Geranomyia bezzii Alexander & Leonard, 1912

Starý, Jaroslav, 2012, The identity of Geranomyia bezzii and a description of G. fuscior sp. nov. (Diptera: Limoniidae), Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 52 (1), pp. 273-279 : 274-276

Geranomyia bezzii Alexander & Leonard, 1912

( Figs. 1–3 )

Geranomyia bezzii Alexander & Leonard, 1912: 205 (description), Fig. 6 (wing).

Geranomyia bezzii: LACKSCHEWITZ (1928) : 198 (redescription), Pl. 5, Figs. 2a–b (male terminalia).

Limonia (Geranomyia) bezzii?: EDWARDS (1938) : 44 (diagnosis).

Limonia (Geranomyia) bezzii: EDWARDS (1939) : 245 (diagnosis, note).

Geranomyia Bezzii ?: LACKSCHEWITZ & PAGAST (1942): 48 (redescription), Pl. 10, Fig. 84 (male terminalia).

Type material examined. HOLOTYPE: J ( MRSN), ‘ Geranomyia bezzii A. e L. / Is. Djerba (Tunisia) holotypus / dono Bezzi / Dipt – 3’ (handwritten in ink) on one side and ‘MUSEO ED INSTITUTO DI ZOOLOGIA / SISTE- MATICA DELLA UNIVERSITÁ / TORINO ( ITALIA)’ (printed) on another, ‘ Geranomyia bezzii A.+ L. / holotype / I. Djerba (Tunis)’ on one side and ‘Dono / Prof. Bezzi’ on another (all handwritten in ink), a blank red plastic square. Note. It should be noted that there are no labels handwritten by Alexander. The specimen is preserved in ethanol, without head and legs, with only right wing attached; some parts of wing and legs detached in ethanol; terminalia dissected by the present author and placed separately in a sealed plastic tube with glycerine, pinned and labelled ‘ TUNISIA / Djerba Is.’ (printed), ‘ HOLOTYPE / Geranomyia / bezzii Alex. & Leonard J / J. Starý 2010’ (printed, red).

PARATYPE: J ( MRSN), with the same data and labelling as for holotype except that ‘ paratypus / paratype’ is indicated. Note. The specimen is preserved in ethanol, without legs and with only bases of wings ; terminalia intact. The other two paratypes were indicated as deposited in Cornell University , USA ( ALEXANDER & LEONARD 1912: 206) .

Additional material examined (29 JJ 4 ♀♀). GREAT BRITAIN: ENGLAND: DORSET: Chesil Bank, Portland, 31.viii.1939, 2JJ, F.W.Edwards leg.( BMNH) [listed by EDWARDS (1939)]. PORTUGAL: ALGARVE: Alvor, 1 km W, saltmarsh (11 m) (37°08′N, 8°36′W), 27.iv.2010, 13 JJ 2 ♀♀, 1.v.2010, 14 JJ 2 ♀♀, J. Starý leg. ( JKLE, JSOC).

Diagnosis. Medium-sized species. Body colouration shiny yellow on thorax, richly patterned with pale brown to brown, mesothoracic dorsum with four stripes. Wing tinged greyish, with four indistinct spots or clouds at anterior margin. Legs with tips of femora and tibiae darker. Male terminalia with ventral gonostylus comparatively slender, with long, slender rostrum subacute at tip in dorsal aspect. Wing length 5.3–7.2 mm.

Redescription. Male. Head greyish brown on vertex. Mouthparts (proboscis) approximately as long as thorax, obscure yellow, with two diffuse darker rings, one at about one-quarter length, at position of palpi, second shortly before tip of labella. Antenna short, yellowish brown, with flagellomeres short-ovoid; longest verticils subequal in length to their respective segments.

Thorax with ground colour shining yellow. Mesothoracic dorsum with four shiny pale brown to brown stripes, inner ones only narrowly separated from each other, beginning at anterior margin of prescutum and reaching to transverse suture, outer ones extending from prescutal suture back over scutal lobes onto lateral parts of scutellum. Extreme lateral edge of scutum and paratergite darkened. Scutellum yellow, darkened laterally. Postscutellum yellow to obscure yellow, darkened anterolaterally. Pleuron concolorous with ground colour of prescutum, shiny yellow, with shining dark brown to black, roughly semicircular mark on pleural part of postpronotum and another, smaller one below wing base. Two pale brown longitudinal stripes on lower part of anepisternum and anepimeron and on lower part of katepimeron, leaving yellow space in between on upper part of katepisternum. Wing with membrane slightly tinged greyish and with four diffuse, indistinct, grey spots or clouds at anterior margin, viz. over humeral cross-vein (very indistinct), at middle of Sc, at tip of Sc 1 (combined with cloud at origin of Rs), and at tip of R 1 (stigma). Cross-veins slightly seamed greyish. Wing venation generally as in other Geranomyia Haliday, 1833 and many Dicranomyia Stephens, 1829 . Halter faintly darkened except for pale yellow base. Legs generally yellow, with tips of femora and tibiae darkened.

Abdomen darker than thorax, yellowish brown, dark brown on dorsal side, with posterior margins of tergites paler. Male terminalia ( Figs. 1–2 ): Tergite 9 roughly semicircular. Gonocoxite only slightly shorter than ventral gonostylus; ratio about 9: 11. Ventral gonostylus comparatively short and slender, rather conical, with rostral prolongation long and slender, subacute at tip in dorsal aspect, curved anteriorly. Rostral spines situated on tubercle, moderate in length, very slightly curved, parallel with each other. Dorsal gonostylus gradually tapered to pointed tip. Aedeagal complex as in Fig. 2 , with aedeagus short, rather broad in lateral aspect, strongly downcurved at apex.

Female resembling male in general appearance. Female terminalia ( Fig. 3 ): Cercus moderate in length, slightly upturned. Two parts of infra-anal (supravaginal) plate (subanale of TJEDER 1958) generally straight at posterior margin, or slightly wavy, and rectangular at outer edge. Genital fork (vaginal apodeme) greatly developed, triangular and membranous, tilted distally (as in all other Limoniini ), reaching slightly beyond posterior margin of tergite 10, with its central, more pigmented part rather long and slender ( Fig. 3 ).

Differential diagnosis. The differences of G. bezzii from G. fuscior sp. nov. are given in the differential diagnosis of the latter.

Distribution. According to OOSTERBROEK (2011) G. bezzii was recorded from the following countries: Albania, Great Britain, Ireland, Spain (Canary Islands); Algeria, Libya, Tunisia. The records from the Canary Islands ( NIELSEN 1966, THEOWALD 1977, DE JONG 1987) are omitted here as belonging to at least one other species (see Introduction). The single male from Ireland ( ASHE & O’CONNOR 1993) was not checked. The occurrence of G. bezzii in Algeria is confirmed, and the records from Albania and Libya pertain to G. fuscior sp. nov. (see below in Discussion). Thus, at present, G. bezzii is confirmed only from Algeria, Great Britain, Tunisia, and newly from Portugal, with an unchecked, but probably correct, record from Ireland. Geranomyia bezzii occurs sympatrically with G. fuscior sp. nov. in Portugal.

Discussion. The species was described from four males, all from the same locality. I have examined the holotype and paratype from MRSN. The types of G. bezzii are preserved in ethanol, thus considerably discoloured, cleared, without distinct patterning on the thorax, yet clearly conspecific with the above-listed additional material examined based on the structure of the male terminalia. The British specimens from Chesil Bank, Portland, Dorset ( EDWARDS 1939), although dried, are rather pale, with barely evident prescutal stripes, possibly due to the teneral state of the specimens, thus differing from the Portuguese material. I do not know whether other British specimens ( FALK 1991, STUBBS 2003) have the same general appearance. LACKSCHEWITZ (1928) listed three specimens of what he considered G. bezzii , one male from Algeria (in BMNH) and two females, one from Albania and one from Libya (both in NHMW). Based on the figures of the terminalia ( LACKSCHEWITZ 1928, Figs. 2a–b ) the male belongs to G. bezzii . Examination of the female terminalia revealed, however, that both females represent G. fuscior sp. nov.

Figures

Figs. 1–7.1–3 – Geranomyia bezzii Alexander & Leonard, 1912 (Portugal:Alvor): 1 – male terminalia, general view, dorsally; 2 – male terminalia, aedeagal complex, lateral view; 3 – female terminalia, internal structures, ventral view. 4–6 – G. fuscior sp. nov. (paratypes; Portugal: Castro Marim): 4 – male terminalia, general view, dorsally; 5 – male terminalia, aedeagal complex, lateral view; 6 – female terminalia, internal structures, ventral view. 7 – G. unicolor Haliday, 1833 (England: Devon: Beer, coll. JSOC), male terminalia, gonostyli, dorsal view. Scale bar 0.25 mm.