Rhabdochaeta de Meijere

Singh, Maneesh Pal & Hancock, David Lawrence, 2025, Five new species of subfamily Tephritinae (Tephritidae: Diptera) from Himalayas and description of postabdominal structures in Chaetostomella completa (Kapoor, Malla & Ghosh), Pliomelaena spathuliniforma (Dirlbek & Dirlbek) and P. zonogastra (Bezzi), Zootaxa 5689 (2), pp. 299-332 : 319-322

Genus Rhabdochaeta de Meijere

Type species: Rhabdochaeta pulchella de Meijere, 1904: 109 .

This genus is characterized by long, dagger like dorsally curved flagellum almost the width of compound eyes, interfrontal setae present, anterior frontal setae usually broad, striated and lamellate, palpi usually long-fringed with stout black setulae, scutum with erect white setae in addition to usual setae, dorsocentral setae anterior to postsutural supra-alar setae, prescutellar acrostichal setae anterior to intra-alar setae, wing with cleft at Sc break, brown to dark brown bullae, dark to white rays on costal and apical margins, vein M with distinct apical curve beyond dm-cu crossvein and abdomen with whitish setulae and lacking erect setae.

Key to Indian species of genus Rhabdochaeta de Meijere

1. Cell r 2+3 with one dark bulla, cells m and cu 1 with broad reticulate hyaline indentations, abdomen yellowish with tergite V dark in males or with black spots on tergites V and VI in females.................. R. nigroapicalis David, Hancock & Sachin

- Cell r 2+3 with 2 dark bullae, cells m and cu 1 with smaller hyaline indentations not forming reticulate pattern, abdomen dark brownish or with black bands............................................................................ 2

2. Erect apical scutellar seta shorter than length of scutellum, wing yellowish fulvous in middle, cells br and r 4+5 with circular white spots either side of r-m crossvein, abdomen yellowish to brownish….............................. R. gladifera Hering

- Erect apical scutellar seta longer than the length of scutellum, wing darker in middle, white spot present only in cell r 4+5 or absent, abdomen dark greyish or banded................................................................... 3

3. Face with triangular black spots on margins, scutum black with postsutural yellow vittae and abdomen reddish brown with transverse bands on each tergite............................................ R. drewi Maneesh & Hancock , sp. nov.

- Face without spots on margins, scutum yellowish medially and darker laterally and abdomen greyish to dark brown........................................................................................ .. R. pulchella de Meijere