diptera: Syrphidae) mimicking stingless bees, Zootaxa 3697 (1), pp. 1-88 : 45-47

Stipomorpha crematogastri spec. nov.

Figs 130–133 .

Studied type specimens. HOLOTYPE. BRAZIL. Female. Label 1: " BRAZIL: Mato Grosso / 12° 50'S., 51° 47'W. / 8-IV 1968 / O.W. Richards."; label 2: "R.S. & R.G.S. / Expedition / B.M. 1968-260"; label 3: "Dry / forest"; label 4: "bred nest / Crematogaster "; with empty puparium on piece of dry leaf attached to pin. Coll. BMNH.

PARATYPE. BRAZIL. Female. Label 1: " BRAZIL: Mato Grosso / 12° 50'S., 51° 47'W. / 26-III 1968 / O.W. Richards."; label 2: "R.S. & R.G.S. / Expedition / B.M. 1968-260"; label 3: "Dry / forest"; label 4: "Roadside"; label 5: "on leaf [illegible]"; label 6: " Microdon (Ubristes) /? lanei Curran / N.P. Wyatt det. 1985". Coll. BMNH.

Description (based on holotype)

Adult female. Body size: 10 mm.

Head. Face occupying almost 1/2 of head width in frontal view; shining yellow; yellow pilose. Lateral oral margins produced. Frons yellow; yellow pilose laterally. Vertex yellow; yellow pilose, except for transverse fasciae of black pile anteriorly and posteriorly. Occiput yellow; yellow pilose. Eye bare. Antennal fossa about as wide as high. Antenna pale brown. Antennal ratio approximately as 5:1:7; basoflagellomere parallel-sided with rounded apex, with sensory pit at around 2/5 from base. Arista slender, almost as long as basoflagellomere.

Thorax. Scutum black dorsally, with margins widely yellow; yellow pilose, except for four patches of black pile: two anteriad and two posteriad of transverse suture. Postpronotum, postalar callus and scutellum yellow and yellow pilose. Anepisternum weakly convex, without distinction between anterior and posterior part; yellow; yellow pilose anteriorly; yellow pilose along posterior margin. Anepimeron yellow; yellow pilose dorsally, bare ventrally. Katatergum and anatergum yellow; short and long microtrichose, respectively. Katepimeron yellow; bare. Katepisternum yellow; bare. Calypter and halter yellow.

Wing: hyaline, tinged with yellow, especially anteriorly and basally; microtrichose, except bare on 1st costal cell and on very small basomedian patch on alula.

Legs: Yellow; yellow pilose, except: hind femur black pilose on ventrobasal 1/4, hind tibia dorsally with long black pile on apical 2/3, hind tarsus dorsally black pilose. Coxae and trochanters yellow; yellow pilose, except hind coxa and hind trochanter partly black pilose.

Abdomen. Yellow. Tergite 1 and 2 yellow pilose. Tergite 3 black pilose. Tergite 4 black pilose, except for median vitta of yellow pilosity on posterior 3/4, and yellow pilose along posterior margin. Tergite 5 black pilose, except yellow pilose posteromedially. Second tergite slightly wider than thorax, widest at approximately 1/2. Sternites yellow; yellow pilose; sternite 1 bare.

Etymology. The name refers to ants of the genus Crematogaster , in which the puparia of the type specimens were found.

Diagnosis. The yellow vertex with patches of black pile is shared with S. goettei , S. guianica , S. lanei and S. maculipennis . From these species, S. crematogastri spec. nov. differs by the evenly yellow coloured abdomen and the yellow tinged wings. For further characters see key.

Notes. The labels of the type specimens indicate that they were collected in dry forest. The holotype was apparently found in and subsequently reared from a nest of a Crematogaster species ( Hymenoptera : Formicidae ). For the empty puparium see figs. 132-133.

Distribution. Only known from Brazil (Mato Grosso).

Figures

FIGURES 130 – 141. 130 – 133. Stipomorpha crematogastri female (holotype). 130. head frontal; 131. head lateral; 132. puparium dorsal; 133. puparium lateral. 134 – 137. Stipomorpha dichromata female (holotype). 134. habitus dorsal; 135. habitus lateral; 136. head frontal; 137. head lateral. 138 – 141. Stipomorpha elcopala male (holotype). 138. head frontal; 139. habitus lateral; 140. habitus dorsal; 141. wing.