Mydaea sexpunctata ( Wulp, 1883 )

Patitucci, Luciano Damián, Mulieri, Pablo Ricardo, Olea, Maria Sofia & Mariluis, Juan Carlos, 2013, Muscidae (Insecta: Diptera) of Argentina: revision of Buenos Aires province fauna, with a pictorial key to species, Zootaxa 3702 (4), pp. 301-347 : 334-336

Mydaea sexpunctata ( Wulp, 1883)

( Figs. 28 , 70–76 )

Spilogaster sexpunctata Wulp, 1883

Mydaea latomensis Snyder, 1957:479 . New synonymy.

Redescription.

Male. Length. Body: 9.87–9.59 mm, Wing: 8.81–7.92 mm.

Head: Brown with silver pollinosity. Front at vertex one-fifth of head width, anterointernal ommatidia enlarged and with short hairs. Frontal row with 5-6 pairs of setae distributed evenly between the lunule and the base of the ocellar triangle, the upper three shorter. Frontal vitta brown; lunule pale brown; fronto-orbital plate, parafacial, gena, postgena, and occiput brown with silver pollinosity. Gena with black hairs. Postocular setae divergent; inner vertical setae convergent and outer vertical setae divergent. Antenna with scape, pedicel and base of the postpedicel yellow-orange, its distal part brown; in lateral view inserted at the mid-level of the eye; arista plumose. Palpus yellow, filiform.

Thorax. Scutum brown with three silver pollinose vittae; scutellum dark brown with gray pollinose; anepisternum, anepimeron, katepimeron, katepisternum, proepisternum, proepimeron and meron gray-brown; anterior and posterior spiracles orange-brown. Chaetotaxy: acrostichals 0+1; dorsocentrals 2+3; postpronotals 3; intra-alars 1+2; supra-alars 1+2; notopleural 2, of similar size, notopleuron bare. Prealar seta short and thin. Scutellum with basal, subapical, apical, and discal pairs of setae. Anepisternum with a series of 6 strong setae; katepisternals 1+2; anepimeron, katepimeron and meron bare; proepisternals 1; proepimerals 2. Prosternum bare.

Wing. Hyaline with a brown spot on r-m and on dm-cu; the transverse cross-vein dm-cu slightly curved; Rs node and base of vein R4+5 setulose dorsally and ventrally; vein R4+5 and vein M straight. Both calypters hyaline with white margins; lower calypter glossiform; halter yellow.

Legs. Yellow. Fore femur with rows of dorsal, posterodorsal, and posteroventral setae; fore tibia without setae, except for one preapical dorsal seta, and one posteroventral apical seta. Mid femur with 3-4 setae in the basal twothirds on posteroventral surface; and 3-4 preapical setae on anterodorsal to posterior surface; mid tibia with 2 posterodorsal setae and 4 apical setae (anterodorsal, posteroventral, ventral, and anteroventral). Hind femur with anterodorsal row of setae, with 3-4 short anteroventral setae in the basal one thirds and 3-4 long anteroventral setae on the apical half; hind tibia with 1-2 short setae on medial third of anterodorsal suface and 1 short setae on medial third of anteroventral suface; calcar absent.

Abdomen. Dark brown, syntergites 1+2 and tergite 3 and 4 with two black spots. Sternite 1 bare. Sternite 5 with a strong row of setae at the posterior margen ( Fig. 71 ).

Terminalia. Cercal plate with an upper incision at the anterior margin and with setae on posterior half of dorsal surface ( Fig. 72 ). Aedeagus with aedeagal apodeme curved and strongly sclerotized; paramere and gonopod with 3-4 short setulae; aedeagus elongated and slightly sclerotized ( Fig. 73 ).

Female. Length. Body: 9.98–9.73 mm, Wing: 9.35–9.30 mm.

Differs from male as follows: interocular space about one-third of head width at level of anterior ocellus; fronto-orbital plate setulose with 2 reclinate orbital seta. Fronto-orbital plate setulose. Prealar seta strong and short.

Terminalia. Ovipositor short and wide. Intersegmental membrane between segment 7 and 8, and sternite 8 with microtrichiae. Tergites 6 and 7 divided into 2 strongly scletotized plates; tergite 8 with one plate with setulae on distal margin; epiproct triangular with setulae on distal margin, cercus digitiform ( Fig. 74 ). Sternites 6 and 7 undivided; sternite 8 with 2 sclerotized plates, each with 4 strong setae; hypoproct rounded, weakly sclerotized and setulose ( Fig. 75 ). Three spermathecae ( Fig. 76 ).

Type material examined. Lectotype (designated here) male: “Argent / Weyenb.”; “676”; “ sexpunctata vdw”; “ Spilogaster / sexpunctata / van der Wulp, 1883 / ZMAN type DIPT.2382.1” ( ZMAN). Holotype male ( Fig. 74 ): "R. A. Tucuman / Queb. La Toma / 21-XII- 950 / coll. R. Golbach"; “ Holotype ♂ / Mydaea / latomensis / Snyder”; “ TDIP 157” ( IFML).

Other material examined. ARGENTINA : BUENOS AIRES: 1 female, RNEO, Campana, XI-2009, Patitucci leg. ( MACN); 1 male, Campana RNEO, 25-II-2010, Patitucci leg. ( MACN). CÓRDOBA: 1 female, Córdoba, 24- III-1947, Blanchard leg. ( MACN). MENDOZA: 1 male, Mendoza capital, XI-2008, Aballay leg. (IADIZA); 3 females, same data, 17-III-2008; 3 females, 1 male, same data, 28-III-2008; 1 female, same data, 29-III-2008; 1 female, same data, 30-III-2008; 1 female, same data, 14-IV-2008, Aballay leg. (IADIZA). SALTA: 1 male, Yacochuna, Cafayate, 1950 m.a.s.l., II-1969, Stange leg. ( IFML).

Distribution in Argentina ( Fig. 70 ): Buenos Aires; Córdoba (new record); Mendoza (new record); Salta (new record); Tucumán.

References for Argentina . Patitucci et al. (2011b); Snyder (1957).

Remarks. Mydaea sexpunctata was decribed by Wulp (1883) based on two males specimens (syntypes) from Argentina (location not specified). We located only one specimen in ZMAN hereby designated lectotype. We compared this specimen with the holotype of M. latomensis and we concluded is the same species. We herewith formally synonymized the two names.

Biology. Mydaea sexpunctata has been recorded on dog faeces in Buenos Aires province (PRM-LDP). Also, M. sexpunctata was captured in the proximity of decomposing pig carcasses in the spring (November) and autumn (March-April) in Mendoza province.

Figures

FIGURES 28 – 29. Fronto-lateral view. 28. Mydaea sexpunctata, with detail of postpedicel, on the left, and with details of legs on the right. 29. Phaonia trispila, with detail of postpedicel, on the left, and with detail of legs and cross-vein dm-cu, on the right.

FIGURES 66 – 70. Geographic distribution in Argentina. 66. Gymnodia debilis. 67. G. delecta. 68. G. quadristigma. 69. Mydaea plaumanni. 70. M. sexpunctata. Black dots: new records; gray squares: previous distribution; grey stars: province record (inexact data). Buenos Aires province is denoted in blue.

FIGURES 71 – 76. Mydaea sexpunctata. Male. 71. Sternite 5. 72. Cercal plate, dorsal view. 73. Aedeagus, lateral view. Scale bar = 0.5 mm. Female. 74. Terminalia, dorsal view. 75. Terminalia, ventral view. Scale bar = 1 mm. 76. Spermathecae. Scale bar = 0.1 mm. Abbreviations: aed, aedeagus; aed apod, aedeagal apodeme; epiph, epiphallus; gon, gonopod; pm, paramere.