Frutillaria Richards, 1961 : 63

Kits, Joel H. & Marshall, Stephen A., 2011, A revision of Frutillaria Richards and Penola Richards (Diptera: Sphaeroceridae: Archiborborinae), Zootaxa 2863, pp. 1-34 : 5-6

Frutillaria Richards, 1961: 63

Type species: Frutillaria kuscheli Richards 1961 , by original designation

Small flies, 1.5–2.7 mm long.

Head yellowish orange to reddish brown, mostly covered with microtomentum; often with bare shiny patches lateral to ocellar triangle. Face evenly sclerotized, weakly carinate medially, lunule small. Gena about ¼ maximum height of eye. Occiput narrow below occipital foramen. Clypeus narrow, slightly produced. Palpus broadest distally, with tiny setae throughout and larger setae along lateral margin. Prementum well-developed, circular, about ¾ height of eye. Labellum with 12 pseudotracheae. Scape very short, with 1–2 dorsomedial setulae; pedicel subtriangular, often somewhat darker than frons, medial bristles about 4 times longer than outer, upper apical upcurved, with a downcurved bristle posterior to it; first flagellomere round, slightly pointed dorsoapically, covered with tiny hairs that, when dark, make the flagellomere appear bicoloured; arista dorsolateral, preapical, 2-segmented, about as long as head width, short-plumose. Chaetotaxy: orbital bristles in two lateroclinate pairs; irregular orbital setulae along orbital plate; interfrontals in about 6 medioclinate pairs; preocellars lateroproclinate, about 1 ocellus width anterior of median ocellus; irregular, very short ocellar setulae; inner vertical bristles inclinate; outer vertical bristles lateroreclinate; postocellar bristles slightly proclinate; postvertical bristles small, cruciate; setae on median occipital sclerite small, medioclinate; postocular setae in a complete row with an incomplete row of occipital setae behind; vibrissa strong, as long as head; subvibrissal bristle short but usually distinct, about ¼ length of vibrissa; upturned anterior genal bristle about ¼ – ½ length of vibrissa; genal setae in 2 rows.

Thorax black, postalar callus and scutellum sometimes reddish; extent of microtomentum variable between species. Halter absent. Chaetotaxy: postpronotum with a single enlarged bristle; notopleuron with two bristles, anterior very long, about 2x length of posterior; one presutural and one postsutural intra-alar bristles (postsutural may be difficult to distinguish from surrounding setae); one large postalar bristle in line with intra-alars, a smaller postalar between this and scutellum; three dorsocentrals bristles (one presutural and two postsutural), posterior pair longer than scutellum, anterior pair slightly shorter to ½ the length of posterior pair; acrostichal setae in 6–8 irregular rows; scutellum with 2 pairs of long scutellar bristles; proepisternum with 1–4 small setulae; katepisternum with a single large dorsal bristle and long, thin setae ventrally.

Legs mostly black, usually with orange to yellowish joints and tarsi; fore coxa and femur paler in some species. Usually covered with microtomentum except fore coxa, with a shiny patch on fore femur in some species. Fore tibia with a preapical dorsal bristle. Fore basotarsomere without an apical spur in males. Mid femur with 2–3 anterior bristles. Mid tibia with preapical anterodorsal, anteroventral, and posteroventral bristles and a ring of 4–5 apical bristles. Hind femur with a few small anterodorsal and anteroventral bristles. Hind tibia with a long preapical dorsal bristle and 1 ventroapical bristle.

Abdomen black, extent of microtomentum variable between species. Both tergites and sternites well sclerotized. Sternites particularly wide, nearly meeting tergites laterally; pleural membrane narrow, occasionally with a few setae.

Male terminalia: Sternite 5 wide, with a posteromedial indentation. Synsternite 6+7 asymmetrical, complex, a portion often detached and forming an accessory sclerite flanking distiphallus in genital pouch; dorsal corner fused to sternite 8. Sternite 8 broadly fused to epandrium along right side. Genital pouch often with a thin ring-shaped sclerite on right side; a similar structure is found in some Limosininae , and it is possibly a modified campaniform sensillum. Epandrium symmetrical, with a cleft above anterior edge of surstylus. Cerci small and medially fused. Subepandrial sclerite Y or X-shaped, articulated with cerci and surstyli. Surstylus shape variable between species, articulated with epandrium and subepandrial sclerite. Hypandrial arms weakly fused with ventral edge of epandrium; hypandrial apodeme well-developed, rod-like, weakly fused with arms. Phallapodeme well-developed, curved and broadest distally. Postgonites long and usually bilobed, articulated with phallapodeme, hypandrium, and basiphallus. Ejaculatory apodeme small and easily lost in dissections. Basiphallus usually short, with both epiphallus and preepiphallus. Distiphallus complex, often bearing paired lateral arms on either side of a central projecting sclerite; sometimes with paired ventroapical discs and/or paired membranous to sclerotized ventral sacs.

Female terminalia: Sclerites of segments 6 and 7 unusually broad and strongly sclerotized for Archiborborinae , resembling many Limosininae , but abdomen telescoping, usually retracted in preserved specimens. Tergite 8 strongly sclerotized, sometimes divided medially. Sternite 8 always divided medially, weakly to moderately sclerotized. Tergite 10 always distinct if weakly sclerotized, hypoproct sometimes entirely unsclerotized. Cerci simple, not fused with tergite 10 or each other. Three more or less spherical spermathecae; one pair sharing a duct and the other on a separate duct; base and apex may be invaginated.

Immature stages: Larvae and pupae unknown. Eggs (1–5 per specimen) dissected from females of F. calida sp. n., F. chepuensis Richards , F. edenensis Richards , and F. transversa sp. n.: ovoid, about ⅔ length of retracted female abdomen and about 3x as long as wide, sculptured with about 20 longitudinal furrows, micropylar end ovoid and slightly indented.