Parageron orientalis Paramonov, 1929

Gibbs, David, 2023, A world review of the bee fly tribe Usiini (Diptera, Bombyliidae) - Part 3: Parageron Paramonov s. lat., European Journal of Taxonomy 863 (1), pp. 1-162 : 47-50

Parageron orientalis Paramonov, 1929 stat. rev.

Figs 3 , 27 , 38

Parageron orientalis Paramonov, 1929: 189 (127).

Etymology

From Latin ‘ orientis ’ meaning ‘morning’ or ‘east’.

Type material (not examined, photo only)

Holotype

TURKMENISTAN • ♂; “Bachaselin, piap., Askhabad, Transcaspia, 10 July 1926 / Parageron orientalis n.gen. et sp ♂ Typus Paramonov/N276.”; SIKZ. [Good quality photos only from Valery Korneyev.]

Other material examined

IRAN • 1 ♂; “Ghazvin, Barajin 8km N of city, 1512m, N36°20’50” E50°4’15” 13 June 2009 pan trap Leg. Babak Gharali”; PCDG • 1 ♀; “Tarom City, Olive research station, N36°40’ E49°25’, 339m, 30 June 2009, pan trap, Leg Babak Gharali”; PCDG .

Redescription

MEASUREMENTS. Body length: 6.0 mm. Wing length: 3.4–4.5 mm.

Very little variation in the three specimens examined. Descriptions from pinned specimens recovered from spirit so colours my differ a little from fresh material.

Male

HEAD. Gena relatively broad, at level of proboscis wider than depth of postpedicel, broadening out onto frons, entirely pale yellow in ground colour with thin coating of white dust, a slightly shinier border to the oral opening below. Frons in dorsal view acute, drawn into narrow point between eyes a few short silky-white hairs longer than the general pile. Eyes confluent for about twice the width across hind ocellus, about seven facets. Ocellar tubercle dark brown, more blackish adjacent to ocelli, thinly grey dusted, all ocelli narrowly but distinctly separated from eyes; a narrow, acute yellow triangle in front of front ocellus. Distinct, fairly long, very pale yellow proclinate hairs on ocellar tubercle at least twice as long as diameter of a lateral ocellus. Eye facets in the upper three fifths enlarged, at least twice the size of those in lower part, rather sharply demarcated. Occiput darker yellow than frons, infuscated above neck and along seams of occipital callosities, thinly whitish dusted and covered with fine white hairs longer than length of scape and pedicel combined. Antennae with scape and pedicel yellow, a little darker than frons, postpedicel variably brownish to brown-yellow a little darker than pedicel, significantly longer than scape and pedicel together. The tip of postpedicel simply pointed, almost devoid of hairs, subapical sulcus small and inconspicuous. Scape and pedicel with fine white hairs dorsally and externally. Palps small and slender, not swollen apically, pale yellow with short yellowish hairs. Proboscis relatively long, longer than femur and tibia combined, and about three times head length, yellow, labrum conspicuously swollen basally equal to twice width of pedicel, becoming darker apically, labium contrastingly black, the basoventral membrane yellow.

THORAX. Yellow in ground colour, mesonotum with three broad black vittae, sometimes clearly but narrowly separated by yellow dorsocentral lines, the mid-vittae continuing back to the scutellum, antehumeral vittae shorter, all dulled by a coating of whitish-grey dust. On each side of the thorax are dust-free, velvety, roundish to elongate-oval black spots on the thoracic suture. Just behind the suture and above the wing base is a vague, roundish dark spot. Hairs of mesonotum very pale yellow, narrowly absent on paramedian vittae, otherwise evenly distributed, relatively short and uniform in length, longest about half length of scutellum, anteriorly reclinate to upright, in hind third proclinate. Scutellum yellow, a little paler than adjacent yellow parts of mesonotum, very pale yellow hairs very similar to those on mesonotum. Pleura yellow in ground colour, katepisternum black ventrally, meron black posteroventrally, anepisternum with a darker, brownish antero-ventral corner, all thinly white dusted. Pronotum and anepisternum with white hairs like those on notopleuron, other pleural sclerites hairless.

WING. Membrane hyaline, the veins yellow, becoming browner distally and towards hind margin. Crossvein r-m at or a little before middle of the discal cell, well beyond m-cu. Anal lobe well developed with evenly convex margin, noticeably broader than anal cell.

HALTERE. Knob whitish with a faint yellow suffusion dorsally, stem yellowish, very slightly darker at base.

LEGS. Predominantly yellow except for apical tarsal segments which become progressively darker to fifth segment. Hind coxae vaguely brown-marked basally. Claws yellow basally with well demarcated black apical half. Legs covered with short pale yellow hairs, longest on the coxae and femora, very short and adpressed on tibia and tarsi. Basal three tarsal segments and mid- and hind-tibia apically with black spicules ventrally.

ABDOMEN. Basal tergite yellow with distinctly whiter apical margin, remaining tergites brown on disc, yellow apically and laterally. All tergites very pale yellow dusted, less densely than on mesonotum with mid-length pale hairs those on disc of mid-tergites about as long as the respective tergite, laterally hairs hardly longer, hairs tending to be distinctly curved towards the tip of the abdomen. Sternites similar but lacking dark brown colour basally but mostly creamy-yellow, hairing as tergites, or a little shorter.

GENITALIA. Mostly brownish yellow, gonocoxite basally a little darker, gonostyli darkened apically. Hairing similar to tergites but shorter. [Only dissected male available so colours of epandrium and gonocoxite may differ in dry specimens, dusting not discernible.]

Female

Very like male in colour and patterning, but vestiture generally shorter on head, mesonotum and abdomen, most obviously so on tergites. Gena and mouth margin almost identical to male, but broadening more widely towards frons. Frons about one fifth to a quarter head width, conspicuously narrowing towards vertex, yellow centrally with some brown patches, paler yellow along eye margin anteriorly, hairs very short and largely adpressed. Ocellar triangle equilateral to slightly acute, hind ocelli separated from eye margin by about twice the diameter of that ocellus. Hairs on ocellar tubercle a little longer than those on adjacent part of frons.

Remarks

Engel (1932) synonymised this species with Par. lutescens Bezzi. He wrote that he had compared a female specimen borrowed from Paramonov with a female example of Par. lutescens sent by Professor Efflatoun Bey and concluded [translated from original German]: “It resembles the female Parageron orientalis Param …..so completely that the identity of both species cannot be doubted”. In his work on the Usiini Paramonov (1947) stated that he considered this action to be premature, going on to point out several clear differences that Engel (1932) seems to have dismissed. Unfortunately, Paramonov’s opinion was ignored and thus Par. orientalis has remained a synonym since Engel (1932) sunk it.

Had the male aedeagus been examined then this conflation could never have happened. On receiving specimens from Iran that were clearly identical in external appearance to the photos of the type of Par. orientalis in Kiev, it was immediately apparent that this was not only a good species, but clearly distinct from Par. lutescens .

Distribution

Northern Iran, southern Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

Figures

Fig. 3. Parageron orientalis Paramonov, 1929 stat. rev., ♂.

Fig. 27. Parageron orientalis Paramonov, 1929 stat. rev., ♀.

Fig. 38. Parageron orientalis Paramonov, 1929 stat. rev. a. Epiphallic complex ventral. b. Epiphallic complex lateral. c. Gonocoxite ventral. d. Gonocoxite lateral. e. Epandrium dorsal. f. Epandrium lateral. g. Female genitalia ventral. h. Female sternite 8 ventral.