Haplusia bella ( Skuse, 1888 )

Kolesik, Peter & Gagné, Raymond J., 2016, Revision of early taxa of Australian gall midges (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae), Zootaxa 4205 (4), pp. 301-338 : 319-320

Haplusia bella ( Skuse, 1888)

[ Fig. 10 ]

Cecidomyia (Chastomera) bella Skuse, 1888: 112 .

Haplusia bella ( Skuse 1888) , new combination by Gagné (1978: 518).

Material studied. Holotype female (ANIC 29-38482), “Gosford (Skuse). February”. The type is well-preserved except for the partially shrivelled palpi and several flagellomeres. Three additional pinned specimens, determined by D.H. Colless as conspecific in 1972, were placed next to Skuse’s type in ANIC. Of these, two were females (designated here as other material, ANIC 29-38483,4), each bearing two labels, for one female reading “ Chastomera bella Skuse det. D.H. Colless 1972 Comp. with type” and “Cann Riv., Vic. Light Trap 6 Feb. 1961 N. Dobrotworsky”, and for the other “ Chastomera bella Skuse det. D.H. Colless 1972 Comp. with type” and “Cabbage Tree Ck Vic., Light Trap 8. Feb 1961 N. Dobrotworsky”. The third specimen was a male (other material, ANIC 29-38485) with a label reading “Mt Haig 21 km NE by E of Atherton 18 Nov 1981 Qld D.H. Colless (Malaise Trap)”. All three additional specimens were mounted and are confirmed here as conspecific with Skuse’s type.

Description. Female (based on holotype). Colour (extracted from Skuse (1888): scape and pedicel light reddish brown; flagellomeres whitish; head front reddish brown; palpus brown-yellow ferruginous; thorax reddish white, abdomen brown-yellow white with silvery pubescence; legs covered with very long silvery hairs, a black ring just before anterior end of femora, another at anterior end of tibia, a third almost covering the first tarsomere, and a broader and paler ring at the tips of the next three tarsomeres; wing covered with dense whitish hairs, C with a black spot just before joining R1 with underlying parts of R1, R4+5 and the entire Rs black, light black spot at distal end of Cu. Wing 3.6 mm long, 1.3 mm wide, with R4+5 curved, joining C posteriad of wing apex; C broken at juncture with R4+5, Cu simple, reaching wing margin, wingfold not apparent; Rs strong, situated closer to distal end of R1 than to arculus. Flagellomeres 14, without circumfila or microtrichia, nodes as long as necks, distal flagellomeres slightly longer than basal. Palpus 4-segmented, first and fourth segments longer than second and third, bearing many long setae and sparse microtrichia; palpiger present. First tarsomere with small densely microtrichose ventrodistal lobe; claws simple, tapered apically, slightly curved just beyond midlength; empodia rudimentary. Ovipositor: cerci three-segmented, typical of Diallactiini ( Jaschhof 2016) , covered with setae of various length, disticercus ovoid, slightly longer than basicercus.

Male (description based on Colless’ specimen from Atherton). Wing 3.2 mm long, 1.2 mm wide. Flagellomeres with necks slightly longer than nodes, distal flagellomeres same length as proximal, nodes without circumfila, with several short spiky transparent sensoria on posterior half of node, basally with microtrichia. Terminalia: gonocoxite as long as wide, with densely setose mediodistal lobe, gonocoxal emargination U-shaped, membraneous; gonostylus semicircular in dorsal view, entirely microtrichose, with small apical claw consisting of a few appressed bristles; ejaculatory apodeme narrow, sclerotised, tapered distally, as long as gonocoxite; cerci rounded; tegmen membraneous, crescentlike. Otherwise as in female.

Remarks. Skuse (1888) considered this species the most beautiful of all Australian Cecidomyiidae known to him. Haplusia has been reviewed recently by Jaschhof (2016).

Figures

FIGURE 10. Haplusia bella (Skuse). a – d: holotype female, e – f: male caught by Colless in 1981. (a) wing (partially damaged), (b) tarsal claw with empodium, (c) sixth flagellomere, (d) ovipositor in lateral view, (e) sixth flagellomere (setae cut short diagrammatically), (f) terminalia in dorsal view (aedeagus broken off).