Pelecocera latifrons Loew

Mengual, Ximo, Kazerani, Farzaneh, Talebi, Ali Asghar & Gilasian, Ebrahim, 2015, A revision of the genus Pelecocera Meigen with the description of the male of Pelecocera persiana Kuznetzov from Iran (Diptera: Syrphidae), Zootaxa 3947 (1), pp. 99-108 : 101-102

Pelecocera latifrons Loew

Figs 2, 5, 6 , 7, 10, 11 , 17, 19, 20, 21, 22 .

Differential diagnosis. Very similar to P. persiana , with the body densely grey pollinose and the frons broader than eye width in dorsal view. Male of P. latifrons has postpronotum black and scutellum entirely black, while male of P. persiana has postpronotum yellow and black scutellum with posterior margin yellow; following Kuznetzov (1989), female of P. latifrons has narrower frons and basoflagellomere with an apical extension. Male genitalia are very similar in these two species, but P. latifrons has slightly larger cercus and a dorsal incision on the surstylus that P. persiana seems to lack ( Figs 22, 23 ).

Redescription of male. Body length: 8.6 mm; wing length: 6.2 mm (based on lectotype). Head ( Figs 17, 20 ). Face produced anteroventrally, triangular in frontal view, with facial tubercle placed ventrally (tip at ventral margin of eye), yellow medially, dark below antennal insertion point and facial tubercle and black along oral margin, with long pale pile on ventral part and on paraface; face densely grey pollinose, very concave between antenna and facial tubercle; gena brown-yellow, black posteriorly, densely grey pollinose with long pale pile; lunule dark brown, shining; frons dark brown, with long pale pile, slightly grey pollinose laterally, with a depression between anterior ocellus and antenna; vertical triangle black, pale pilose; antenna dark brown, basoflagellomere somewhat paler ventrally; basoflagellomere broadened dorsally and ventrally, broader than long ( Fig. 17 ), with broad arista with three clear-defined segments; arista microtrichose; eye bare, dichoptic, distance between eyes broader than eye width; occiput black, grey-silver pollinose, yellowish-white pilose. Thorax ( Fig. 20 ). Scutum black, densely grey pollinose except medially, with long pale pile; postpronotum dark brown, pilose; notopleuron black, pale pilose; scutellum black, yellow pilose, grey pollinose laterally, with pale subscutellar fringe. Pleuron mostly dark brown to black, grey pollinose, with long pale pile on proepimeron, posterior anepisternum, dorsal and ventral katepisternum, and anepimeron; dorsal and ventral pile patches on katepisternum broadly separated; metaepisternum and metasternum bare; calypter yellow, yellow pilose; plumula yellow; halter yellow, capitulum slightly darker; posterior spiracular fringes yellow. Wing. Wing membrane hyaline, stigma brownish; entirely microtrichose. Alula present, as broad as costal cell or a bit narrower, microtrichose. Cell r1 open, vein R4+5 straight, and crossvein r-m basal to middle of cell dm. Legs. Coxae black, grey pollinose; trochanters paler, yellowish; femora black, yellow basally and apically; tibiae yellow with a broad black ring; tarsi yellow; mostly yellow pilose. Abdomen ( Fig. 19 ). Broad, flat, unmargined, grey pollinose, with long pale pile. Tergum 1 black; tergum 2 black with two broad, elongate, yellow maculae not reaching lateral margins, except on anterolateral margin; terga 3 and 4 black with two broad, elongate, yellow maculae not reaching lateral margins, but reaching anterior margin of the tergum; sterna pale, yellow pilose. Genitalia as in Fig. 22 . Female. Similar to male except for normal sexual dimorphism and as follows: face less produced, more oval than triangular in frontal view; frons more shining and less pollinose, broader than male frons; basoflagellomere elongated apically, forming a small process, clearly orange-yellow with dorsoapical portion brown; postalar callus brown, lighter; abdomen entirely brown, without yellow markings, sterna brown.

Distribution. From Central Europe ( Czech Republic and Hungary) and Balkan Peninsula into European parts of Russia and Near East ( Lebanon, and possibly other neighbouring countries).

Type material examined.

Ischyroptera annulipes Lindner : Holotype, female, “ Sarepta // 33679 ” [red] “ Ischyroptera // Pokorny 1887 // Verh d z. b G. Wien ” “ Type // Lindner // 1941 ” “ Ischyroptera // annulipes Lind. // Lindner det.” “ bipilosa // Pokorny ” “ Typus ” [ ZMHB]. Synonym of Pelecocera latifrons by Peck (1988).

Pelecocera sareptana Enderlein : Holotype, female, “ Sarepta // Christ ” “ 374 ” [green] “S. Russland Sarepta // Christoph S. // Coll. H. Loew” “ Pelecocera // sareptana // Type Enderl. ♀ // Dr. Enderlein det. 193 6 ” “ Typus ” “ conf. lugubris // Perr. Sc. Fr. I Tr 6 VI ” [ ZMHB]. Synonym of Pelecocera latifrons by Peck (1988).

Pelecocera latifrons Loew : Lectotype, male, “ Wien // Schiner ” “ Pelecocera // nov. sp. // latifrons m ” “Coll. // H.Loew” “ Typus ” [red] “Zool. Mus. // Berlin” “ LECTOTYPE // Pelecocera // latifrons Loew // Desig.Thompson 19 81 ” “ Pelecocera // latifrons Loew // Det. Mengual 20 14 ”.

Other material examined. HUNGARY: Bács-Kiskun County, Hild, J. Thalhammer [1♀, ZFMK]; Veszprém County, Tihany, Kiserdő, 17.iv.1983, S. Tóth [1♂, ZFMK]; Békés County, Sarkad, Remetei-erdő, 23.iv.1991, S. Tóth [1♂, DDPC].

Remarks. Loew (1856: 46) described P. latifrons based on an undetermined number of males from Beirut ( Lebanon). These specimens were found in the private collection of I.R. Schiner ( Loew 1856: 11). In the ZMHB collection, there is a male from the Loew collection with handwritten labels as above. This male was designated as lectotype of P. latifrons by F. Christian Thompson in 1981, although never published. We agree with F.C. Thompson and designate here this male specimen in the ZMHB as the lectotype of P. latifrons to fix and ensure the universal and consistent interpretation of the name.

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 6. 1. Pelecocera persiana, male, dorsal view (scale: 2 mm). 2. Pelecocera latifrons, male, dorsal view (scale: 2 mm). 3. Pelecocera persiana, male, lateral view (scale: 2 mm). 4. Pelecocera persiana, male, frontal view (scale: 1 mm). 5. Pelecocera latifrons, male, lateral view (scale: 2 mm). 6. Pelecocera latifrons, male, frontal view (scale: 1 mm).

FIGURES 7 – 15. 7. Pelecocera latifrons, female, frontal view (scale: 1 mm). 8. Pelecocera tricincta, male, frontal view (scale: 1 mm). 9. Pelecocera tricincta, female, frontal view (scale: 1 mm). 10. Pelecocera latifrons, female, dorsal view (scale: 2 mm). 11. Pelecocera latifrons, female, lateral view (scale: 2 mm). 12. Pelecocera tricincta, male, lateral view (scale: 2 mm). 13. Pelecocera tricincta, male, dorsal view (scale: 2 mm). 14. Pelecocera pergandei, female, lateral view (scale: 2 mm). 15. Pelecocera pergandei, female, frontal view (scale: 1 mm).

FIGURES 16 – 23. 16. Pelecocera pergandei, male, lateral view (scale: 2 mm). 17. Pelecocera latifrons, lectotype male, frontal view (scale: 1 mm). 18. Pelecocera pergandei, male, dorsal view (scale: 2 mm). 19. Pelecocera latifrons, lectotype male, dorsal view (scale: 2 mm). 20. Pelecocera latifrons, lectotype male, lateral view (scale: 2 mm). 21. Pelecocera latifrons, lectotype male, labels. 22. Pelecocera latifrons, lectotype male, lateral view male genitalia (scale: 0.5 mm). 23. Pelecocera persiana, male, lateral view male genitalia (scale: 0.5 mm).