Spathidexia aurantiaca Fleming & Wood 2015

Fleming, AJ, Wood, D. Monty, Janzen, Daniel, Hallwachs, Winnie & Smith, M. Alex, 2015, Seven new species of Spathidexia Townsend (Diptera: Tachinidae) reared from caterpillars in Area de Conservacion Guanacaste, Costa Rica, Biodiversity Data Journal 3, pp. 4597-4597 : 4597

Spathidexia aurantiaca Fleming & Wood 2015 sp. n.

Materials

Type status: Holotype. Occurrence: occurrenceDetails: http://janzen.sas.upenn.edu; catalogNumber: DHJPAR0010326 ; recordedBy: D.H. Janzen & W. Hallwachs; individualID: DHJPAR0010326; individualCount: 1; sex: M; lifeStage: adult; preparations: pinned; otherCatalogNumbers: 06-SRNP-42439; Taxon: scientificName: Spathidexiaaurantiaca; phylum: Arthropoda; class: Insecta; order: Diptera; family: Tachinidae; genus: Spathidexia; specificEpithet: aurantiaca; Location: continent: Central America; country: Costa Rica; countryCode: CR; stateProvince: Alajuela; county: Area de Conservacion Guanacaste; locality: Sector Rincon Rain Forest ; verbatimLocality: Caverna; verbatimElevation: 420; verbatimLatitude: 10.927; verbatimLongitude: -85.288; verbatimCoordinateSystem: Decimal; decimalLatitude: 10.927; decimalLongitude: -85.288; Identification: identifiedBy: AJ Fleming; dateIdentified: 2014; Event: samplingProtocol: reared from caterpillars of Justinia Burns01 (Hesperiidae); verbatimEventDate: 01-Aug-2006; Record Level: language: en; institutionCode: CNC; collectionCode: Insects; basisOfRecord: Pinned Specimen

Type status: Paratype. Occurrence: occurrenceDetails: http://janzen.sas.upenn.edu; catalogNumber: DHJPAR0006934 ; recordedBy: D.H. Janzen & W. Hallwachs; individualID: DHJPAR0006934; individualCount: 1; lifeStage: adult; preparations: pinned; otherCatalogNumbers: 06-SRNP-40499; Taxon: scientificName: Spathidexiaaurantiaca; phylum: Arthropoda; class: Insecta; order: Diptera; family: Tachinidae; genus: Spathidexia; specificEpithet: aurantiaca; Location: continent: Central America; country: Costa Rica; countryCode: CR; stateProvince: Alajuela; county: Area de Conservacion Guanacaste; locality: Sector Rincon Rain Forest ; verbatimLocality: Puente Rio Negro; verbatimElevation: 340; verbatimLatitude: 10.904; verbatimLongitude: -85.303; verbatimCoordinateSystem: Decimal; decimalLatitude: 10.904; decimalLongitude: -85.303; Identification: identifiedBy: AJ Fleming; dateIdentified: 2014; Event: samplingProtocol: reared from caterpillars of Justinia Burns01 (Hesperiidae); verbatimEventDate: 12-Mar-2006; Record Level: language: en; institutionCode: CNC; collectionCode: Insects; basisOfRecord: Pinned Specimen

Type status: Paratype. Occurrence: occurrenceDetails: http://janzen.sas.upenn.edu; catalogNumber: DHJPAR0018746 ; recordedBy: D.H. Janzen & W. Hallwachs; individualID: DHJPAR0018746; individualCount: 1; lifeStage: adult; preparations: pinned; otherCatalogNumbers: 06-SRNP-40499; Taxon: scientificName: Spathidexiaaurantiaca; phylum: Arthropoda; class: Insecta; order: Diptera; family: Tachinidae; genus: Spathidexia; specificEpithet: aurantiaca; Location: continent: Central America; country: Costa Rica; countryCode: CR; stateProvince: Alajuela; county: Area de Conservacion Guanacaste; locality: Sector Rincon Rain Forest ; verbatimLocality: Puente Rio Negro; verbatimElevation: 340; verbatimLatitude: 10.904; verbatimLongitude: -85.303; verbatimCoordinateSystem: Decimal; decimalLatitude: 10.904; decimalLongitude: -85.303; Identification: identifiedBy: AJ Fleming; dateIdentified: 2014; Event: samplingProtocol: reared from caterpillars of Justinia Burns01 (Hesperiidae); verbatimEventDate: 12-Mar-2006; Record Level: language: en; institutionCode: CNC; collectionCode: Insects; basisOfRecord: Pinned Specimen

Type status: Paratype. Occurrence: occurrenceDetails: http://janzen.sas.upenn.edu; catalogNumber: DHJPAR0040837 ; recordedBy: D.H. Janzen & W. Hallwachs; individualID: DHJPAR0040837; individualCount: 1; lifeStage: adult; preparations: pinned; otherCatalogNumbers: 10-SRNP-81062; Taxon: scientificName: Spathidexiaaurantiaca; phylum: Arthropoda; class: Insecta; order: Diptera; family: Tachinidae; genus: Spathidexia; specificEpithet: aurantiaca; Location: continent: Central America; country: Costa Rica; countryCode: CR; stateProvince: Alajuela; county: Area de Conservacion Guanacaste; locality: Sector Rincon Rain Forest ; verbatimLocality: Selva; verbatimElevation: 410; verbatimLatitude: 10.923; verbatimLongitude: -85.319; verbatimCoordinateSystem: Decimal; decimalLatitude: 10.923; decimalLongitude: -85.319; Identification: identifiedBy: AJ Fleming; dateIdentified: 2014; Event: samplingProtocol: reared from caterpillars of Euphyes Janzen01 (Hesperiidae); verbatimEventDate: 05-Dec-2010; Record Level: language: en; institutionCode: CNC; collectionCode: Insects; basisOfRecord: Pinned Specimen

Type status: Paratype. Occurrence: occurrenceDetails: http://janzen.sas.upenn.edu; catalogNumber: DHJPAR0040838 ; recordedBy: D.H. Janzen & W. Hallwachs; individualID: DHJPAR0040838; individualCount: 1; lifeStage: adult; preparations: pinned; otherCatalogNumbers: 10-SRNP-81061; Taxon: scientificName: Spathidexiaaurantiaca; phylum: Arthropoda; class: Insecta; order: Diptera; family: Tachinidae; genus: Spathidexia; specificEpithet: aurantiaca; Location: continent: Central America; country: Costa Rica; countryCode: CR; stateProvince: Alajuela; county: Area de Conservacion Guanacaste; locality: Sector Rincon Rain Forest ; verbatimLocality: Selva; verbatimElevation: 410; verbatimLatitude: 10.923; verbatimLongitude: -85.319; verbatimCoordinateSystem: Decimal; decimalLatitude: 10.923; decimalLongitude: -85.319; Identification: identifiedBy: AJ Fleming; dateIdentified: 2014; Event: samplingProtocol: reared from caterpillars of Euphyes Janzen01 (Hesperiidae); verbatimEventDate: 04-Dec-2010; Record Level: language: en; institutionCode: CNC; collectionCode: Insects; basisOfRecord: Pinned Specimen

Type status: Paratype. Occurrence: occurrenceDetails: http://janzen.sas.upenn.edu; catalogNumber: DHJPAR0042708 ; recordedBy: D.H. Janzen & W. Hallwachs; individualID: DHJPAR0042708; individualCount: 1; lifeStage: adult; preparations: pinned; otherCatalogNumbers: 11-SRNP-80003; Taxon: scientificName: Spathidexiaaurantiaca; phylum: Arthropoda; class: Insecta; order: Diptera; family: Tachinidae; genus: Spathidexia; specificEpithet: aurantiaca; Location: continent: Central America; country: Costa Rica; countryCode: CR; stateProvince: Alajuela; county: Area de Conservacion Guanacaste; locality: Sector Rincon Rain Forest ; verbatimLocality: Selva; verbatimElevation: 410; verbatimLatitude: 10.923; verbatimLongitude: -85.319; verbatimCoordinateSystem: Decimal; decimalLatitude: 10.923; decimalLongitude: -85.319; Identification: identifiedBy: AJ Fleming; dateIdentified: 2014; Event: samplingProtocol: reared from caterpillars of Euphyes Janzen01 (Hesperiidae); verbatimEventDate: 06-May-2011; Record Level: language: en; institutionCode: CNC; collectionCode: Insects; basisOfRecord: Pinned Specimen

Description

Male (Fig. 6a, b, c), head: Frontal vitta dark black, and narrow slightly less than the width of the ocellar triangle, face 4 times as wide as frontal vitta; frontal bristles arise no lower than level of pedicel; lacking yellow hairs lining the margin of the frontal vitta; antenna orange along upper quarter of first flagellomere and pedicel, darkening apically; arista black and plumose, enalarged basally up to 1/5 total length, trichia at least 4 times as long as width of base of arista, tapering at apex of arista; proclinate orbital bristles present; parafrontal entirely silver grey, lacking minute hairs over its entire surface; parafacial silver; palpi orange; short row of black supravibrissal hairs along facial margin. Thorax: silver-grey when viewed dorsally, thoracic vittae not visible; three post sutural dorsocentral bristles; scutellum concolorous with thorax over its entirety, thorax dull grey when viewed laterally; anterior femur bearing silvery pruinosity; legs entirely black. Wings: pale smoky greyish in color, vein R4+5 setose to just past crossvein r-m; vein R1 bare. Abdomen: abdominal tergites entirely bright orange, with slight grey pruinosity covering less than 1/3rd of tergal surface arising at the margins of abdominal tergites T3, T4 and T5, these bands not wrapping around to the underside, darkening on posterior 1/3rd of T5. Tergites T3,T4 and T5 possessing medial marginal bristles. Lateral marginal bristles on T1+2. Medium length yellow hairs visible over entire body, in particular visible extending from underside of T1+2.

Female (Fig. 6d, e, f), head: Frontal vitta dark black, and narrow to slightly less than the width of the ocellar triangle, face 4 times as wide as frontal vitta; frontal bristles arise no lower than level of pedicel; yellow hairs lining the margin of the frontal vitta; antenna orange only along upper ¼ of first flagellomere, and pedicel then darkening apically; arista black and plumose, enalarged basally up to 1/5 total length, trichia at least 4 times as long as width of base of arista, tapering at apex of arista; proclinate orbital bristles present; parafrontal almost entirely silver, with only slight gold margin surrounding ocellar triangle, sparse minute hairs over upper half of fronto-orbital plate lacking; parafacial silver; palpi orange; short row of black supravibrissal hairs along facial margin. Thorax: silver-grey when viewed dorsally with two longitudinal stripes visible only slightly darker than surrounding thorax, only slightly visible post-suturally, appearing broken at thoracic suture; three post sutural dorsocentral bristles; scutellum concolorous with thorax; legs anterior femur bearing silvery pruinosity, anterior pair of legs with tibiae yellowish and hirsute with black tarsi, 2nd and 3rd pair of legs black entirely. Wings: pale smoky greyish in color, vein R4+5 setose to just past crossvein r-m; vein R1 bare. Abdomen: abdominal tergites entirely bright orange only darkening on posterior 1/3rd of T5, slight grey pruinosity covering less than 1/3rd of tergal surface arising at the margins of abdominal tergites T3, T4 and T5, traces of which is apparent along the ventral margins of T3 and T4. Tergites T3, T4 and T5 possessing medial marginal bristles, ovipositor concealed within segment 5. Lateral marginal bristles on T1+2. Small yellow hairs visible over entire body, not as hirsute as males but still present, in particular visible extending from anepimeron, and from underside of T1+2.

Diagnosis

This species differs from the only other reddish-orange species in Spathidexia , S. creolensis from the southern US in that Spathidexia aurantiaca has more pronounced pruinosity along abdominal margins, black ground color on T5 in both sexes, and gold along the fronto-orbital plate.

Etymology

From Latin, "aurantiaco" referring to the orange ground color of the abdomen.

Distribution

Costa Rica, ACG, Prov. Alajuela, rain forest, 340-420 m elevation.

Ecology

Reared from Hesperiidae , specifically two species of sedge ( Cyperaceae )-eating Hesperiinae (4 records). 1-5 larvae per caterpillar.