Contarinia asperae, Siddiqui & Najam & Deshpande, 2010

Siddiqui, M. S., Najam, K. A. A. & Deshpande, V. D., 2010, Two new Indian gall midges of the genus Contarinia Rondani (Cecidomyiidae: Diptera) reared from Amaranthaceae & Poaceae, Journal of Threatened Taxa 2 (3), pp. 773-777 : 773-775

Contarinia asperae sp. nov.

( Figs. 1-16 )

Material examined

Holotype: Male, 17.xi.2006, (slide no Cont.1) labelled as, “reared from leaf galls of Achyranthes aspera L. ( Amaranthaceae ), Bhokar forest, Nanded District, India, dissected and mounted on slide, coll. M.S. Siddiqui.

Allotype: One female (slide no Cont.2), dissected and mounted on slide, data as of Holotype.

Paratype: One male (slide no Cont.3), dissected and mounted on slide, coll, data as of Holotype.

Study area: Sitakhandi and Bhokar forest, Nanded District, Maharashtra, India.

Etymology

The specific epithet asperae is associated with the host plant i.e. A chyranthes aspera L.

Diagnostic features

Male

Body: 1.30mm long.

Head: eyes confluent above. Trophi normal. Palpus ( Fig. 1 ) quadriarticulate, short, first segment (5) not clearly observed in the preparation; second segment (9:6) subcylindrical, longer and thicker than the first; third segment (9:5) cylindrical; fourth segment (11:4) longest of all, cylindrical.

Antenna: 0.75mm long, shorter than the body, with 2+12 segments, flagellate segments binodose, basal enlargements subglobose, with one whorl of long regular circumfila and one whorl of long bristles, apical enlargements subglobose, with one whorl of long regular circumfila and one whorl of long bristles; scape ( Fig. 6a ) (10:12) cup-shaped; pedicel ( Fig. 6b ) (10:10) globose, third segment ( Fig. 4a ) (29) confluent and longer than the fourth, with a very short basal prolongation (3:5), basal enlargement (9:8) 0.31 the length of the segment;

1 - Palpus; 2 - Genitalia; 3(a,b) - Penultimate and terminal antennal segments; 4(a;b) - Third and fourth antennal segments; 5 - Fifth antennal segment; 6(a,b) - Scape and pedicel; 7 - Claw; 8 - Wing; 9 - Palpus; 10(a,b) - Scape and pedicel; 11 - Fifth antennal segment; 12(a,b) - Third and fourth antennal segments; 13(a,b) - Penultimate and terminal antennal segments; 14 - Claw; 15 - Ovipositor; 16 - Wing.

basal stem (3:4) nearly one-third the length of basal enlargement; apical enlargement (10:9) nearly as long as the basal enlargement; apical stem (4:3) less than half the apical enlargement; fourth segment ( Fig. 4b ) (23) the basal enlargement (8:10) 0.34x the length of the segment & thicker than long, basal stem (3:4) one-third the length of basal enlargement and thicker than long, apical enlargement (10:10) 0.8x the length of the segment and as long as thick, apical stem (3:4) one-third the length of apical enlargement and as long as thick; fifth segment ( Fig. 5 ) (24) shorter than the third, the basal enlargement (8:10) one-third the length of segment & thicker than long, basal stem (3:4) and nearly the length of basal enlargement and thicker than long, apical enlargement (11:10) longer than the basal and nearly as long as thick, apical stem (3:4) less than one-third the length of apical enlargement and thicker than long; sixth to twelfth segments nearly similar to the fifth; penultimate segment ( Fig. 3a ) (22) shorter than the fifth; terminal segment ( Fig. 3b ) (16) with a basal enlargement (7:6) 0.43 the length of segment, basal stem (3:2) nearly half the length of basal enlargement, apical enlargement (4:3) half the length of basal enlargement & thicker than long, ending with nipple like prolongation.

Thorax: pale brown. Wing ( Fig. 8 ) (97:33) hyaline, 2.93 x as long as broad, vein Rs short, Vein R 5 reaching wing margin at its apex and interrupting costa at its union; vein Cu simple.

Legs: brown, densely hairy, metatarsus (19) little longer than terminal tarsal segment (17), second tarsal segment (66) longest of all, fourth (17) shorter than the third. Claw ( Fig. 7 ) (11) simple on all legs, sickle shaped, empodium (8) 0.72 the length of claw. Genitalia ( Fig. 2 ) light brown, basal clasp segment (28:15) oval, without lobe, terminal clasp segment (18:5) broad basally and narrow beyond middle, ending with a tooth apically; dorsal plate (13:11) deeply bilobed, lobes oval, subdorsal plate (10:13) shallowly bilobed, shorter and broader than the dorsal plate, lobes rounded apically, with a pair of unsclerotised harpes, the later shorter than the dorsal plate; aedeagus (10) short, tip pointed, shorter than both the plates.

Female

Body: 1.60mm long.

Head: Eyes confluent above. Trophi normal. Palpus ( Fig. 9 ) quadriarticulate, moderately hairy, and sparsely setose; first segment (5:4) subglobose, second segment (9:6) subcylindrical, broad basally; third segment (9:5) cylindrical, shorter and thinner than the second, fourth segment (11:4) longest of all, cylindrical.

Antenna: 0.35mm long, shorter than the body, with 2+12 segments, flagellate segments cylindrical, constricted medially, apical stems short, enlargements with low circumfila, and with two whorls of long bristles; scape ( Fig. 10a ) (10:11) cup-shaped; pedicel ( Fig. 10b ) (8:9) sub-globose, shorter than the scape; third segment ( Fig. 12a ) (20) with a short basal prolongation (2:2) enlargement (15:7) 0.75 the length of the segment and 2.14x as long as thick, apical stem (3:3) 0.15 the length of the enlargement and as long as thick; fourth segment ( Fig. 12 b ) (16) shorter than the third, enlargement (14:7) 0.87 the length of the segment, apical stem (2:3) 0.14 the length of the enlargement and thicker than long; fifth segment ( Fig. 11 ) (15) enlargement (13:6) 0.86 the length of the segment, apical stem (2:3) 0.15 the length of the enlargement and thicker than long; sixth to twelfth segments progressively shortened distally; penultimate segment ( Fig. 13a ) (12) shortest of all; terminal segment ( Fig. 13b ) (15) enlargement (15:6) 2.5x as long as thick, ending in to a rounded tip.

Thorax: pale brown. Wing ( Fig. 16 ) (115:38) hyaline, 3.02 x as long as broad, venation as in male.

Legs: long, densely hairy, metatarsus (15) shorter than the terminal tarsal segment (20), second tarsal segment (66) longest of all, fourth segment (17) shorter than the third. Claw ( Fig. 14 ) (9) simple on all legs, bent at right angle, empodium (7) 0.77 the length of the claw. Ovipositor ( Fig. 15 ) aciculate, exserted, needle - like, shorter than body,

Remarks

Contarinia asperae sp. nov. can be separated easily from Contarinia (= cincticornia) bivalviae (Rao, 1950) in the presence of harps, aciculate ovipositor (not ovipositor with 2 small lobes) and empodium being shorter than the claw (not, empodium as long as claw). This new species also differs from other closely placed species i.e. Contarinia ramchandri ( Mani, 1953) in possessing bilobed dorsal plate (not, dorsal plate obtusely triangular)

Figures

Figures 1-16. Contarinia asperae sp. nov. (1-8 male; 9-16 female)