Blepharicera gengdica, Zhang & Kang, 2022

Zhang, Xiao & Kang, Zehui, 2022, The genus Blepharicera Macquart, 1843 newly recorded from Sichuan, China with descriptions of three new species (Diptera, Blephariceridae), ZooKeys 1085, pp. 51-68 : 51

Blepharicera gengdica sp. nov.

Figs 2 , 3

Diagnosis.

Compound eye with dorsal division 1/20 as large as ventral division in male. Rs 1.5 times as long as r-m. Cercus triangular. Dorsal branch of gonostylus short; ventral branch longer and broader than dorsal branch, round apically. Outer gonocoxal lobe transparent, S-shaped; inner gonocoxal lobe digitiform. Dorsal carina apparent, tip slightly blunt.

Description.

Male. Body length 4.50 mm, wing length 5.75 mm, wing width 2.00 mm.

Head (Figs 2a , 3a, b ) pruinose, uniformly brownish black with black hairs. Compound eyes dichoptic, interocular ridge absent; each compound eye divided, callis oculi absent; dorsal division contiguous with ventral division, 1/20 as large as ventral division; dorsal division with 6-7 rows of ommatidia, ommatidia red-orange, larger in diameter, with omatrichia; ventral division black with omatrichia. Ocelli black. Scape and pedicel oval, brown with dark brown hairs; first flagellomere conical, basal 1/2 light brown, apical 1/2 brown, with brownish black hairs; other flagellomeres cylindrical, brown with brownish black hairs; ultimate flagellomere 1.3 times length of penultimate flagellomere. Clypeus oval, brownish black, twice as long as the width; labrum brown; labellum brown with brownish black hairs; proboscis about 0.67 times length of head width. Palpus with five segments, 1st segment almost invisible; 2nd and 3rd segments cylindrical, brownish yellow with brown hairs; 4th segment cylindrical, slightly swollen apically, brownish yellow with brown hairs; 5th segment slender, brownish yellow with brown hairs; relative length of distal four segments as 1.0: 1.2: 1.5: 2.9.

Thorax (Fig. 2b ) pruinose. Pronotum and propleuron brown without hairs. Mesonotum dark brown with middle area of posterior margin light brown; scutellum dark brown with middle area light brown, with numerous hairs grouped at posterolateral corner; episternum dark brown; anepimeron light brown, katepimeron dark brown. Relative length of femur, tibiae and 1st to 5th tarsomeres in fore leg as 15: 15: 10.5: 4.3: 2.8: 1.3: 1, in mid leg as 15.5: 14.5: 9.0: 4.0: 2.5: 1: 1, in hind leg as 19.6: 17.6: 7.4: 2.4: 1.6: 1: 1. Fore coxa dark brown with brown hairs; mid and hind coxae pale with brownish black hairs; trochanters pale, anterior margin with black spot apically, with brownish black hairs; fore and mid femora light yellow basally and gradually darkened to dark brown apically, with brownish black hairs; hind femur light yellow basally and gradually darkened to brownish yellow apically, with brownish black hairs; fore and mid tibiae dark brown with brownish black hairs; hind tibia brownish yellow with brown hairs; tarsomeres dark brown with brownish black hairs; claw dark brown. Tibial spurs 0-0-0. Wing (Fig. 2c ) slightly brown apically, apical 1/3 of sc brown; veins brown. Sc rudimentary, not ending at base of Rs; Rs straight, 1.5 times as long as r-m; R4 wavy, the length from end of R1 to end of R4 shorter than length from end of R4 to end of R5; r-m straight, including angle between r-m and Rs less than 90 degrees; the length from end of M1 to end of M2 longer than the length from end of M2 to end of CuA1. Base of halter pale, apex of halter grey with brownish black hairs.

Abdomen. First tergum dark brown with middle area pale, 2nd tergum dark brown, 3rd to 5th terga dark brown with basal 1/3 brownish yellow, 6th to 8th terga dark brown; 1st to 7th sterna brownish yellow with brownish black stripes laterally; abdomen with brownish black hairs. Male genitalia (Fig. 3c-f ) dark brown. Epandrium trapeziform, posterior margin concaved medially, with several brown hairs. Cercus triangular, inner margin bulge, with several brown hairs; anal cone round with two long hairs apically. Gonostylus bifurcated, dorsal branch short, slightly swollen apically, with hairs; ventral branch longer and broader than dorsal branch, round apically, with long hairs. Gonocoxal lobe bifurcated, outer gonocoxal lobe transparent, S-shaped, round apically; inner gonocoxal lobe digitiform, transparent. Hypandrium nearly triangular, twice as long as the width, round and slightly narrow basally, middle of each lateral margin slightly concave, posterior margin concave, with several brown hairs laterally. Dorsal paramere with posterior margin round; dorsal carina apparent, tip slightly blunt.

Female. Unknown.

Type material.

Holotype: male (CAU), China: Sichuan Province, Wenchuan County, Gengda, Fuyuan inn (Light trap), 2016.V.24, Zehui Kang.

Distribution.

Currently known only from China (Sichuan).

Etymology.

The specific name refers to the type locality Gengda.

Remarks.

This new species is very similar to B. parva Zwick & Arefina, 2005 from the Russian Far East but can be separated by the cercus being tapered posteriorly and the outer gonocoxal lobe being S-shaped. In B. parva , the cercus is round, and the outer gonocoxal lobe is digitiform ( Zwick and Arefina 2005). This new species is also similar to B. yamasakii from China, but it can be separated from the latter by the mid coxa without hairy projection in male, and the triangular cercus. In B. yamasakii , the mid coxa has a conical projection in the male which is about half as long as trochanter and has densely stiff black bristles towards tip, and the cercus is semicircular ( Kitakami 1950).

Figures

Figure 2. Blepharicera gengdica sp. nov. a habitus of male, lateral view b thorax, dorsal view c wing. Scale bars: 1.0 mm (a); 0.25 mm (b, c).

Figure 3. Blepharicera gengdica sp. nov. a male head, frontal view b male head, lateral view c male genitalia, dorsal view d male genitalia, ventral view e aedegal complex, dorsal view f tip of dorsal paramere, lateral view. Scale bars: 0.25 mm (a, b); 0.10 mm (c-f). Abbreviations: cerc = cercus; d ca = dorsal carina; d pa = dorsal paramere; ep = epandrium; gl = gonocoxal lobe; gs = gonostylus; gx = gonocoxite; hyd = hypandrium.