Copestylum tigrinum Ricarte & Hancock

Miranda, Gil F. G., Soares, Matheus M. M., Fernandes, Daniell R. R. & Rafael, José A., 2022, Description of the female of Copestylum tigrinum Ricarte & Hancock in Ricarte et al., 2015 (Diptera, Syrphidae), first record in mainland South America and new larval host plant, Zootaxa 5182 (2), pp. 175-182 : 178-180

Copestylum tigrinum Ricarte & Hancock in Ricarte et al., 2015

FEMALE ( Figs 8–10 , 13–17 ). Description. Like male ( Figs 5–7 ) except: frons pale but darkening towards vertex, of same width throughout except slightly widening above lunule, pile black ( Fig. 8 ); vertex of same width throughout, pile black ( Fig. 8 ); scutum dark postero-medial area extends apico-medially as an acute point, almost until the anterior margin of the scutum ( Fig. 9 ); scutellum with mostly black pile, pile lighter at apex ( Fig. 9 ); all femora darkened apically, protarsus entirely black, all femora with apico-frontal face with black pile ( Fig. 9 ); abdominal pale maculae narrower, appearing more like fasciae ( Fig. 10 ). Genitalia ( Figs 13–17 ): Segments, and membrane between them, short. Tergites and sternites 6 and 7 rectangular, wider than long, with pilosity restricted to apical margin. Tergite 8 rectangular, wider than long, pilosity restricted to apical margin and with four distinct apical setae, equally spaced from each other; sternite 8 mostly membranous slightly sclerotized basally, homogeneously pilose, pile shorter medially, longer and thicker laterally. Sternite 9 present in the genital chamber (‘s9’ in Fig. 13 ). Epiprocts connected apically by a narrow, curved, transverse sclerotized area (‘epi’ in Fig. 13 and 15 ), with narrow apico-lateral extensions that touch the cerci dorsally (‘ext’ in Fig. 16 ), and with short triangular apodemes (‘ap’ in Fig. 15 ), pilose with four distinct apical setae ( Fig. 15 ); hypoproct as a long triangular slightly sclerotized area, densely pilose (‘hyp’ in Fig. 17 ). Cerci (‘c’ in Figs 14–17 ) sclerotized and pilose, positioned ventrally and slightly perpendicular to the plane of the epiproct.

Adult size. Length (mm). Male: body = 6−8 (n = 9), wing = 6.5−7.9 (n = 9). Female: body = 6.2−7.9 (n = 10), wing = 6.2−7.5 (n = 12).

Adult variation. When comparing to the description and images of C. tigrinum in Ricarte et al. (2015), the males from this study have a more ventrally produced face ( Figs 6 and 9 ), the scutum is cream-colored medially, instead of orange (although this might be an artifact of preservation/photography), the posterior brown maculae of the scutum are larger ( Figs 5 and 8 ), the pile of the scutellum is mostly black, all femora are darkened apically, and the pale abdominal markings are narrower ( Figs 7 and 10 ).

Examined material. BRAZIL, AM, Manaus, ZF-2, tower trail, 18.i.2019, emerged from fruits of Casearia combaymensis, J.A. Rafael et al. [11 ♂ (D#0188–0198), 15 ♀ (D#0199–0213), 4 puparia not associated to their respective adults]; Maués, ESEC Alto Maués , 5º35'59"S 58º49'12"W, 8–16.v.2019, Malaise large, close to stream, P.C.S. Barroso and S.P. Lima [1 ♀ (D#0214)] .

Biology. The area where the specimens were collected was a lowland humid tropical forest. The decaying fruits of the host plant ( C. combaymensis Tul. ), where immature stages of this species were collected, belong to the family Salicaceae , a different family from the previously known record, Malvaceae ( Ricarte et al. 2015) .

Distribution ( Fig. 18 ). Neotropical Region: Brazil (state of Amazonas), Trinidad and Tobago.

Figures

FIGURE 18. New distributional records for Copestylum tigrinum Ricarte & Hancock.

FIGURES 5–10. Copestylum tigrinum Ricarte & Hancock. Male (5–7): 5. Dorsal view; 6. Lateral View; 7. Apical abdominal tergites, dorsal view. Female (8–10): 8. Dorsal view; 9. Lateral View; 10. Apical abdominal tergites, dorsal view. Legend: abm, abdominal marking; m, scutum posterior macula; tb, metatibia.

FIGURES 11–17. Copestylum tigrinum Ricarte & Hancock, genitalia. Male (11–12): 11. Lateral view; 12. Posterior view. Female (13–17): 13. Dorsal view; 14. Ventral view. Proctiger (15–17): 15. Dorsal view; 16. Lateral view; 17. Ventral view. Legend: ap, apodeme of the epiproct; c, cercus; ep, epandrium; epi, epiproct; ext, apico-lateral extensions of the epiproct; hyp, hypoproct; s8, sternite 8; s9, sternite 9 (internal); sct, sub-epandrial sclerite; st, surstylus; t6, 7 and 8, tergites 6, 7 and 8.