Tephritis pseudovespertina, Evstigneev & Korneyev, 2018

Evstigneev, D. A. & Korneyev, S. V., 2018, New And Little-Known Species Of The Genus Tephritis Latreille (Diptera, Tephritidae) From Kabardino-Balkaria And Adygea (Russia), Ukrainska Entomofaunistyka 9 (4), pp. 5-15 : 13-15

Tephritis pseudovespertina sp. n. ( Fig. 8)

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Type material. Holotype ♀: Russia: Republic of Adygea, Maykop district, Lagonak highland, reared from Leontodon sp. , coll. 8.08.2014 ― em. 21.08.2014 (D. Evstigneev leg.) ( ZISP); paratypes: Russia: labels as in the holotype, 8 ♂, 7 ♀ (D. Evstigneev leg.).

Diagnosis. Tephritis pseudovespertina sp. n. can be easily differentiated from all other known species of the genus Tephritis by the following combination of characters: widely dark brown wing pattern with numerous hyaline dots and mushroom-shaped apical spot instead of the “apical fork” as well as very deep incision in the aculeus tip. The new species is similar to the European T. vespertina (Loew, 1844) in the wing pattern ( Fig. 9), differing from it by almost black wing pattern (dark brown in T. vespertina ), oviscape conspicuously shorter than 2 posteriormost abdominal tergites (as long as 2 posterior abdominal tergites in T. vespertina ), and deeper incision in its apex. Also they differ in spermathecae shape and host plants ( Hypochaeris radicata L. for T. vespertina and Leontodon sp. for T. pseudovespertina sp. n.). Aculeus tip of the new species is similar to that of T. mariannae Merz, 1992 (host plant: Leontodon hispidus L.) and T. leontodontis (De Geer) (host plants: Leontodon hispidus , L. autumnalis , L. helveticus ), but T. mariannae and T. leontodontis have conspicuously different wing patterns and elongated spermathecae.

Description. Head ( Figs 8, 1–4): mostly dark yellow, except blackish ocellar tubercle and V-shaped mark on dorsal part of occiput. First flagellomere dark yellow. Frontal stripe indistinctly microtrichose. Setulae whitishyellow, brownish on anterior part of gena. Postocular setae and setulae white. Length: height: width ratio = 1: 1.1: 1.4. Frons as wide as long. Eye 1.3 times as high as long. First flagellomere of antenna 1.65 times as long as wide. Gena 0.4 times as high as length of flagellomere. Ocellar, medial vertical, anterior orbital and frontal setae black; posterior orbital and lateral vertical setae white. Setulae on distal part of palp and pedicel black.

Thorax ( Figs 8, 1–4): ground color black, densely white microtrichose, only postpronotal lobe, dorsal margin of anepisternum, and posterior part of notopleuron around posterior notopleural seta dark yellow. Setae black; posterior notopleural and anepimeral seta white. Setulae white. Scutellum yellow, with 10 white marginal setulae on each side. Anterior scutellar seta 0.5–0.55 times as long as posterior seta. Calypters white. Halter dark yellow.

Legs: dark yellow. Fore femur with 2 rows of white posterodorsal and one row of yellowish brown posteroventral setae; mid and hind femora and tibiae with black setae and setulae.

Wing ( Figs 8, 11–12). Wing pattern black, reticulate pattern covers most area of wing. Costal cell hyaline with dark spot at middle. Pterostigma black with one hyaline spot. Cell r 1 hyaline at base, posterior to pterostigma entirely black, two trapeziform hyaline spots on level of crossveins r-m and dm-cu separated by triangular dark interval; small hyaline spot in apical part of cell, apex of r 1 entirely dark. Cell r 2+3 hyaline at base, entirely dark posterior to pterostigma; two hyaline spots on the level of crossvein r–m as wide as cell separated by dark narrow interval directly on the level of r-m, and third spot on the level of crossvein dm-cu is about 1/3 of cell width; preapical dark area (posterior to cell r 1 apex) with 0–5 tiny hyaline dots; marginal hyaline spot on apex of R 2+3 small; hyaline marginal spot entering into cell r 4+5; apex of r 2+3 black. Cell br mostly hyaline on basal half; black on apical half, with 2–5 round hyaline dots; crossvein r–m surrounded by four isolated hyaline dots. Cell r 4+5 at level of dm–cu with 2 round hyaline spots; medial portion of cell with wide pale brown area including 5–6 small hyaline dots; 2 preapical hyaline spots merging with hyaline spots in r 2+3 and m cells (sometimes can merge with elongated hyaline spot at wing apex), between them dark interval that connects “apical fork” to rest of wing pattern; large black area in apical part of cell with elongated hyaline spot at wing apex. “Apical fork” broad and “mushroom” shaped. Cell dm hyaline at base, but the rest of cell is dark with 9 to 16 small round hyaline spots and dots. Cell m with 3–5 hyaline dots and 5–7 hyaline spots of different size and shape separated with dark intervals. Cell cu and anal lobe dark with numerous hyaline spots and dots (10–20 in cu and 9–13 in anal lobe). Alula with dark dot.

Abdomen ( Figs 8, 5–6). Tergites black, white microtrichose, with white setulae and marginal setae; marginal setae on fifth abdominal tergite of male black.

Terminalia. Male. Epandrium oval, as in other Tephritis species. Phallus: preglans without spines, glans mostly membranous ( Fig. 8, 7). Female. Oviscape brownish, shorter than two posterior abdominal tergites, with white setulae on basal 2/3. Aculeus with deep incision at apex and without preapical steps ( Figs 8, 8–9). Two papillose spermathecae 3.5–4 times as long as wide ( Fig. 8, 10).

Measurements. Female. Body length 4.3 to 4.8 mm. Aculeus length 0.55–0.61 mm (n = 5). Male. Body length 3.5–4.15 mm. Wing length 3.75–4.25 mm, thorax length 1.3–1.4 mm (n = 10).

Etymology. Name of the species reflects its superficial similarity with Tephritis vespertina (Loew, 1844) .

Host plants. Leontodon sp. ( Fig. 8, 13), flower heads were infested also by Tephritis mutabilis Merz, 1992 .