Phalacrotophora (Omapanta) stuckenbergi, Disney, 2012

Disney, R. H. L., 2012, Five new species of scuttle fly (Diptera: Phoridae) from southern Africa, African Invertebrates 53 (1), pp. 113-113 : 122-123

Phalacrotophora (Omapanta) stuckenbergi sp. n.

Figs 14 , 15

Etymology: The species is named after Brian Stuckenberg.

Description:

Female.

Frons brown, but with pale haloes surrounding sockets of antial bristles, midline length about 1.3× as long as greatest breadth, with minute microtrichia and 18–24 minute hairs largely restricted to sides and vicinity of supra­antennal bristles. Antials only slightly higher on frons than supra­antennals. Anterolaterals and mediolaterals close to eye margins, former being almost half the distance from antials as from MLs, which are clearly lower on frons than pre­ocellars. Sockets of all but supra­antennals surrounded by circular reticulate socket plates. Four or five bristles below eye and longer one on jowl. Pedicels yellow and postpedicels orange­brown, only just longer than greatest breadth and with a single SPS vesicle. Palps very slightly broader than postpedicels, with 4 or 5 short bristles (longest being only 0.08 mm) and twice as many hairs. Pale labrum at most two­thirds width of postpedicel. Pale labella together at least twice as wide as postpedicel and appear a little greyish because of dense microtrichia on both faces. Thorax brown, being darkest on top, and front spiracles and mesothorax as in Ph. petersoni . Four bristles on notopleuron. Scutellum with 4 bristles, the anterior pair being only a little shorter than those behind. Abdominal tergites 1–3 brown and extending laterally onto ventral face, but 3 partially unpigmented in narrow bands in anterior halves towards sides of dorsal face. Hairs minute. T4–T6 as in Fig.14 with hind margins of T4 and T5 yellow. Venter dark brown with minute hairs on segments 2–6. Terminal segments form retractile ovipositor sheath; pair of long bristles on epiproct and pair of short pale bristles on hypoproct. Cerci cylindrical and about 3× as long as broad. Legs yellow apart from brown on outer third of hind femur and patch on mid coxa. Front tibia with 16 near­dorsal spines and a third as many at tip. Front tarsus with posterodorsal hair palisade on all five segments and segment 5 is longer than 4. Mid tibia with dorsal hair palisade and with 5 posterodorsal spine­like bristles, with 4 in basal two thirds and one pre­apical, and 5 anterodorsals. Hairs below basal half of hind femur longer than those of anteroventral row of outer half. Hind tibia with strong anterodorsal and posterodorsal spine­like bristles. Wing 2.6 mm long. Costal index 0.48. Costal ratios 6.0–6.1:3.1:1.0. Costal cilia 0.08 mm long. Sc reduced to a pale shadow. Vein 3 with minute hair at base and space between two arms of fork narrow. Axillary ridge with 9 bristles, all clearly longer than costal cilia. All veins brown, but costa more yellowish brown. Membrane lightly tinged brownish grey, but a little darker towards edges and beyond costa. Darker patch, formed from slightly larger microtrichia than on rest of membrane, between bases of veins 4 and 5 ( Fig. 15 ). Haltere with whitish yellow knob.

Holotype: ♀ SOUTH AFRICA: Limpopo: Savanna [24.68°S 28.42°E], near Nylstroom , on bark of Eucalyptus tree, 6.ii.1987, V. Nicolai ( UCMZ, 20–39).

Figures

Figs 13, 14. Phalacrotophora species: (13) P. petersoni sp. n., ♂, left face of hypopygium; (14) P. stuckenbergi sp. n., ♀, abdominal tergites 4–6. Scale bars = 0.1 mm.

Fig. 15. Phalacrotophora stuckenbergi sp. n., ♀, patch of enlarged microtrichia between bases of wing veins 4 and 5.