Pherbellia limbata ( Meigen, 1830 )

Nerudová-Horsáková, Jana, Murphy, William L. & Vala, Jean-Claude, 2016, Biology and immature stages of Pherbellia limbata (Diptera: Sciomyzidae), a parasitoid of the terrestrial snail Granaria frumentum, Zootaxa 4117 (1) : -

Pherbellia limbata ( Meigen, 1830)

( Fig. 1 A)

Sciomyza limbata Meigen, 1830: 17

Adult rather small, 3–4 mm long. Body mostly greyish pruinose with darkish spots. Front reddish-yellow but face and genae (cheeks) whitish. Mid-frontal stripe absent, ocellar area broadly triangular. Anepisternum bare; anepimeron with two strong setae. Wing very typical of Pherbellia , with a dark reticulate pattern (the major character by which to distinguish the subgenus Graphomyzina ), costal area entirely black. Legs mainly dark or brownish; mid- and hind tibiae and tarsi medium red-orange. Male genitalia figured by Rozkošný (1965) and Vala (1989).

Distribution. Pherbellia limbata is known only from central and Mediterranean Europe: Austria, Belgium, Bosnia, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Herzegovina, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland and Ukraine.

Collecting site. Nerudová-Horsáková collected 87 adults of P. limbata above herbaceous vegetation on 1.VI.2001 at Velká Klajdovka, a limestone steppe near Brno, Czech Republic. At this site, P. limbata was the only Sciomyzidae species collected. Curiously, all individuals were found on a very limited portion of the large steppe area where the grass Festuca valesiaca (Schleich ex. Gaudin) ( Poaceae ) is the dominant vegetation. The soil around the base of each plant was densely inhabited by the terrestrial snail Granaria frumentum (Draparnaud, 1801) (Gastropoda: Chondrinidae ) ( Figs. 1 B, C). In terms of ecology, this snail is restricted to xerothermic limestone steppes. Other terrestrial snails found at this site included some individuals of the rare species Cepaea vindobonensis (Férussac, 1821) (Helicidae) , Euomphalia strigella (Draparnaud, 1801) and Xerolenta obvia (Menke, 1828) (the latter both Hygromiidae ).

Figures

FIGURE 1. Pherbellia limbata. A, adult female (from Hungary). B, Granaria frumentum, ventral view. C, idem, lateral view. Photo A provided by G. Keresztes from Hungary; Photos B and C provided by J-C. Vala.