Urophora sp. near dirlbeki

Namin, Saeed Mohamadzade & Nozari, Jamasb, 2015, Revision of the Urophora xanthippe species group, with description of new species (Diptera: Tephritidae), Zootaxa 3990 (1), pp. 97-112 : 103

Urophora sp. near dirlbeki

Material examined: Iran: 10♂, 4♀, Khorasan Razavi Province, Binalood, 10 km NW Dizbad, 2400m, 36°06' N, 59°14' E, reared from flowerheads of Acroptilon repens , collected: 15.vii.2011, emerged: 18–27.vii.2011, Mohamadzade; 2♂, 2♀, Khorasan Razavi Province, Binalood, 10 km NW Dizbad, 2400m, 36°06' N, 59°14' E, reared from flower heads of Cousinia sp., collected: 15.vii.2011, emerged: 25.vii.2011, Mohamadzade; 2♀, Mazandaran Province, Rineh, southern mountainside of Damavand, 2150m, 35°52' N, 52°06' E, 27.vi.2013, Mohamadzade; 2♂, 1♀, Fars Province, Dasht Arjan, Nasimabad 2050m, 29°41' N, 52°04' E, 25.iv.2014, Mohamadzade ( SIZK and SMNC).

Measurements. ♂: BL = 3.7–4.2mm (average 3.9), WL = 3.25–3.9 mm (average 3.5) (n=10); ♀: BL = 7.3– 8mm (average 7.7) WL = 4–4.5mm (average 4.2), AL = 3.7–4.5 mm (average 4), AL/WL = 0.85–1 (average 0.94) (n = 5).

Discussion. Urophora sp. near dirlbeki is a moderately large fly similar to U. dirlbeki in having a strongly reduced wing pattern, yellow femora, and shape of aculeus apex, but differing in size and associated with different host plant. Head width/head length ratio is 1.37 but in U. dirlbeki is 1.45. Ratio of aculeus length/wing length (AL/ WL) is 0.94 instead 0.8 in U. dirlbeki . The width of aculeus at the level of proximal steps 1.65 times as long as distance between proximal and distal steps (1.85 in U. dirlbeki ). It is possible that these specimens are either conspecific, representing different host plant races, or even separate species, but further studies are needed.