Houghia marini Fleming & Wood

Fleming, Alan J., Wood, Monty, Smith, Alex, Hallwachs, Winnie & Janzen, Daniel H., 2014, Revision of the New World species of Houghia Coquillett (Diptera, Tachinidae) reared from caterpillars in Area de Conservación Guanacaste, Costa Rica, Zootaxa 3858 (1), pp. 1-90 : 67-69

Houghia marini Fleming & Wood , sp. nov.

Figs. 5 a, 33 a–f

Diagnosis. Houghia marini is part of a group of sibling species with few distinctive features except in the male terminalia and the extent of the gold tomentosity on the fronto-orbital plate. It belongs to the H. blancoi group ( H. blancoi , H. romeroae , H. chavarriae , H. marini , and H. matarritai ). The eye is bare and the antenna is entirely black. The ground colour of the abdomen is black, and sex patches are confined to tergites 4 and 5. Gold tomentosity on the frons extends from vertex only to upper fronto-orbital setae ( Fig. 33 a) and the apex of the first flagellomere extends to the lower facial margin. This is the only member of the group in which this last character state is present.

Description. Male. Antenna black. When viewed in profile, antenna arises distinctly above middle of eye. Length of first flagellomere extending to facial margin. Facial ridge bare except for a few (usually 3–5) decumbent small setae above vibrissa. Palpus pale, usually distinctly yellowish. Postgena behind postoccipital row, above level of lower facial margin, with a small patch of few black setae. Parafacial silver. Colour of fronto-orbital plate gold only at vertex, adjacent to ocellar triangle, the remainder silver (up to 25% coverage). Surface of fronto-orbital plate almost bare. Ocellar triangle when viewed from above appearing to be notched anteriorly. Diameter of anterior ocellus equal to, or greater than, diameter of base of adjacent ocellar seta. Ocellar setae arising behind anterior ocellus but closer to anterior than to posterior ocelli. Eye bare. Postpronotum with 4 or 5 postpronotal setae. Dark stripes on either side of dorsocentral row of setae separated from one another with brownish or gray tomentosity, appearing paler than stripes, but darker than remainder of scutum. Median and lateral stripes on either side of scutum united to one another posteriorly. Postsutural dorsocentral setae 4. Anterior quadrant of anepisternum covered with short setae except for usually 3 to 5 distinctly larger setae. Katepisternum with three setae, the middle one always the smallest. Vein R1 bare dorsally. Legs ranging from reddish brown to yellow tinged but overall dark. Coxae dark usually concolourous with remainder of leg. Ground colour of dorsal surface of abdomen dark to black. Ground colour of ventral surface of abdomen entirely black. Sex patches present on tergites 4 and 5. Ground colour of sex patches shiny black. Terminalia: surstylus equilaterally oblong shaped, posterodorsal half bare, apex bearing many stout apical spines, tip with light inwardly apical curve when viewed dorsally. Cerci rounded, apex with blunt, hooked tip, ventral surface haired, separation between cerci deep broad V shape, about as long as surstylus. Lobe of sternite 5 small and pointed apically, inner margin covered in dense tomentosity appearing darker than surrounding cuticle, internal edge inwardly curved, multiple apical setae emanating from lobe.

Hosts. Houghia marini has been reared 67 times, from wild-caught rain forest caterpillars of 3 species of Euselasia Hübner (Riodinidae) . More than 2170 of the caterpillars of these Euselasia species have been collected; however, since they are gregarious feeders as caterpillars, we note that H. marini was reared from 11 of 41 groups of caterpillars. All H. marini rearings are from rain forest, even though the host caterpillars occur in both rain forest and dry forest.

Holotype. ♂, CNC. Type locality: Costa Rica, Area de Conservación Guanacaste, Prov. Alajuela, Sector San Cristobal, Sendero Colegio (10.89296°, -85.37880°), 520 m, 04/09/2008, Elda Araya, DHJPAR0024511.

Paratypes. 25 ♂, 29 ♀ ( CNC) Costa Rica, Prov. Guanacaste, ACG database codes: DHJPAR0042658, DHJPAR0042287, DHJPAR0042281, DHJPAR0042282, DHJPAR0042283, DHJPAR0042284, DHJPAR0008157, DHJPAR0008131, DHJPAR0008122, DHJPAR0008116, DHJPAR0008158, DHJPAR0008120, DHJPAR0008124, DHJPAR0035676, DHJPAR0035682, DHJPAR0035901, DHJPAR0035905, DHJPAR0010046, DHJPAR0024500, DHJPAR0024501, DHJPAR0021862, DHJPAR0021859, DHJPAR0021860, DHJPAR0008145, DHJPAR0008147, DHJPAR0008149, DHJPAR0008150, DHJPAR0008152, DHJPAR0008153, DHJPAR0008154, DHJPAR0008155, DHJPAR0008156, DHJPAR0008144, DHJPAR0008556, DHJPAR0008564, DHJPAR0008560, DHJPAR0008562, DHJPAR0008159, DHJPAR0008561, DHJPAR0007152, DHJPAR0007160, DHJPAR0008558, DHJPAR0008559, DHJPAR0042285, DHJPAR0008563, DHJPAR0035910, DHJPAR0021858, DHJPAR0042286, DHJPAR0024502, DHJPAR0024507, DHJPAR0024504, DHJPAR0008146, DHJPAR0021861, DHJPAR0024506, DHJPAR0008151, DHJPAR0024512, 99-SRNP-5208, 02-SRNP-33405.

Etymology. Houghia marini is dedicated to Sigifredo Marin of Liberia, Guanacaste, Costa Rica, in recognition of his decades of enthusiastic administration of ACG and of GDFCF field projects in ACG, and special attention to the parataxonomists rearing the tachinids described here.

Distribution. Costa Rica, ACG, Prov. Guanacaste, rain forest, 280–520 m elevation.

Figures

FIGURE 5. Dorsal view of head. Red lines indicate the shape of the ocellar triangle as described, and placement of anterior ocellus (green circle) relative to the base (s) of ocellar setae (blue circles). a. Houghia marini sp. nov. b. Houghia graciloides sp. nov. c. Houghia griseifrons sp. nov.

FIGURE 33. General morphology of Houghia marini sp. nov. a. Dorsal habitus. b. Frontal view of head. c. Lateral habitus. d. Posterior view of male terminalia. e. Lateral view of male terminalia. f. Ventral view of sternite 5 + segments 7 + 8.