Trypetoptera punctulata (Scopoli, 1763)

Khaghaninia, S., Kazerani, F. & Vala, Jean-Claude, 2018, New Data About Snail-Killing Flies (Diptera, Sciomyzidae) In Iran, Vestnik Zoologii 52 (1), pp. 21-30 : 27

Trypetoptera punctulata (Scopoli, 1763)

Material examined: Iran: East Azerbaijan Province, Shahyordi (grassland habitat) [37°40´N, 46°30´E, 2620 m], 13.06.2009, 3 ♂, 4 ♀ ; Ajabshir (grove habitat) [37°31´N, 46°07´E, 1660 m], 10.07.2009, 2 ♂, 5 ♀ ; Jolfa (grassland habitat) [38°52´N, 46°01´E, 1350 m], 5.07.2010, 4 ♂, 1 ♀ ; Qaradagh (forest habitat) [38°51´N, 46°52´E, 1770 m], 14.06.2010, 7 ♂, 6 ♀ ; Horand (grassland habitat) [38°59´N, 47°22´E, 1370 m], 14.07.2010, 6 ♂, 8 ♀ ; Kandovan (moist grassland habitat) [37°46´N, 46°16´E, 2500 m], 15.07.2010, 2 ♂, 3 ♀ ; Maragheh (grove habitat) [37°25´N, 46°25´E, 1790 m], 5.06.2011, 10 ♂, 12 ♀ ; Ahar (grassland habitat) [38°26´N, 46°53´E, 1530 m], 10.06.2011, 3 ♂, 2 ♀ ; Qurigol (lagoon habitat) [37°54.975´N, 46°41,120´E, 1943 m], 9.07.2012, 4 ♂, 5 ♀ (Khaghaninia leg.) .

D i s t r i b u t i o n. Very widespread, North Europe: Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Scotland, Ireland, Finland to Siberia. South Europe: Italy, Spain, France. North Africa. Middle East: Turkey, Iran: Rozkošný (1987); Seddighi Sadr, Mohammadzade Namin (2016).

Biology. The complete life cycle has been realized in laboratory by Vala (1986) who described all the immature stages. If adult emerge from mid-April no matting is observed before August, due to a long pre-oviposition period, and flies are collected until early November ( Vala, 1986). In laboratory, larvae attacked and fed the terrestrial gastropods Candidula unifasciata (Poiret, 1801) , Cornu aspersum (Müller, 1774) , Lauria cylindracea (Costa, 1778) and Trochulus hispidus (Linnaeus, 1758) ( Vala, 1986, Gaponov, 2016). With the viviparous L. cylindracea , the first-instar larvae of T. punctulata fed firstly the young snails located in the pallial cavity of the mother host ( Vala, 1986). Then, they fed the later before to leave the shell, and the second and third instar larvae attack larger snails ( Vala, 1986). Puparia are mostly formed inside the host snail´s shell. The species is univoltine and overwintering as pupa ( Vala, 1986; Gaponov, 2016).

Key to the Coremacera species occurring in Middle East and Central Asia (modified from Vala, Leclercq,1981) (Distribution follows Rozkošný, Elberg,1984); Leclercq, Schacht, 1986)

1. Face with a black round spot or black median strip below antenna. ..................................................... 2

— Face without black spots blow antenna. ................................................................................................ 4

2. Mainly black species; face with black median strip from base of antenna to the mouth edge ( Cyprus, Greece, Turkey). ...................................................................................... C. obscuripennis (Loew 1845)

— Mainly brown species; face with a black round spots blow antenna. ................................................... 3

3. Wing: costal margin brown with several light spots; base of wing to anterior cross vein yellow, without reticulate patterns; mesonotum with a longitudinal median yellow dusting strips surrounding with 2 longitudinal grey strips (Central Europe and Iran, Azerbaijan, Armtnia, Turkey). .............................. .......................................................................................................................... C. catenata (Loew, 1847)

— Wing: uniformly reticulated pattern with small spots; hind margin with narrow brownish band; mesonotum dark brown covered by grey dusting with black spots at the base of bristles ( Uzbekistan). ..... .................................................................................................................. C. turkestanica (Elberg, 1968)

4. Wing densely reticulate pattern, with a broad brown band from costal margin of wing to apex (Europe, Turkey, Iran). ........................................................................................... C. marginata (Fabricius 1775)

— Wing with normal reticulate pattern, costal margin of wing with whitish or brownish spots. ............. 5

5. Wing with transverse brown bands. ........................................................................................................ 6

— Wing without transverse brown bands, with large light spots, apex of wing from R 2+3 to M 1+2 with a dark brown band (Eurasia, North and south Europe). .......................................... C. fabricii Rozkosny, 1981

7. Wings dark brown, apical half with 2 light transverse bands separated by a small brown transverse band; mesonotum brownish with grey and yellow dusting, many small black and brown spots arranged symmetrically; (Europe, Turkey). ............................................................................ C. trivittata (Loew, 1860)

— Wings light brown, apical half with 2 rows of light spots separated by larger brown transverse bands; mesonotum light brown with whitish dusting, finely brown punctuated and 2 longitudinal rows of brown spots along the dorsocentral bristles and some small brown spots laterally (south Europe, Turkey, Iran). .............................................................................................................................. C. amoena (Loew, 1835)