Hoplocheiloma maculosum (Loew)

Marshall, S. A., 2011, A review of the genus Hoplocheiloma Cresson (Diptera: Micropezidae), Zootaxa 2806 (1), pp. 1-23 : 11-15

Hoplocheiloma maculosum (Loew)

Figs. 13–21

Calobata maculosum Loew 1866:48 .

Hoplocheiloma notitipenne Cresson 1926: 272 . New Synonym

Body length 10–11mm. Wing length 6–7mm. Colour: Head orange. Thorax mostly blue-black with two contiguous silvery longitudinal notal stripes that swell and sometimes fuse just before the suture, break at the suture, and diverge and thicken posterior to the suture (posterior part teardrop-shaped, Fig. 15 ), postpronotum and most of propleuron orange ( Fig. 13 ). Femora banded in dark brown and orange in addition to dark apex; dark banding sometimes taking up entire basal two thirds and sometimes restricted to bands (proximal and distal bands or just distal band); first two tarsomeres of foreleg and basal half of first tarsomere of hindleg white. Abdominal sclerites dark brown to black, tip of oviscape paler.

Head: Frons uniformly dull orange with scattered black setulae, frontal vitta not clearly differentiated from orbital strips by color or texture but usually delineated by a groove; one small frontal seta, a larger orbital and large inner vertical and outer vertical setae. Ocellar triangle black. Clypeus uniformly pale orange, middle part with two stout setae and a few small setulae, clypeus covered with fine white setulae (denser on lateral portions) ( Figs. 15, 16 ). Lunule with a few scattered black setulae, face weakly sclerotized and pale. Palpus about half as long as clypeus; almost parallel-sided, slightly upcurved, with evenly spaced small black setae. Mentum strongly setose.

Thorax: Both sexes with a uniform row of small acrostichal and dorsocentral setae, female with 3–5 anterior dorsocentral setae enlarged and conspicuously thickened. One large dorsocentral seta only. Notopleuron with a large posterior seta and a smaller anterior seta. Main vertical row of katepisternal setae black or dark brown with a much weaker anterior row of golden setae, ventral apex of katepisternum with two long thick setae and one long thin seta.

Legs: Fore coxa densely covered with white microsetulae on anterior surface, bare and reddish brown on most of posterior surface. Fore femur and tibia dark brown to black, tibia with dense white microsetulae ventrally in distal third, tarsomere one and at least basal half of tarsomere two of foreleg white, other fore tarsomeres black; mid and hind femora usually mostly dark brown with one or two distal yellow preapical bands and a dark apex (but see notes on variation); mid and hind tibiae brown, first tarsomere of mid and hind legs pale, tarsomeres otherwise brown.

Wing with a broad discal band with a deeply concave distal edge; preapical and stigmatal bands narrow, complete, and equal width; infuscated apical area large, clear area between narrow preapical band and apical infuscated area and clear area between discal and preapical bands with scalloped edges, seemingly made of three coalesced clear spots each ( Fig. 14 ). R 2+3 ending slightly beyond plane of dm-cu.

Abdomen: Tergite one shining blue-black, other tergites black to brown, tergites 1 and 2 fused but delineated by a band of silvery microsetulae. Tergite 1 with long pale lateral and dorsolateral setae, other tergites with small black setulae only.

Female abdomen: Abdominal pleuron of female with narrow very darkly pigmented bands extending down from tergites on dorsal halves, duller dark area of pleuron more extensively covering dorsal half (more on posterior segments). Tergite 7 with a prominent central pale and depressed area. Oviscape shining except for basal silvery white densely microsetulose area that does not extend to dorsal part of oviscape. Paired spermathecae spherical and smooth, bases elongate and expanded from junction with duct; single spermatheca on a long duct, with a small bulbous base and an elongate, distally expanded body.

Male abdomen: Pleuron dark dorsally on segment 2, segment 3 with a narrow dark band extending entirely around abdomen, segments 4–6 with a single dark band that circles abdomen (abdominal membrane thus entirely dark behind segment 4). Pleural sac entirely absent. Epandrium yellow-brown, contrasting with darker pregenital segments. Genital fork long and narrow, arms strongly bowed, converging distally with entire inner surface covered with short, stout spines and outer distal surface setose; basal part of fork medially carinate, carina continuous with trough between fused basal halves of arms. Anterior part of hypandrium forming two long separate arms: distiphallus with basal and distal parts subequal, bulb small, distal part with duct narrow but with widened membranous apex.

Type material. HOLOTYPE of H. maculosum (Loew) (♂, MCZ type #13327) “ Cuba; Gundlach” (from description; labels do not include locality, collector or date). The type itself was not examined, but the high quality photographs on the MCZ web site (http://insects.oeb.harvard.edu/mcz) include dorsal, lateral, head anterior, wing, and label images for this holotype; these match the Cuban specimens examined.

HOLOTYPE of H. notitipenne Cresson : San Francisco Mountains , Sto Domingo ( Dominican Republic), West Indies, ix.1905, A. Busck (♂, USNM # 27074 ).

PARATYPE of H. notitipenne Cresson : as above but “29.8”, no accession number. HOLOTYPE of H. maculosum (Loew) (♂, MCZ type #13327) “ Cuba; Gundlach” (from description; labels do not include locality, collector or date). The type itself was not examined, but the high quality photographs on the MCZ web site (http:// insects.oeb.harvard.edu/mcz) include dorsal, lateral, head anterior, wing, and label images for this holotype; these match the Cuban specimens examined .

HOLOTYPE of H. notitipenne Cresson : San Francisco Mountains , Sto Domingo ( Dominican Republic), West Indies, ix.1905, A. Busck (♂, USNM # 27074 ).

PARATYPE of H. notitipenne Cresson : as above but “29.8”, no accession

Other material examined. CUBA: Barrio Nuevo , La Bayamesa, rainforest, 3–4 Feb 2004, J. L. Fernandez debu00262925 (♀, DEBU Barcode DNA voucher specimen DEBU _0540); Hisclavio Pinarito 1.5km NNW Pinar, Rodanda Mala, Mojagua forest, yellow pan, 28.05.05, B. Lauranzon (♀, DEBU Barcode DNA voucher specimen DEBU _0541).(note Cuban specimens have paler legs than most Dominican Republic specimens); ??”SantD1”, Banos, Cuba (older label, no date or collector; second label “ Calobata maculosum Loew ” (1 ♂, USNM) . DOMIN- ICAN REPUBLIC: Puerto Plata , rural area near city, 20–27.xii.2003, S.M. Paiero (1 ♂, debu00251850, Barcode DNA voucher specimen DEBU _0543); Bonao, coffee plantation, 14.i.1989, S.A. Marshall (2 ♀, DEBU) ; near Cabo Rojo , Alcoa Road Km 26, 17–20.i.1989, S.A. Marshall (1 ♀, DEBU) ; as above but km23, dry premontane forest, 20.i.1989, S.A. Marshall (Barcode DNA voucher specimen DEBU _0542); La Cienaga , 1000m, malaise trap, 11–13.i.1989, S.A. Marshall and J. Swann (1 ♀, DEBU) ; La Cienaga , near first refugium on Pico Duarte trail, 14.i.1989, S.A. Marshall (1 ♂, DEBU, Barcode DNA voucher specimen DEBU _0542); Altagracia 22.xii.66, L.H. Rolston (1 ♀, CNCI, labeled “ Hoplocheiloma ferrugatum det L. Albuquerque ”); Hato Mayor, Parque Los Haitises, near Cueva de Arena, 19-04N, 69–28W , 10m, 7.vii.1992, C. Young, R. Davidson, S. Thompson, J. Rawlins, coastal vegetation on limestone (2 ♂, 2 ♀, CMNH) ; Pedernales , 23.5km N Cabo Rojo, 18–06N, 71–38W, 540m, 19– 25.vii.1990, L. Masner, J. Rawlins, C. Young, deciduous forest intercept trap (1 ♀, CMNH) ; 26km N Cabo Rojo , 730m, 19–25.vii.1990, L. Masner et al., intercept trap (1 ♀, CMNH) ; Pedernales Province , Las Abejas cloud forest, 17.i.1989, L. Masner (♂, CNCI) . Duarte , Reserva Loma Quita Espuela El Cadillar , 6.6km NE San Francisco de Macoris, 5 Iv 04, Davidson , Rawlins, Young, UV light sample 50313; Santo Domingo, Sierra Prieta, La Bomba, 24.vi.2004, R. Bastardo (1 ♀, USNM) ; Santiago , Juncalito, 1000m, 3–4.xi.2007, D. Perez (2 ♀, USNM) ; La Vega, Parque Nac. A. Bermudez, La Cienaga-Los Tablones, 16.viii.2006, D. Perez (3 ♂, USNM) ; RD-250 La Cienaga – Los Tablones , P.N. Armando Bermudez, 110–1270m, 19˚04.044’N70˚51.789’W, 29.vi.2004, D. Perez et al. (1 ♂, USNM) ; RD-275, La Cienaga-Los Tablones , P.N. Armando Bermudez, 9˚04.044’N70˚51.789’W, 17.vii.2003, D. Perez (1 ♂, 3 ♀, USNM) ; Pedernales , 0.7km N Cruce Aguas Negras – Mencia, 17.viii.2006, D. Perez, R. Bastardo (1 ♂, USNM) ; Pasosena , on road to Los Arroyos, 69m, 18˚04.829’N71˚44.091’W, 17.viii.2006, D. Perez et al. (1 ♂, USNM) ; Santiago Prov. , RD-248 Entrance to Sabana Iglesia, 372m, 19˚20.196’N70˚45.483’W, 29.iv.2003, D. Perez et al. (1 ♀, USNM) ; Santiago Prov. , RD-246 Road Rincon de Piedra-Mata Grande, near bridge on Bao River, 770m, 19˚12.822’N70˚57.709’W, 28.iv.2004, D. Perez et al. (1 ♀, USNM) ; Puerta Plata prov, RD-221 – 8km S Bombita, P. N. El Choco, beside karst mogote, 144m, 19˚43.249’N70˚28.216’W, 14.iv.2003, D. Perez et al. (1 ♂, USNM) ; RD-209, Ocoa , 19km NE Ocoa, on road to Rancho Arriba, 720m, 18˚39.003’N70˚27.849’W, 3.iv.2004, D. Perez et al. (1 ♀, USNM) ; Peravia Prov. , Matadero, nr. Aqueduct, 455m, 18˚24.129’N70˚25.277’W, 29.iv.2003, D. Perez et al. (2 ♀, USNM) .

Notes. Cresson (1926) described Hoplocheiloma notitipenne from the Dominican Republic and Loew (1866) described H. maculosum from Cuba. Hennig (1935) suggested that these two species were probably synonyms, but there is no indication that he saw the types of either species and he did not include H. notitipenne in his key. Hennig’s key separates H. maculosum from H. grata (a Wulp species that does not belong in Hoplocheiloma ) by its relatively black head, information apparently used by Albuquerque (1986) to write a key to Hoplocheiloma in which the only character used to separate maculosum from notitipenne was head color ( maculosum with a black head, notitipenne with a reddish brown head). Since Loew clearly described maculosum as having a reddish head and I know of no Cuban Hoplocheiloma specimen (or any other Hoplocheiloma specimen) with a black head, this couplet is probably an error. As noted in the material examined, two Cuban specimens and three Hispaniolan specimens of this species were “barcoded” for Cytochromome oxidase 1 sequences, however neither Cuban specimens (collected in 2004 and 2005) yielded any DNA. The Hispaniolan specimens were identical. New material is needed to see if molecular characters support the conspecificity of Cuban and Hispaniolan H. maculosum .

Variation. All of the Cuban specimens examined here have the base of the hind femur pale (as on the type and as in Fig. 13 ), and most of the Dominican Republic specimens have the basal half of the hind femur dark ( Fig. 14 ). Femur color, however, is highly variable in Hoplocheiloma and some Dominican Republic specimens are identical in femoral color to the Cuban specimens. I can find no other differences between Cuban and Hispaniolan specimens, and therefore follow Hennig’s tentative opinion that H. notitipenne is a junior synonym of H. maculosum .

Figures

FIGURES 13–16. Hoplocheiloma maculosum (Loew). 13, live female dorsolateral, Cuba; 14, female, abdomen, thorax, wings; 15, live female anterodorsal, Cuba; 16, head.

FIGURES 17–21. Hoplocheiloma maculosum. 17, male terminalia; 18, male abdominal apex, left; 19, male abdomen segments 1–7; 20, spermathecae; 21, female abdominal apex, dorsal. Abbreviations: hy, hypandrium; ea, ejaculatory apodeme; ep, epandrium; aa, aedeagal apodeme, dp, distiphallus.