Zelia pulchra (Townsend, 1919) Santis & O’Hara & Couri, 2024

Santis, Marcelo Domingos De, O’Hara, James E. & Couri, Márcia Souto, 2024, Partial revision of the exclusively Neotropical species of Zelia Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830 (Tachinidae: Dexiinae: Dexiini), with the description of a new species, Zootaxa 5419 (1), pp. 1-52 : 35-37

Zelia pulchra (Townsend, 1919) , comb. nov.

( Fig. 17 )

Huascarodexia pulchra Townsend, 1919a: 176 . Type locality: Peru, Jaen, Huascaray. References: Guimarães (1971: 101, catalogue); O’Hara et al. (2020: 52, World checklist of Tachinidae ).

Type material examined. Female holotype ( USNM): “ Huascaray Rdge [ Ridge ]/ Pr [ Province ] Jae [n] Peru / 7000ft / 22.IX”; CHHT Townsend / Collector ”; “ Huascarodexia / pulchra/ DetCHTT T.”; “ Type / No. US.N.M.”; “USNMENT/ 01518150” .

Diagnosis. Eye with setulae. Facial carina undeveloped. Head entirely silvery pruinose. Parafacial with scattered setulae. Postpedicel light brown, but proximal 1/4 yellowish. Palpus yellowish, slightly clavate. Scutellum without silver pruinosity. Katepisternum with 2+1 setae. Wing hyaline. Abdomen tawny to yellowish, with median brown longitudinal vitta covering abdominal tergites, with tergite 3 with one to two discal setae and tergite 4 with two discal setae, both increasing in size anteriorly.

Redescription. Female. Body length: 11.7 mm.

Coloration ( Fig. 17 ). Occiput with pale setulae. Fronto-orbital plate with silvery pruinosity, but gena with a small brownish black vitta. Scape and pedicel tawny to yellowish. Postpedicel light brown, but proximal 1/4 yellowish. Palpus yellowish. Scutum with pale pruinosity, presutural region, with four dark vittae the two inner vittae are thinner than the outer, in postsutural region, two dark outer vittae meet with the inner vittae, forming a single black form apically, the inner vittae is broad medially and is tinner distally, reaching the scutellum. Wing hyaline. Halter and posterior spiracle tawny. Legs brown with silver pruinosity on coxae and femora; tarsi darker. Claws brown with tip darker. Calypters white-pale translucent. Abdomen tawny to yellowish, with median brown longitudinal vitta covering syntergite 1+2, in tergite 3 a brownish black dot at the insertion of the median marginals, in tergite 4 a brownish black triangular spot on the posterior region and in 5; and tergite 5 entirely brownish black with silver pruinosity on anterior margin.

Head ( Fig. 17 ). Vertex about 0.28x head width in dorsal view. Frontal vitta, in the narrowest point, equal to the width of ocellar triangle. Fronto-orbital plate with 20 pairs of proclinate setae; broader than frontal-vitta and parafacial. Width of parafacial measured between inner margin of compound eye and antennal insertion is 1.5x the height of gena. Postpedicel slender, 2.3x the combined length of scape and pedicel; arista plumose with two or three dorsal and one ventral rows; length of longest cilia ca. 6× basal width of arista. Facial ridge with 14–16 setulae on lower third. Lower facial margin protruding, and visible in profile. Eye about 0.6x the head height. Gena about 0.43x eye height. Vibrissa long, inserted above lower facial margin. Prementum shorter than palpus. Labella developed, ca. 0.4x the prementum.

Thorax ( Fig. 17A, C ). Acrostichals 3+2. Dorsocentral 3+4. Intra-alar 1+3. Intra-postalar absent. Supra-alar 2+3. Postpronotal lobe with four setae, three forming an anterior row and one posteriorly. Anepisternum with seven strong setae and one upwardly directed setulae anteriorly. Scutellum with one basal, one lateral, one weak subapical, one apical, and two discal pairs of setae. Postalar callus with 2 setae. Anepimeron with numerous long setae. Katepisternum with 2+1 setae. Legs. Fore coxa with many setae anteriorly; fore femur with dorsal and posteroventral rows of setae; fore tibia with a row of shorter anterodorsal setae. Mid femur with two anteroventral, three posteroventral basal setae, three dorsal to posterodorsal preapical setae; mid tibia with one anteroventral median seta, two anterior median setae, one posteroventral median seta and four preapicals setae. Hind femur with three anteroventral setae on basal half and three ventral setae on basal half and with row of anterodorsal setae; one posterodorsal preapical setae; hind tibia with one anterior median, two very long anteroventral median and two posterodorsal median setae and one anteroventral and one posteroventral preapical setae.

Abdomen ( Fig. 17A, C ). Syntergites 1+2 with one pair of median marginal setae. Tergite 3 with one to two discal setae increasing in size anteriorly, one median marginal seta and two lateral marginal setae. Tergite 4 with a row median marginal setae and two discal setae increasing in size anteriorly and a marginal row of setae. Tergite 5 with a row of medina marginal seta. Terminalia. Not dissected, only the female holotype was available.

Male. Unknown.

Biology. Unknown.

Distribution. Peru (Cajamarca Region, Jaén Province).

Figures

FIGURE 17. Zelia pulchra (Townsend, 1919), holotype female (USNM). A. Dorsal habitus. B. Head, frontal view. C. Lateral habitus. D. Labels.