Ametadoria karolramosae Fleming & Wood

Fleming, AJ, Wood, D. Monty, Smith, M. Alex, Hallwachs, Winnie & Janzen, Daniel, 2015, Three new species of Ametadoria Townsend (Diptera: Tachinidae) from Area de Conservacion Guanacaste, Costa Rica, Biodiversity Data Journal 3, pp. 5039-5039 : 5039

Ametadoria karolramosae Fleming & Wood sp. n.

Materials

Type status: Holotype. Occurrence: occurrenceDetails: http://janzen.sas.upenn.edu; catalogNumber: DHJPAR0040115 ; recordedBy: D.H. Janzen, W. Hallwachs & Guillermo Pereira; individualID: DHJPAR0040115; individualCount: 1; sex: M; lifeStage: adult; preparations: pinned; otherCatalogNumbers: 10-SRNP-13805; Taxon: scientificName: Ametadoria karolramosae; phylum: Arthropoda; class: Insecta; order: Diptera; family: Tachinidae; genus: Ametadoria; specificEpithet: karolramosae; scientificNameAuthorship: Fleming & Wood, 2015; Location: continent: Central America; country: Costa Rica; countryCode: CR; stateProvince: Guanacaste; county: Area de Conservación Guanacaste; locality: Sector Santa Rosa ; verbatimLocality: Area Administrativa; verbatimElevation: 295; verbatimLatitude: 10.838; verbatimLongitude: -85.619; verbatimCoordinateSystem: Decimal; decimalLatitude: 10.838; decimalLongitude: -85.619; Identification: identifiedBy: Fleming & Wood; dateIdentified: 2014; Event: samplingProtocol: reared from caterpillar of unidentified Zygaenidae; verbatimEventDate: Aug-24-2010; Record Level: language: en; institutionCode: CNC; collectionCode: Insects; basisOfRecord: Pinned Specimen Type status: Paratype. Occurrence: occurrenceDetails: http://janzen.sas.upenn.edu; catalogNumber: DHJPAR0040803 ; recordedBy: D.H. Janzen, W. Hallwachs & Guillermo Pereira; individualID: DHJPAR0040803; individualCount: 1; sex: M; lifeStage: adult; preparations: pinned; otherCatalogNumbers: 10-SRNP-13780; Taxon: scientificName: Ametadoria karolramosae; phylum: Arthropoda; class: Insecta; order: Diptera; family: Tachinidae; genus: Ametadoria; specificEpithet: karolramosae; scientificNameAuthorship: Fleming & Wood, 2015; Location: continent: Central America; country: Costa Rica; countryCode: CR; stateProvince: Guanacaste; county: Area de Conservación Guanacaste; locality: Sector Santa Rosa ; verbatimLocality: Area Administrativa; verbatimElevation: 295; verbatimLatitude: 10.838; verbatimLongitude: -85.619; verbatimCoordinateSystem: Decimal; decimalLatitude: 10.838; decimalLongitude: -85.619; Identification: identifiedBy: Fleming & Wood; dateIdentified: 2014; Event: samplingProtocol: reared from caterpillar of unidentified Zygaenidae; verbatimEventDate: Sep-06-2010; Record Level: language: en; institutionCode: CNC; collectionCode: Insects; basisOfRecord: Pinned Specimen Type status: Paratype. Occurrence: occurrenceDetails: http://janzen.sas.upenn.edu; catalogNumber: DHJPAR0040114 ; recordedBy: D.H. Janzen, W. Hallwachs & Guillermo Pereira; individualID: DHJPAR0040114; individualCount: 1; sex: F; lifeStage: adult; preparations: pinned; otherCatalogNumbers: 10-SRNP-13800; Taxon: scientificName: Ametadoria karolramosae; phylum: Arthropoda; class: Insecta; order: Diptera; family: Tachinidae; genus: Ametadoria; specificEpithet: karolramosae; scientificNameAuthorship: Fleming & Wood, 2015; Location: continent: Central America; country: Costa Rica; countryCode: CR; stateProvince: Guanacaste; county: Area de Conservación Guanacaste; locality: Sector Santa Rosa ; verbatimLocality: Area Administrativa; verbatimElevation: 295; verbatimLatitude: 10.838; verbatimLongitude: -85.619; verbatimCoordinateSystem: Decimal; decimalLatitude: 10.838; decimalLongitude: -85.619; Identification: identifiedBy: Fleming & Wood; dateIdentified: 2014; Event: samplingProtocol: reared from caterpillar of unidentified Zygaenidae; verbatimEventDate: Aug-24-2010; Record Level: language: en; institutionCode: CNC; collectionCode: Insects; basisOfRecord: Pinned Specimen

Description

Male (Fig. 2a, b, c). Head (Fig. 2c): frontal vitta dark black, narrowed apically to slightly less than the width of the ocellar triangle, fronto-orbital plate 2X as wide as frontal vitta; ocellar bristles half as long as arista; frontal bristles extending below level of arista by width of one bristle; small black hairs intermingled with frontal bristles all along the parafrontal, extending to level of pedicel; antenna black; arista black, minutely pubescent at its base, and bare at its tip; proclinate orbital bristles absent; fronto-orbital plate mostly silver, except for gold tinge along the margin of the frontal vitta; parafacial silver; palpus yellow and haired at its tip; gena 1/10 height of head. Thorax (Fig. 2a, b): grayish-gold when viewed dorsally, with four longitudinal dark gray vittae; scutellum bearing slightly yellow gray tomentosity occupying 1/2 or more of its distal end, darkened along its anterior edge (this tomentosity extending to underside of scutellum). Legs black; anteroventral surface of hind femur bearing 5-6 long erect bristles of irregular length and irregularly spaced; anteroventral surface of hind tibia with tightly adpressed, short and regularly spaced hairs, anterodorsal surface with a regularly spaced comb of bristles 2X as long as leg is wide, 1 bristle on each of the anterodorsal, anteroventral, posterodorsal and posteroventral surfaces of the tibia, 2X as long as the surrounding bristles. Wing (Fig. 2a): pale smoky yellowish in color, with 1 solitary spine at the base of R2+3; calypter pale translucent, haired along its margins. Abdomen (Fig. 2a): ground color of abdominal tergites dark brown, appearing shiny black dorsally, with bright brassy tomentose bands covering up to 1/2 of the anterior margins of abdominal tg 3, 4, and 5, these bands wrapping around to the underside of the abdomen; tg 3, 4 and 5 possessing median marginal bristles, syntergite 1+2 possessing reduced median marginals, only 2X as long as abdominal setulae. Ventrolateral surface of syntergite 1+2, tg 3, and tg 4 orange. Sex patches present on ventral surface of tg 4, and tg 5. Terminalia (Figs 5a, 6a, 7a): sternite 5 with deep U-shaped median cleft, forming two rounded outer lobes, these covered in dense tomentum; lobes of sternite 5 bearing 3 long bristles marginally, approximately 3X as long as other bristles present on sternite 5. Cerci almost flat when viewed laterally, narrow and finger-like in posterior view, not fused medially, maintaining an almost equidistant separation along their entire length; cerci covered in long setulae dorsally, tapering at around 2/3 the length of the appendage, and with apex bare. Surstylus short and truncate, approximately 1/2 as long as cerci, appearing rounded and sub-triangular with a slight hook to the tip when viewed laterally; distal half of lateral surface of surstylus with several stout bristles. Epandrium when viewed laterally extending backwards, 3/4 length of cerci. Phallus short and stout, approximately the same length as cerci. Postgonite 1/2 as long as phalloapodeme with a moderate forward curve.

Female (Fig. 2d, e, f). Head (Fig. 2f): frontal vitta dark black, parallel-sided, less than the width of the ocellar triangle; fronto-orbital plate 3X as wide as frontal vitta; frontal bristles not reaching below level of arista; black setulae on fronto-orbital plate extending to level of pedicel; 2 proclinate orbital bristles present; arista black and bare; parafrontal with golden tomentum covering over 80% of its surface; parafacial silvery; palpi yellow and haired. Thorax (Fig. 2d, e): grayish, with distinctive brassy tomentosity apparent when viewed under the microscope; four longitudinal black vittae, the middle pair extending only down 1/3 of thorax, postsuturally; scutellum bearing white or yellowish tomentosity over 4/5 of its surface. Legs and wings as in males. Abdomen (Fig. 2d): abdominal tergites dark velvety black, with bright yellowish bands covering up to 1/2 or more of tergal surface along anterior margin of tergites 3, 4 and 5; syntergite 1+2, and tergites 3, 4 and 5 possessing median marginal bristles, reduced on syntergite 1+2.

Diagnosis

Fronto-orbital plate with golden tomentum along the margin of the frontal vitta, parafacial silver. Abdominal tergites 3, 4, and 5 bearing a brassy tomentosity on anterior margin, extending at least along 1/2 of tergal surface, with females bearing additional brassy tomentosity on thorax. Calypters pale translucent. Hind tibia with a regularly spaced comb of hairs 2X as long as tibia is wide. Ventrolateral surface of syntergite 1+2, 3 and 4 with orange ground color. Syntergite 1+2 possessing reduced median marginal bristles, only 2X as long as abdominal hairs. Epandrium when viewed laterally extending backwards, 3/4 length of cerci; phallus short and stout, approximately same length as cerci; postgonite 1/2 as long as phalloapodeme with a moderate forward curve. Ametadoria karolramosae is differentiated from its most similar congener, A. unispinosa , by the following traits: the presence of marginal bristles on syntergite 1+2, the ventrolateral orange ground color on the abdomen, and its pale translucent calypters.

Etymology

Ametadoria karolramosae is named in recognition of Karol Ramos Méndez for her contributions to the accounting team for Area de Conservación Guanacaste, the forest this fly lives in.

Distribution

Costa Rica, ACG, Prov. Guanacaste, dry forest, 295m elevation.

Ecology

Host: Ametadoria karolramosae was reared from one species of unidentified Zygaenidae feeding on Cissus alata ( Vitaceae ).