Acnephalomyia andrenoides (Wiedemann, 1828)

Blee, Tayler, Cabrero, Allan & Dikow, Torsten, 2025, Namib Desert Asiloidea (Diptera) 1. A review of the assassin-fly genus Acnephalomyia Londt, 2010 (Asilidae) with the description of a new species, African Invertebrates 66 (2), pp. 251-271 : 251-271

Acnephalomyia andrenoides (Wiedemann, 1828)

Figs 3 A , 5 , 11 A

Links.

ZooBank https://zoobank.org/ 7795FAC0-E920-4241-B4B6-2BEE31EF670E.

GBIF https://www.gbif.org/species/10799358.

original description online https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/14504888.

Plazi TreatmentBank https://treatment.plazi.org/id/ FA455017-FFEC-AD6A-FECA-741A495BFCD2.

Type locality.

South Africa: Capland (south-western South Africa).

Material examined.

Type material: not studied ( lectotype deposited in Museum für Naturkunde ( MFN), Berlin, Germany).

Other material. Namibia – Karas • 5 ♂ Agate Beach , 8 km N Lüderitz; [ 26°36'22"S, 015°10'42"E]; 31 Aug 1983; Stuckenberg, Brian, Londt, Jason leg.; arid vegetated dunes, NMSA -DIP 007181 , NMSA -DIP 108624 , NMSA -DIP 108625 , NMSA -DIP 108626 , NMSA -DIP 108628 ; NMSA • 3 ♀ Agate Beach , 8 km N Lüderitz; [ 26°36'22"S, 015°10'42"E]; 31 Aug 1983; Stuckenberg, Brian, Londt, Jason leg.; arid vegetated dunes, NMSA -DIP 108627 , NMSA -DIP 108628 , NMSA -DIP 108629 ; NMSA • 4 ♂ Lüderitz, 3 km E, Golf Club ; [ 26°40'06"S, 015°11'04"E]; 31 Aug 1983; Stuckenberg, Brian, Londt, Jason leg.; arid rocky slopes, NMSA -DIP 007183 , NMSA -DIP 108642 , NMSA -DIP 108643 , NMSA -DIP 108644 ; NMSA • 6 ♀ Lüderitz, 3 km E, Golf Club ; [ 26°40'06"S, 015°11'04"E]; 31 Aug 1983; Stuckenberg, Brian, Londt, Jason leg.; arid rocky slopes, NMSA -DIP 108645 , NMSA -DIP 108646 , NMSA -DIP 108647 , NMSA -DIP 108648 , NMSA -DIP 108649 , NMSA -DIP 108650 ; NMSA • 1 ♂ Lüderitz, Grosse Bucht ; [ 26°43'00"S, 015°07'00"E]; 07 Sep 2005; Gess, F., Gess, S. leg.; on ground, AMGS -102149 ; AMGS • 1 ♀ Lüderitz, Grosse Bucht ; [ 26°43'00"S, 015°07'00"E]; 07 Sep 2005; Gess, F., Gess, S. leg.; on ground, AMGS -102150 ; AMGS • 3 ♀ Aus , 10 km W; [ 26°38'44"S, 016°10'13"E]; 30 Aug 1983; Londt, Jason, Stuckenberg, Brian leg.; sparse grassveld, small woody plants, NMSA -DIP 007193 , NMSA -DIP 108633 , NMSA -DIP 108634 ; NMSA • 2 ♂ Aus , 10 km W; [ 26°38'44"S, 016°10'13"E]; 30 Aug 1983; Londt, Jason, Stuckenberg, Brian leg.; sparse grassveld, small woody plants, NMSA -DIP 108631 , NMSA -DIP 108632 ; NMSA • 1 ♂ Aus , 5 km E; [ 26°39'39"S, 016°18'46"E]; 30 Aug 1983; Londt, Jason, Stuckenberg, Brian leg.; open veld with low green grass and shrubs, NMSA -DIP 007072 ; NMSA .

Diagnosis.

The species is distinguished from congeners by the yellowish to light brown setose scutum, the entirely asetose katepisternum, the presence of dorso-ventrally flattened setae on legs and abdomen, the absence of macrosetae on the postpronotal lobe and the presence of strong, short, yellowish marginal macrosetae on the abdominal tergites.

Distribution, biodiversity hotspots, endemism, seasonal imago flight activity and biology.

A widespread and commonly collected species occurring primarily in western and southern South Africa (see Londt (2010): fig. 65). Within the southern Namib Desert, only known from five collecting events in the southernmost part in the transition zone to the Succulent Karoo (Table 2 , Fig. 11 A ). The species is known to occur in the Cape Floristic Region, Succulent Karoo and Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany biodiversity hotspots (see Londt (2010): fig. 65), but also occurs outside of these hotspots. Notably, the specimens collected around Lüderitz in the south-western region of the southern Namib Desert (Fig. 11 A ) occur within the boundaries of the Succulent Karoo biodiversity hotspot. The species is not endemic to a particular environment or country. Adult flies are active in spring (August – September) in the southern Namib Desert (Table 3 ). Londt (2010) lists the following prey records, none of which originates from specimens in the southern Namib Desert for the species: Coleoptera , Buprestidae , Coccinellidae , Dermestidae , Melyridae , Scarabaeidae ; Diptera , Muscidae ; Hemiptera , Lygaeidae , Pentatomidae ; Isoptera, Hodotermitidae ; Orthoptera , Tridactylidae .

Figures

Figure 3. Photographs of Acnephalomyia species in nature. A. Acnephalomyia andrenoides female perching at Rocherpan NR, Western Cape, South Africa, 20 Sep 2017 (32 ° 37 ' 01 " S, 018 ° 17 ' 53 " E); B – D. A. eremia on small dune with dry ! nara plant (Cucurbitaceae, Acanthosicyos horridus), Gobabeb, Namib-Naukluft NP, Erongo, Namibia, 27 Sep 2017 (23 ° 33 ' 52 " S, 015 ° 02 ' 07 " E); B. Male perching; C. Female perching; D. Female ovipositing. Photographs by T. Dikow.

Figure 5. Acnephalomyia andrenoides. A. ♂ (USNMENT 00870066, images at FigShare doi: https://doi.org/10.25573/data.30142297), dorsal; B. Same, lateral; C. Same, head anterior; D. ♀ (USNMENT 00870068, FigShare https://doi.org/10.25573/data.30142300), head anterior; E. Same, dorsal; F. Same, lateral. Scale bar: 5 mm. Both specimens collected outside study area (South Africa – Western Cape • 1 ♀ 1 ♂ S Papendorp; 31 ° 43 ' 01 " S, 018 ° 12 ' 22 " E; 9 m a. s. l.; 29 Sep. 2009; Dikow, Torsten, Londt, Jason leg.; vegetated dunes + margin; USNM).

Figure 11. Distribution of Acnephalomyia species in the southern Namib Desert. A. Acnephalomyia andrenoides, red circles, A. metallicoindica sp. nov., purple circles; B. A. eremia, red circles, A. platygaster, purple circles. White outline = type locality. Occurrence data available at GBIF (dataset https://www.gbif.org/dataset/aef90774-efd0-4629-80ce-85bc4cbe24e8, DOI 10.15468/2bbawn).