Metopina pileata Schmitz, 1936

Mostovski, Mike B., 2016, Metopina Macquart (Diptera: Phoridae) of Israel, with description of a new species, new records and an identification key, Zootaxa 4111 (1), pp. 61-68 : 65

Metopina pileata Schmitz, 1936

( Figs 5 , 9 )

Metopina pileata Schmitz, 1936: 115 ; Disney, 1979: 107; Withers, 1996: 321.

Material. Israel: 1♂, 1♀ Migdal Afeq [Migdal Zedek, 32°05'00"N 34°57'22"E], 22.xii.1993, A. Freidberg & F. Kaplan; 1♂, 1♀ NE Berekhat Ya’ar [32°25'N 34°54'E], 6.vi.2003, A. Freidberg; 1♂ Almagor [32°55'N 35°36'E], 10–25.xii.2010, W. Kuslitzky, Malaise trap; 1♀ same data but 8–28.ii.2011; 1♂ same data but 7–30.iv.2011.

Distribution. This species is known to occur across Europe ( Disney, 1991; Papp, 2002). This is its first record in Israel.

Biology. Unknown.

Remarks. Typical females of this species have an anterior unpigmented median band on the fourth abdominal tergite ( Disney, 1979). Some females do not possess such a band and the anterior margin of T4 looks entire; however, these specimens are still characterised by a single row of hairs on the pleural region of the fifth abdominal segment whereas the rest of the pleural region is devoid of any setation ( Disney, 1979). One female from Almagor shows greater variability in conditions of these characters. While its T4 is only slightly notched along the anterior margin, it has two complete rows of hairs on each side of its fifth abdominal segment. In Disney’s (1979) key, it would run to either M. heseslhausi or M. oligoneura being none of them.

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 6. Abdominal tergites (T) of Metopina females showing anterior flap (AF) of T 5. 1, M. braueri, T 5; 2, M. heselhausi, T 5; 3, M. kuslitzkyi sp. n., T 4 – 5; 4, M. obsoleta, T 4 – 5; 5, M. pileata, T 5; 6, M. ulrichi, T 4 – 5. Scale bars: 0.1 mm.

FIGURES 7 – 9. Sclerotization on the abdominal venter of Metopina males. 7, M. heselhausi; 8, M. obsoleta; 9, M. pileata. Scale bars: 0.1 mm.