Belvosia robertoespinozai Fleming & Woodley, 2023

Fleming, AJ, Woodley, Norman, Smith, M. Alex, Hallwachs, Winnie & Janzen, Daniel H, 2023, Revision of Belvosia Robineau-Desvoidy (Diptera, Tachinidae) and 33 new species from Area de Conservacion Guanacaste in northwestern Costa Rica with a key to known North and Mesoamerican species, Biodiversity Data Journal 11, pp. 103667-103667 : 103667

Belvosia robertoespinozai Fleming & Woodley sp. nov.

Materials

Type status: Holotype. Occurrence: occurrenceDetails: http://janzen.sas.upenn.edu; catalogNumber: DHJPAR0045539 ; recordedBy: D.H. Janzen, W. Hallwachs & Lucia Rios; individualID: DHJPAR0045539; individualCount: 1; sex: Male; lifeStage: adult; preparations: pinned; otherCatalogNumbers: ACGAZ728-11, 11-SRNP-21027, BOLD:AAF0099; occurrenceID: D2530FE5-CFE7-5F84-B4FA-1BB4391669D7; Taxon: scientificName: Belvosia robertoespinozai; phylum: Arthropoda ; class: Insecta ; order: Diptera ; family: Tachinidae ; genus: Belvosia ; specificEpithet: robertoespinozai; scientificNameAuthorship: Fleming & Woodley, 2023; Location : continent: Central America ; country: Costa Rica; countryCode: CR; stateProvince: Guanacaste; county: Sector El Hacha ; locality: Area de Conservacion Guanacaste ; verbatimLocality: Estacion Los Almendros ; verbatimElevation: 290; verbatimLatitude: 11.0323; verbatimLongitude: -85.5278; verbatimCoordinateSystem: Decimal ; decimalLatitude: 11.0323; decimalLongitude: -85.5278; Identification : identifiedBy: AJ Fleming; dateIdentified: 2022; Event : samplingProtocol: Reared from the larvae of the Sphingidae , Xylophanes tyndarus; verbatimEventDate: 23-Sep-2011; Record Level: language: en; institutionCode: CNC; collectionCode: Insects; basisOfRecord: Pinned Specimen Type status: Paratype. Occurrence: occurrenceDetails: http://janzen.sas.upenn.edu; catalogNumber: DHJPAR0016360 ; recordedBy: D.H. Janzen, W. Hallwachs & Harry Ramirez; individualID: DHJPAR0016360; individualCount: 1; sex: Male; lifeStage: adult; preparations: pinned; otherCatalogNumbers: ASTAP389-06, 06-SRNP-45620, BOLD:AAF0099; occurrenceID: 159389BB-93F9-55A1-8924-2C87C7E94327; Taxon: scientificName: Belvosia robertoespinozai; phylum: Arthropoda ; class: Insecta ; order: Diptera ; family: Tachinidae ; genus: Belvosia ; specificEpithet: robertoespinozai; scientificNameAuthorship: Fleming & Woodley, 2023; Location : continent: Central America ; country: Costa Rica; countryCode: CR; stateProvince: Guanacaste; county: Sector Cacao ; locality: Area de Conservacion Guanacaste ; verbatimLocality: Quebrada Otilio ; verbatimElevation: 550; verbatimLatitude: 10.89; verbatimLongitude: -85.4797; verbatimCoordinateSystem: Decimal ; decimalLatitude: 10.89; decimalLongitude: -85.4797; Identification : identifiedBy: AJ Fleming; dateIdentified: 2022; Event : samplingProtocol: Reared from the larvae of the Sphingidae , Xylophanes tyndarus; verbatimEventDate: 23-Aug-2006; Record Level: language: en; institutionCode: CNC; collectionCode: Insects; basisOfRecord: Pinned Specimen Type status: Paratype. Occurrence: occurrenceDetails: http://janzen.sas.upenn.edu; catalogNumber: DHJPAR0016364 ; recordedBy: D.H. Janzen, W. Hallwachs & Harry Ramirez; individualID: DHJPAR0016364; individualCount: 1; sex: Female; lifeStage: adult; preparations: pinned; otherCatalogNumbers: ASTAP393-06, 06-SRNP-45615, BOLD:AAF0099; occurrenceID: 11420998-8B50-54B5-BCDD-296D9500B8C9; Taxon: scientificName: Belvosia robertoespinozai; phylum: Arthropoda ; class: Insecta ; order: Diptera ; family: Tachinidae ; genus: Belvosia ; specificEpithet: robertoespinozai; scientificNameAuthorship: Fleming & Woodley, 2023; Location : continent: Central America ; country: Costa Rica; countryCode: CR; stateProvince: Guanacaste; county: Sector Cacao ; locality: Area de Conservacion Guanacaste ; verbatimLocality: Quebrada Otilio ; verbatimElevation: 550; verbatimLatitude: 10.89; verbatimLongitude: -85.4797; verbatimCoordinateSystem: Decimal ; decimalLatitude: 10.89; decimalLongitude: -85.4797; Identification : identifiedBy: AJ Fleming; dateIdentified: 2022; Event : samplingProtocol: Reared from the larvae of the Sphingidae , Xylophanes tyndarus; verbatimEventDate: 23-Oct-2006; Record Level: language: en; institutionCode: CNC; collectionCode: Insects; basisOfRecord: Pinned Specimen

Description

Male (Fig. 90), length: 13-14mm. Head: head wider than thorax; vertex 1/3 head width; gena 1/3 of head height, 1/2 of eye height. Fronto-orbital plate silver tomentose throughout, with two rows of frontal setae, populated with short black hair-like setulae intermingled with setae; ocellar setae absent; orbital setae absent. Parafacial, densely covered in same silver tomentum as on fronto-orbital plate, entire surface reflective and brilliant appearance; almost bare along parafacial outside facial ridge, with a few black setulae intermingled with facial ridge setae and extending just below lowest frontal setae; facial ridge setose along 2/3 of its length; gena covered in black setulae. Antenna, pedicel black, concolorous with postpedicel; postpedicel black, less than 2X as long as pedicel; arista bare gradually tapering to a point at tip. Palps, dark yellow throughout and densely covered in short black setulae; tapering to a sharp point apically, devoid of setulae medially. Vibrissa approximately 1-1.5X pedicel length from facial margin. Thorax: black ground color, with gray tomentum throughout, appearing dusty to the naked eye; scutellum ground color dark brown, distinctly lighter than scutum, under microscope bronze tomentum throughout becomes visible; scutum with four narrow dorsal vittae, one outer pair, one inner pair, both broken at suture, inner pair extending only slightly beyond first post-sutural dorsocentral seta; lateral surface of thorax densely covered in long hair-like setulae, these setulae all black; chaetotaxy: 3 strong setae on postpronotum arranged in a line, acrostichal setae 3:4; dorsocentral setae 2-3:4; intra-alar setae 3:3; supra-alar setae 2:3; 4-6 katepisternal setae; scutellum, with 4-5 pairs of long marginal setae of subequal length; apical scutellar setae short erect, inserted slightly above plane of marginal setae; 1 complete row of scutellar discal setae just posterior to marginal setae. Wing: infuscate, slightly darkened brown at wing base, basicosta mostly dark brown with only slight orange present along caudal margin; both upper and lower calypters also infuscate concolorous with remainder of wing; wing vein R4+5 setose, bearing only 2-3 setulae at base; halteres orange. Legs: black overall, lightly covered in shimmering bronze tomentum, posterior margin of coxa on midleg and hindleg covered in yellow setulae; tarsal claws yellow-orange with black tips, with burnt umber pulvilli shorter than length of tarsal claws; anterodorsal row of setae on hind tibia irregular and not fringelike, with several longer stronger setae at least 2X as long as others. Abdomen: large and flattened globose, black to dark burgundy ground color; tomentum absent from T1+2-T3 with only very slight gold tomentum along anterior 10% of margin of T4, bisected medially by an area devoid of tomentum, brilliant gold tomentose throughout 95% of T5 reaching with black on hind margin of tergite; ventral surfaces of T3-T5 hirsute but sex-patches present, with light gold tomentum throughout; middorsal depression on ST1+2 reaching to hind margin of tergite; ST1+2 with 1 pair of median marginal setae, 1 pair of median marginal setae present on T3, and complete rows of setae on T4 and T5.

Male terminalia (Fig. 91): sternite 5 with a deeply excavated median cleft along posterior edge, roughly Y-shaped, with soft shoulders, margins covered in dense tomentum; posterior lobes rounded apically, with a group of strong erect setulae surrounded by many shorter weaker setulae. Anterior plate of sternite 5 approximately 1/2 length of posterior lobes; unsclerotized "window" on anterior plate of sternite 5 translucent, rectangular. Cerci in posterior view elongate triangular, equal to length of surstyli; pointed at apex, medially to fused along 2/3 of their length. Cerci in lateral view, inflated along basal 2/3rds, sharply tapered with anterior curved at apical 1/3, giving it a shallow hooked appearance; cerci setose along basal 2/3rds, underside of cerci setose along basal 1/2 of length. Surstylus in lateral view, equilateral along its length rounded apically, digitiform; surstylus appearing to be fused with epandrium; when viewed posteriorly surstyli straight. Pregonite broad, well-developed, apically squared off, and blunt, devoid of setulae. Postgonite, slightly narrowed, 1/2 as wide as pregonite, sharply pointed and curved at apex, bladelike, postgonite subequal in length to pregonite. Distiphallus broadly cone-shaped, with a slender median longitudinal sclerotized reinforcement on its posterior surface and a broad, anterolateral, sclerotized acrophallus, bearing a slight anterior hook on anterior surface near apex, 1.2X length of basiphallus.

Female (Fig. 92) length: 13-16mm, overall morphology as in male differing in the following traits: Head: bearing 1-2 rows of frontal setae and 2-4 pairs of proclinate orbital setae in addition to single pair of reclinate orbital seta; gena 1/3 head height, 2/5 eye height. Abdomen: gold tomentum on anterior margin of T4 extending to 20% of surface of tergite; abdomen slightly more globose than males.

Diagnosis

Belvosia robertoespinozai sp. n. can be distinguished from all other Belvosia by the following combination of traits: dark setulae on gena, black basicosta, lacking 4-6 setulae in front of postocular row, postpedicel 1.5X length of pedicel, and tergite 5 black apically. Differs from B. duniagarciae by the lack of setulae on postocular margin, and the length of the pedicel.

Etymology

Belvosia robertoespinozai sp. n, is named in honor of Sr. Roberto Espinoza in recognition of his decades of being part of the Parataxonomist Program of Area de Conservación Guanacaste (http://www.acguanacaste.ac.cr) in northwestern Costa Rica ( Janzen and Hallwachs 2011). Interim species-specific name included in previously circulating databases and publications, Belvosia Woodley18.

Distribution

Costa Rica, ACG, Guanacaste Province, 280-550m elevation.

Ecology

Belvosia robertoespinozai sp. n. has been reared nine times from two species of Lepidoptera in the family Sphingidae , Xylophanes jocasta Druce, 1888 (N=2), and Xylophanes tyndarus (Boisduval, 1875) (N=7) in rain forest, dry forest, and dry-rain lowland intergrade.