Dacus (Mellesis) fletcheri Drew

Singh, Maneesh Pal, Sharma, Isha, Hancock, David Lawrence & Prabhakar, Chandra Shekhar, 2022, A new species of Bactrocera Macquart and a new distribution record of Dacus Fabricius (Diptera: Tephritidae: Dacinae) from India, Zootaxa 5168 (2), pp. 237-250 : 244-245

Dacus (Mellesis) fletcheri Drew

( Figure 4 )

Dacus (Mellesis) fletcheri Drew , in Drew et al. 2007: 16 .

Diagnosis (Male): A large (9.5 mm) species with dark appearance. Face dark fulvous with 2 black spots in antennal furrows. Frons dark fulvous with medial black patches. Ocellar triangle black. Subocular spot present. Scutum black with distinct yellow triangle on suture. Postpronotal lobe black but red to reddish fulvous dorsocentrally. Notopleuron and anepisternal stripe yellow and of equal width dorsally. Scutellum yellow. Chaetotaxy: 1 scapular seta, 1 anterior notopleural seta, 1 posterior notopleural seta, 1 postsutural supra-alar seta, 1 anepisternal seta, 1 post-alar seta, 1 intra-alar seta and 1 scutellar seta. All femora entirely dark except slightly reddish apically. Fore tibia dark, mid and hind tibiae pale fuscous. Fore tarsus black, mid and hind tarsi pale fuscous with slightly darker basal segments. Wing (8.47 mm) hyaline with dark broad costal band confluent with vein M. Cells bc and c dark with dense microtrichia. Anal streak absent but a small triangular black patch present at the base of A 1 +Cu 2. Supernumerary lobe weak. Abdomen petiolate, oval and elongate with tergite I entirely dark, tergites II-V dark except for orangebrown patches posteromedially and a broad red-brown patch on tergite IV. Pecten present on tergite III and ceromata present on tergite V. Tergites II-IV dorsally humped, a characteristic feature of this species. Sternite V with a slight posterior concavity.

Male Genitalia: Epandrium dark brown to black, rounded in posterior view. Proctiger smaller than epandrium. Posterior lobe 4-5 times longer than anterior lobe. Medial surstylus shorter than lateral surstylus. Aedeagus 3.74 mm long excluding glans (0.73 mm) and acrophallus patterned.

Material examined: 1 ♂, INDIA, Himachal Pradesh, Nauni , 30°51’24”N 77°10’17”. 5.viii.2021, Maneesh .

Male Parapheromone: Cue lure.

Host Plant: Not known.

Remarks: This species is similar to D. (M.) siamensis Drew & Hancock, D. (M.). tenebrosus Drew & Hancock and D. (M.) vijaysegarani Drew & Hancock but can be differentiated by the orange-brown patches on the abdomen and humped tergites II to IV. The Nauni specimen was collected at an altitude of 1275 m and is a new record for India; elsewhere it is known only from Bhutan, generally above 2000 m ( Drew et al. 2007).

Figures

FIGURE 4. Dacus (Mellesis) fletcheri Drew (A–F), A: Head, B: Lateral thorax, C: Thorax, D: Abdomen, E: Lateral abdomen and F: wing