Leucophora delestero Ramírez-Mora & Patitucci sp. nov.

https://zoobank.org/NomenclaturalActs/d3ed4594-942e-4676-a454-449f2afdb410

Figs. 27–28

Diagnosis. Leucophora delestero sp. nov. can be differentiated from its congeners by the following combination of characters: very long plumose arista, frontal vitta almost parallel-sided; central longitudinal vitta not extending over the scutellum, abdominal tergites 6 and 7 with irregular margins.

Material examined. Holotype 1 ♀ (IFML): “R. Argentina / Santiago del Estero / Lago Muyo / 29-III–22- IV-1937 / col. R. Goldbach [white label, printed]”; “MR 2458 [white label, printed]”; “Holotype ♀ / Leucophora delestero [red label, printed]”.

Paratypes 2 ♀ (MACN, MLPA): “R. Argentina / Salta, Orán / Abra Grande / 10-I–28-II-1967 / col. R. Goldbach [white label, printed]”; “MR 2459 [white label, printed]”; “ MACN _En / 44650 ”; “ Paratype ♀ / Leucophora delestero [red label, printed]”. “Manantiales – Jujuy / 3-II-958 / Torres-Ferreyra col. [white label, printed]”; “MR 2447 [white label, printed]”; “ Paratype ♀ / Leucophora delestero [red label, printed]” .

Description

Female (Figs. 27–28)

Body length 6.1–7 mm, wing length 5.2–5.7 mm.

Coloration (Fig. 27). Head dark brown with greyish pruinosity; frontal vitta black to dark brown anteriorly (Fig. 27B). Fronto-orbital plate with white pruinosity, inner half and posteriorly with brown pruinosity. Parafacialia, genae, and face with whitish pruinosity; parafacialia in profile with a wide shifting brown to black patch from level of insertion of antennae to almost mid-length of the postpedicel (Fig. 27C), genae with a brown patch from the vibrissal angle to almost the lower eye margin. Ocellar triangle with brownish pruinosity. Scapus and pedicel dark brown, pedicel light brown on inner and dorsal surfaces; postpedicel black; arista yellow with dark brown base. Prementum dark brown. Palpi light brown with darker apices. Thorax dark brown with greyish pruinosity, with three longitudinal dark brown vittae (Fig. 27D), central vitta filling the space between the presutural acrostichal setae and almost filling the space between the postsutural dorsocentral setae, not extending over the scutellum, lateral vittae filling the space between the posthumeral and supra-alar presutural setae and following the intralar postsutural setae. Scutellum with anterolateral surface darkened. Anepisternum with diffuse light brown patch (Fig. 27A). Legs brown. Coxae with whitish pruinosity. Femora darkened, more evident on fore femora. Tarsomere dark brown. Pulvilli light brown. Wing membrane hyaline. Veins light brown. Calypters whitish. Halteres brown with darker base.Abdomen dark brown with greyish pruinosity, with a dark brown longitudinal vitta (Fig. 27E). Posterior margins of tergites 2–4 brown. Posterior margin of tergite 5 yellowish.

Head. Fronto-orbital plate at narrowest point 2.1–2.6x width the anterior ocellus, widening anteriorly, with minute scattered setulae; frontal vitta at narrowest point 2.1–2.3x width the anterior ocellus, almost parallel sided; eyes separated at narrowest point 6.4–7.4x width of anterior ocellus (Fig. 27B). 6 pairs fr s, with a few minute setulae in between (Fig. 27C). infr s slightly shorter than shortest fr s. oc s as long as the longest fr s; ocellar triangle with 2 additional pairs of setulae; poc s 0.5x the length the oc s. o vt s as long as the longest fr s, divergent. Postpedicel 2.8x the pedicel length; arista 1.4–1.5x the postpedicel length, plumose, longest hairs 1.9–2.2x the postpedicel width. Parafacials 0.3–0.4x width of eye. Genae below lowest point of eye margin 0.3–0.4x eye height (Fig. 27C). Prementum 0.5x head height. Palpus 0.4x as long as head height, slightly dilated at tip.

Thorax. Chaetotaxy: 6 pairs of psut acr s, prescutelar pair longer than the longest presut acr s (Fig. 27D). Prealar seta 0.5x the length the notopleural anterior. 5 anepst s. 1+2 kepst s, the lower posterior less developed (Fig. 27A).

Legs. Mid femur with 1 av seta on basal fourth; 3 pv setae on basal third; a row of a setae slightly projecting beyond basal half; 2 p setae. Mid tibia with 1 ad and pd setae; 2 p setae. Hind femur with a row of longer av setae on distal half; a complete row of ad setae; 1 subapical d and p setae, 2 subapical pv setae. Hind tibia with 3 av setae, 2–3 ad and pd setae.

Abdomen. Lateral marginal setae strong. Sternite 1 with a few posterolateral setulae.

Ovipositor (Fig. 28). Tergites 6–7 represented by a pair of plates almost connected on posterior margin (Fig. 28A), plates almost of equal length, posterior margin a row of setulae which extends onto the lateroventral membranes, forming with the setulae on the sternites a more or less continuous band around each segment (longest setae of each tergite shorter than tergite length). Spiracles 6th and 7th both situated in membrane (Fig. 28B), 6th situated behind lateroventral corner of tergite 6, 7th situated on intermembrane space between segments 6–7. Tergite 8 widely divided into a pair of strongly sclerotized and pigmented lateral plates continuous along posterior margin, the longest tergite; lateral plates and posterior band of equal width, anterior margin with rounded apex; in profile (Fig. 28C), parallel side but with irregular margins; posterior margin with a row of setulae. Epiproct laterally fused with cerci, 2x wider than long, posterior margin notched and with 3–4 pairs of setulae. Sternites 6–7 1.7–2.3x longer than wide (Fig. 28B), longer than respective tergite, slightly constricted on posterior half, slightly tapered anteriorly; on posterior margin with scattered setulae. Sternite 8 represented by a pair of small and scarcely sclerotized plates, strongly narrowed anteriorly, setulose. Hypoproct wider than long, setulose, with longer setulae on posterior margin. Cerci broad, longer than epiproct (Fig. 28A), parallel sided, partly pilose, dorsally and laterally bearing a couple of recurved spines, two longest and stoutest towards inner margin (longer than cerci height) (Fig. 28C). Spermathecae (Fig. 28D).

Male. Unknown.

Remarks. The ovipositor structure in L. delestero sp. nov., is similar to L. tacuil sp. nov., and L. yacochuya sp. nov., but differs from both in the shape of sternites 6–8 and by the presence of spiracles 6th on the membrane of segment 6 and spiracles 7th on the membrane of segment 7; meanwhile, in the other two species, both pairs of spiracles (6th and 7th) are located on segment 6.

Etymology. The species’ epithet refers to the name of the Argentine province “ Santiago del Estero ”, where the holotype was collected.

Distribution. Neotropical: ARGENTINA (Jujuy, Salta, Santiago del Estero) (Fig. 54C).