Hilarempis gymnaspis Bezzi, 1909

Rafael, J. A., 2012, Revision of Neotropical species of Empididae (Diptera) described by Mario Bezzi. VIII. The species described in Hilarempis Bezzi, Zootaxa 3189 (1), pp. 56-68 : 64-66

Hilarempis gymnaspis Bezzi

( Figs. 47–57 , 74 )

Hilarempis gymnaspis Bezzi, 1909: 370 ; Melander 1928: 129 (check list); Collin 1933: 110 (citation); Smith 1967: 34 (catalogue); Yang et al. 2007: 240 (catalogue).

Diagnosis. Dark brown with grey pruinosity; frons with biserial row of setae; face glabrous; scutum with dark longitudinal bands; biserial acrostichal and dorsocentral rows of setae; tibia predominantly yellow, fore tibia with longer setae; fore tarsomere 1 swollen, slightly wider than tibia; pterostigma tenuous at apex of costal cell; halter yellow.

Re-description. Lectotype male. Body 5.3 mm; wing 6.5 mm long. Head ( Fig. 47 ) dichoptic; ommatidia subequal. Frons ( Fig. 49 ) slightly wider than ocellar tubercle, subquadrate, parallel-sided, matte brown, predominantly grey-brown pruinose in certain angles and grey near insertion of antenna. Frons setae biserial, each row with 6 slender lateroclinate setae, external row and dorsal setae longer. Face glabrous, slightly wider than frons, subquadrate, divergent at ventral margin, grey pruinose. Ocellar tubercle slightly protuberant, matte brown, grey-brown pruinose in certain angles; a pair of anterior ocellar setae divergent, robust, long, and 5–6 pairs of short posterior setae. Postcranium ( Fig. 48 ) brown, grey pruinose; setae of upper half more robust, black; on lower half slender, clear; postocular setae distinct, long, subequal to each other and to vertical setae; occipital setae multiserial, misaligned. Gena and postgena with slender clear setae. Proboscis ( Fig. 47 ) slightly longer than height of head, with black labrum, shiny medially, yellow laterally. Palpus yellowish-brown with dark apex and slightly swollen, with several long slender setae. Antenna ( Fig. 47 ), matte black, velvety; postpedicel almost 2X longer than length of scape and pedicel combined and almost 1.5X longer than three-segmented stylus. Segment 1 of stylus very short, segment 2 around 0.5 postpedicel length and more than 5X longer than thin segment 3.

Thorax ( Fig. 50 ). Matte brown, grey pruinose; scutum with narrow dark longitudinal band between acrostichal and dorsocentral rows of setae, extending beyond transverse suture, and another, wider but less distinct longitudinal band between dorsocentral and supra-alar rows. Chaetotaxy: 4 dark antepronotals, lateral setae longer; 2 postpronotals more robust, black, slender and about 14 slender and distinct; 4–5 slender, clear proepisternals; several slender, clear proepimerals; over 15 slender biserial acrostichals in complete row; around 17 biserial dorsocentrals until shortly before transverse suture and then becoming uniserial, slender and longer than acrostichals, last three setae more robust; several distinct intra-alars, presuturals and postsuturals misaligned; 5–6 aligned supra-alar presuturals, 2 slightly more robust; 6–7 supra-alar postsuturals, 1 more robust; 3 robust notopleurals, and about 15 slender, distinct; 1 postalar and 2 scutellars, apical setae parallel sided.

Legs ( Figs. 51–53 ). Brown, except trochanter partially, base of femora, entire tibiae and base of first tarsomeres yellow; distinctly grey pruinose on coxa and femora. Fore tibia ( Fig. 51 ) with row of long posterodorsal setae, distal setae stouter, besides 1 robust dorsoapical and 1 long anterodorsal, 1 posterior, 1 apical posteroventral short and robust; dorsal row with slender setae, shorter than posterodorsal row; first fore tarsomere swollen, slightly wider than tibia and around.6 length of fore tibia, with 1 anterior seta and 1 posterior apical short and some ventral short, spiniform and clearer seta. Mid tibia ( Fig. 52 ) with anterodorsal, posterodorsal, anteroventral, and posteroventral row of more robust setae, irregularly spaced. Hind tibia ( Fig. 53 ) with 4 dorsal setae at distal.75, 3 anterodorsal at basal half and 1 anterodorsal subapical, 3 anterior setae at distal.66; first hind tarsomere with two longer seta dorsally.

Wing ( Fig. 74 ) hyaline with brown veins; base of costa with long robust seta; pterostigma tenuous, yellow, at apex of costal cell. Vein A 1 almost entirely evanescent. Halter yellow.

Abdomen brown, distinctly grey pruinose in posterior view; setae clear, longer laterally; hind margin of tergites with uniserial row of more robust setae, notably on tergites 6 and 7 ( Fig. 54 ). Sternites concolorous with tergites. Tergite 8 ( Fig. 55 ) small with posterolateral setae.

Terminalia in natural position upward-directed and proclinate ( Fig. 54 ). Cercus and lobe formed by cercal plate + bacilliform sclerite apparently fused, with no indication of separation. Epandrium ( Fig. 56 ) with deep posterodorsal cleft. Hypandrium with small lateral spines ( Fig. 57 ). Postgonite ( Fig. 56 ) sinuous. Phallus ending at level of postgonite apex. Ejaculatory apodeme lamellar.

Female: Unknown.

Geographic distribution. Peru, Cuzco.

Material examined. LECTOTYPE ♂ (here designated), “ PERU, Cuzco, 08.iv.1905, 3500 – 4200 m; iii.1905, 3200 – 4200 m.” . Paralectotype: 1 ♂, same data as lectotype .

Lectotype condition. Left postpedicel missing; right wing partially broken; left wing mounted on microslide. Terminalia in vial with glycerin.

Variation. No difference between lectotype and paralectotype specimens.

Remarks. This species was described based on two specimens from the same locality, Peru, Cuzco. Both are deposited in Dresden. One of them is designated lectotype accordingly to fix and stabilize the current concept of the name.

Discussion. Hilarempis gymnaspis , as in H. argentifera , apparently belongs to a group together with H. dolosa Collin, 1933 , H. facilis Collin, 1933 and H. propinqua Collin, 1933 , all sharing four longitudinal bands on the mesonotum, dorsocentral setae more than uniserial and female cercus downcurved (female unknown for H. gymnaspis ). Using Collin’s (1933) key, the male specimen of H. gymnaspis runs to couplet 17 of H. facilis by the following characters: thorax dark ground-colour, antennae all dark, dorsocentral setae more than uniserial, fore tarsomere 1 of male not so long as tibia and slender, not stouter than femur. The epandrial posterodorsal protuberance is present in H. gymnaspis ( Fig. 56 ) and absent in H. facilis according to Collin (1933, fig. 23i).

Figures

FIGURES 47–57. Hilarempis gymnaspis Bezzi, lectotype ♂ (pres. desig.). 47, head, lateral view; 48, postcranium, posterolateral view; 49, frons, frontal view; 50, thorax, dorsal view; 51, left fore leg, posterior view; 52, left mid leg, posterior view; 53, left hind leg, posterior view; 54, terminalia before maceration, lateral view; 55, tergite 8, dorsal view; 56, terminalia, lateral view; 57, apex of hypandrium and phallus, posterior view; 58, postgonite, lateral view. Abbreviations: ce + b scl = cercus + bacilliform sclerite, ep = epandrium, hypd = hypandrium, ptg = postgonite; ph = phallus, ST = sternite, T = tergite. Scale bars: 47–50, 51–53, 54 = 0.5 mm; 55–57 = 0.2 mm.

FIGURES 70–75. Wings. 70, Hilarempis argentifera Bezzi, holotype ♀; 71, H. barbatula Bezzi, lectotype ♂ (pres. desig.); 72, H. carinata Bezzi, lectotype ♂ (pres. desig.); 73, H. elegans Bezzi, holotype ♂; 74, H. gymnaspis Bezzi, lectotype ♂ (pres. desig.); 75, H. xanthocera Bezzi, ♀ specimen from Peru.