Beebeomyia Curran, 1934

Hernández-Ortiz, V. & Aguirre, A., 2015, A new species of the Neotropical genus Beebeomyia (Diptera: Richardiidae) with observations of its biology on Dieffenbachia oerstedii (Araceae), Journal of Natural History 49 (31), pp. 1877-1889 : 1879-1880

Genus Beebeomyia Curran, 1934

Diagnosis

This genus belongs to the subfamily Richardiinae and can be recognised by the following combination of characters: head little or no longer than high; frons twice as long as wide, ocellar triangle very long, the anterior ocellus near the middle of the frons, scarcely hollowed above; frons flat, level with eyes; basal antennal segment short, more or less hidden; one pair of frontal setae opposite the ocellar seta; postocellar setae extremely weak; outer vertical seta as strong as inner vertical seta. Thorax with middle portion of the propleura pubescent only; the following setae present: 1 postpronotal, 2 notopleural, 1 anepisternal, 0–1 presutural supra-alar; 1 postsutural supra-alar; 2 dorsocentral (except one pair in B. senilis ); 1 postalar; 1 intra-postalar; acrostichal setae absent.

All femora moderately slender with spiny ventral setae on apical half, usually reduced or sometimes absent on the fore femur, always present on mid and hind legs; hind femur not more swollen than others; vein Sc ending near the apex of R 1; crossvein r-m slightly before or at middle of the discal cell; crossveins r-m and dmcu further apart than length of dm-cu; cell bcu rounded to apex; vein A 1 + CuA 2 reaching margin at least as a fold; R 2+3 straight, not undulate; male costa not expanded. First abdominal segment narrowed at base, the apical portion of abdomen oval.

Key to species of Beebeomyia from the Neotropical region

1. Only one dorsocentral seta; thorax wholly black (including mesonotum and pleuron); wing with apical spot ( Peru) ....................................... B. senilis (Hennig) Two dorsocentral setae, with anterior pair smaller; thorax reddish or black, pleuron sometimes with yellow markings ............................................................ 2

2. Mesoscutum largely black, postpronotal lobes yellow; pleura black with yellow stripe along hind margin of mesopleuron and extending to part of notopleuron; metapleural callus yellow; wing with large apical spot extending basal to middle of last section of vein M ( Brazil) ........................................ B. flavimaculata (Hennig) Mesoscutum reddish or yellowish; wing with much smaller apical spot or none at all, otherwise differing ......................................................................................... 3

3. Presutural supra-alar seta present; costal and subcostal cells dark brown; foreleg yellow including coxa to tarsomeres; male with inner and outer surstyli elongated of similar length in lateral view; distiphallus broad, membranous, basally with two rows of long yellow setae forming two combs; phallus coiled with strong setae along basal third; female aculeus nearly two times as long as wide, apex yellow sclerotised, triangular, nearly as long as wide ( Mexico) ......................................... ................................................ B. tuxtlaensis Hernández-Ortiz & Aguirre , sp. nov. Presutural supra-alar seta lacking; subcostal cells pale yellowish to hyaline ....... 4

4. Femora partly yellow, hind femur with brown distomedian ring; mid and hind tibiae brown; abdomen metallic blue with greenish sheen; mesonotum reddish; postpronotal lobe and posterior border of mesopleuron yellowish ( Peru) .............. ............................................................................................ B. calligastra (Hennig) Femora wholly reddish yellow, tibiae and tarsi slightly paler; abdomen shinning black; mesonotum rusty reddish, with a broad, gently widening median whitish pollinose stripe, extending from the anterior margin to the scutellum; pleura and most of metanotum brown ( Guyana) ..................................... B. palposa (Cresson)