Ectyphus armipes Bezzi, 1924

Lyons, Kathleen M. & Dikow, Torsten, 2010, Taxonomic revision of Ectyphus Gerstaecker, 1868 and Parectyphus Hesse, 1972 with a key to world Ectyphinae (Insecta, Diptera, Mydidae), ZooKeys 73, pp. 25-59 : 30-34

Ectyphus armipes Bezzi, 1924 Figs 5614-1645

Ectyphus armipes Bezzi 1924: 196; Hesse 1969: 381; Wilcox and Papavero 1971: 59; Bowden 1980: 326.

Diagnosis:

The species is distinguished from congeners by the long proboscis that is slightly longer than the oral cavity, the large labellum that occupies nearly the entire oral cavity, brown facial gibbosity and postpronotal lobe, and the dorso-ventrally flattened ‘palp-like’ appendage on the gonocoxite in males.

Re-description male:

black, facial gibbosity light brown, in general predominantly apubescent, yellow pubescent on median eye margin; width distinctly greater than thorax, interocular distance on vertex larger than at ventral eye margin, vertex between compound eyes slightly depressed, parafacial area very narrow, facial gibbosity nearly touching median eye margin; facial gibbosity distinct, well-developed and discernible in lateral view; mystax white, covering entire facial gibbosity, sparse; frons predominantly apubescent, vertex apubescent, postgena lightly silver pubescent; setation: vertex white, frons white, ocp setae white, pocl setae white; ocellar triangle apubescent; proboscis light brown, long, reaching fronto-clypeal suture; labellum large, much wider than prementum, longer than prementum and as long as oral cavity, unsclerotised laterally; maxillary palpus cylindrical, light brown, about ½ length of proboscis.

Antenna: brown, scape and pedicel white and yellow setose dorsally and ventrally; postpedicel cylindrical in proximal ½, symmetrically bulbous in distal ½, ≥ 6.0 times as long as combined length of scape and pedicel; apical ‚seta-like‘ sensory element situated apically in cavity on postpedicel.

Thorax: dark brown to bluish-black, predominantly apubescent; scutum medially dark brown, laterally brown, surface entirely smooth, predominantly apubescent, only extreme lateral margin grey pubescent, scutal setation comprised of distinct rows of short dorsocentral setae and lateral scutal setae; dc setae pre- and postsuturally white, acr setae absent, lateral scutal setae white, npl, spal, and pal setae absent; postpronotal lobe light brown, partly silver pubescent; proepisternum, lateral postpronotum, and postpronotal lobe long white setose; scutellum apubescent, asetose medially, laterally yellow setose, apical scutellar setae absent; mesopostnotum, anatergite, and katatergite silver pubescent, asetose; katatergite elevated and smoothly convex; anterior anepiste rnum asetose, supero-posterior anepisternum asetose; posterior anepimeron long white setose, katepimeron asetose; metepimeron evenly elevated, same colour as T1, silver pubescent, asetose; metepisternum silver pubescent, asetose.

Leg: brown, setation predominantly white; pro, mes, and met coxa apubescent, long white setose; met trochanter macrosetose medially; femur brown, met femur evenly clubbed in distal ¾, in distal ½ macrosetose, 1 antero-ventral and 1 postero-ventral row of macrosetae; pro, mes, and met tibia straight, met tibia cylindrical with distinct ventral keel terminating into a sharp spine; pro and mes tarsomere 1 as long as combined length of tarsomeres 2-3, met tarsomere 1 as long as combined length of tarsomeres 2-4; pulvillus well-developed, as long as well-developed claw, and as wide as base of claw; empodium absent.

Wing: length = 12.2-14.1 mm; slightly brown stained, darker brown around veins, veins light brown, microtrichia absent; cells r1, r4, r5, m3, + cup closed; C well-developed, around entire wing; R4 terminates in R1; R5 terminates in R1; stump vein (R3) at base of R4 present, long but not reaching R2; R4 and R5 widest apart medially; r-m distinct, R4+5 and M1 apart, connected by crossvein; M1 straight at r-m (not curving anteriorly), M1 (or M1+M2) terminates in C; CuA1 and CuA2 split proximally to m-cu (cell m3 narrow proximally); M3+CuA1 terminate together in C; A1 undulating, cell a1 wide, A1 and wing margin further apart proximally than distally; alula well-developed; halter light brown.

Abdomen: brown; setation comprised of scattered white setae, surface entirely smooth; T1 brown, T2-7 brown with yellow posterior margin; T1 long white setose, T 2-T3 sparsely white setose; T predominantly apubescent; S1-7 brown, yellow posterior margin; S1 asetose, S2-3 sparsely white setose; S predominantly apubescent; T2-4 parallel-sided and not constricted waist-like; bullae on T2 brown, transversely elongate, surface entirely smooth, T2 surface anterior to bullae smooth.

Male terminalia: T1-7 well-developed, entirely sclerotised, T8 postero-medially weakly sclerotised, with anterior transverse sclerotised bridge connecting lateral sclerites; T7-8 anteriorly with 2 lateral apodemes; S6 regular, without any special setation postero-medially, S8 well-developed and simple, fused to T8 dorso-laterally, entire (undivided) ventro-medially; epandrium formed by single sclerite (fused medially ± entirely), pointed postero-laterally; subepandrial sclerite without lateral or median protuberances; hypandrium ± flat, rectangular to square sclerite, entirely fused with gonocoxite, forming a gonocoxite-hypandrial complex; gonocoxite dorso-ventrally flattened in distal ½, higher in proximal ½, with palp-like lateral appendage, gonocoxal apodeme present, short (at most slightly extending hypopygium anteriorly); 1 functional aedeagal prong, aedeagal epimere absent; lateral ejaculatory process absent; ejaculatory apodeme formed by single dorso-ventrally oriented plate; ventro-median margin of dorsal aedeagal sheath heavily sclerotised (appearing entirely closed); dorsal aedeagal sheath long, sperm sac entirely covered; sperm sac appearing ± heavily sclerotised.

Re-description female:

Head: proboscis brown; maxillary palpus brown.

Antenna: postpedicel ≥ 5.0 times as long as combined length of scape and pedicel.

Thorax: light brown, predominantly grey pubescent; scutum yellow, broad brown median presutural stripe and brown paramedial postsutural stripes; scutum lightly grey pubescent.

Leg: yellow; pro, mes, and met coxa grey pubescent, white setose; femur yellow.

Wing: length = 14.1-14.5 mm; hyaline throughout, slightly brown stained along veins.

Abdomen: T1-7 brown, yellow posterior margin; T1-3 sparsely white setose; S1-7 brown; bullae on T2 black, transversely elongate.

Female genitalia: densely arranged anteriorly directed setae absent, only few on T7-8 and S7-8; T8 with broad anterior rectangular apodeme; T9 formed by wide, rectangular sclerite with median protuberance; T9+10 entirely fused, T10 divided into 2 heavily sclerotised acanthophorite plates, 11 acanthophorite spurs per plate; 3 spermathecae, all equally large, formed by ± expanded weakly sclerotised ducts; individual spermathecal duct long; S9 (furca) formed by 2 sclerites, separated anteriorly and posteriorly, anterior furcal apodeme present, 2 lateral projections forming divided apodeme, lateral furcal apodeme absent, median furcal bridge absent.

Material examined:

South Africa: KwaZulu-Natal: 1♂ St. Lucia Lake, 27°56'43"S; 32°26'11"E, 4.xi.1920, H. Bell Marley (AAM-003454, NMSA); 1♀ 1♂ Mtunzini, 28°57'00"S; 31°45'00"E, 1.xii.1980, R. Oberprieler (AAM-003490-AAM-003491, SANC); 2♂ Tongaat, 29°34'12"S; 31°07'06"E, -.ix.1908, H. Burnup (AAM-003452-AAM-003453, NMSA); 1♂ Tongaat, -.-.1908-1909, H. Burnup (AAM-003476, BMNH); 1♀ 1♂ Tongaat River, 29°34'13"S; 31°10'47"E, -.-.1908-1909, H. Burnup (AAM-003474-AAM-003475, BMNH); 2♀ Stellabush (= Pigeon Valley Nature Reserve), 29°51'00"S; 30°59'00"E, -.-.1915, H. Bell Marley (AAM-003457-AAM-003458, NMSA); 1♀ 1♂ Stellabush (= Pigeon Valley Nature Reserve), -.i.1915, H. Bell Marley (holotype and paratype, SAMC); 1♀ Stellabush (= Pigeon Valley Nature Reserve), -.-.1915, H. Bell Marley (AAM-003511, SAMC); 5♂ Durban, 29°51'00"S; 31°01'00"E, -. i–iii.1959, C. Booth (AAM-003513-AAM-003517, SAMC); 1♀ 1♂ Durban, 13.ii.1963, G. Heinrich (AAM-003483-AAM-003484, CNC); 1? Natal (= Durban), -.iv.1868, W. Saunders (AAM-003477, BMNH); 1♂ Natal (= Durban), -.-.1904, J. Gregoe (AAM-003480, BMNH); 1♂ Natal (= Durban), -.vii.1942, (AAM-003488, SAMC); 1♀ Port-Natal (= Durban), -.-.-, Plant (AAM-003479, BMNH); 1♂ Bluff, Durban, 29°53'00"S; 31°03'00"E, 18.i.1904, C. Barker (AAM-003456, NMSA); 1♂ Amanzimtoti, 30°03'00"S; 30°53'00"E, -.i.1950, (AAM-003455, NMSA); 1♀ Widenham, 30°12'57"S; 30°47'47"E, 2.i.1915, E. Chubb (AAM-003481, BMNH); 1♂ Widenham, 20.xii.1914, (AAM-003512, SAMC); No locality information: 1♂, Plant (AAM-003478, BMNH); 1♀ (AAM-003482, BMNH).

Type locality, distribution, and biodiversity hotspot:

Stellabush (now Pigeon Valley Nature Reserve, 29°51'51"S; 30°59'13"E), Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany biodiversity hotspot.

Remarks:

Three specimens, two from Tongaat River (AAM-003474-AAM-003475) and one from Tongaat (AAM-003476), all collected in 1908-1909 exhibit a long stump vein (R3) entirely connecting veins R2 and R4 (e.g., Fig. 38). The presence of this connecting stump vein is otherwise only known from and diagnostic for the genus Parectyphus (see below). Ectyphus armipes , however, does not show any of the other diagnostic features of Parectyphus and the male terminalia exhibit the usual Ectyphus configuration so that we view the presence of this stump vein as a morphological anomaly.