Carreramyia flava (Sack, 1941)

Reemer, Menno, 2013, Taxonomic exploration of Neotropical Microdontinae (Diptera: Syrphidae) mimicking stingless bees, Zootaxa 3697 (1), pp. 1-88 : 10-12

Carreramyia flava (Sack, 1941)

Figs 2–7 .

Ceratophya flava Sack, 1941: 117 .

Studied type specimens. HOLOTYPE. Female. PERU. Label 1 (green): " Peru – Rosalina / 28.8.0 3 / Urubambafl."; label 2 (green): "Coll. W. Schnuse / 1911 - 3"; label 3: [female sign]; label 4: " Ceratophya / flava Schnuse "; label 5 (orange): "16a. /? Ceratophya Wied ? / flava sp. nov. "; label 6: "Staatl. Museum für / Tierkunde, Dresden". Coll. SNSD.

Description (based on holotype)

Adult female. Body size: 5 mm.

Head. Face occupying almost 3/5 of head width in frontal view; yellow with small brown spot laterad of antennal fossa; short yellow pilose. Gena yellow; yellow pilose. Frons yellow, bare. Vertex strongly produced medially; yellow with a vague brown transverse fascia; yellow pilose, with pile getting longer posteriorly. Occiput yellow; yellow pilose. Eye bare. Antennal fossa about as wide as high. Antenna yellow, with basoflagellomere and base of scape darker; ratio of scape:basoflagellmere approximately as 1:4; pedicel very short, only about 1/18 of basoflagellomere; arista about as long as pedicel, yellowish white.

Thorax. Scutum yellow with brown lateral vitta between notopleuron and posterior margin; yellow pilose, except black pilose on part of lateral brown vitta. Postpronotum yellow; bare. Postalar callus pale yellow; yellow pilose. Scutellum yellow; yellow pilose basally, black pilose apically; sulcate posteromedially. Anepisternum a little convex, without sulcus; brown anteriorly, yellow posteriorly; yellow pilose anterodorsally and posterodorsally. Katepisternum yellow, except brown posterodorsally; sparsely yellow pilose dorsally, bare ventrally. Katepimeron pale yellow; convex; bare. Calypter dark brown. Halter yellow.

Wing: hyaline, vaguely infuscated halfway from stigmal crossvein to r-m and along marginal crossveins; with yellowish white transverse fascia from pterostigma almost to posterior margin (view against dark background); microtrichose, except bare on 1st costal cell, basal 1/2 of cell br, posterobasal 1/3 of cell bm, anterobasal 1/5 of cell cup.

Legs: front and hind legs yellow [mid legs missing in type specimen], with hind tibia somewhat darker; short yellow pilose, except hind tibia dorsally longer appressed black pilose. Coxae and trochanters yellowish brown; yellow pilose.

Abdomen. Tergites yellow with brown markings on the following parts: tergite 1 anterolaterally; tergite 2 laterally and vaguely posteromedially; tergite 3-5 laterally and with median vitta. Tergites short dark pilose, except tergite 2 anterolaterally with longer yellow pile. Sternites yellow; yellow pilose, except sternite 1 bare.

Diagnosis. Distinguished from C. megacephalus and C. megacera by the striped pattern of the abdomen. From C. tigrina it differs by the mostly yellow scutum, the entirely yellow scutellum, the hind leg with its femur wider than its tibia, the presence of an arista in the female and the shape of the female basoflagellomere.

Notes. This species was listed by Thompson et al. (1976) under the 'Unrecognized species' of Syrphidae , not placed in any genus of Syrphidae , not even in a subfamily. Examination of the type revealed that Sack (1941) was right in placing this species in the Microdontinae . It fully fits the characters described as diagnostic for Carreramyia .

Distribution. Only known from Peru.

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 10. 1. Rhoga sepulchrasilva male, head lateral. 2 – 7. Carreramyia flava female (holotype). 2. habitus dorsal; 3. habitus lateral; 4. head frontal; 5. head lateral; 6. wing; 7. basoflagellomere. 8 – 10. Carreramyia megacephalus male (Costa Rica, coll. M. Hauser). 8. habitus dorsal; 9. habitus lateral; 10. head frontal.