Bezzia (Bezzia) gibbera (Coquillett)

Huerta, Herón, Spinelli, Gustavo R. & Grogan Jr, William L., 2023, New records of predaceous midges in Bezzia Kieffer and Phaenobezzia Haeselbarth from Mexico with description of two new species of Bezzia (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae), Zootaxa 5323 (4), pp. 535-552 : 538-540

Bezzia (Bezzia) gibbera (Coquillett)

( Fig. 1A )

Ceratopogon gibber Coquillett, 1905: 60 (female; Cuba).

Probezzia gibber (Coquillett) ; Johannsen 1908: 267 (combination); Malloch 1914a: 138 (in table); Malloch 1915: 357 (note); Johannsen 1943: 785 (list of North American Ceratopogonidae ).

Bezzia gibber (Coquillett) ; Kieffer 1917: 330 (combination).

Bezzia gibbera (Coquillett) ; Wirth 1965: 141 (catalog north of Mexico; distribution); Wirth 1974: 53 (Neotropical catalog; distribution); Dow & Turner 1976: 142 (revision of Nearctic Bezzia ; in part, confused with several species under this name ( Wirth & Grogan 1983: 508); female redescription; figs.; distribution); Wirth & Grogan 1983: 506 (revision of the Bezzia bivittata group, diagnosis, redescription, figs.; distribution); Spinelli & Wirth 1990: 17 (revision Neotropical Bezzia gibbera group, diagnosis; distribution); Borkent & Wirth 1997: 126 (world catalog); Borkent & Spinelli 2000: 61 (new world catalog south of the USA; distribution); Huerta 2002: 65 (Yucatan record; distribution; figs.); Borkent & Spinelli 2007: 93 (Neotropical catalog; distribution); Borkent & Grogan 2009: 26 (catalog north of Mexico; distribution); Borkent 2014: 234 (pupa; key); Ronderos et al. 2018: 645 (list of immatures); Anjos et al. 2018: 152 (diagnostic characters of pupae); Borkent & Dominiak 2020: 200 (world catalog); Spinelli et al. 2023: 63 (catalog of biting midges from Argentina).

Diagnosis. The only species in the gibbera group with the following combination of characters: palpal segment 4 pale; scutum dark brown, with fine setae arising from raised tubercles; hind femur and tibia dark brown, mid femur and tibia lighter brown except apex, and proximal 2/3 of fore femur and broad midportion of fore tibia, yellow on apex of mid tibia, distal 1/4 of fore femur and base and apex of fore tibia, tarsomeres pale; halter dark brown; spermathecae large, elongate, ovoid, subequal-sized; male genitalia with setose lobe on ventromedian base of gonocoxite.

Material examined. MEXICO, Yucatan, Reserva Ría Lagartos, Km 10 carretera Ria Lagartos-Las Coloradas , petén, light trap, 21-mar-1996, Ibáñez-Bernal, S., 1 male CAIM ; same data except, CDC trap, 1-sep-1995, Navarro-Correa, C., Paz-Rodríguez, R, Huerta, H., 1 male; 14-oct-1996, Huerta , H., 6 females, 5 males ; same data except, Malaise trap, 30-nov-1995, Huerta, H., Navarro-Correa, C., Paz-Rodríguez, R., 1 female ; same data except, air net, 8-jul-1996, Martínez-Campos, C., 1 male ; same data except, Malaise trap, 5-mar-1997, Ibáñez-Bernal, S., 1 female . Estación, Ría Lagartos , selva baja caducifolia, light trap, 31-aug-1995, Huerta, H., 2 females . Reserva Ría Celestún, Rancho Loma Bonita, km 15 carretera Celestún-Kinchil , peten, Malaise trap, 16-jul-1996, 1 female ; same data except, Malaise trap, 15-oct-1996, 1 female, 1 male .

New record from Veracruz: Vega Alatorre, Emiliano Carranza, LC 20 bis, Acahual , 26-aug-2008, CDC trap, 1 female CAIM .

Distribution. USA (Arizona to Florida), Mexico (Oaxaca, Veracruz, Yucatan), Panama, Jamaica, Cuba, Tobago and Argentina.

Remarks. This species is distributed in the Nearctic and Neotropical regions, with previous records in Mexico from Oaxaca ( Wirth & Grogan 1983) and Veracruz ( Spinelli & Wirth 1990). We include the second record from Veracruz.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Wing, lateral view.A. Bezzia (Bezzia) gibbera (female); B. Bezzia (Bezzia) hondurensis (male); C. Bezzia (Bezzia) mesotibialis (female); D. Bezzia (Bezzia) punctipennis (female); E. Bezzia (Homobezzia) snowi (female). Scale bars: 0.5 mm.