Liriomyza nigra Spencer

Boucher, Stéphanie & Wheeler, Terry A., 2014, Neotropical Agromyzidae (Diptera) of the Mission Géodésique de l’Équateur: Becker (1920) revisited, Zootaxa 3779 (2), pp. 157-176 : 170

Liriomyza nigra Spencer

( Figs. 44–47 )

Liriomyza nigra Spencer 1984: 21 ; Sasakawa 1992b: 820. Agromyza gyrans Fallén , of Becker (1920).

MNHN specimen. Ecuador: Tulcan, Dr. G. Rivet, 1902 (1 ♀)

Additional material examined. Ecuador: El Angel, 2700 m. Carchi, 23–25.vi.1965. L.E. Pena (2 ♂: CNC); Troya, 2950 m. Carchi, 11–13.vi.1965 (1 ♂: CNC); Napo, Termas de Papallacta (00°21’29"S, 78°08’52"W), 3520 m, YPT in elfin forest, 3–4.iii.2005, L. Masner (1 ♂: LEM).

Comments. One female was identified by Becker (1920) as Agromyza gyrans Fall. (= Amauromyza (Trilobomyza) gyrans (Fall.) , a Palaearctic species, but this in fact represents Liriomyza nigra Spencer.

This is a distinctive species of Liriomyza due to its dark body colour, including an entirely dark scutellum. Additional material of L. nigra was examined and diagnostic characters include: body mostly brown except for part of orbit (sometimes upper orbit or inner margin), gena, notopleuron, and fore knees paler yellowish or yellowishbrown, halter yellow; 2 reclinate ors and 1 or 2 incurved ori (lower may be weak or well developed), first flagellomere rounded (or slightly angulate dorsoapically as mentioned in Sasakawa (1992b)), arista with short but distinct pilosity; gena deep, slightly extended at rear, about ¼ eye height (at midpoint); 3+1 strong dorsocentrals, shiny thorax, wing length 1.5–1.75 mm in males and 1.8 mm in female. The male genitalia are also distinct with phallus well sclerotized with distiphallus in the form of paired tubules ( Figs. 44–45 ) and a characteristic patch of long hairs on the hypophallus, near the base of the mesophallus. Subepandrial sclerites (= bacilliform sclerites sensu Zlobin 2002) fused, somewhat X-shaped and bearing a strong seta ( Fig. 47 ). This species was described from Colombia ( Spencer 1984) and was later recorded in Ecuador ( Sasakawa 1992b).

Figures

FIGURES 44 – 47. Liriomyza nigra, (44) phallus, lateral, (45) phallus, ventral, (46) ejaculatory apodeme, (47) epandrium with subepandrial sclerites. Scale bars = 0.05 mm.