Empidideicus greatheadi Gharali & Evenhuis

Gharali, Babak, Kamali, Karim, Evenhuis, Neal, Talebi, Ali Asghar & Khalgani, Jafar, 2010, First record of the genus Empidideicus (Diptera: Bombylioidea: Mythicomyiidae) from Iran, with description of six new species, Zootaxa 2627, pp. 1-19 : 8-10

Empidideicus greatheadi Gharali & Evenhuis , sp. nov.

( Figs. 3 a–g, 7c, 8d)

Specimens examined: Holotype female (dried by HMDS) and 10 male, 10 female paratypes (5 males and 5 females dried by HMDS, remainder preserved in alcohol), IRAN: Abazar, Abazar village, Ghazvin province, N36°17' E50° 10', 1463 m asl, 15 June 2009, Pan trapping, leg. B. Gharali (all in TMUC); 15 male, 25 female paratypes (preserved in alcohol), IRAN: Barajin, 8 km North of Ghazvin City, Ghazvin province, N36°20' 50" E350°4'15", 1512 m asl., 23 June 2009, leg. B. Gharali (BPBM); 11 male, 10 female paratypes, IRAN: Nodahak rangeland, Nodahak village, Ghazvin province, N35°57' E49° 35', 1328 m asl., 3 June 2009, Pan trapping, leg. B. Gharali (BPBM); 12 female, 8 male paratypes, same locality data as holotype (ZMHB); 5 female, 8 male paratypes, same locality data as holotype, personal collection of Jorge Almeida ( Portugal); 10 male, 10 female paratypes (preserved in alcohol), IRAN: Nodahak rangeland, Nodahak village, Ghazvin province, N35° 57' E49°35', 1328 m asl., 3 June 2009, Pan trapping, leg. B. Gharali (personal collection of first author).

Diagnosis. Empidideicus greatheadi is distinguished from congeners in Iran by the black mesonotum and completely yellow scutellum. Using the key to species of the UAE ( Evenhuis, 2009), our new species runs to E. anahorticus Evenhuis ; but E. greatheadi is easily separated from this Arabian species by the color of the scutellum, which is yellow in our species and reddish brown in the Arabian one. According to Engel’s (1933) key, our new species runs to E. hungaricus Thalhammer, 1911 but it is easily distinguished from it by the completely black occiput (occiput yellow laterally in E. hungaricus ). Epidideicus asiaticus Zaitzev, 1971 occurring in Middle Asia is similar to E. greatheadi but is separated from Iranian species by yellow pedicel (dark brown in E. greatheadi ) and brown mark in the middle of scutellum (scutellum completely yellow in E. greatheadi ). Zaitzev (1971) did not illustrate the genitalia of his species so we are not able to compare the genitalia.

Description. Female. Length 2.12 mm (Female) – 1.63 mm (Male) (n=20).

Head ( Fig. 7 c). Longer than high (1.3 times); eyes dichoptic, separated at vertex by 1.8 times distance between lateral ocelli; occiput and postgena black, with minute yellowish hairs; frons slightly depressed medially, yellow with semi-ellipsoid brown mark medially; face, oral margin, and mentum yellow; antennae ( Fig. 3 a) dark brown except scape yellow, set in deep pocket; scape short, subtrapezoidal; pedicel subconical, wider than long; first flagellomere oval, length 1.5 times greatest width; second flagellomere 0.6 times length of first flagellomere with minute, bullet-shaped, transparent apical style; clypeus yellow with brown area basally; about as long as labrum; proboscis brown; length 1.25 times head length; labrum sclerotised, stiff, pointed apically, length subequal to head length.

Thorax ( Fig. 8 d). Slightly wider than head; mesonotum subshiny, yellow with 3 black longitudinal stripes, middle stripe extends from anterior margin to 4/5 length of mesonotum; lateral stripes extend from humeral callus to postalar callus; scutellum yellow; pleura yellow with black color on following: anepisternum as a crescent mark anteroventrally, lateral and ventral margins of anepimeron; lower three-fourths of katepisternum and meron; halter stem and knob yellowish white.

Legs. Yellow except basal three-fourths of femora faintly brown; tarsal segments except metatarsi brownish black.

Wings ( Fig. 3 b). Hyaline; length (from base to end of R4+5) 2.7 times width (from end of R1 to CuA2); veins brown; costa, Sc, R1, R4+5 well sclerotised; veins M1, M2, M1+2 thin, less sclerotised; vein separating basal cells, base of Rs, and A1 evanescent; costa ends slightly beyond end of R4+5; M1 curved to wing margin; M2 slightly curved to wing margin; cell dm open; A1 straight to wing margin; anal cell open in wing margin by width subequal to r-m crossvein; fringe of hairs on posterior margin of wing shortest at wing tip becoming longer and more sparse toward base.

Abdomen. With minute sparse yellow hairs; tergites blackish brown with posterior margin widely yellow, yellow color extends much forward laterally and toward abdomen tip; sternites yellowish white except the last sternite with faintly brown areas basally and laterally.

Genitalia ( Fig. 3 g). Spermathecal reservoir subglobular, slightly wider than long, with shallow apical cylindrical invagination, width of invagination 0.4 times diameter of reservoir, its depth one-third reservoir height with floor puffed up; apical spermathecal duct membranous about 3.5 times reservoir height, basally slightly sclerotised and brownish; sperm pump striated, gradually narrowing toward base, with well sclerotised apical valve, 0.8 times apical duct in length; basal spermathecal duct membranous, subequal to reservoir height; common spermathecal duct absent; furca U-shaped; lateral arms broadening as triangular sclerotised plate apically, subapically with clavate processes oriented mesally.

Male. Similar to female except darker and smaller; mesonotum with faint brown mark in prescutellar area.

Male genitalia ( Figs. 3 c–f). Epandrium yellow, dark brown basally, ellipsoid in dorsal view, with slightly pointed tip; Gonocoxa fused, well sclerotised marginally except anterior margin, with two triangular inwardly oriented long processes, gonostylus L-shaped, basal part subquadrate, apical part narrowly pointed apically; gonocoxal apodeme extends to tip of aedeagal apodeme; basal aedeagal apodeme with two paired rami basally; lateral apodeme one-third length of median apodeme; aedeagal bulb large, rounded with two small processes; lateral processes shorter than lateral apodemes; epiphallus consists of less sclerotised, apically rounded plate dorsally and serrate plate apicomarginally with a finger-shaped process apicomesally.

Etymology. The new species is named in the honor of the famous bee fly taxonomist, David Greathead, who passed away just a day after sending some of his papers to the first author.

Distribution. This species is currently known only from Iran (Ghazvin province).

Variability. Lateral black stripes on mesonotum sometimes joined to median stripe in anterior section or entire length so mesonotum seems completely black on disc with two large interhumeral marks and prescutellar area yellow.

Figures

FIGURE 3. Empidideicus greatheadi: a—antennae lateral view, b—wing, c—phallic complex dorsal view, d—phallic complex lateral view, e—epandrium dorsal view, f—gonocoxa dorsal view, g—female genitalia.

FIGURE 7. Lateral view of Empidideicus adults (females): a— E. amicus, b— E. ebellicus, c— E. greatheadi, d— E. matricarius, e— E. legulicoxa, f— E. persicus.

FIGURE 8. Dorsal view of Empidideicus mesonotum (females): a, b— E. amicus, c— E. ebellicus, d— E. greatheadi, e— E. matricarius, f— E. persicus.