Ectyphus capillatus Hesse, 1969

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 : 34-36

Ectyphus capillatus Hesse, 1969 Figs 7 –817– 1945

Ectyphus capillatus Hesse 1969: 376; Bowden 1980: 326.

Diagnosis:

The species is distinguished from congeners by the yellow facial gibbosity, the distinctly yellow metepimeron, and the dense and long white setae on abdominal tergites 5-7.

Re-description male:

Head: black, facial gibbosity yellow, in general lightly silver pubescent; 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 only lateral facial gibbosity (asetose medially); frons medially apubescent, laterally grey pubescent, vertex predominantly apubescent, only lateral margin grey pubescent, postgena lightly silver pubescent; setation: vertex white, frons white, ocp setae white, pocl setae white; ocellar triangle apubescent; proboscis brown, short, about ½ length of oral cavity; labellum small, as wide as prementum, as long as prementum, unsclerotised laterally; maxillary palpus cylindrical, brown, longer than 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, ≥ 7.0 times as long as combined length of scape and pedicel; apical ‚seta-like‘ sensory element situated apically in cavity on postpedicel.

Thorax: brown, lightly grey pubescent; scutum yellow, broad brown median presutural stripe and brown paramedial postsutural stripes, surface entirely smooth, predominantly yellow pubescent, paramedial and sublateral stripes apubescent, scutal setation comprised of distinct rows of long dorsocentral setae and lateral scutal setae; dc setae pre- and postsuturally light brown, acr setae absent, lateral scutal setae white, npl, spal, and pal setae absent; postpronotal lobe yellow, partly white pubescent; proepisternum, lateral postpronotum, and postpronotal lobe long white setose; scutellum apubescent, asetose, apical scutellar setae absent; mesopostnotum, anatergite, and katatergite grey pubescent, asetose; katatergite elevated and smoothly convex; anterior anepisternum asetose, supero-posterior anepisternum asetose; posterior anepimeron long white setose, katepimeron asetose; metepimeron evenly elevated, yellow, lightly silver pubescent, asetose; metepisternum silver pubescent, asetose.

Leg: light brown, setation predominantly white; pro, mes, and met coxa apubescent, long white setose; met trochanter macrosetose medially; femur light 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 longer than tarsomere 2, but less than combined length of tarsomeres 2-3, met tarsomere 1 as long as combined length of tarsomeres 2-3; pulvillus well-developed, as long as well-developed claw, and as wide as base of claw; empodium absent.

Wing: length = 10.7-13.1 mm; hyaline throughout, slightly brown stained along 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 yellow.

Abdomen: brown; setation comprised of dense long white setose, surface microrugose; T1 brown, T2-7 brown with yellow posterior margin broadly interrupted medially; T1-3 densely long white setose; T entirely grey pubescent; S1 light brown, S2-5 yellow, brown anteriorly, S6-7 brown with 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 black, 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), rounded 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.

Description female:

female unknown.

Material examined:

South Africa: Eastern Cape Province: 1♂ Double Drift, Andries Vosloo Kudu Reserve, 33°06'00"S; 26°47'00"E, 14.xii.1988, A. Weaving (AAM-003502, AMGS); 1♂ Resolution, 33°10'00"S; 26°37'00"E, 4.i.1928, A. Walton (paratype, NMSA); 1♂ Brakkloof, 33°12'00"S; 26°50'00"E, -.-.1907, G. White (holotype, SAMC).

Type locality, distribution, and biodiversity hotspot:

Brakkloof (33°12'00"S; 026°50'00"E), Eastern Cape, South Africa. Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany biodiversity hotspot.

Remarks:

The ♂ paratype specimen was collected at Resolution, which is also the type locality of Ectyphus bitaeniatus Hesse, 1969 (synonymised with Ectyphus pinguis below). Ectyphus bitaeniatus is known from the ♀ holotype only. Although both specimens from Resolution were collected by the same collector (A. Walton), the specimens originate from separate collecting events although during the same summer of 1927-1928 and were collected only some 12 days apart. Hesse (1969: 377) mistakenly lists the Ectyphus capillatus paratype to be collected in January 1924 while the label indicates January 1928 (B. Muller pers. comm.). As Ectyphus capillatus is still only known in the ♂ sex and no other species of Ectyphus has ever been collected at Resolution, it is possible that Ectyphus bitaeniatus represents the ♀ of Ectyphus capillatus . Until more specimens from this area north-east of Grahamstown, in which all three collecting localities of Ectyphus capillatus are situated, become available we cannot definitely provide confirmation of the possible synonymy. Ectyphus capillatus would take priority by page number.