Notiolaphria rufitibia Oldroyd, 1960

Londt, Jason G. H., 2015, Taxonomic observations regarding four genera ofAfrotropical robber flies, Choerades Walker, 1851, Laphria Meigen, 1803, Nannolaphria Londt, 1977 and Notiolaphria Londt, 1977, and the description of Ericomyia gen. n. (Diptera, Asilidae, Laphriinae), African Invertebrates 56 (1), pp. 191-191 : 213-214

Notiolaphria rufitibia Oldroyd, 1960 , comb. n.

Figs 9 , 21 , 36

Laphria rufitibia Oldroyd, 1960: 284 . (fig. 14 ♂ genitalia).

Etymology: The name was derived from the Latin words rufus (red, reddish) and tibia (shinbone), being descriptive of the coloration of the tibiae.

Redescription: Based on available material.

Head: Black, silver and gold pruinose, black and white setose. Antenna: Black, scape and pedicel dorsally black setose, ventrally mixed black and white setose. Segmental ratios (scape as 1) — 1:0.8: 2.6. Style absent, postpedicel tipped with a pit-enclosed spine-like sensory element. Face black, hardly gibbose, fine gold pruinose Mystax confined to weakly gibbose ventral half of face, white with a pair of dorsolaterally situated groups of silver, glistening, scale-like setae. Dorsal region of face with 1 pair of small white setae. Frons black, gold-silver pruinose with fine white setae laterally adjacent to eye margin. Ocellar tubercle with a pair of long, strong, black macrosetae. Vertex black, gold pruinose. Postocular (occipital) region black, silver pruinose, black and white setose dorsally, fine white setose ventrally. Palpi and proboscis dark red-brown to black, white setose.

Thorax: Black, with areas of silver and gold-silver pruinescence, black and white setose. Pronotum black. Mesonotum black, extensively shiny apruinose, but with areas of fine gold-silver pruinescence (dorsomedially on postpronotal lobes, laterally, posteriorly and 2 spots on transverse suture). Acrostichals black, poorly developed. Dorsocentrals tiny black, poorly developed, extending both anterior and posterior of transverse suture. Mesonotal macrosetae: Black, 1 npl, 2 spal, 2 pal. Scutellum shiny blue-black, apruinose, disc with few isolated tiny black setae, 4 long black apical macrosetae. Pleura: Black, entirely silver pruinose, black and white setose.Anepisternum with two black macrosetae posteriorly. Katatergal macrosetae entirely white.Anatergites uniformly silver pruinose, asetose. Legs ( Fig. 21 ): Coxae black, silver pruinose, white setose. Trochanters shiny dark red-brown to black, apruinose, white setose. Femora slightly inflated, black, black and pale yellow setose. Tibiae entirely orange, pale yellow setose, except for a few black setae dorsodistally. Tarsi orange to brown, macrosetae black and yellowish, fine setae mostly yellowish, but some black dorsally. Claws black, pulvilli and empodia well developed. Wings: ♂ 7.4× 2.8 mm. Veins red-brown, cell r 5 open, m 3 and cua closed and stalked, membrane unstained, transparent, microtrichia largely absent from proximal half of wing and extensive in distal half ( Fig. 9 ). Halter pale yellow to orange.

Abdomen: Terga shiny blue-black, T2–5 with silver pruinose spots posterolaterally, setae fine, short dorsomedially, loner white laterally, discal macrosetae yellow-white — T1 with 3, T2 with 2, T3 and T4 with 1. Sterna red-brown, uniformly fine silver pruinose, longish white setose.

Male terminalia: The terminalia have been cleared, dissected and stuck onto a strip of clear cellulose making it difficult to illustrate details.

Material examined: MADAGASCAR: 1♀ ‘ Para / type’, ‘ Coll. Mus. Congo / Madagascar: / Ahitsitondrona [? = Ambohitsitondroinan c. 15°34'32"S 50°00'41"E, c. 750 m] xi-1949 / J. Vadon’, ‘ Laphria / rufitibia Oldroyd / det. H. Oldroyd 1956’ ( BMNH) ; 1♂ ‘ Madagascar: Tam. / Foulpointe [c. 17°41'S 49°30'E, c. 10 m] / 12.xi.1993 / marais á Pandanus / bac j. A. Pauly’ ( GULB).

Other material: Oldroyd (1960) listed three type specimens. as follows: ‘ Madagascar Est : Maroantsetra , Ambohitsitondrona [see possible details above] (Vadon), ♂ holotype; 1♂ 1♀ paratypes. Novembre’ . The ♂ holotype is housed in the MNHN, the ♀ paratype (listed above), is in BMNH while the ♂ paratype is in MRAC and is labelled ‘ Madagascar: Ahitsitondrona [? = Ambohitsitondrona] / XI-1949 / J. Vadon’. Photographs of the holotype sent to me by Dr Eric Fisher suggests that the male seen by me is conspecific.

Distribution, phenology and biology: Known only from two localities ( Fig. 36 ). Probably inhabits forested areas close to the sea or marshland (ie. ‘marais’). All recorded specimens were collected in November ( Table 1 ). No prey records are known.

Figures

Figs 5–10. Notiolaphria species, wings. (5) No. coerulescens (Macquart, 1834) (Mauritius, Roche Bois); (6) No. dimidiatifemur (Oldroyd, 1960) (Madagascar, 7km W Ranomafana National Park); (7) No. microtheres sp. n. (Madagascar, Mikea Forest); (8) No. miltothorax sp. n. (Madagascar, 7km E Beroboka, Antsarongaza forest); (9) No. rufitibia (Oldroyd, 1960) (Madagascar, Foulpointe); (10) No. stuckenbergi (Oldroyd, 1960) (Madagascar, Zombitse National Park).

Figs 20, 21. Notiolaphria species, metathoracic legs: (20) No. dimidiatifemur (Oldroyd, 1960) ♀, (Madagascar,7 km W Ranomafana);(21) No.rifitibia (Oldroyd,1960) ♂, (Madagascar, Foulpointe).

Figs 34–37. (34) Distribution of Nannolaphria nigra Londt, 1977 (■) and Notiolaphria coerulescens (Macquart, 1834) (●); (35–37) Distributions of Notiolaphria species in Madagascar: (35) No. dimidiatifemur (Oldroyd, 1960) (●), No. microtheres sp. n. (■), No. miltothorax sp. n. (▲); (36) No. rufitibia (Oldroyd, 1960) (●), No.stuckenbergi (Oldroyd) (▲); (37) Ericomyia atomentosa (Oldroyd, 1960) typical specimens (●) atypical specimens (▲).