Eloeophila Rondani, 1856

Kato, Daichi, 2021, Taxonomic study of the genus Eloeophila Rondani, 1856 of Japan (Limoniidae Diptera), Zootaxa 4995 (3), pp. 425-451 : 426

Eloeophila Rondani, 1856

Eloeophila Rondani, 1856: 182 .

Type species: Limnobia marmorata Meigen, 1818 [= maculata ( Meigen, 1804)] (original designation).

Ephelia Schiner, 1863: 222.

Type species: Limnobia marmorata Meigen, 1818 [= maculata ( Meigen, 1804)] (original designation). Synonymic note in Alexander (1932: 122).

Trichehelia Alexander, 1938: 73. As subgenus of Limnophila Macquart, 1834 .

Type species: Limnophila seticellula Alexander, 1938 (original designation). Synonymic note in Alexander (1957: 363).

General description of Japanese Eloeophila . Head. Eye dichoptic; anterior part of vertex about 1/3 width of head. Rostrum about half length of eye in lateral view. Antenna 16-segmented; scape cylindrical, about twice as long as pedicel; pedicel globular; flagellomeres covered with pubescence and verticils. Palpus 5-segmented.

Thorax. Prescutum bearing distinct prescutal pit. Tuberculate pit absent. Pleuron with meron small; mid and hind coxae close to each other. Wing often sparsely or heavily spotted. M 1+2 forked. Cell bm with supernumerary m-cu near middle. Legs with tibial spurs 1 + 2 + 2. Halter usually 0.7 times as long as thorax or shorter.

Abdomen. Male terminalia with tergite 9 not separated from sternite 9. Gonocoxite with outer and inner gonostylus. Outer gonostylus sclerotized, usually flattened dorsoventrally. Inner gonostylus freshly. Parameres extending medially, fused with each other at center, forming bridge. Mesal-apical lobe of paramere bare at tip. Lateral apodeme of lower shelf about as long as lower shelf. Ovipositor ( Fig. 1H ) with cercus longer than tergite 10. Hypogynial valve longer than sternite 8.

Remarks. Eloeophila is similar to Idioptera Macquart, 1834 in terms of having a supernumerary m-cu, but differenciated from the genus by the following characters: outer gonostylus of male terminalia heavily sclerotized, dark, usually flattened dorsoventrally, tip usually pointed (not heavily sclerotized, almost as pale as inner gonostylus, not flattened dorsoventrally, obtuse at tip in Idioptera). In general appearance and structure of male terminalia, this genus resembles Afrolimnophila Alexander, 1956b , but species of the latter genus do not have a supernumerary m-cu. (rarely the crossvein present, but differing in the structure of the male terminalia).

Figures

FIGURE 1. Eloeophila amamiana (Alexander, 1956). A. habitus, lateral view; B. wing; C. male terminalia, dorsal view; D. outer gonostylus, ventral view; E. aedeagal complex, dorsal view; F. same, lateral view (left = dorsal); G. paramere, dorsal surface; H. female terminalia, lateral view. Scale bars: A–B, 2 mm; C–H, 0.1 mm. Abbreviations: ad, aedeagus; av, apodeme of vesica; cr, cercus; hv, hypogynial valve; ig, inner gonostylus; lp, lateral apodeme; ls, lower shelf; outer gonostylus; pm, paramere; s m-cu, supernumerary m-cu; sX, sternite X; tX, tergite X; vs, vesica.