Conioscinella ovalis (Adams) Foster, 2024

Foster, George A., 2024, Revision of Nearctic Microcercis Beschovski (Diptera: Chloropidae), with Synonymy of Incertella Sabrosky, Zootaxa 5481 (4), pp. 401-439 : 425-426

Conioscinella ovalis (Adams) NEW COMBINATION

( Fig. 14 , 25 , 38 , 39, 40 )

Oscinis ovalis Adams, 1905: 110–111 . Type locality: “Tipton” [= Tifton] Georgia (deposited in FMNH). — Malloch, 1913: 259 [sensu Malloch = Hippelates stramineus (Loew) ]. NEW COMBINATION

Oscinella ovalis .— Becker, 1912: 104, 107, 117.— Davis and Gray 1966: 283, 287–289, 292.

Botanobia marginalis Malloch, 1914: 25 . Type locality: Biscayne Bay, Florida (deposited in NMNH).— Sabrosky 1936: 726 [New synonym].

Botanobia proxima Malloch, 1914: 25 . Type locality: Wallops Island, Virginia (deposited in NMNH).— Sabrosky 1936: 726 [New synonym].

Oscinella marginalis .— Sabrosky 1935: 258, 265–266 [coll. records, discussion].

Incertella ovalis . — Sabrosky 1980: 421 [n. comb.]

Diagnosis.—Body length; female: 1.45–2.20 mm; male: 1.30–1.85 mm. Ocellar triangle yellow except ocellar tubercle with a black oval that extends onto the triangle;; frons yellow; postpedicel usually mostly yellow, may have light brown coloration around base of arista, distal tip angulate; scutum entirely tomentose, yellow in ground color, with four yellow distinct vittae, lateral vittae longer than the medial, none reach the posterior margin of the scutum; notopleural setae 1 + 2, the posterior dorsal seta shorter, weaker than posterior ventral seta; pleuron mostly tomentose and mostly yellow with black band on ventral margin of anepisternum and the anterior margin of anepimeron; katepisternum may be light brown ventrally or entirely yellow; legs yellow, distal hind femur and hind tibia darker, distal tarsomeres dark; tibial organ bright yellow; abdominal tergites mostly yellow to light brown; male terminalia entirely yellow, cerci long, wide, with a small tooth-like projection medially, surstyli long, simple spatulate (fig. 38).

Distribution.—Nearctic: Canada (Manitoba). United States (Florida, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, North Carolina, Virginia).

Discussion.—This species clearly runs to Conioscinella in the Manual of Nearctic Diptera . Key characters are the tomentose triangle, scutum and scutellum, 1+2 notopleural setae, facial carina not prominent and the vibrissal angle not produced.

There is a group of species of Conioscinella in the Nearctic that are mostly yellow in ground color with various patterns of scutal vittae and dark spots on the pleuron. Notably, the genitalia of all the yellow species are virtually identical in having long surstyli and rather long widely separated cerci. These species are C. flavescens , C. nuda , and two undescribed species. C. ovalis clearly belongs in this group.

It is very similar to M. johanni in overall appearance particularly in having four distinct mesonotal vittae.

C. ovalis , like other Conioscinella , does not have the longer setae at the base of the ventral basitarsis (fig. 14) ( von Tschirnhaus, 2007:131 and pers. comm.) that are present in Microcercis .

Type material.—The HOLOTYPE male (fig. 25) has seven labels. They are as follows in order from top to bottom: Tifton, Ga. June 8 ’96 [typewritten except the number 8, white label]//Univ. of Chicago G. N. Hough Diptera Colln. [typewritten, white label]// Oscinis then 3 illegible characters [handwritten, off-white label]// Oscinis sp. n..? No. 4 [handwritten, off-white label]// HOLOTYPE Oscinis ovalis Adams (1937 – C. W. Sabrosky) [handwritten, red label]// FMNHINS 3130641 FIELD MUSEUM pinned and a bar code [typewritten, white label]// PHOTOGRAPHED Allie Stone 2015 Emu Catalog [typewritten, blue label.

The holotype is double mounted (minuten inserted from the venter of the specimen in an off-white square piece of card stock), is in excellent condition, and is deposited in the FMNH .

At some point a red label had been pinned on the type specimen that reads “1937 – C.W. Sabrosky”. Clearly Sabrosky had examined the specimen before 1937 since he treated it in his 1936 work.

Figures

FIGURES 9–14. Microcercis and Conioscinella morphology. 9, M. minor male femoral organ, 2500X. 10, M. infesta male femoral organ, 3000X. 11, C. nuda male femoral organ, 2000X.12, M. infesta male genitalia, 500X, (arrow points to epandrium). 13, M. infesta hind basal tarsomere (arrows indicate basal setae). 14, C. ovalis hind basal tarsomere.

FIGURES 23–30. Microcercis and Conioscinella morphology. 23, M. laytoni habitus, lateral view. 24, M.trifeminarum habitus, lateral view. 25, C. ovalis HOLOTYPE habitus, lateral view. 26, M. albipalpis male genitalia, posterior oblique view. 27, M. albipalpis surstylus. 28 M. bispina male genitalia, posterior oblique view. 29, M. dorsata male genitalia, posterior oblique view. 30, M. infesta male genitalia, posterior oblique view.

FIGURES 31–38. Microcercis and Conioscinella morphology. 31, M. insularis male genitalia, posterior view. 32, M. johanni male genitalia, posterior oblique view. 33, M. minor male genitalia, posterior view. 34, M. minor male genitalia, lateral oblique view. 35, M. murphyi male genitalia, posterior oblique view. 36, M. murphyi male genitalia, lateral oblique view. 37 M. trifeminarum male genitalia, posterior oblique view. 38, C. ovalis male genitalia, posterior oblique view.

FIGURES 39–40. Conioscinella morphology, fresh specimen. 39, C. ovalis habitus, lateral view. 40, C. ovalis head and thorax, dorsal view.