Empis spinifera Bezzi, 1909

Rafael, J. A. & Câmara, J. T., 2012, Revision of Neotropical species of Empididae (Diptera) described by Mario Bezzi. XI. The species described in Empis Linnaeus, Zootaxa 3488, pp. 63-79 : 76-79

Empis spinifera Bezzi

( Figs. 70–77, 85)

Empis spinifera Bezzi, 1909: 354 ; Melander, 1928: 173 (checklist); Collin, 1933: 231 (citation); Smith, 1967: 24 (catalogue); Yang et al., 2007: 140 (catalogue).

Diagnosis. Brown, shiny; legs with long setae, most notably on hind pair; scape, pedicel, halter and legs yellow, except coxae and trochanters brown and hind pair mostly brown; propleura with proepisternal and proepimeral setae; wing slightly yellow, pterostigma brown; epandrium with a thin acuminate dorsoapical projection.

Re-description. Lectotype male. Body length 4.5 mm; wing length 4.5 mm. Holoptic; dorsal ommatidia larger. Ocellar tubercle and frontal triangle brown with faint grey pruinescence. Ocellus glassy, yellow; with anterior ocellar setae apparently convergent and 2 small posterior setae. Face bare, half as high as frons, subquadrate, brown, shiny, protuberant at apex ( Fig. 70), with narrow grey inverted U-shaped pruinescence spot. Postcranium ( Fig. 70) brown with fine grey pruinescence, uniserial postocular setae, uniserial long occipital setae, 3 setae between both rows placed below middle. Gena and postgena with various long, slender setae. Antenna with scape and pedicel yellow; postpedicel coniform, velvety matte-black, twice as long as scape and pedicel together, twice as long as stylus. Proboscis roughly 2.5X head height; labrum yellow, shiny; labium brown. Palpus curved dorsally, yellow to light brown.

Thorax ( Fig. 71) brown, shiny, finely grey pruinescent. Chaetotaxy: 6–7 uniserial antepronotals; 1 robust and 8–10 weak postpronotals; 2–3 proepisternals; 4 proepimerals, one of them more robust; acrostichal setae difficult to observe due to invagination of median portion of scutum caused by pin, but present, uniserial; dorsocentral also shifted by scutum deformation, long, biserial; 1 presutural intra-alar; 2 postsutural intra-alars, one of these directly posterior transverse suture and other near scutellum; 1 presutural supra-alar; 2 postsutural supra-alars, 1 small anterior and 1 longer posterior; 3 robust posterior and 5–6 weak anterior notopleurals; 1 postalar; 2 scutellars, apical pair more robust, crossed; roughly 20 laterotergitals.

Legs ( Figs. 72–74) with long setae, especially hind pair which bears largest and thickest setae; legs mainly yellow, except all coxae and trochanters brown, hind tibia brown with yellow base. Foreleg ( Fig. 72): tibia with series of 5 short equidistant anterodorsal setae; tarsomere 1 with distal row of more robust setae and 1 subbasal anterodorsal; remaining tarsomeres with 1 short antero- and posteroventral apically. Midleg ( Fig. 73): femur with roughly 12 posteroventral setae; tibia with 3 dorsal on distal two-thirds, 1 posterodorsal medially, 4 ventral on distal two-thirds, 1 antero- and posteroventral and 1 posterodorsal distally; tarsomere 1 with complete distal row of more robust setae in addition to 2 anterodorsals on basal half, 2 ventral medially, 1 subbasal posteroventral; remaining tarsomeres same as fore pair. Hindleg ( Fig. 74): femur with anterior, antero- and posteroventral rows, 3–4 anterodorsals on distal third in addition to distal row of more robust setae; tibia with antero- and posterodorsal series of rather long setae, 4 short anteroventral medially, 1 short posteroventral apically; tarsomere 1 with antero- and posterodorsal rows longer than antero- and posteroventral rows; remaining tarsomeres same as fore pair.

Wing ( Fig. 85) light yellow with faint yellow pterostigma, veins brown; base of costal vein with 1 robust seta (not represented in figure). Vein R 1 bare dorsally, not dilated towards apex; vein A 1 evanescent at apex. Halter yellow.

Abdomen brown, shiny, with narrow grey band on posterior margin of tergites; lateral and posterior setae on tergites distinctly longer. Basal sternites yellow, distal ones same color as tergites.

Terminalia concolorous with tergites. Epandrium ( Figs. 75, 76) with thin acuminate dorsoapical projection; hypandrium ( Fig. 75) with series of long ventral setae and bifid, downcurved apex; cercus subtrapezoidal; ejaculatory apodeme ( Fig. 77) flattened with lateral expansions, tetra-lamellar shape in posterior view.

Female. Unknown.

Geographical distribution. Peru.

Material examined. LECTOTYPE ♂ (here designated). “ PERU [Cuzco], Laristhal (= Paso de Lares ), 10.viii.1903, 2000–3000 m ” (SMT).

Lectotype condition. Left wing on microslides. Terminalia in glycerin.

Remarks. This species was described based on two male specimens from the same locality. Only one specimen was examined.

Discussion. The male specimen of Empis spinifera was identified as part of group II in Collin’s (1933) key through the same couplets of E. angustipennis as presented above. Further it keys out to couplet (19) of E. macrura through: (16) “thorax blackish without distinct stripes”; (16b) “face bare, abdomen dark” and (19) “legs entirely tawny-yellow (yellow in examined specimen). They are not conspecific because the male terminalia are entirely different (compare Collin (1933, fig. 52b) with Fig. 75).

The following four Neotropical Empis type specimens described by Bezzi were destroyed:

E. ambigua Bezzi, 1905 . Holotype from Vilcanota , Peru.

E. lucidilabris Bezzi, 1905 . Holotype from Callanga , Peru.

E. micropyga Bezzi, 1905 . Holotype from Callanga , Peru.

E. bullata Bezzi, 1905 . Holotype from Coroico , Bolivia.