Oedaspis nauniensis Maneesh & Hancock, 2024

Singh, Maneesh Pal, Sneha, Sharma, Sharma, Isha, Gupta, Divender, Hancock, David Lawrence & Prabhakar, Chandra Shekhar, 2024, A new species of genus Oedaspis Loew and new distribution records of Acidiostigma Hendel & Goniurellia Hendel from India (Diptera: Tephritidae), Zootaxa 5514 (5), pp. 469-480 : 471-477

Oedaspis nauniensis Maneesh & Hancock , sp. nov.

( Figure 1–5 )

Diagnosis: A medium-sized (5.1 mm) species with 3–5 frontal setae and brownish head, scutum black distributed with pale microtrichia, pale yellowish orange at lateral margins and above scuto-scutellar suture, scutellum convex, light fulvous, shiny with 4 distinct black spots around bases of each scutellar seta, pleura, notopleuron and postpronotal lobes yellowish orange. Presutural dorsocentral setae absent. Wing with 5 pale brownish, darker edged bands. Cubital and discal bands joined in cell r2+3 leaving hyaline indentation in cell r1 above them and forming a λ-like pattern. Pterostigma with 2–3 irregular-shaped black spots. Abdomen brownish fulvous in males with variable black patches on tergites I, III, IV & V, tergite II with median, small, roundish black spot. Female abdomen shiny black, oviscape black with reddish fulvous band in middle without any variations except oviscape entirely black in some specimen.

Description

Head: Fulvous to brownish and even darker over face and parafacial area, head broader than high, postgena slightly bulged, antennae with scape brown with 4–5 dark black setulae, pedicel pale yellowish with numerous dark setulae on dorsal side and few setulae slightly longer than others, flagellomere pale yellowish, slightly curved dorsally and bean-shaped but not forming sharp point, arista lightly plumose ( Figure 1A & B ). Compound eyes 1.45 times as high as long. Gena, postgena and orbital region on frons with numerous pale yellowish setulae. Lunule horseshoe-shaped and parafacial lightly bulgy. Ocellar triangle black and area around it light coloured as compared to rest of head. Five frontal setae (variable in numbers), 2 orbital setae (anterior black and posterior pale but this character variable, some specimens with both setae blackish), 1 ocellar setae (some specimen with 2 pair), median vertical setae pale and lateral vertical setae stubby white, 6 postocellar setae stubby white (median setae longer), postocular setulae stubby white with black in alternate fashion and 1 genal setae pale; palpi with 6–8 black setulae and labella with slightly longer whitish setulae. Proboscis reduced, slightly shorter than flagellomere.

Thorax: Setose with white setulae, mostly dull grayish black except area just below prescutellar acrosichals slightly reddish brown in some males. Postpronotal lobe, notopleuron, anepisternal stripe, katepisternum, meron dark brownish or greyish. Anepimeron, katatergite with light dark patch and anatergite darker. Subcutellum and mediotergite black, postalar calli slightly bulged and reddish brown. Scutellum lightly convex, yellowish with 4 distinct black spots around scutellar setae, almost equal in size. Full complement of thoracal setae, all almost equal in size except posterior notopleural setae smaller and lighter in colour than the others. Postsutural dorscocentral setae variable in this species, some specimens having multiple setae. Anepisternal setae 2 (anterior black and posterior whitish) with 2–3 smaller pale setae. Halter creamy white.

All legs yellowish except femora slightly darker than the rest of leg, setose with numerous black setulae. Fore femora with 3 rows of setae, two on dorsolateral side and one on ventrolateral side. Setae on ventrolateral side are slightly longer and black while the rest are stubby. Mid tibia with 1 apical spine but two slightly smaller spines also present on either side of longer spine. Hind femora with row of minute black setulae over entire length.

Wing 5 mm long with light brownish distinct bands, cell bc fulvous except hyaline spot in middle. Subbasal, discal, cubital, preapical and apical bands present. Entire costal cell with brownish infuscation except broadly hyaline indentation in middle, cell sc brownish except thin hyaline line on Sc break and with 3 distinct black spots, the latter variable in most specimens, connected in some and distinct in others ( Figure 5A–F ). Discal and cubital bands connected over r-m crossvein, forming a λ-shaped joint, covering area of cells br and r4+5 either side of r-m crossvein. Subbasal band connected to discal band apically in cells r1 and r2+3. Cubital band connected to apical band in cell r1 and with 2 hyaline spots just below vein R 1 and above vein R 2+3, these hyaline spots variable in shape. Bands are light brownish with orange hue but margins and bases of all bands black. Hyaline indentation in between preapical and apical bands is variable ( Figure 4G–I ); in some specimens preapical and apical bands connected forming a hyaline spot in cell r2+3, but separate in other specimens. Hyaline indentations at apex veins R 2+3 and R 4+5 also variable; these are absent, narrow and broader in some of paratypes. Hyaline indentations in front of vein R 1 also variable, triangular in some specimens or trapezoidal in others.

Abdomen: Shiny black, shiny and setose, black setae on lateral margins of tergite II, III, IV, V and VI, 5–6 setae on posterior rim of tergite VI. Abdomen orange yellow in males with narrow transverse black bands in middle of tergite I, III, IV and V often interrupted in middle and a median black spot often present below transverse black band on tergite I. Tergite II yellowish orange in most specimens examined. Black bands on abdominal tergites of males are variable in shape & colour ( Figure 4D–F ). Sternite V of male with V-shaped deep posterior concavity ( Figure 2F ).

Genitalia: Oviscape black with reddish fulvous band in middle, 1.2 mm long, aculeus 1.45 mm long, its lateral flanges with 9–12 serrations on margins ( Figure 3A & B ), tip of aculeus chisel-shaped, sharply pointed at apex and with 3 preapical setulae. Eversible membrane 1.54 mm long with finger-like roundish blunt spicules on distal end, sharp triangular spicules in middle and similar spicules like middle eversible membrane present proximally with irregular round gritty spicules on lateral margins ( Figure 3D & E ). Two spermathecae, circular and striated ( Figure 3F ). Epandrium oval in posterior view ( Figure 4A ), rectangular in lateral view ( Figure 4B ), both lobes of lateral surstylus almost equal in length and blunt. Median surstylus shorter than lateral surstylus, each end with two black sharp-ended spiny prensisetae. Proctiger and posterior end of epandrium setose. Phallus 1.87 mm long excluding glans (0.24 mm), latter with narrow preputium, elongate saddle-like acrophallus and broad, apical membranous lobe roundish ( Figure 4C ).

Type material: Holotype ♀, ex Artemisia sp. , INDIA, Himachal Pradesh, Solan, Nauni, 30°51’47” N 77°10’7” E. 15.iv.2024, Maneesh Leg. at Zoological Survey of India (High Altitude Regional Centre ( HARC), Solan, Himachal Pradesh) . Paratypes 2 ♂ & 1 ♀, on Prunus sp. , INDIA, Himachal Pradesh, Solan, Nauni , 30°51’47” N 77°10’7” E. 21.iii.2023, Sneha & Maneesh Leg. with first author . Paratypes 3 ♂ & 4 ♀, same data as holotype .

Etymology: The species is named after its type locality “Nauni” (Himachal Pradesh, India).

Host plant: Artemisia sp. ( Asteraceae ). O. nauniensis sp. nov. was reared from subterranean stem galls on Artemisia sp. ( Figs 5J–L ). It is impossible to detect the galls without uprooting the plant and we did not observe any kind of symptoms on infested plants except they showed more branching from the crown region compared with healthy plants. Artemisia sp. is well distributed in the Himalayas and its density indicates abundance of O. nauniensis sp. nov. in Himachal Pradesh. Artemisia species are, so far, the only recorded host plants for Eurasian species of Oedaspis ( Korneyev, 2002) except O. quinquefasciata Becker (from Canary Islands) on Schizogyne sp.

Remarks: Oedaspis nauniensis sp. nov. possesses high variability in wing pattern and frontal as well as thoracic dorsocentral setal distribution. In general appearance it is similar to O. dichotoma but can be differentiated by darker scutum, black abdomen and aculeus having serrations only on lateral flanges. It is also similar to O. japonica but can be differentiated by lack of presutural dorsocentral setae, pterostigma with 3 black spots and shiny black abdomen of female. Males of O. japonica have orange abdomens without any transverse black bands while O. nauniensis males have orange-yellow abdomens with transverse light black bands on tergites III–V.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Oedaspis nauniensis sp. nov., Holotype A & B: Head, C: Lateral thorax, D: Thorax, E: Abdomen, F: Wing and G: Pterostigma

FIGURE 2. Oedaspis nauniensis sp. nov., Paratype A & B: Head, C: Lateral thorax, D: Thorax, E: Abdomen, F: Sternite V of male and G: Wing

FIGURE 3. Oedaspis nauniensis sp. nov., Holotype A: Aculeus, B: Serrations, C: Tip of aculeus, D: Spicules on distal eversible membrane, E: Spicules on middle eversible membrane, F: Spermatheca

FIGURE 4. Oedaspis nauniensis sp. nov., A: Posterior view of epandrium, B: Lateral view of epandrium, C: Glans, D–F: Variations on abdomen and G–I: Variations on apical band

FIGURE 5. Oedaspis nauniensis sp. nov., A–F: Variations on pterostigma, G–I: Variations on scutellum, J–K: Galls on Artemisia sp. and L: Puparium inside gall