Vermileo immaculatus, Carles-Tolrá & Cuesta-Segura, 2020

Carles-Tolrá, Miguel & Cuesta-Segura, Amonio David, 2020, Vermileo immaculatus sp. n. ¡ a new vermileonid species from Malta (Diptera ¡ Vermileonidae)., Arquivos Entomolóxicos 22, pp. 265-277 : 266-267

Vermileo immaculatus sp. n. ( Figs. 2-33 )

Male ( Figs. 2 , 8-10 ). Head black. Frons and face dark, grey tomentose; ocellar tubercle black. Occiput black, with paler short setae. Antenna ( Fig. 11 )¡ scape and pedicel yellow; flagellomere 1 brown, yellow basally; style dark brown. Antennal proportions¡ scape¡pedicel¡flagellomere 1¡style = 1¡0.5¡1.2¡3.5. Palpus and proboscis yellow.

Thorax ( Figs. 13-14 ) mainly yellow. Scutum ( Fig. 13 ) with 4 dark brown longitudinal stripes; median stripes mostly shorter and fused anteriorly, or they may be completely fused reaching the scutellum; scutum more or less brown in front of scutellum; scutum with small black setae. Postpronotum with small black setae. Scutellum brownish to brown, yellow laterobasally, with small black setae. Anepisternum ( Fig. 14 ) with a large dark brown spot. Katepisternum ( Fig. 14 ) yellow, brownish basally; sometimes brownish anteriorly. Meron ( Fig. 14 ) yellow, brownish basally. Mediotergite ( Fig. 14 ) yellow, brown posteriorly. All other pleural sclerites yellow. Laterotergite with small black setae.

Wing ( Fig. 12 ) transparent, grey tinged, with a diffuse spot below at the beginning of R2+3. Cell m3 open, or closed with a very short petiole. Halter brownish.

Fore and mid legs ( Figs. 9-10 ) yellow, only tarsomeres 2 (distally) to 5 brown. Hind leg ( Figs. 9- 10 ) dirty yellow, brownish; coxa dark brown posteriorly; femur apically and tibia apically brown; tarsomere 1 whitish, brownish apically; tarsomere 2 whitish, brown apically, or completely brown; tarsomeres 3-5 brown. Hind femur ( Figs. 9-10 ) swollen apically. All tibiae with ventroapical spurs (1¡2¡2).

Abdomen yellow, with distinct brown markings ( Figs. 2 , 8 , 16-17 ). Tergites 1-2 each with a median brown transverse stripe; tergite 2 brownish anteriorly; median transverse stripe on tergite 3 complete or interrupted, and on tergite 4 interrupted; tergites 5-8 with only a pair of small mediolateral brown spots, spots on tergite 8 distinctly larger. Tergites 2-3(4) concave in lateral view. Tergites bare anteriorly, posteriorly with small black setae. Sternites 1-6 yellow, at most sternites 6-8 brown laterally in variable extension. All sternites with small black setae.

Genitalia ( Figs. 19-31 ) with small black setae¡ epandrium (tergite 9) rectangular, convex laterally and concave anterior and posteriorly ( Figs. 19-20 ); gonocoxites ( Figs. 20-23 ) fused, rounded; synsternite with a distinct posterior incision connecting a desclerotised triangular central zone ( Figs. 22-23 ); gonostylus ( Figs. 24-25 ) J-shaped, abruptly tapered apically. Aedeagus ( Figs. 26-28 ) very long, reaching sixth segment interiorly, base strongly pointed ( Figs. 27-28 ), bifid apically ( Fig. 28 ). Dorsal bridge ( Figs. 27, 29 ) H-shaped, anterior arms short, parallel, posterior arms longer, divergent. Associated structures to the aedeagus ( Fig. 30 ) with variable number and size of spikes ( Fig. 31 , arrows).

Female ( Figs. 3-7 ). As the male. Scutum¡ median stripes completely fused and reaching scutellum or very short and only touching anteriorly. Scutellum dark brown, yellow laterobasally. Brown parts on katepisternum and meron usually distinctly darker ( Fig. 15 ) than in males.

Fore and mid tarsi¡ tarsomere 1 yellow, brownish apically, tarsomeres 2-5 brown. Hind tarsus¡ tarsomere 1 whitish, brownish apically, tarsomeres 2-5 brown.

Abdomen mainly yellow ( Figs. 6 , 18 )¡ only tergite 1 with a complete median transverse brown stripe. Tergite 2 brownish anteriorly. Tergites 2-8 mostly with only mediolateral brown spots, without transversal stripes. Median transverse stripes may be present on some tergites, but they are incomplete¡ tergites 2-5 (1 specimen), tergites 3-4 (1 specimen) and tergites 3-5 (1 specimen). Sternites ( Fig. 7 ) 1-5 yellow, sternites 6-7 brownish to brown laterally (only 1 specimen with sternite 6 completely yellow), anterior half of sternite 7 desclerotised ( Fig. 32 ), sternite 8 trifid anteriorly ( Fig. 32 ). Three spermathecae ( Fig. 33 ), oval, narrower basally.

Figures

Figs. 2-7.- Habitus of Vermileo immaculatus sp. n.

Figs. 8-12.- Vermileo immaculatus sp. n.

Figs. 13-18.- Vermileo immaculatus sp. n.

Figs. 19-25.- Vermileo immaculatus sp. n. (male).

Figs. 26-33.- Vermileo immaculatus sp. n.