Vespiodes phaios, Dikow, Torsten, 2010

Dikow, Torsten, 2010, New species and new records of Mydidae from the Afrotropical and Oriental regions (Insecta, Diptera, Asiloidea), ZooKeys 64, pp. 33-75 : 45-46

Vespiodes phaios sp. n. Figs 13-153548

Etymology:

phaios Greek adjective = brown. Referring the overall brown coloration of this attractive species.

Diagnosis:

The species is distinguished from congeners by the predominantly apruinose and asetose scutum, the asetose abdominal tergites, features of the male terminalia, and its apparent distribution in south-eastern coastal Kenya.

Description Male:

Head: brown, in general silver pruinose; width distinctly greater than thorax, interocular distance on vertex larger than at ventral eye margin, vertex between compound eyes slightly depressed, parafacial area less than ½ the width of central facial gibbosity; facial gibbosity distinct, well-developed and discernible in lateral view; mystax white, covering only lateral facial gibbosity (asetose medially); frons predominantly apruinose, vertex apruinose, postgenae lightly silver pruinose; setation: vertex white, frons white, ocp setae brown or white, pocl setae white; ocellar triangle apruinose; proboscis brown, long, projecting beyond fronto-clypeal suture; labella large, much wider than prementum, about ½ length of prementum, unsclerotised laterally; maxillary palpi laterally compressed (leaflike), brown or light brown, shorter than length of pedicel.

Antenna: brown or orange, scape and pedicel white setose dorsally and ventrally; postpedicel cylindrical in proximal ½, symmetrically bulbous in distal ½, ≥ 11.0 times as long as combined length of scape and pedicel; apical ‚seta-like‘ sensory element situated apically in cavity on postpedicel.

Thorax: brown, predominantly apruinose; scutum medially dark brown, laterally brown, surface macrorugose, predominantly apruinose, small antero-lateral spots and extreme lateral margins (dorsal to supero-posterior anepisternum) silver pruinose, scutal setation comprised of distinct rows of long dorsocentral setae and lateral scutal setae; dc setae pre- and postsuturally white, acr setae absent, lateral scutal setae white, npl, spal, and pal setae absent; postpronotal lobe light brown, partly silver pruinose; proepisternum, lateral postpronotum, and postpronotal lobes long brown setose or long white setose; scutellum apruinose, asetose, apical scutellar setae absent; mesopostnotum, anatergite, and katatergite apruinose, mesopostnotum asetose, anatergite asetose, katatergite long white setose; katatergite ± flat; anterior anepisternum asetose, supero-posterior anepisternum asetose; posterior anepimeron asetose, katepimeron asetose; metepimeron evenly elevated, same colour as T1, grey pruinose, asetose; metepisternum grey pruinose, asetose.

Leg: brown, setation predominantly brown; pro coxa apruinose, short white setose, mes coxa apruinose, short white setose, met coxa grey pruinose, white setose; met trochanter setose medially; femora brown, met femur proximally yellow, met femora distinctly clubbed in distal ⅔, in distal ½ macrosetose, 1 antero-ventral and 1 postero-ventral row of macrosetae; all tibiae laterally arched, met tibia cylindrical, ventral keel absent; pro and mes tarsomere 1 as long as combined length of tarsomeres 2-3, met tarsomere 1 slightly longer than tarsomere 2, tarsomeres 1 and 2 longer than tarsomeres 3 and 4 combined; pulvilli well-developed, as long as well-developed claws, and as wide as base of claws; empodium absent.

Wing: length = 15.9 mm; slightly brown stained, darker brown stained anterior to and distal to M veins, veins brown, microtrichia absent; cells r1, r4, r5, m3, + cup closed; C terminates at junction with R1; R4 terminates in R1; R5 terminates in R1; stump vein ( R 3) at base of R4 present, long but not reaching R2; R4 and R5 widest apart medially; r-m distinct, R4+5 and M1 apart, connected by crossvein; M1 curves anteriorly at r-m, M1 (or M 1+ M 2) terminates in R1; CuA1 and CuA2 split proximally to m-cu (cell m3 narrow proximally); M3+CuA1 do not terminate together in C; A1 undulating, cell a1 wide, A1 and wing margin further apart proximally than distally, alula well-developed; halter brown.

Abdomen: brown and yellow; setation comprised of scattered white and brown setae, surface entirely smooth; T1 brown, T2-4 brown with yellow anterior margins; T1-3 sparsely white setose; T predominantly apruinose; S1 brown, S2-4 brown with yellow anterior margins; S1 asetose, S2-3 sparsely white setose; S predominantly apruinose; T2-4 distinctly narrowed, forming a waist, abdomen vespiform; bullae on T2 brown, transversely elongate, surface entirely smooth, T2 surface anterior to bullae smooth.

Male terminalia: T1-7 well-developed, entirely sclerotised, T8 postero-medially weakly sclerotised, with anterior transverse sclerotised bridge connecting lateral sclerites; T7-8 anteriorly with 2 lateral apodemes; S6 regular, without any special setation postero-medially, S8 well-developed and simple, not fused to T8 dorso-laterally, entire (undivided) ventro-medially; epandrium formed by single sclerite (fused medially ± entirely), blunt, evenly rounded; subepandrial sclerite without lateral or median protuberances; hypandrium strongly concave, cup-shaped, entirely sclerotised ventrally (forming a single sclerite), partially fused with gonocoxite anteriorly; gonocoxites dorso-ventrally flattened in distal ½, higher in proximal ½, without median or lateral protuberance, gonocoxal apodeme present, short (at most slightly extending hypopygium anteriorly); 2 functional aedeagal prongs, short and wide, medio-distally connected; aedeagal epimere present, distally simple, evenly rounded; lateral ejaculatory processes absent; ejaculatory apodeme formed by single dorso-ventrally oriented plate; ventro-median margin of dorsal aedeagal sheath heavily sclerotised (appearing entirely closed); dorsal aedeagal sheath long, sperm sac entirely covered; sperm sac appearing ± heavily sclerotised.

Description Female:

Unknown.

Material examined:

Kenya: Coast Province: 1 ♂ Muhaka Forest , 04°19'29"S; 039°31'27"E, 3.iii.2000, R. Copeland (AAM-000153 1 ♂ holotype, NMKE) .

Type locality and distribution:

Muhaka Forest (04°19'29" S; 039°31'27" E), Kenya (Fig. 48). Biodiversity hotspot/high-biodiversity wilderness area: Coastal Forest of Eastern Africa/-.