Bradysia spatitergum ( Hardy, 1956 )

Broadley, Adam, Kauschke, Ellen & Mohrig, Werner, 2018, Black fungus gnats (Diptera: Sciaridae) found in association with cultivated plants and mushrooms in Australia, with notes on cosmopolitan pest species and biosecurity interceptions, Zootaxa 4415 (2), pp. 201-242 : 234

Bradysia spatitergum ( Hardy, 1956)

( Fig. 14 A–C )

Sciara (Lycoriella) spatitergum Hardy, 1956 [ Hardy (1956): 85, fig. 10 a–c].

Literature: Steffan (1968): 515; Steffan (1973a): 356; Menzel & Smith (2009): 28–29, figs 1.11–13; Mohrig (2016): 24–25, fig. 28 a–e.

Material studied: 1 male, 13.v.2014, Australia, Melbourne, biosecurity intercept (Bottle 223993), on Ficus microcarpa plants ex China, leg. A. Czelusta ( PABM).

The species was described from the Hawaiian Islands. Hardy (1960) reported the species from rotting sugar cane, rotting sweet potatoes and coffee grounds. Steffan (1968) collected this species in a banana plantation and on flowers in Brazil and Panama, Menzel & Smith (2009) from the Seychelles Islands and Mohrig (2016) from Papua New Guinea (Malaise trap) in an open landscape.

Diagnostic remarks. The species is characterized by extraordinarily large gonocoxites and a very large IX tergite, both uniformly short haired. The gonostyli are small in comparison to the large gonocoxites. It is closely related to B. megahypopygialis Mohrig, 2016 and B. venusta Mohrig, 2016 from Papua New Guinea. Bradysia spatitergum differs from those two species by the presence of a distinct, dorsally inserted claw-like tooth on the apex of the gonostylus.

Economic importance. According to the literature it is not of any economic importance. It has not been detected in greenhouses or mushroom farms and is not known to breed en masse, but it is found in association with rotting plant material in the vicinity of farmland and has been distributed by humans.

Distribution. Widely distributed within the southern hemisphere from Hawaii, Central and South America to Papua New Guinea. Also recorded from Zimbabwe, Madagascar, India and the Seychelles (Mohrig 2016). The detection of this species during the on-arrival biosecurity inspection of a consignment of plants imported from China suggests that it is present in China too but this needs to be confirmed.

Figures

FIGURE 14. Bradysia spatitergum (Hardy, 1956). A. Hypopygium, ventral side. B. Hypopygium, dorsal side. C. Flagellomeres 3–5.