Pipunculus caeruleus sp. nov.

Figs 1–13, 40

Type material. (3 ♂). HOLOTYPE. Male: COLOMBIA, Antioquia, Belmira, Páramo de Sta.[Santa] Inés, El Morro, 06º37’57.5’’N / 75º38’42.9’’W, 3100–3300 m [eters], 25.III–05.IV.2017, Proyecto moscas de las flores, A.L. Montoya, C. Rodríguez, JP. Carmona leg. , (1 ♂, CEUA-101617) (photographed specimen) . PARATYPES. idem Boyacá, Cab.[Cabaña] Chaina, 05º25’N / 73º27’W, 2550 m [eters], 01–14.feb.[II].2001, A. Roberto leg., M1271 (1 ♂, IAvH); idem 2600 m [eters], M2662 (1 ♂, LEUA) . Holotype with left wing mounted on a microslide with Canada balsam. Left antenna and terminalia placed in a microvial with glycerin, both pinned along the specimen.

Diagnosis. Male. Antenna brown; postpedicel with acuminate apex. Wing with anal lobe narrowed. Coxae opaque dark brown. All tibiae without distinct apical spines and outstanding setae anteromedially.Abdomen velvety dark blue, gray-brown pruinose. Syntergosternite 8 brown with a large membranous area. Surstyli subsymmetrical, with inner margins sinuous, apices slightly truncated and downwards directed, never directed outward. Apex of phallic guide stout and shorter without depression apically and without lobe ventrally. Ejaculatory apodeme narrowed, needle-shaped. Phallus with ejaculatory ducts coiled, completely separated.

Description. MALE (holotype). Body length 4 mm. Head (Figs 1–2). Eyes contiguous for 17 facets. F, EM, V (mm) = 0.3, 0.4, 0.2. Frontal triangle gray-brown pruinose, with conspicuous dark brown callus. Occiput brown, brown pruinose dorsally and upper half laterally, gray pruinose in lower half laterally and ventrally. Antenna (Fig. 3) brown; scape with one seta dorsally; pedicel with two setae dorsally and three ventrally; postpedicel with acuminate apex. LPP/WPP = 2.6. Thorax (Figs 1–2, 4). Postpronotal lobe brown, gray-brown pruinose. Scutum dark brown, gray-brown pruinose, with dorsocentral setae; long and brown setae covering basal third. Notopleuron brown, gray pruinose. Scutellum concolorous with scutum. Mesopleuron concolorous with notopleuron. Mediotergite concolorous with mesopleuron. Wing (Fig. 5). Length 6.1 mm. LW/MWW = 3.8; LTC/LFC = 1.3. Membrane brown infuscate; anal lobe narrowed. Halter dark brown. Legs (Fig. 1). Coxae opaque dark brown, with apices yellowish brown; fore and hind coxae gray pruinose; mid coxa gray-brown pruinose; trochanters opaque dark brown, gray-brown pruinose; femora opaque dark brown, gray-brown pruinose, with apices yellowish brown, ventral ctenidia and a row of long and fine yellow setae posterolaterally; tibiae opaque dark brown, with bases yellowish brown, without distinct apical spines and outstanding setae anteromedially; fore and hind tibiae with a patch of short and fine setae yellow, giving fluffy appearance in distal two thirds posteriorly; hind tibia without an acute process posteroapically; tarsomeres 1–5 dark brown; pulvilli brownish yellow. Abdomen (Figs 1–2, 6). Ground color velvety dark blue, gray-brown pruinose, with few inconspicuous setae scattered dorsally and laterally, equal in length; tergite 1 gray-brown pruinose dorsally and laterally; tergites 2–5 dark blue, brown pruinose in basal third; tergites and sternites 6 and 7 as in Fig. 7. Syntergosternite 8 brown, gray-brown pruinose, clearly longer than tergite 5, with large membranous area (Fig. 8). Terminalia (Figs 7–1). Epandrium and surstyli brown (Fig. 8). Surstyli (Figs 8–10) subsymmetrical, slightly shorter than epandrium, with short setae in outer margins. Both surstyli thickened basally, thin apically, with inner margins sinuous, apex slightly truncated and downwards directed (Fig. 8); left surstylus slightly thinner than right, left surstylus with outer margin slightly straight, right surstylus with outer margin slightly sinuous (Fig. 8); both surstyli with upper margin sinuous and acute apex; left surstylus with lower margin slightly straight; right surstylus with lower margin slightly sinuous when seen in lateral view (Figs 8–10). Gonopods asymmetrical; left gonopod thinner and shorter than right (Fig. 11). Apex of phallic guide stout and shorter, with tip thin slightly hook-shaped (Fig. 12). Ejaculatory apodeme narrowed, needle-shaped (Fig. 13). Phallus trifid, coiled, with ejaculatory ducts completely separated (Fig. 12).

FEMALE. Unknown.

Geographical distribution. Colombia (Antioquia, Boyacá) (Fig. 40).

Etymology. From the Latin ‘ caeruleum ’ (= blue) and refers to the predominant color in tergites of the males.

Habitat. The specimens were collected in the Páramo Santa Inés, with areas of very humid premontane forest of the Oriental and Central cordillera of the Northwest region of Colombia and Santuario de Fauna y Flora Iguaque reserve, where the vegetation is composed of Andean cloud forests of the cordillera of the Northeast region of Colombia.

Taxonomic notes. Pipunculus caeruleus sp. nov. runs to P. abnormis Skevington, 1998 in Skevington & Marshall (1998) in couplet 10 of the key presented by Skevington & Marshall (1998). It differs from P. abnormis by postpedicel with acuminate apex (Fig. 3) (versus postpedicel with obtuse apex [see figure 1, presented by Skevington & Marshall (1998)]; trochanters opaque dark brown, gray-brown pruinose (Fig. 1) (versus trochanters entirely yellow); tibiae opaque dark brown, with bases yellowish brown (Fig. 1) (versus tibiae entirely yellow); abdomen with velvety dark blue reflections, gray-brown pruinose; tergite 1 gray-brown pruinose dorsally and laterally (Figs 1–2, 6) (versus tergite 1 entirely gray pruinose to bare anterodorsally; tergites 2–3 brown pruinose except anterolaterally; tergites 4–5 gray pruinose posterolaterally); both surstyli with apices slightly downwards directed (Fig. 8) (versus both surstyli with apices clearly outwards directed [see figure 18e, presented by Skevington & Marshall (1998)]; apex of phallic guide without lobe apically (Fig. 12) (versus apex of phallic guide with lobe with tip hook-shaped apically [see figure 18f, presented by Skevington & Marshall (1998)]; ejaculatory apodeme needle-shaped (Fig. 13) (versus ejaculatory apodeme fan-shaped [see figure 18d, presented by Skevington & Marshall (1998)]; phallus with ejaculatory ducts coiled (Fig. 12) (versus phallus with ejaculatory ducts not coiled [see figure 18g, presented by Skevington & Marshall (1998)].