Prodalmannia variabilis Bezzi, 1929

Korneyev, V. A., 2016, New Taxa And Synonymy In The Family Pyrgotidae (Diptera, Tephritoidea). I. Tribes Prodalmanniini And Toxopyrgotini, Vestnik Zoologii 50 (1), pp. 39-48 : 40-43

Prodalmannia variabilis Bezzi, 1929 ( fig. 1–29 )

Bezzi, 1929: 19; Paramonov, 1958: 89, 93; Aczél, 1956: 2; Pitkin, 1989: 501.

M a t e r i a l. Type. Syntype Ò: Australia: “Sydney, Manly / Nov 1923 ” (33°47'55" S, 151°17'5" E), “ Holotype ”, “K.359109” ( AMS); syntype ♀ [same labels as in syntype ♀] ( AMS) .

Non-type. Australia: New South Wales: Mosman, 25.09.1923, 1 Ò (Mackerras) ( ANIC); “Umgeb. Sydney”, [no date], 1 ♀, “Sydney”, [no date], 1 ♀ (Luddemann) ( DEI) Capital Territory: Canberra, Black Mountain ,

9.12.1957, 1 Ò (I. F. B. Common) (captured at light and pinned together with Phyllotocus macleayi ); idem, [data unavailable], 5 ♀ (I. F. B. Common) ( ANIC) .

S h o r t d e s c r i p t i o n. Head matt brown, with black occiput and antenna; frons opaque reddish, deeply shagreened, narrowest part in male about 0.2, in female about 0.5 as wide as eye, vertex shagreened, subshining, setae and setulae black, one orbital seta at posterior one-third; ocellar triangle and orbital plates almost inconspicuous; frons and parafacial sparsely setulose. Antenna, including arista, black, all segments densely covered with scales, matt; scape with one row of setulae; pedicel with 1–2 rows of setulae and one long seta dorsally of pedicellar notch; flagellomere 1 rounded, as long as wide; arista 3-segmented, conspicuously microtrichose ( fig. 11–12 ). Parafacial brownish-yellow, with subshining triangle; gena opaque reddish brown, soft, wider than vertical diameter of eye and 0.7–0.8 times as high as vertical diameter of eye. Face reddish, matt; antennal grooves widely fused, matt; epistome with black spot dorsally and two black lines along lateral margins. Palpus black, black setose; proboscis blackish, with black hairs. Thorax brownish yellow, shining, with paler postpronotal lobe and pleuron, long black setulose; mesonotum with black marking, short and narrow in female ( fig. 1 ), sometimes entirely lacking, and wider and longer in male ( fig. 2 ), with 1 postpronotal, 1 presutural supra-alar, 2 dorsocentral and 1 presutural acrostichal seta present; scutellum entirely subshining brownish yellow, with 3–4 pairs of long marginal setae and additional setulae, but mostly bare on disk; katepisternum and meron usually with black marks; mediotergite shining black. Wings hyaline, greyish microtrichose; yellowish at bases and on costa, veins yellowish, darkened on distal half of wing. Halteres pale yellowish. Legs brownish yellow, black setose and setulose, with apically darkened tibiae and brownish-black tarsi. Abdomen shining brownish yellow, long black setulose. Male genitalia as on fig. 16–22 : epandrium short and rounded, dorsally densely setulose, with short outer surstyli; inner surstylus with row of setulae and 2–4 prensisetae ( fig. 16, 18 ); hypandrium with widely separated vanes connected to equal paired pregonites ( fig. 17–18 ); sensillar fields (remnants of postgonites) allied to basiphallus present; border of basiphallus and subepandrial sclerite with fold covered by ciliae or microtrichia ( fig. 19 ); phallus bare, with short and very poorly sclerotized glans ( fig. 20 ); ejaculatory apodeme fan-like, with very large sperm pump ( fig. 20–21 ). Female sternites 3–6 transverse, setulose ( fig. 23 ); terminalia: oviscape very wide, shining black ( fig. 6 ); ventrally with tongue-like flap formed by 9–10 thick setae ( fig. 6 , 15 ).

R e m a r k s. The only data on possible host-parasite relationships of this species is Paramonov’s report based on the Common’s and Straatman’s observations on the females of P. variabilis apparently attempting to oviposit upon adult beetles Phyllotocus macleayi Fischer ( Scarabaeidae : Melolonthinae: Sericini ) ( fig. 7 ) at light trap crawling over a sheet ( Paramonov, 1958); this is, however, not a rearing record, so I consider that only as a possible host. It is interesting that most or all known hosts of the pyrgotid flies of the basal lineages belong to Sericini (Koneyev, unpublished data).

Figures

Fig. 1–7.Prodalmannia variabilis: ♀ (1, 6), Ò (2–5) and its possible host, Phyllotocus macleayi (7): 1 — habitus, antero-dorsal; 2, 7 — same, dorsal; 3 —same, lateral; 4 — head, anterior; 5 — wing; 6 — oviscape.

Fig.8–15.Prodalmannia variabilis, SEM photographs:8–10 —head (8 — anterior, 9 — posterior, 10 — anterior view); 11 — antenna, dorsal; 12 — same, base of arista; 13 — vertex and frons; 14 — face vestiture; 15 — apicoventral comb of oviscape.

Fig. 16–22. Prodalmannia variabilis, Ò genitalia: 16 — epandrium posterior; 17–18 — epandrium and hypandrium, right lateral (17) and ventral (18) view; 19 — basiphallus; 20 — glans of phallus; 21–22 — ejaculatory apodeme, lateral and ventral. Ab b re v i at i o n s: basph — basiphallus; hypd — hypandrium; phapod — phallapodeme; pregt — pregonite; prens — prensisetae; sf — sensillar field; sur — surstylus; va ap — vanes of apodeme.

Fig. 23–29. Prodalmannia variabilis, ♀ genitalia: 23 — abdomen, ventral view; 24 — eversible membranev ventral; 25 — eversible memrane and aculeus, lateral (left) view; 26 — aculeus; 27 — same, cercal unit, enlarged; 28 — ventral receptacle; 29 — spermathecae. Ab b re v i at i on s: an — anal opening; cer — cercal unit; st8 — 8th sternite; tae — taenia.