Meomyia melanocincta, Li & Yeates, 2020

Li, Xuankun & Yeates, David K., 2020, Revision of the Australian bee fly genus Meomyia Evenhuis, 1983, with description of three new species (Bombyliidae, Bombyliinae, Bombyliini), Zootaxa 4810 (2), pp. 201-243 : 222-225

6. Meomyia melanocincta sp. nov.

( Figs 13 , 14 )

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:AF03F544-462A-44E5-AB9A-2EF590049544

Type specimens. Holotype ♂ Australia, NSW, 32°02’S 148°52’E, Goonoo State Forest , 33km NE of Dubbo, hand net, 22 Oct 2005, C Lambkin, N Starick ( ANIC) . Paratypes ♂ (1) ♀ (2), Australia, NSW, 32°02’S 148°52’E, Goonoo State Forest , 33km NE of Dubbo, hand net, 22 Oct 2005, C Lambkin, N Starick ( ANIC) .

Diagnosis. Posterior margin of scutum without black band. Posterior margin of abdominal tergite 3 with a narrow black band. Fore tibia with subapical white scale band. Apex of epiphallus of male gonocoxite bifid, branch slender and acute apically.

Description. Male. Body length 10.0 mm, wing length 9.7 mm.

Head. Head about 1.9 x wider than long, mostly black with thick pale pruinescence and covered in white hairs and scales. Eye holoptic. Frons long, 4.0 x length of ocellar tubercle, upper narrow and black; lower half triangular, 0.5 x as long as upper half, with thick pale pruinescence, and white scales. Ocellar tubercle slightly raised, blackish brown to black with sparse pale pruinescence, with long black hairs admixed with short white scales. Face with thick pale pruinescence and covered in long white hairs. Gena with thick pale pruinescence and sparse white hairs. Clypeus with thick pale pruinescence and otherwise bare. Occiput with thick pale pruinescence and long white hairs. Posterior eye margin slightly concave.Antennal scape and pedicel brown with sparse pale pruinescence, scape with long black hairs on dorsal half and long white hairs on ventral half, pedicel with short black hairs; flagellum black without pruinescence, bare. Scape 2.5 x as long as wide, and 2.7 x as long as pedicel, uniform from base to apex. Pedicel 0.9 x as long as wide. Flagellum 8.0 x as long as wide, 2.4 x as long as scape + pedicel, 3.2 x as long as scape, conical and slightly laterally compressed, one-segmented with apical stylus ( Fig. 13c ). Palpus not extending beyond oral cavity, black with black and white hairs, one-segmented, without palpal pit. Mouthparts slender, 3.9 x as long as eye length, 2.7 x as long as head length, labellum large and fleshy ( Fig. 13h ).

Thorax. Integumental colour of scutum mostly black with sparse grey pruinescence. Scutum covered with white to pale yellow hairs, admixed with few black hairs, hairs denser on anterior half; posterior area with some black setae; postalar callus with six brownish yellow and black setae and admixed with dense black to white hairs. Eight pale yellow notopleural setae present. Scutellum black with sparse grey pruinescence, pruinescence denser on the margin, covered with long pale yellow hairs, admixed with some black hairs, posterior margin with black setae, admixed with few brownish yellow setae. Pleura black with thick pale pruinescence, mostly covered in long white hairs, except anterodorsal area of anepisternum with pale yellow setae, anepimeron, meron, laterotergite and mediotergite bare.

Legs. Legs mostly blackish brown, except femora black; mostly covered in white scales, except anterior face of fore and mid femora covered in black scales, hind tibia and anterior face of mid tibia admixed with black scales, anterior face of fore tibia mostly covered with black scales and with a subapical white scale band. Fore femur with one anterior bristle medially; mid femur with one row of anterior bristles; hind femur with one row of anteroventral bristles, and more separate bristles on apical half. Bristles and other hairs on legs brown. Fore tibia 2.3 x longer than fore basitarsus, mid tibia 2.7 x longer than mid basitarsus, hind tibia 2.4 x longer than hind basitarsus.

Wings. Wing membrane hyaline. Cell r 5 closed; cell br shorter than cell bm, crossvein r-m arising from base of cell dm; crossvein m-m 0.9 x as long as crossvein r-m; cell cua open ( Fig. 13d ). Haltere stem and knob blackish brown.

Abdomen. Integumental colour of tergites black mostly with thick pale pruinescence. Tergite 1 with dense pale yellow hairs; tergite 2 with pale yellow hairs, except posterior half with black scales and hairs; tergite 3 with pale yellow hairs, except posterior marign with black scales and hairs; tergite 4 with pale yellow hairs; tergites 5–7 with dense black hairs, except sparse pale yellow hairs medially; posterior margin of tergites 2–4 with black setae, posterior margin of tergites 5–7 with pale yellow setae admixed with black setae; tergite 8 with dense white hairs. Sternites black with thick pale pruinescence, sternites covered in white scales, and with pale yellow setae on posterior margin. Genitalia. Epandrium anterior margin strongly concave, posterior margin nearly straight ( Fig. 14d ). Lateral margin of gonocoxite nearly straight ( Figs 14 a–b); apex of epiphallus bifid, branch slender and acute apically ( Fig. 14c ).

Female. Body length 10.0– 10.6 mm, wing length 9.3–10.2 mm. Very similar to male, except frons black with thick pale pruinescence, 2.3 x as wide as ocellar tubercle, frons with short white scales admixed with pale yellow setae ( Fig. 13l ). Occiput admixed with yellow setae. Anterior face of fore tibiae without subapical white band. Eight acanthophorite spines present on each side of tergite 9+10 ( Fig. 14g ).

Remarks. Meomyia melanocincta sp. nov. is similar to Meomyia hortorum sp. nov., but differs from the latter by having a narrow black band on posterior margin of abdominal tergite 3, and a subapical white scale band on fore tibia.

Distribution. Australia (NSW).

Etymology. This specific name refers to the narrow black band on posterior margin of abdominal tergite 3.

Figures

FIGURE 13. Meomyia melanocincta sp. nov. External (a–i (♂); j–o (♀)): (a, i) dorsal; (b, j) lateral; (c) antenna, lateral; (d) wing; (e) fore tibia, anterior; (f, l) head, dorsal; (g, m) head, frontal; (h, n) head, profile; (i, o) head, lateral. Scale bars = 1 mm (a, b, d–o); = 0.1 mm (c).

FIGURE 14. Meomyia melanocincta sp. nov. Genitalia (a–e (♂); f, g (♀)): (a) genital capsule, dorsal; (b) genital capsule, ventral; (c) genital capsule, lateral; (d) epandrium, dorsal; (e) epandrium, lateral; (f) sternite 8, ventral; (g) genitalia and spermathecae. Scale bars = 0.1 mm.