Centrophlebomyia anthropophaga (Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830)

Mei, Maurizio, Whitmore, Daniel, Giudice, Giuseppe Lo & Cerretti, Pierfilippo, 2013, A neotype designation for the bone-skipper Centrophlebomyia anthropophaga (Diptera, Piophilidae, Thyreophorina), with a review of the Palaearctic species of Centrophlebomyia, ZooKeys 310, pp. 7-28 : 9-18

Centrophlebomyia anthropophaga (Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830) Figs 1−4, 11, 12, 15−18, 22, 24−38

Thyreophora anthropophaga Robineau-Desvoidy 1830: 623 - type locality: Paris (France).

Type material examined.

Neotype (designated below). Male (ZMUC), here designated, from Sardinia, Italy and bearing the following labels: SARDEGNA / Belvì (NU) / 10.X.'84 [39°57.889'N, 9°11.111'E] // Neotype ♂ / Thyreophora / anthropophaga / Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830 / M. Mei & P. Cerretti des. 2013 // Centrophlebomyia / anthropophaga / (Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830) / M. Mei & P. Cerretti det. 2013).

Other material examined. 5 ♂♂, 5 ♀♀, same data as neotype. 35 ♂♂, 3 ♀♀, Italy, Abruzzo, L’Aquila province, Riserva Naturale Orientata Monte Velino, Man dridi, 42°7.696'N, 13°22.247'E, 1270 m, 11.XI.2005, G. Lo Giudice, M. Mini, A. Vigna Taglianti legit. 20 ♂♂, 13 ♀♀, same data but 9.XII.2005; 13 ♂♂, 4 ♀♀, same data but 25.I.2006; 7 ♂♂, 1 ♀♀, same data but 25.X.2006; 2 ♂♂, same data but 9.XI.2006; 3 ♂♂, 5 ♀♀, same data but 16.XI.2006; 6 ♂♂, 4 ♀♀, same data but 30.XI.2006; 2♂♂, same data but XI.2006 reared from larvae, (see below); 13 ♂♂, 2 ♀♀, same data but 14.X.2007; 2 ♂♂, same data but 18.XI.2008.

References.

Michelsen 1983; Contini and Rivosecchi 1993; Martín-Vega et al. 2010.

Remarks.

Specimens from Sardinia were collected from a bag of dead, decaying snails ( Contini and Rivosecchi 1993). Specimens from central Italy were collected with hand net (adults) and pitfall traps (adults, larvae) filled with a saturated solution of water and salt (NaCl), in a large fenced area where a feeding station ("vulture restaurant") was kept for a population of griffon vultures living in the Nature Reserve. Twenty pitfall traps were placed around dead and dismembered sheep (front and rear quarters without skin and guts).

Distribution.

?France (Paris), Italy (Sardinia, Central Apennines).

Redescription.

Colouration. Head, including antenna and palpus, usually reddish yellow; sometimes dorsal half of occiput black. Occiput, ocellar triangle, genal dilation, and parafacial covered with microtomentum. When seen in dorsal view, the microtomentum that covers the occiput anteriorly outlines a three-pointed crown on the frons between the medial posterior margin of eyes (Figs 1, 3, 11, 12); middle tip of crown corresponds to anterior ocellus; lateral tips, laterally confined by eyes, end about level with posterior ocelli or slightly anteriorly. Prementum black. Postpronotum at least partly reddish laterally (reddish colour usually not visible in dorsal view). Scutum black in ground colour, covered with thin microtomentum except around base of dorsocentral setae and two lateral, longitudinal shiny vittae, widely interrupted at level of transverse suture (Figs 1, 27) (suture well developed laterally up to level of dorsocentral row). Scutellum at least apically yellow. Legs usually entirely yellow, rarely tarsi darkened. Abdomen usually entirely yellow or light brown, but can vary from dark brown to shiny black dorsally in some females. Setae of whole body black. Wing hyaline.

Head (Figs 1−4, 11−12, 15, 27). Head about as wide as thorax. Eye almost round. Frons 2.0−2.5 times as wide as an eye in dorsal view. Parafacial 1/2-2/3 as wide as first flagellomere, both measured at mid length. Gena, in profile, 0.33-0.65 times as high as eye. Medial vertical seta well developed, reclinate. Lateral vertical seta well developed, about 4/5 of medial vertical seta, lateroclinate. One or (usually) two upper reclinate orbital setae; when two are present, then anterior one at most 1/3 as long as posterior seta, and distinctly thinner. Postocellar seta strong and reclinate, subequal in size to ocellar and medial vertical setae. Ocellar seta proclinate. Anterior margin of frons with 2-3 pairs of pro- and medioclinate, strong frontal setae. Fronto-orbital plate with scattered, short, proclinate or medioclinate setae, between posteriormost upper reclinate orbital seta and distal margin of pedicel. Vibrissa double, very strong. Antenna shorter than height of facial ridge; first flagellomere 1.3-2.0 times as long as pedicel. Occiput and genal dilation covered with scattered black setae. Palpus well developed, apically clavate, covered with fine black setae.

Thorax (Figs 1, 3, 16, 17, 27). Thorax covered with fine black setulae, those on scutum distinctly shorter than those on pleurae. Postpronotum with or without 1-2 very fine setae in male (Fig. 16), usually with 2, relatively strong setae in female (Fig. 17). One strong presutural and 2 postsutural supra-alar setae; posterior postsutural supra-alar seta short and thin. One presutural and 3 postsutural dorso central setae (Figs 1, 27) (2 postsutural dorsocentral setae may occur in smaller sized male specimens (Fig. 3)). One, short and weak, prescutellar acrostichal seta. Scutellum dorsally flat to slightly concave (ground plan trait of the Thyreophorina , McAlpine, 1977), more or less elongated posteriorly, with one lateral seta and one apical seta (Figs 1, 3); lateral seta usually much smaller than apical seta. Shape and size of scutellum strongly variable (Figs 1, 3, 27) between sexes and between males of different sizes (Figs 1, 3). Two notopleural setae. One anepisternal seta. One katepisternal seta. Legs robust, covered with long and fine setulae. Mid tibia with 3-5 robust ventral preapical setae. Claws well developed in both sexes, about as long as fifth tarsal segment in male, varying in length between 0.5 and 0.7 times as long as fifth tarsal segment in female. Ventral row of costal setae (specifically CS3) characterized by the presence of some longer and stouter setae placed at more or less regular intervals (Fig. 18).

Abdomen. Male: more or less elongated; tergite 1 laterodorsally covered with short erect hair-like setae, medially bare; tergites 2 and 3 laterodorsally and ventrally covered with long, hair-like setae that become shorter toward the midline of tergites. Tergites 4 and 5 evenly covered with long, erect hair-like setae. Female: abdominal setae distinctly shorter.

Male terminalia (Figs 22, 24−26). Epandrium short and convex. Surstyli massive, almost touching each other posteromedially; distal margin of surstylus slightly bent pos teriorly. Cerci very small, bearing long setae. Phallapodeme, in lateral view, very large with an evenly convex dorsal margin (Fig. 22). Pregonite well sclerotized, relatively narrow and slightly bent posteriorly; basally fused to hypandrium; pregonite with 1−2 fine setae distally. Postgonite very long, well sclerotized and evenly bent anteriorly. Pregonite and postgonite pincer-like in relative position, almost touching each other distally. Epiphallus attached basally and well developed. Basiphallus very long, tubular, covered with fine pubescence and membranous. Distiphallus massive, slightly sclerotized, covered with fine pubescence as in basiphallus; distiphallus with two large laterodistal lobes.

Female terminalia (Figs 28−29). Ovipositor long and telescopically retracted within fifth segment. Tergites 6 and 7 relatively wide and more or less flattened. Tergite 8 longitudinally divided into two halves. Cerci not differentiated. Two rounded and well sclerotized spermathecae.

Description of third instar and puparium.

Both the larva and puparium of Centrophlebomyia anthropophaga (Figs 30−38) correspond well to features given by McAlpine (1977), Ozerov (2000) and Ozerov and Norrbom (2010) for other piophilids and by Freidberg (1981) for Centrophlebomyia furcata . Here we provide additional information not given in previous descriptions. Nearly all the segments of the third instars have a lateral “dotted” line composed of microscopic, concave structures which may be sensory organs (Fig. 31). Their shape and position suggest that they may be mechanoreceptors of pressure or stretching. These structures have not been noted in previous descriptions of piophilid larvae; they were either overlooked or are unique to Centrophlebomyia anthropophaga .

Notes on larval development.

On April 5th (n=15) and May 3rd (n=7), 2006, several mature larvae were collected from the soil a few centimetres below the sheep quarters used as bait for the pitfall traps set in the "vulture restaurant" (see above under “Remarks”). The larvae were then transferred into two petri dishes (12 cm diameter): one filled with potting soil, the other with natural soil collected with the larvae from under the carcass. Moisture was provided each week until midsummer. All larvae remained active, though only slightly so, during this time. By June 1st, five out of 22 larvae had died. The loss of larvae continued steadily and by the beginning of September only six larvae were left, three in the potting soil and three in the natural soil. In early October 2006, two puparia were found in each dish and all the remaining larvae were dead. The four puparia and small amounts of soil were isolated in smaller dishes. An adult male emerged in November from one of the puparia in the natural soil, and another adult (possibly a male) was found dead in its puparium in the potting soil. The remaining two puparia failed to produce adults.

Our observations are consistent with those of Freidberg (1981; 2010 pers. comm.) on Centrophlebomyia furcata larvae reared in Israel. Mature Centrophlebomyia furcata larvae remained buried in the soil through spring and summer, estivating in this stage or as prepupae, and pupariated at the beginning of autumn. The larvae did not feed but were still more or less active. Most of the larvae died during the summer months and only very few adults emerged in October.