Rhagoletis sp.

Korneyev, V. A., Mishustin, R. I. & Korneyev, S. V., 2017, The Carpomyini Fruit Flies Diptera: Tephritidae Of Europe Caucasus And Middle East: New Records Of Pests With Improved Keys, Vestnik Zoologii 51 (6), pp. 453-470 : 466

Rhagoletis sp. near flavigenualis Hering

Rhagoletis batava: Merz, 1994: 108 (misidentification). — Rhagoletis flavigenualis: Merz, 2006: 8 (misidentification).

Material. Switzerland: Graubunden: Mezocco , 890 m, 1.07.1990, 1 Ơ: (B. Merz) ( MHNG) ; Visp: Vispetrterminen , 1300–1900 m, 21.07.2004, 1 Ơ, 1 ♀ (S. & V. Korneyev) ( SIZK) ; idem, 1500 m, “ Kreuz ” (the cross on a hill), 21.07.2004, idem, 1400–1600 m, 18.05, 17.07, 20.07, 26.07.1993, 4 Ơ, 3 ♀ (B. Merz) ( MHNG) .

D i s t r i b u t i o n. Switzerland.

H o s t p l a n t s. Unknown; swept from Juniperus sp.

Remarks. This species can be recognized from the related Western Palaearctic species ( R. flavigenualis , R. bagheera , R. batava ) by the combination of black femora (including entire fore femur), smaller size, and different host plant. It can be readily differentiated from R. flavigenualis , which also feeds in juniper “berries”, by the femora black (mostly yellow, except base of hind femur in R. flavigenualis ) and by the wing crossbands uniformly dark brown (yellow, brown bordered in R. flavigenualis ). It differs from R. batava and R. bagheera by the fore femur largely black and the scutellum only narrowly darkened on anterior 0.1–0.2 (in R. batava and R. bagheera , fore femur only with black dorsal vitta, and scutellum widely darkened on anterior 0.25–0.30). In addition, it differs from R. batava by its smaller size (WL = 3.0–3.5 mm; in R. batava, WL =3.5–4.0 mm). Molecular analysis (Hulbert, Smith & S. Korneyev, in prep.) supports the hypothesis that this is an undescribed new species, which will be subject to a forthcoming paper.