Spathidexia atripalpus Fleming & Wood 2015

Fleming, AJ, Wood, D. Monty, Janzen, Daniel, Hallwachs, Winnie & Smith, M. Alex, 2015, Seven new species of Spathidexia Townsend (Diptera: Tachinidae) reared from caterpillars in Area de Conservacion Guanacaste, Costa Rica, Biodiversity Data Journal 3, pp. 4597-4597 : 4597

Spathidexia atripalpus Fleming & Wood 2015 sp. n.

Materials

Type status: Holotype. Occurrence: occurrenceDetails: http://janzen.sas.upenn.edu; catalogNumber: DHJPAR0048611 ; recordedBy: D.H. Janzen & W. Hallwachs; individualID: DHJPAR0048611; individualCount: 1; sex: M; lifeStage: adult; preparations: pinned; otherCatalogNumbers: 12-SRNP-30227; Taxon: scientificName: Spathidexiaatripalpus; phylum: Arthropoda; class: Insecta; order: Diptera; family: Tachinidae; genus: Spathidexia; specificEpithet: atripalpus; scientificNameAuthorship: Fleming & Wood, 2015; Location: continent: Central America; country: Costa Rica; countryCode: CR; stateProvince: Guanacaste; county: Area de Conservacion Guanacaste; locality: Sector Pitilla ; verbatimLocality: Ingas; verbatimElevation: 580; verbatimLatitude: 11.00311; verbatimLongitude: -85.288; verbatimCoordinateSystem: Decimal; decimalLatitude: 11.00311; decimalLongitude: -85.288; Identification: identifiedBy: AJ Fleming; dateIdentified: 2014; Event: samplingProtocol: reared from caterpillar of Magneuptychialibye (Nymphalidae); verbatimEventDate: 19/Mar/12; Record Level: language: en; institutionCode: CNC; collectionCode: Insects; basisOfRecord: Pinned Specimen Type status: Paratype. Occurrence: occurrenceDetails: http://janzen.sas.upenn.edu; catalogNumber: DHJPAR0018619 ; recordedBy: D.H. Janzen & W. Hallwachs; individualID: DHJPAR0018619; individualCount: 1; lifeStage: adult; preparations: pinned; otherCatalogNumbers: 99-SRNP-2997; Taxon: scientificName: Spathidexiaatripalpus; phylum: Arthropoda; class: Insecta; order: Diptera; family: Tachinidae; genus: Spathidexia; specificEpithet: atripalpus; scientificNameAuthorship: Fleming & Wood, 2015; Location: continent: Central America; country: Costa Rica; countryCode: CR; stateProvince: Guanacaste; county: Area de Conservacion Guanacaste; locality: Sector El Hacha ; verbatimLocality: Estacion Los Almendros; verbatimElevation: 290; verbatimLatitude: 11.03226; verbatimLongitude: -85.52776; verbatimCoordinateSystem: Decimal; decimalLatitude: 11.03226; decimalLongitude: -85.52776; Identification: identifiedBy: AJ Fleming; dateIdentified: 2014; Event: samplingProtocol: reared from caterpillar of Pierellapallida (Nymphalidae); verbatimEventDate: 24/Jul/99; Record Level: language: en; institutionCode: CNC; collectionCode: Insects; basisOfRecord: Pinned Specimen Type status: Paratype. Occurrence: occurrenceDetails: http://janzen.sas.upenn.edu; catalogNumber: DHJPAR0048578 ; recordedBy: D.H. Janzen & W. Hallwachs; individualID: DHJPAR0048578; individualCount: 1; lifeStage: adult; preparations: pinned; otherCatalogNumbers: 12-SRNP-33263; Taxon: scientificName: Spathidexiaatripalpus; phylum: Arthropoda; class: Insecta; order: Diptera; family: Tachinidae; genus: Spathidexia; specificEpithet: atripalpus; scientificNameAuthorship: Fleming & Wood, 2015; Location: continent: Central America; country: Costa Rica; countryCode: CR; stateProvince: Guanacaste; county: Area de Conservacion Guanacaste; locality: Sector Pitilla ; verbatimLocality: Ingas; verbatimElevation: 580; verbatimLatitude: 11.00311; verbatimLongitude: -85.42041; verbatimCoordinateSystem: Decimal; decimalLatitude: 11.00311; decimalLongitude: -85.42041; Identification: identifiedBy: AJ Fleming; dateIdentified: 2014; Event: samplingProtocol: reared from caterpillar of Pareuptychiaocirrhoe (Nymphalidae); verbatimEventDate: 26/Jan/12; Record Level: language: en; institutionCode: CNC; collectionCode: Insects; basisOfRecord: Pinned Specimen

Description

Male (Fig. 1a, b, c), head: Eye bare; frontal vitta dark black, narrowed apically to equal width of the ocellar triangle, face 3 times as wide as frontal vitta; frontal bristles arise no lower than level of pedicel; small black hairs lining the margin of the frontal vitta; antenna black; arista black and plumose, trichia at least 4 times as long as width of base of arista, tapering at apex of arista; proclinate orbital bristles absent; parafrontal entirely silver; parafacial silver; palpi black grey; short row of black supravibrissal hairs along facial margin. Thorax: greyish-gold when viewed dorsally with four longitudinal black vittae, these becoming fused post-suturally, appearing as two indistinct blotches covering more than 2/3rds of thorax; three post sutural dorsocentral bristles; scutellum bearing white or yellowish pruinosity over its entirety (occupying 1/2 or more of total area) darkened along its anterior edge; legs black with silvery sheen on anterior tibia. Wings: pale smoky greyish in color, vein R4+5 setose from node up to r-m, R1 bare. Abdomen: abdominal tergites dark shiny black, with bright gold bands covering 1/3rd or more of the anterior margins of abdominal tergites T3 and T4, these bands wrapping around to the underside of the abdomen. When viewed laterally bright yellow blotches appear along tergites T1+2, T3 and the anterior margin of T4; T3, T4 and T5 possessing medial marginal bristles. Lateral marginal bristles on T1+2. Small black hairs visible over entire body, in particular visible extending from underside of T1+2.

Female (Fig. 1d, e, f), head: Frontal vitta dark black, parallel sided apically equal to twice the width of the ocellar triangle, face 3 times as wide as frontal vitta; frontal bristles arise n o lower than level of pedicel; black hairs lining the margin of the frontal vitta; proclinate orbital bristles present; antenna black; arista black and plumose, trichia at least 4 times as long as width of base of arista, tapering at apex of arista; parafrontal entirely silver; parafacial silvery; palpi black, slightly haired along lower surface; short row of black supravibrissal hairs along facial margin. Thorax: greyish when viewed dorsally with four longitudinal black vittae, these becoming fused post-suturally, appearing as two indistinct blotches covering just more than 2/3 thorax postsuturally; three post sutural dorsocentral bristles; scutellum bearing white or yellowish pruinosity over its ½ of its entirety; legs black with silvery sheen on anterior femur. Wings: pale smoky greyish in color, vein R4+5 setose from node up to r-m, R1 bare. Abdomen: abdominal tergites dark velvety black, bright grayish bands covering at up to 1/2 of tergal surface along anterior margin of T3 and T4; yellow abdominal band wrapping around the abdomen on the posterior margin of T1+2 visible only when viewed laterally; T3, T4 and T5 possessing medial marginal bristles. Lateral marginal bristles on T1+2. Small black hairs visible over entire body, not as hirsute as males but still present, in particular visible extending from anepimeron, and from underside of T1+2.

Diagnosis

The presence of black palpi is its strongest diagnostic character, differentiating it from almost all other species. This species differs from S. atypica , which also has black(ish) palpi, in having 3 postsutural dorsocentral bristles, bare eyes, and the presence of small black hairs covering entire body especially prominent extending from anepimeron and underside of T1+2. Differs, from S. antillensis , which also bears two bold thoracic vittae but does not bear black palpi.

Etymology

From the Latin “ater”, color black, and the noun “palpus”, literally the palm of the hand, in reference to the black palpi present in both sexes of this species.

Distribution

Costa Rica, ACG, Prov. Guanacaste, rain forest and rain forest/dry forest ecotone, 290-580m elevation.

Ecology

Reared from four species of grass-eating rain forest satyrine Nymphalidae (4 records). One larva per host.