Culicoides pseudoreticulatus Santarém, Felippe-Bauer & Castellón, 2014

Santarém, Maria Clara Alves, Trindade, Rosimeire Lopes Da, Silva, Tiago Do Nascimento Da, Castellón, Eloy Guillermo, Patiu, Cátia Antunes De Mello & Felippe-Bauer, Maria Luiza, 2014, New Neotropical Culicoides and redescription of Culicoides reticulatus Lutz (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae), Zootaxa 3795 (3), pp. 255-274 : 268-270

Culicoides pseudoreticulatus Santarém, Felippe-Bauer & Castellón sp. nov.

Figs. 7 A–F; Fig. 9

Diagnosis. Female: This species is easily distinguished by the following combination of characters: palpus 3 rd segment with a shallow, round sensory pit in middle portion of segment, with no well-defined contours on distal ½; PR 2.0– 2.7; proboscis moderately long; mandible with 19 teeth.

Female. Head. Brown. Eyes bare, ( Fig. 7 B) narrowly separated, smaller than ½ ommatidium. Pedicel brown; flagellum pale brown, first eight flagellomeres paler on proximal ½; AR 0.90–1.04 (0.98, n= 4) ( Fig. 7 C); sensilla coeloconica on flagellomeres 1, 6– 8; two on 1, 6 and 7 and three on 8. Palpus ( Fig. 7 E) brown, 3 rd segment slightly swollen, with a shallow, rounded sensory pit in middle portion of segment, with no well-defined contours on distal ½; PR 2.0– 2.7 (2.4, n= 6). Proboscis moderately long; P/H ratio 1.0– 1.06 (1.03, n= 4); mandible with 19 teeth.

Thorax. Dark brown. Scutum without distinct pattern in slide mounted specimens. Wing ( Fig. 7 A) with contrasting pattern: second radial cell including dark spot; pale spot over R-M extending from M 1 to the costal margin, subdivided; r 3 with four small and separated pale spots; first, rounded, between the second radial cell and M 1; second, poststigmatic, extending behind second radial cell, abutting wing margin; third, rounded, in middle of cell, similar to the second one; fourth, distal pale spot slightly reaching wing margin; m 1 with two pale spots, the distal one far from wing margin and greater than proximal one; m 2 with four pale spots: one proximal, faint, near CuA, two between the medial and mediocubital forks, a distal one not reaching wing margin; cua 1 with a rounded pale spot in the middle of cell; anal cell with a faint basal pale area and a distal pale spot near mediocubital fork; wing base with a pale spot on M; M 1, M 2 and CuA 1 with pale apex; macrotrichia scarcely distributed on the distal third of wing; wing length 0.80–0.90 (0.86, n= 7) mm; breadth 0.35–0.45 (0.42, n= 7) mm; CR 0.61–0.66 (0.63, n= 7). Halter knob brown in middle, stem pale. Legs ( Fig. 7 D) mostly brown; femora with subapical pale bands, tibiae with subbasal pale bands; hind tibia pale apically; hind tibial comb with four spines, the one nearest the spur longest.

Abdomen. Brown. Two slightly unequal ovoid spermathecae ( Fig. 7 F), measuring 49.5 µm (n= 5) by 35 µm (n= 5) and 43.2 µm (n= 3) by 35 µm (n= 3), with sclerotized ducts measuring 6.25 µm (n= 3); long, slender, rudimentary third spermatheca (15 µm) present in some specimens.

Male. Unknown.

Type data and depository. Holotype female, BRAZIL, Roraima, Maracá, 28.VII. 1987, CDC light trap, "mata 10m ", E. Castellon & S. Gomes cols. ( CCER); paratypes, six females, same data except: one, 23.VII. 1987, "mata 5m " ( CCER); two, 30.VII. 1987 ( MNRJ; ILMD); one, 24.VII. 1987, "mata 5m " ( ILMD); one, 31.VIII. 1987, "mata 1m " ( ILMD); one, Amazonas, Rio Pardo, 21-22.VI. 2010, CDC light trap, "galinheiro", F. Pessoa col. ( ILMD).

Distribution and bionomics. This species is restricted to Brazilian states of Roraima and Amazonas ( Fig. 9). It was associated with forest environments far from coastal regions.

Etymology. The name of this species is related with its similar congener, C. reticulatus Lutz (Greek—pseudo = false; Latim—reticulatus = reticulated).