Asphondylia strobilanthi Felt

Kolesik, Peter & Gagné, Raymond J., 2020, A review of the gall midges (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) of Indonesia: taxonomy, biology and adult key to genera, Zootaxa 4847 (1), pp. 1-82 : 16-18

Asphondylia strobilanthi Felt

[ Figs 7 a–n]

Asphondylia strobilanthi Felt, 1921b: 150 .

Material examined. Syntypes, male, pupa [with female inside] and 2 larvae, reared from galls on aerial root of Strobilanthes cernua Bl. (Acanthaceae) collected at Mt Gede, Cibodas, Java, alt. 1800 m, xii-1918, Felt #a3097. One slide bears the male, the other the remainder of the series. The male is well-preserved, all legs entire, wings slightly folded, one antenna with remaining 7, the other with 6 flagellomeres, and terminalia in posterior position. The pupa and the female inside it are well-preserved. One of the larvae is cleared, the other uncleared.

Description. Male. Length 3 mm, wing length 3.8 mm, width 1.4 mm. Antenna: first flagellomere 5.5x longer than wide, sixth 4.5x [ Fig. 7e ]. palpus 2-segmented, first segment short, irregular, second broadly oval. Apicoventral spur on first tarsal segment long, slightly bent [ Fig. 7c ]. Tarsal claws strongly curved at distal third, empodia as long as claws, pulvilli about ¼ empodial length [ Fig. 7d ]. Gonostylus 2x longer than wide in posterior view, teeth blunt, of slightly unequal length [ Fig. 7b ].

Female. Description based on specimen still inside its pupa. Flagellomeres 1–9 progressively slightly shorter, 10–12 progressively much shorter [ Fig. 7g ], first flagellomere 5.5x longer than wide. Needle-like protrusible part of ovipositor slightly widened at terminus in ventral view [ Fig. 7h ].

Pupa. Length 5 mm, thorax dark, abdomen dark yellow ( Felt 1921b). Antennal horns long, triangular, serrate ventrally [ Fig. 7m ]. Frontal anterior horn robust, bilobed, lobes pointed; posterior horns absent [ Fig. 7m ]. Cephalic papillae minute [ Fig. 7m ] Prothoracic spiracle unusually long, narrow, of constant width, trachea bulging, ending at basal fifth [ Fig. 7l ]. Abdominal dorsal spines simple, relatively small, arranged in sparse anterior field and dense posterior row, size of spines increasing posteriad [ Fig. 7n ].

Larva. Length 2.5 mm. Yellowish orange. Head rounded, trapezoid, wider than long, antennae 1.5x longer than wide at base, posterolateral apodemes absent [ Fig. 7i ]. Spatula broad, short-shafted; with two long, narrowly triangular teeth separated by distance 3x greater than their basal width; on either side with 2 pairs of lateral setose papillae; no pigmented area around shaft [ Fig. 7j ]. Terminal segment with anus positioned ventrocaudally and no terminal papillae visible on available specimens [ Fig. 7k ].

Remarks. Asphondylia strobilanthi is unique among its Indonesian congeners for the narrow, widely separated lobes of the larval sternal spatula [ Fig. 7j ], and, in the pupa, the long, tube-like prothoracic spiracle [ Fig. 7l ], the two-lobed anterior frontal horn, the lack of posterior frontal horns [ Fig. 7m ], and the ventrally serrated antennal horns [ Fig. 7m ]. It can be separated from Indonesian congeners whose males are known by the prolonged gonostylus [ Fig. 7b ].

Biology. DvL (1921, Fig. 9 [ Fig. 7a ]) described the gall on the aerial roots of Strobilanthes cernua , a plant that grows gregariously in virgin forests on mountain sides [of Mt Gede, Cibodas, Java]. Parts of the root develop above ground, which is where these were found, partly hidden under remains of leaves and patches of moss. They are galls of the bark, whose shape is either pyriform or more globular, stout and round at the base, and gradually narrowing towards the apex. The largest galls measured 10 mm in length, with a thickness of 6 mm. The usual size is smaller, being about 4 to 7 mm. The rind of the bark is thick and the chamber wide. The surface is densely pilose with long, white, unbranched hairs. Galls are found both singly and gregariously.

Geographical distribution. This species is known from Mt Gede, Cibodas , Java, where it was collected at 1800 m altitude, xii-1918 ( Felt 1921b), and at 1600 m, xii-1913 and x.1925 (DvLR & DvL 1926) .

Figures

FIGURES 7a–n. Asphondylia strobilanthi: a, galls on aerial root of Strobilanthes cernua, cross section of single gall at bottom right (Fig. 9 of DvL (1921); b–e, male: b, gonostylus (posterior); c, first tarsal segment; d, last tarsal segment with claw, empodium and pulvillus; e, sixth and seventh flagellomeres; f–h, female: f, last tarsal segment with claw, empodium and pulvillus; g, last flagellomeres; h, end of needle-like protrusible part of ovipositor; i–k, larva: i, head (dorsal); j, sternal spatula with adjacent papillae; k, end of body (dorsal); l–n, pupa: l, prothoracic spiracle; m, anterior segments (ventral); n, last three abdominal segments (dorsal).

FIGURES 9a–l. Asphoxenomyia smilacis: a–h, male: a, wing; b, palpus; c, basal part of antenna; d, 5th flagellomere; e, terminalia (lateral; arrows indicate aedeagus (ae), cercus (ce), gonocoxite (gc), gonostylus, (gs), hypoproct (hy)); f, first tarsomere; g, last tarsomere; h, tarsal claw of midleg with pulvillus and empodium; i–k, female: i, terminalia (lateral); j, basal part of antenna; k, 9th flagellomere; l, galls on Smilax modesta (Fig. 59 of DvLR & DvL (1926)).