Anisodiplosis Maia

Maia, Valéria Cid & Fernandes, G. Wilson, 2005, A new genus and species of gall midge (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) associated with Waltheria indica L. (Sterculiaceae), Zootaxa 1060, pp. 27-36 : 28-29

Anisodiplosis Maia , gen. nov.

Adult. Occipital process absent. Palpus 3­segmented. Male flagellomeres binodal and tricircumfilar, second circumfilum of each flagellomere with shorter loops than on first and third; female flagellomeres cylindrical, necks bare; 12th flagellomere with apical narrowed elongation. Wing: R5 joining C beyond wing apex; Rs basally as strong as R1 but weak anteriorly, situated beyond midlength of R1; M3 fold present; first tarsomeres without spur; tarsal claws simple and bent beyond midlength; empodia shorter than bend in claws; male tergites 7 and 8 and female tergite 8 with irregular margins; ovipositor protrusible; female cerci separate.

Pupa. Antennal bases rounded apically, not projecting anteriorly; face smooth, without projections; lower and lateral facial papillae present. Prothoracic spiracle setiform. Abdominal segments 2–8 each with single row of few dorsal spines.

Larva. Spatula with 2 anterior teeth and reduced stalk; thoracic segments with 6 lateral papillae in 2 groups of 3 on each side; terminal segment with 3 pairs of long­setose papillae. Pupation in gall.

Type species. Anisodiplosis waltheriae Maia , sp. nov.

Etymology. Anisodiplosis is a name composed of aniso (“different”, from Greek) + diplosis (a common suffix in Cecidomyiidi), referring to the unequal length of the circumfila.

Comments. Anisodiplosis is included among the Cecidomyiidi by the number and shape of flagellomeres (12, binodal in male and cylindrical in female) and the absence of parameres, but it does not fit in any known tribe. Anisodiplosis keys to Contodiplosis Gagné 1994 in couplet 86 of Gagné (1994), if one ignores the host plant. Both genera have the palpus three­segmented, male flagellomeres with two nodes and three separate circumfila, R5 joining C beyond the wing apex, Rs partially as strong as R1 but weak anteriorly, M3 fold present, Rs stub beyond midlength of R1, first tarsomere without a spur, tarsal claws simple and bent beyond midlength, empodia shorter than bend in claws, ovipositor somewhat elongated, and female cerci separate. Anisodiplosis differs mainly in the shape of male tergites 7 and 8 and female tergite 8 (all with irregular margins), second circumfilum of each flagellomere reduced, and pupa without antennal horns. Moreover, the new genus does not have an occipital process (present in Contodiplosis) and is associated with Sterculiaceae , whereas the three known species of Contodiplosis are associated with Styracaceae .

This is the second record of a cecidomyiid gall on Waltheria indica . Möhn (1959) described a stem gall induced by Asphondylia waltheriae . Other Cecidomyiidae galls have been recorded on Sterculiaceae in the Neotropical Region, but on other plant genera ( Ayenia , Guazuma , Helicteres , Melochia , Sterculia , and Theobroma ), all induced by species of Asphondylia , except the galls on Sterculia and Theobroma .