Empis penniventris Bezzi, 1909

Rafael, J. A. & Câmara, J. T., 2012, Revision of Neotropical species of Empididae (Diptera) described by Mario Bezzi. XI. The species described in Empis Linnaeus, Zootaxa 3488, pp. 63-79 : 75-76

Empis penniventris Bezzi

( Figs. 60–69, 84)

Empis penniventris Bezzi, 1909: 352 ; Melander, 1928: 168 (checklist); Collin, 1933: 231 (citation); Smith, 1967: 24 (catalogue); Yang et al., 2007: 139 (catalogue).

Diagnosis. Black, shiny, finely grey pruinescent; legs dark yellow; scape and pedicel yellow; wing hyaline, veins yellow, pterostigma inconspicuous, light yellow; peniform setae on fore femur, fore tibia, fore tarsomeres 1 and 2, hind tarsomere 1 and lateral margins of abdominal tergites.

Re-description. Holotype female. Body length 3.7 mm; wing length 3.4 mm. Dichoptic ( Fig. 61); frons ( Fig. 61) and face shiny black, face shinier, slightly wider than ocellar tubercle, both twice as high as wide. Frons with triangular grey pruinescent spot extending from base of antenna to ocellar tubercle, more distinct when viewed dorsally, with 3 small proclinate setae near antenna. Ocellar tubercle shiny black. Ocellus glassy, yellow; with divergent anterior ocellar setae and 1–2 small posterior setae (others probably broken). Face bare, with narrow inverted U-shaped spot of grey pruinescence, with protuberant and slightly divergent apex. Postcranium ( Fig. 60) black, grey pruinescent; with complete uniserial postocular and occipital rows of setae, posterior row with more robust setae. Genal setae slender, postgenal setae slightly more robust. Antenna with scape and pedicel yellow (postpedicel lost). Proboscis ( Fig. 60) roughly 2X head height; labrum brown at base, yellow at apex, shiny; labium brown. Palpus thin, brown, upward curved, with 2 small subapical setae.

Thorax ( Fig. 62) black, shiny, finely grey pruinescent (visible in certain angles); scutum and mesopleuron with pruinescence only at certain areas. Chaetotaxy: 6–7 distinct uniserial antepronotals; 1 robust and 4–5 weak postpronotals; 2 robust and 3–4 weak proepimerals; 6 uniserial acrostichals; roughly 7 biserial dorsocentrals, subaligned, posteriormost setae more robust; 1 presutural intra-alar; 2 postsutural intra-alars, aligned transversally, medial shorter; 1 pre- and postsutural supra-alars; 4 robust, 2 weak anterior notopleurals; 1 postalar; 2 scutellars, apical pair longer, convergent; 15–17 laterotergitals, anterior row longer, arranged in fan-shape.

Legs dark yellow to brown with grey pruinescence most conspicuous on coxae. Foreleg ( Fig. 63): femur with small anterodorsal peniform setae on basal half; tibia with antero- and posterodorsal rows of small peniform setae on distal 0.67 and with some slender, longer apical setae, 1 ventroapical and 2 slightly shorter anteriors; tarsomere 1 elongate with long, dorsal peniform setae throughout surface, short ventral subpeniform setae on distal third, 1 slender, longer anteroventral seta subbasally; tarsomere 2 with short dorsal and ventral subpeniform setae on distal half. Midleg ( Fig. 64): femur with dorsal setae slightly longer than background setae; tibia with 4–5 equidistant antero- and posterodorsal setae; 4 robust anteroventrals on distal half and 2 robust apical ventral setae apically; tarsomere 1 with 1 antero- and posteroventrals subbasally, 1 anteroventral, 1 antero- and posteroventrals apically. Hindleg ( Fig. 65): coxa smaller and thicker than fore coxa; femur slightly arched, with 2 anterodorsal setae on distal third; tibia with 5 equidistant antero- and posterodorsal setae, 4 anteroventrals on distal half, 1 anterior, posterior and ventral apically; tarsomere 1 with long dorsal peniform setae throughout surface, 1 dorsal and anterodorsals apically, 2 posterodorsals medially and apically respectively, 3 equidistant anteroventrals, 2 slender posteroventrals basally and apically respectively.

Wing ( Fig. 84) slightly yellow, pterostigma inconspicuous, light yellow, veins yellow; costal vein with robust basal seta (not represented in figure). Vein R 1 bare dorsally, not dilated towards apex. Halter with yellow stem, capitulum broken.

Abdomen ( Fig. 66) black, shiny, with faint grey pruinescence, covered with small black setae; tergites 2–5 with small marginal peniform setae. Sternites with same color as tergites.

Terminalia with sternite 8 longer than tergite 8 ( Fig. 67), slightly more sclerotized laterally, slightly acuminate distally ( Fig. 69); sternite 10 longer than tergite 10; cercus broken ( Fig. 68).

Male. Unknown.

Geographical distribution. Peru.

Material examined. HOLOTYPE ♀. “ PERU [Junin], Chanchamayo , 11.i.1904 (800 m)” (SMT).

Holotype condition. Postpedicels and left hindleg lost; left wing on microslide; terminalia in microvial with glycerin.

Discussion. The female specimen of E. penniventris was identified as part of group II in Collin’s (1933) key through the same couplets of E. angustipennis as presented above. Further in the key it runs to couplet 19 of E. macrura Bigot, 1889 through: (16) “thorax blackish without distinct stripes”; (16b) “face bare, abdomen dark” and (19) “legs entirely tawny-yellow” (dark yellow to brown in examined specimen). They are not conspecific because E. penniventris apparently has no thoracic stripes (two in E. macrura ), 1 scutellar seta (2 in E. macrura ), peniform setae present in foreleg, hind tarsomere 1 and lateral margins of tergites 2–5 (absent in E. macrura ).