Zadbimyia

Jaschhof, Mathias & Jaschhof, Catrin, 2014, Zadbimyia, a new genus of asynaptine Porricondylinae (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) with twenty-two new species from the cloud forest of Costa Rica, Zootaxa 3866 (1), pp. 1-29 : 7

Species of Zadbimyia

Identification. As demonstrated here, compound light microscope study of male morphology is an effective approach to discriminate among different species of Zadbimyia (which generally look similar under a stereoscope). The measure of morphological variation among different species is modest—a fact reflected in the concise descriptions that follow—yet is sufficient for the purpose of identification. Genital structures in particular provide reliable characters for the determination of species. Most Zadbimyia can be identified on the basis of the parameres alone, which are shown here to be complex structures exhibiting remarkable intrageneric diversity. The outline of other components of the genitalia, in particular gonocoxites, gonostyli and ejaculatory apodeme, should be consulted to corroborate identifications. Some caution should be exercised with movable parts, such as the gonostyli and paramere processes, whose outline may change with position, or inclination (see Fig. 4 A versus Fig. 4 B). Even non-genital characters can be typical of a species, such as the furcate CuA being specific to Zadbimyia lasalturas . As with other Asynaptini , the number of flagellomeres varies intraspecifically, with the range of variation being presumably larger than shown here for a relatively small number of studied specimens. In general, non-genital characters should be seen as supporting rather than used as decisive indicators of species distinctiveness, the more so because Zadbimyia is certainly much richer in species than shown here (see Discussion). For the same reason we do not present a key to the species described here. At this early stage of surveying Zadbimyia diversity it appears that finding a new species of this genus is as likely as encountering a described one, so any key would be of little practical value. Species below are ordered according to similarities in paramere structure.

Figures

FIGURE 4. Zadbimyia costaricensis, male. A: ejaculatory apodeme and parameres, ventral. B: ditto. C: terminalia, ventral. D: fourth flagellomere, lateral. Scale 0.05 mm. ej ap = ejaculatory apodeme, par = paramere, par ap = parameral apodeme, par pr = paramere process.