Paragus serratus (Fabricius), 1805, 1804

Stuckenberg, B. R., 1954, The Paragus Serratus Complex, With Descriptions Of New Species (Diptera: Syrphidae), Trans. R. Ent. Soc. Lond 105 (17), pp. 393-422 : 413-415

Paragus serratus (Fabricius), 1805 .

I have material from the localities given below: all the specimens are in the British Museum (Natural History). NORTH-WEST INDIA: Jubblepore , 24. ix. 1907, l ♂ (C.G.Nurse), B.M. 1934-38 ; 16.xi.1907, 1 ♀, ex coll. Brunetti, B.M. 1927-184 . Deesa , viii. 1901, 1 ♂ (C. G.Nurse), B.M.1934-38 . NORTH-EAST INDIA: Delhi, x. 1936, 1 ♂ (T. Jermyn), B.M.1949-53 . INDIA: Poona , 19-27. ii. 1907, 1 ♂, ex coll. Brunetti, B.M.1927-184 . Coimbatore , 13.viii. 1912, 1♂ ( R.S.V.). Hasi , 17.xi. 1907, 1 ♀,ex coll. Brunetti, B.M. 1927-184 . Mysore, Bangalore , 1 ♀ (E. Y. Watson).

Males.-Head: Face varies from sulphur-yellow to creamy-yellow. Facialstripe undeveloped except for a colourless or blightly brown patchoverfacial tubercle. Oral tubercle piceous, and surrounded by a narrow strip ofslightlyreddish-brown. Facial pile short and thin. Two basal segments of antennae dark red-brown, the second blackish above. Third segment pale crineous above, tawny on basal half, nearly twice as long as first two segments together, and moderately stout. Vertex fusco-piceous around ocelli, with some violaceous reflections; posteriorly it is black with metallic azureous reflections. Stripes of hair on eyes quite distinct, outer stripe on each eye narrowed in the middle. Thorax: Mesonotum black with strong violaceous reflections dorsally and strong blue reflections on the sides. Mesonotsl pile short, pale, and golden-yellow. Mesonotal stripes heavy and broad, almost uniformly wide throughout their length, and not ending in sharp points; yellowish. Basal half of scutellum fusco-piceous,the remainder yellow. Scutellar teeth variable in length, those towards centre of row shortest, varying in number from ten to fourteen. Legs: All femora testaceous basally, creamy-yellow apically, a narrow, dark-brown band on posterior femora. Tibiae creamy-yellowon basal half, pale testaceous on the rest. Posterior tarsi ferrugino-testaceous, the two anterior peirs pale testaceous. Wings: Membrane hyaline and shining. Veins dark brown, and stigma a dirty yellow. Ahdomen ( figs. 23-24 ): Corners of first segment and shoulders and sides of second segment piceous, sometimes admixed with brown, and usually with bluish reflections. Remainder of first and second segmentsand anterior margin of third segment amber. Abdomen brown between anterior and posterior vittae, sometimes a little reddish, and rarely entirely amber. Moderately carinate on third and fourth segments. Anterior with indistinct and pale; posterior vittae moderately distinct and silvery-grey. Troughs on third segment wide and deep, sometimes rather narrow and moderately deep, those of fourth segment narrow and moderately deep. Sculpturation of fourth sgment reduced; present, though inconspicuous, on second and third segments. Vestiture of abdomen poorly developed; middle three segments with many short, black, reclinate hairs, on first segment some short, thin, erect, white hairs, and on fourth segment a few similar hairs, only reclinate; some longer, silvery-white hairs on the fifth segment. Cfenitalia ( figs. 21-22 ): Epandrium nearly one-and-a-half times as long as deep. Its anterior margin produced forwards on each side into triangular projections. Cerci flattish and quite prominent. Styles very characteristic, flat and wide apically, narrowly constricted over the middle, and dilated basally into a '' head 'I. Inferior claspers well developed: ventrally produced into small, pointed, suboval lobes, dorsally they extend into long, laterally flattened lobes. Superior claspers borne on broad lobes. Penis-sheath very narrow ventrally, and bears a weak, short, median, ventral process.

Females.-The three females of this species before me are rather variable, and it is possible that the one from Hasi does not belong here.

Frons black with cyanescent reflections; in the female from Bangalore it is fuscopiceous like the vertex. Tomentose strips of the frons well developed, each broad and linear and inwardly expanded at upper end into stout, triangular patches, both almost meeting in the mid-line; the specimen from Hasi lacks these projections of the tomentose strips. Vertex fusco-piceousaround the ocelli; cyanescent reflections posteriorly, except in the female from Bangalore. Number of scutellar teeth varies from fourteen to seventeen. Fourth and fifth abdominal sternites fusco-piceous, with a strong admixture of red-brown in places.

Longest specimen 68 mm., shortest specimen 5'1 mm.

Remarks.-The short mesonotal pile and male genitalia distinguish this species. The antennae are shortish, md the posterior femora are only narrowly darh.

A translation of the original description of P. stmatus is as follows, for which I am indebted to Mr. S. Whiteley: (( With a black thorax, the edge of the scutellum yellow and serrate. It has the small stature of the preceding species (P.&color). Head yellow, antennae dusky; a black thorax with two shortened grey dorsal lines. Scutellum black, with extensive yellow on the rim, saw-like with many little teeth. Abdomen black on the first segment, red on the rest, with a whitish edge. Clear, unspotted wings; rust-red tarsi”.

The description is very brief, but I believe that it can be referred to the species described above for several reasons. It isunlikely that Fabricius described R specimen of P. went htus as he would have noticed the suffused wings; his type could not have been a specimen of P. yerbwriensis as in that species the abdomen is not extensively reddish; hally, P. auritus is much larger than &color, and does not have rust-red tarsi. It seems probable that the species described above is P. serratus as it is the only Oriental species that agrees with his description on all points.

It is interesting to note that a Danish factory was opened at Tranqnebar, the type locality, in 1620; Danish influence continued until 1845, except for a brief period of British Occupation from 1801 to 1814 (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 22, 14th edit., 1929). Fabricius probably came by his material of P. serratus through the efforts of these settlers. The species seem to be collfined to India.

Figures

FIGS.21-25.-Paragus serratus (Fabricius). (21) Hypopygium of male from Poona, India. (22) Hypopygium of male from Delhi, India. (23) Abdomenof male. (24) Abdomen of female.