Eoneria blanchardi Aczél

Sepúlveda, Tatiana A., Wolff, Marta I. & De Carvalho, Claudio J. B., 2013, Revision of the Neotropical genus Eoneria Aczél (Diptera: Neriidae) with description of a new species from Colombia, Zootaxa 3636 (2), pp. 245-256 : 247-250

Eoneria blanchardi Aczél

( Figs. 1–8 )

Eoneria blanchardi Aczél 1951: 571 (description), 572 (fig. 20); Aczél 1961: 278 (key), 281 (fig. 1); Steyskal 1968: 2 (catalogue).

Diagnosis. Frontal vitta mainly ochraceous pruinose, except for two lateral yellowish brown “Y” shaped pruinose stripes from the anterior margin of frons to converge on the ocellar tubercle. Fronto-orbital plate with three pairs of well-developed fronto-orbital setae. Male fore tibiae with two ventral rows of small spine-like setae. Fore femur with one dorsal distomedial seta.

Male. Body length (excluding antenna and epandrium) 7.1–7.5 mm. Wing length 5.0– 5.2 mm and width 1.4 mm. Dark yellowish brown colored with partly yellow head and thorax; pleuron gray pruinose ( Fig. 1 ).

Head. Moderately elongate; 1.6–1.7 mm length and 1.1–1.3 mm width. Frons wide and concave; compound eyes; anterior margin almost straight; frontal vitta ochraceous pruinose except for two lateral yellowish brown pruinose “Y” shaped stripes from the anterior margin of frons to converge in front of the ocellar tubercle. Fronto-orbital plate white pruinose and narrow, with three pairs of well-developed setae, increasing in size posteriorly ( Fig. 2 ). Postocellar setae large and convergent, length 3.0–3.5 times the transversal diameter of ocellar tubercle; inner vertical setae slightly convergent, subequal to outer vertical setae; outer vertical setae long and divergent, subequal to postocellar setae. Ocellar tubercle velvet blackish brown, triangular, large and somewhat raised, isolated from the yellowish brown pruinose vitta behind the eye; the ocellar plate slightly raised on the posterior margin of head, between the postocellar setae. Parafacial velvet brown with one yellow median spot. Face yellow, wide and straight with several tiny setulae on ventral margin. Vibrissa spine-like, subequal to genal setae. Gena subshiny whitish yellow, wide and ventrally rounded; with one genal spine-like seta half as long as postocellar setae. Postgena whitish yellow pruinose; narrowing posteriorly and separated from occiput by a bend, giving rise to the yellowish brown pruinose vitta behind the eye; with a dense patch of long and weak pale setulae at posterior margin of head. Occiput mainly yellowish brown pruinose, separated by one yellow median vitta and ventral yellowish brown vitta with one paler median pruinose vitta; with black strong and short setulae towards posterior margin of the head; length 40–50% height ( Fig. 4 ). Antennal base pale yellowish brown with slight yellow pruinescence; longer than wide in dorsal view; on ventral margin it may present two or three inconspicuous black setulae, coming from the row of setulae of the face. Antennae half of head length. Scape testaceous yellow, darkened on lateral margins; 0.2 mm long. Pedicel same color as scape; 0.2 mm long; laterally flattened; with strong black setulae on dorsal, ventral and distal margins; inner process of pedicel triangular and narrow, reaching the proximal half of first flagellomere. First flagellomere ochraceous ovate; length 1.4–1.6 times width. Arista blackish brown and microscopically pubescent; inserted at dorsoapical margin of the first flagellomere.

Thorax. Yellowish brown pruinose with one dorsal gray pruinose vitta same width as scutellum, separated by a narrow median yellowish brown stripe; with one faint yellowed gray pruinose vitta covering the lateral margin of mesoscutum, the postpronotal lobe and the notopleuron throughout the alar base; pleuron densely covered by gray pruinescence; thoracic setae long and slender. Anterior notopleural setae directed backwards, equal to posterior notopleural and 70% of postalar setae length. Supra-alar setae half as long as postalar setae. Postalar setae curved and the longest thoracic setae. Six pairs of dorsocentral setae: two presutural pairs weaker and four postsutural pairs increasing in size towards the scutellum, prescutellar pair the longest and subequal to postalar setae. Scutellum yellowish brown pruinose with a median yellow vitta narrowing in the middle; lateral margins faintly rounded with one pair of hair-like subapical setae; distal margin truncated with one pair of strong apical setae, same length as scutellum. Postpronotal lobe yellowish dark with a dorsal paler stripe. Postpronotal carina shiny yellowish brown, projecting anteriorly to postpronotal lobe. Prosternum shiny yellowish brown; linear with rounded anterior margin and separated from the proepisternal plate by one wide membranous area. Proepisternum yellow anteriorly and yellowish brown posteriorly, densely pruinose with a small brown seta above fore coxa. Katepisternum brown pruinose with one black and straight seta subequal to postalar setae. Katatergite pruinose, same color as pleuron; length is 1.1 times width. Anatergite and mediotergite yellowish brown and white pruinose.

Legs. Fore coxa yellowish brown and paler than the other coxae; whitish pruinose; with one antero-apical well developed seta and one or two much weaker setae; anterior margin with several yellowish brown setulae and two strong setae on anterolateral margin. Mid and hind coxae each with two lateral setae and one antero-apical seta accompanied by several weak setulae. All femora yellowish brown with gray pruinescense. Fore femora with several anteroventral and posteroventral spine-like setae and one dorsal distomedial seta ( Fig. 5 ). Mid femur anterior margin with a row of five median setae. Hind femur with two dorsal distomedial setae more conspicuous than those on fore femur. Tibiae yellow and darker at the apex with several apical spine-like setae, which are stronger on mid and hind tibiae; covered with rows of short black setulae that are denser distally; fore tibiae in some males with two ventral rows of small spines. Tarsi yellow, darkening distally.

Wing ( Fig. 6 ). Yellowish with brownish veins, microtrichose. Basicosta with one dorsal seta and one ventral seta. Vein dm-cu straight, not oblique. Margin of upper calypter whitish yellow with fringe of long white setulae and margin of lower calypter whitish yellow and bare. Halteres whitish yellow, with darkened and orbicular knob.

Abdomen. Yellowish brown with short black setulae; with a median yellow pruinose vitta and each tergite with a pair of distinct white pruinose spots at anterior margin, widely separate from lateral margin. Tergite 2 with one lateral seta, subequal to supra-alar seta and two conspicuous setae on posterior margin ( Fig. 3 ). Tergite 6 somewhat longer, narrowing distally. Genitalia pale yellowish brown. Syntergosternum 7+8 subshiny pale yellowish brown; half epandrium length. Epandrium same color as syntergosternum 7+8, dorsally darker; laterally and apically pruinose with short yellowish brown setulae; extends to level of posterior margin of tergite 4. Anterior lobe of surstylus shiny yellow, linear and narrow with yellow setulae on apical margin. Posterior lobe of surstylus shiny yellow and wide, with dorsally white pruinescence and yellow setulae ( Figs. 7, 8 ).

Female. Similar to male, differs as follows: Body length (excluding antenna and oviscape) 6.4–7.1 mm. Wing length 4.5–5.7 mm and width 1.5–1.6 mm. Oviscape pale yellowish brown, with white pruinescence and brown setulae, except in a bare mid stripe; length 1.7 times maximum width. Segment 8 brown except for yellow apex.

Holotype: (not examined) female. ARGENTINA: Corrientes, i.1950, D´Angelo. The holotype was part of the E. Blanchard’s collection, which was donated to the Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales Bernardino Rivadavia after his death, but the specimen is lost.

Type material examined. Paratype: ARGENTINA: 1 female (without head), same data as holotype (MUL) Other material examined. BRAZIL: 1 female, Bahia, Milagres, 23.vi.1974, S. Laroca-Leg. (DZUP); ARGENTINA: 1 male, Sur. Prov. De Jujuy, ii.1970, L. E. Peña (DZUP); 1 male, 1 female, Prov. La Rioja, 7km, NW de Patquia, 28–29 (MZUSP); 1male, Chaco, ii.1974, En Eriocereus (MUL).

Distribution. Brazil, Argentina.

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 3. Eoneria blanchardi Aczél, male; 1. Habitus; 2. Head, dorsal view; 3. Abdomen, lateral view. Scales: 1 mm.

FIGURES 4 – 8. Eoneria blanchardi Aczél, male; 4. Head, lateral view; 5. Fore leg, anterior view; 6. Wing; 7. Epandrium, lateral view. 8. Epandrium, dorsal view. Scales: 1 mm.