Hermannomyia ukasi, Londt & Copeland, 2013

Londt, Jason G. H. & Copeland, Robert S., 2013, A review of the Afrotropical genus Hermannomyia Oldroyd, 1980, with the description of a new species from East Africa (Diptera: Asilidae: Stenopogoninae), African Invertebrates 54 (2), pp. 305-305 : 307-310

Hermannomyia ukasi sp. n.

Figs 2–10

Etymology: Named after the type-locality of Ukasi Hill in Kenya; noun in apposition. Description:

Head ( Figs 2–4 ): Blackish, silver pruinose, white to pale yellow-white setose, clearly broader than high in anterior view.Antenna ( Fig. 2 ) black, scape and pedicel fine white setose. Segmental ratios: 1:0.25:1.67:(0.42:0.33); scape elongate, cylindrical (almost 5× longer than deep), 4× longer than pedicel; pedicel fractionally longer than deep in lateral view; postpedicel more than 1.5× longer than scape, laterally compressed (somewhat leaf-like); style composed of three elements (two well-developed, laterally compressed segment-like elements and a small subapical spine-like sensory element). Face ( Fig. 3 ) wider than one eye in anterior view (eye:face ratio 1:1.25); blackish, but colour masked by strong silver pruinescence, profile ( Fig. 4 ) plane (no obvious gibbosity), mystacal setae white, cover entire face. Frons and vertex blackish, partly silver pruinose (anteriorly and along eye margins), partly dull red-brown pruinose (either side of ocellar tubercle), centrally (anterior of ocellar tubercle) shiny apruinose. Vertex slightly tumid (i.e. not depressed between eyes as in many asilids), ocellar tubercle only slightly raised. Postocular area dark red-brown to black, moderately silver pruinose, dorsal setae moderately developed, pale yellow-white, other setae fine white. Palpi dark red-brown to black, 2-segmented, white setose, largely hidden within stomal area. Proboscis dark red-brown, somewhat short (hardly projecting beyond epistomal margin), slightly dorsoventrally flattened.

Thorax: Blackish, silver and brownish pruinose, white and orange setose. Prothorax blackish, silver pruinose, white setose. Mesonotum blackish, silver pruinose except for large lateral areas and medial band which are somewhat brownish pruinose, all fine setae white; macrosetae weakly developed, orange (2 notopleurals, 1 supra-alar, 1 postalar), acrostichals not evident, dorsocentrals weakly developed posterior of transverse suture only. Scutellum blackish, dull silver pruinose, 4 weakly developed apical setae. Pleura blackish, strongly silver pruinose, weakly white setose (setae confined to dorsal region of anepisternum and katatergite; there being a single anepimeral macroseta).Anatergites asetose. Postmetacoxal area membranous.

Legs: Coxae blackish, strongly silver pruinose, white setose.Trochanters brown-yellow. Femora brown-yellow, darker brown dorsodistally. Tibiae and tarsi dark red-brown to blackish. Claws, pulvilli and empodia well-developed (metathoracic empodia border on being inflated and laterally compressed as seen in Empodiodes Oldroyd, 1972 ).

Wing ( Fig. 10 ): 4.6× 1.8 mm (paratype ♂ measured – length from humeral crossvein to tip, width at widest level. (The wing was removed, soaked in alcohol and spread for photography. Due to having been mounted from alcohol, all specimens have twisted wings, difficult to measure. The ♀ paratype has slightly longer wings, approx. 4.8 mm.) Veins dark brown to black, membrane hyaline, transparent, but gray tinged due to dark microtrichia which cover almost entire surface (absent only from proximal parts of basal radial cell, all but distal tip of basal medial cell and anteroproximal parts of posterior cubital cell). Costa extends around entire wing margin, including anal cell and alula. Posterior cubital cell closed just before wing margin.

Abdomen: Black, mostly silver pruinose, entirely white setose. Constricted between segments 2 and 3. T1–5 silver pruinose posteriorly and laterally leaving anteromedial area shiny black. ♂ T6–8 (and ♂ epandrium plus cerci) entirely silver pruinose, ♀ (although somewhat ‘greasy’) similar to ♂ but T7 largely apruinose except for mediodistal region and T8 entirely apruinose. Sterna uniformly dull silver pruinose. All setae white, fine (except for a few poorly developed macrosetae posterolaterally on T1).

♂ terminalia ( Figs 5–7 ): Rotated clockwise through 180°. Epandrium short (less than half as long as broad in dorsal view), hardly separated into two lobes distally; proctiger well-developed, jutting out far beyond epandrium; gonocoxites well-developed, oval in shape (lateral view), distomedial lobe well-developed, with three sharp medially directed claw-like processes (ventral view); gonostyli well-developed, elongate, straight; hypandrium slightly shorter than wide (ventral view), broad proximally, tapering to somewhat truncate, slightly bilobed distal end; aedeagus largely hidden from view, straight, weakly sclerotized.

♀ terminalia ( Figs 8, 9 ): Ovipositor tubular, only slightly laterally compressed. T8 well-developed; S8 (subgenital plate) well-developed, weakly sclerotized proximally, widening distally before tapering quickly to cleft apex (ventral view); T9 with welldeveloped acanthophorites, each bearing 5 strong macrosetae; proctiger short, moderately well sclerotized.

Holotype: ♂ ‘ KENYA, Eastern Prov./ base of Ukasi Hill / 613 m.0.82103°S. / 38.54443°E [0°49'S 38°33'E]’, ‘Malaise trap. Acacia / / Commiphora savanna / 21 NOV-5 DEC 2011 / R. Copeland’ ( NMKE).

Paratypes: 1♂ same data as holotype ( NMSA); 2♀ ‘ KENYA, Eastern Prov. / base of Ukasi Hill / 613 m. 0.82103°S. / 38.54443°E’, ‘Malaise trap. Acacia / / Commiphora savanna / 7-21 NOV 2011 / R. Copeland’ (NMSA, NMKE).

Note: The females were trapped during a fortnight’s exposure preceding another fortnight when the males were trapped.

Distribution, phenology, and biology: The species is known only from the type locality and has been collected during November and December. Nothing is known about its biology, but the fact that material was collected in a Malaise trap suggests that the species displays a degree of sustained flight (unlike many other robber flies) similar to many Hymenoptera . The habitat ( Fig. 11 ), described as Acacia / Commiphora savanna, appears to be similar to that occupied by other species in the genus. The possession of acanthophorites means that the species probably spends much of its adult life resting on the ground (Londt 1994).

Figures

Figs 2–9. Hermannomyia ukasi sp.n.: (2) antenna of holotype; (3, 4) head of holotype,anterior (3) and lateral (4); (5–7) male terminalia of paratype, lateral, dorsal, and ventral views; (8, 9) female terminalia of paratype: (8) general appearance, lateral view; (9) S8, ventral view. Scale bar = 1 mm.

Fig. 10. Hermannomyia ukasi sp. n., left wing of paratype male.

Fig. 11. The Malaise trap set at the foot of Ukasi Hill, where the type series of Hermannomyia ukasi sp. n. was collected. (Photo: R. Copeland)