Itaplectops omissus Fleming & Wood, 2014

Fleming, AJ, Wood, D. Monty, Smith, M. Alex, Janzen, Daniel H. & Hallwachs, Winnie, 2015, Nine new species of Itaplectops (Diptera: Tachinidae) reared from caterpillars in Area de Conservacion Guanacaste, northwestern Costa Rica, with a key to Itaplectops species, Biodiversity Data Journal 3, pp. 4596-4596 : 4596

Itaplectops omissus Fleming & Wood, 2014 sp. n.

Materials

Type status: Holotype. Occurrence: occurrenceDetails: http://janzen.sas.upenn.edu; catalogNumber: DHJPAR0018615 ; recordedBy: D.H. Janzen & W. Hallwachs, Roster Moraga; individualID: DHJPAR0018615; individualCount: 1; sex: M; lifeStage: adult; preparations: pinned; otherCatalogNumbers: ASTAI1262-07, 97-SRNP-1136; Taxon: scientificName: Itaplectopsomissus; phylum: Arthropoda; class: Insecta; order: Diptera; family: Tachinidae; genus: Itaplectops; specificEpithet: omissus; scientificNameAuthorship: Fleming & Wood; Location: continent: Central America; country: Costa Rica; countryCode: CR; stateProvince: Guanacaste; county: Area de Conservacion Guanacaste; locality: Sector Cacao ; verbatimLocality: Estacion Cacao; verbatimElevation: 1150; verbatimLatitude: 10.927; verbatimLongitude: -85.468; verbatimCoordinateSystem: Decimal; decimalLatitude: 10.927; decimalLongitude: -85.468; Identification: identifiedBy: AJ Fleming; dateIdentified: 2014; Event: samplingProtocol: reared from caterpillar of Achariaophelians (Limacodidae); verbatimEventDate: 26-Sep-2013; Record Level: language: en; institutionCode: CNC; collectionCode: Insects; basisOfRecord: Pinned Specimen

Description

Male

Length: 5mm. Head (Fig. 9c): proclinate orbital bristles present, although reduced to almost hair-like; first flagellomere entirely dark or brownish orange over at least 1/2 of its surface; arista dark brown over 3/4 of its length, bright orange basally, with gradual taper; first flagellomere reaching facial margin; ocellar bristles reduced, almost hair-like, as long as pedicel, arising behind anterior ocellus; ocellar triangle covered in small proclinate hairs; frontal vitta approximately as wide as fronto-orbital plate; facial ridge bearing at least 4-5 stout, decumbent bristles above vibrissa; fronto-orbital plate slightly gold tinged; parafacial entirely silver and bare; fronto-orbital plate with few fine bristles outside of frontal bristles, these not extending past lowest frontal bristle.

Thorax (Fig. 9a, b): three postsutural supra-alar bristles, anteriormost greatly reduced to an almost hair-like structure; katepisternum with 2 bristles, anteriormost reduced in size, arising slightly behind suture; apical scutellar bristles long, up to 3/4 length of subapical scutellars; subapical scutellar bristles parallel or convergent (often crossed); scutellum with no apparent discal bristles.

Wings (Fig. 9a, b): smoky gray, with a large dark region surrounding the anterior portions of vein R2+3 and R4+5 as they approach the wing margin.

Legs (Fig. 9b): Appearing dark overall, femur at least 1/2 yellow, tibia yellow, and tarsi dark; dorso-ventral margin of hind tarsi with yellow tufts of bristles apically.

Abdomen (Fig. 9a, b): T1+2 with mid-dorsal depression extending 2/3 along its length, but not reaching tergal margin; median marginal bristles present on all tergites except T1+2. Reduced discal bristles present on T3; these can have the appearance of thicker abdominal hairs. Silver tomentosity present on margins of abdominal segments T3 and T4, only visible under certain angles of light, with these not extending beyond 1/3 of tergal surface.

Terminalia (Fig. 9d, e): cerci tightly juxtaposed basally and diverging at the tip; haired up to tapering point, after which they becomes bare until tip; cercus apparently convex when viewed laterally; with a very slight thickening apically so as to appear slightly clubbed; surstylus as long as cercus, outwardly convex with a strong inward curve at its center, giving it a slightly hooked tip, due to the nature of the curvature this character is most visible from above in this species; densely bristled along its entire length; phallus 2.5x as long as cercus, with a downward bend.

Female: unknown at this time.

Diagnosis

Itaplectops omissus can be distinguished by the following combination of traits: proclinate orbital bristles present in male although these appear to be extremely reduced, appearing as just fronto-orbital hairs; first flagellomere black/brown over 1/2 of surface; femur at least 1/2 yellow, tibia yellow, and tarsi dark; median marginal bristles absent on T1+2 but present on T3, T4 and T5; discal bristles present at least on T3 (in some cases these can appear reduced but still present); silver tomentosity present on margins of abdominal segments T3 and T4. It can be distinguished from its most similar congeners, Itaplectops griseobasis and I. akselpalolai , following couplet 8 in the key to Itaplectops (below).

Etymology

From the Latin participle of the verb “omitto”, meaning to leave out or omit, referring to the lack of median marginals on T1+2.

Distribution

Costa Rica, ACG, Prov. Guanacaste, cloud forest.

Ecology

Hosts

Reared from caterpillars of the Limacodidae , Acharia ophelians (Dyar, 1927).