Urophora sp. near dirlbeki

Namin, Saeed Mohamadzade & Nozari, Jamasb, 2015, Revision of the Urophora xanthippe species group, with description of new species (Diptera: Tephritidae), Zootaxa 3990 (1), pp. 97-112 : 103

Urophora sp. near dirlbeki

Material examined: Iran: 10♂, 4♀, Khorasan Razavi Province, Binalood, 10 km NW Dizbad, 2400m, 36°06' N, 59°14' E, reared from flowerheads of Acroptilon repens , collected: 15.vii.2011, emerged: 18–27.vii.2011, Mohamadzade; 2♂, 2♀, Khorasan Razavi Province, Binalood, 10 km NW Dizbad, 2400m, 36°06' N, 59°14' E, reared from flower heads of Cousinia sp., collected: 15.vii.2011, emerged: 25.vii.2011, Mohamadzade; 2♀, Mazandaran Province, Rineh, southern mountainside of Damavand, 2150m, 35°52' N, 52°06' E, 27.vi.2013, Mohamadzade; 2♂, 1♀, Fars Province, Dasht Arjan, Nasimabad 2050m, 29°41' N, 52°04' E, 25.iv.2014, Mohamadzade ( SIZK and SMNC).

Measurements. ♂: BL = 3.7–4.2mm (average 3.9), WL = 3.25–3.9 mm (average 3.5) (n=10); ♀: BL = 7.3– 8mm (average 7.7) WL = 4–4.5mm (average 4.2), AL = 3.7–4.5 mm (average 4), AL/WL = 0.85–1 (average 0.94) (n = 5).

Discussion. Urophora sp. near dirlbeki is a moderately large fly similar to U. dirlbeki in having a strongly reduced wing pattern, yellow femora, and shape of aculeus apex, but differing in size and associated with different host plant. Head width/head length ratio is 1.37 but in U. dirlbeki is 1.45. Ratio of aculeus length/wing length (AL/ WL) is 0.94 instead 0.8 in U. dirlbeki . The width of aculeus at the level of proximal steps 1.65 times as long as distance between proximal and distal steps ( 1.85 in U. dirlbeki ). It is possible that these specimens are either conspecific, representing different host plant races, or even separate species, but further studies are needed.