Pelecocera garrigae Lair & Nève, 2022

Lair, Xavier, Ropars, Lise, Skevington, Jeffrey H., Kelso, Scott, Geslin, Benoît, Minssieux, Elise & Nève, Gabriel, 2022, Revision of the genus Pelecocera Meigen, 1822 (Diptera: Syrphidae) from France taxonomy, ecology and distribution, Zootaxa 5141 (1), pp. 1-24 : 8-10

Pelecocera garrigae Lair & Nève sp. nov.

Figs 1 , 2 , 7D , 8B , 9B , 10B

Type material. HOLOTYPE: FRANCE: Pyrénées-Orientales: Sournia , Chemin de Roquebert , 42.7250°N 2.4660°E, alt. 480 m, 1 ♂ 17 April 2019 (X. Lair). Holotype deposited in the MNHN, specimen ED11396. PARATYPES: FRANCE, Bouches-du-Rhône: Marseilles, National Park of Calanques, La Panouse, 43.2564°N 5.4401°E, alt. 160 m, 1 ♂, 2 April 2017, IMBE 1001 and 1 ♀, 5 April 2018 (L. Ropars), paratype deposited in the MNHN, specimen ED11397; National Park of Calanques, La Gardiole, 43.2406°N 5.4781°E, alt. 203 m, 1 ♀, 3 May 2017, IMBE 1002; 1 ♀ 7 May 2018 (L. Ropars), CNC 1619206; Pyrénées-Orientales: 1 ♀, Sournia, chemin de Roquebert, 42.7250°N 2.4660°E, alt. 480 m, 24 April 2013 (X. Lair), this specimen was mentioned as P. lusitanica by Speight et al. (2013) and in Lair et al. (2021), XL01001; 1 ♀, 3 May 2018, (X. Lair), XL01002; 3 ♂, 17 April 2019 (X. Lair & C. Kassebeer), XL01003-01005; 1 ♂, 25 April 2020 (X. Lair), XL01006; 1 ♂ and 1 ♀, 28 April 2020, (X. Lair & E. Lecointe), XL01007-01008; 1 ♀, 4 May 2020 (A. Parret), XL01009; Alpes-de-Haute-Provence: 1 ♂, Saint-Michel l’Observatoire, 43,9300°N 5.7189°E, alt. 650 m, Malaise trap, 19-26 May 2010 (J.P. Orts & G. Nève), GN00524.

Additional examined material: SPAIN, Malaga : ♀, Istan, 500 – 600m [ca. 36.5828°N 4.9494°W], 5 April 1972 (leg V. S. van der Goot & J.A.W. Lucas), NBC (mentioned as Pelecocera (Chamaesyrphus) Lair & Nève spec. nov in van Eck & Mengual 2021) . FRANCE, Vaucluse : ♀, Caromb, Lac du Paty [ca. 44.1322° N 5.1136° E], 30 May 1995 (leg. Merz & Eggenberger), det. G. Pétremand 2020, MHNG .

Diagnosis. Pelecocera garrigae sp. nov. is readily identified as belonging to the Chamaesyrphus subgenus due to the hair-like arista located dorsally on the basoflagellomere, and the anterior anepisternum with some white pile anterodorsally. In P. garrigae , the face protrudes forward and is entirely black with a shiny median stripe and mouth edge; the face sides are strongly pollinose, appearing light grey. The parafaces along the eyes are wide, reminiscent of Cheilosia Meigen, 1822 . The lunule is slightly shiny and not pollinose. The frons is punctuate and not pollinose.

The abdominal pattern is variable, either entirely black, or with pairs of lateral reddish-brown spots of varying size on tergites 3 to 5 (females), or 4 to 5 (males), or only on tergite 5 (females).

Description. MALE. Measurements. total body length (without antennae): 4.8 mm; wing length: 3.6 mm (holotype). Total body length: 4.8−6.4 mm; wing length: 3.6-4.7 mm (n = 3). Head. Antenna black, basoflagellomere with small ventral posterior orange spot. Arista black, bare, inserted dorsaly before the apex (from the middle to the three quarters of the ridge). Face: protrudes forward, entirely black and strongly pollinose, appearing whitish, except shiny mouth edge. Paraface narrower than in females. Frons: punctate and hardly polished, delimited by a curved transverse line (ridge) between the two eyes: the distance between the anterior ocellus and the ridge is 2 to 3 times the diameter of the anterior ocellus. Lunule: black, slightly shiny. Eyes bare. Thorax. Mesoscutum and scutellum shiny black, finely punctuate. covered with semi erected short white pile. Postpronotum and notopleuron pollinose. Scutellum shiny black. Pleura black, entirely pollinose. Anterior anepisternum with 3 or 4 white pile. One black seta on posterior anepisternum, postero-dorsally. Legs: Mainly black, with yellow trochanters. Covered with short white hairs. Femora 1-3 black, narrowly yellow at basal and apical ends. Tibiae 1-2 black, with third to half basal yellow bases and apex narrowly yellow. Tibia 3 black with yellow knees. Tarsi 1 and 2 yellowish to entirely black. Tarsus 3 black. Wing: Entirely covered with microtrichia. Upper outer cross-vein M1 strongly sloping. Stigma pale yellow. Alula: narrow, entirely covered with microtrichia. Abdomen. Narrow, with parallel edges. Tergites entirely black or with badly defined red brown lateral spots on tergites 3 and 4. Pregenital segment with white pile. Sternites: lustrous black, slightly pollinose, densely punctuated. Genitalia. The surstyli are symmetrical. Viewed laterally, their shape is subtriangular with a blunt apex covered with whitish pile. The cerci are semicircular, with long whitish pile. The hypandrium is elongate, subcylindrical, with a black cap at its apex and a bifid appendix ventrally.

FEMALE. Very similar to males. Measurements: Total length (without antennae): 5.1 to 8.0 mm, wing length 4.4 to 6.5 mm (n=4). Head: Antenna black, basoflagellomere orange ventrally, with black upper ridge, the face protrudes forward and is entirely black, with a shiny mouth edge and a black shiny median stripe, the lateral face is pollinose, appearing light grey. The paraface are wider than in the male, reminiscent of Cheilosia . The anterior half of the frons is punctate and hardly polished, without any transverse pollinose band above the lunule unlike all other Pelecocera species. The lunule is dark brown or black, slightly shiny. Abdomen: The tergites are completely black, or with pairs of reddish-brown lateral spots on tergites 3 to 5, or only on tergite 5.

Etymology. From the French noun “garrigue” ( Bigot & Picard 1989), describing the Mediterranean scrubland on limestone where the species was found.

Distribution. This species is known only from the locations mentioned above, in the French administrative departments of Pyrénées-Orientales, Bouches-du-Rhône, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence and Vaucluse ( Fig. 3 ). In the Parc National des Calanques it has been found at localities up to 5.5 km apart. The species is probably still to be found in other limestone areas of Mediterranean France. The specimen from the Spanish province of Malaga indicates that the species is also be present in Spain.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Pelecocera garrigae sp. nov. holotype male (A, C, D) and paratype male (B, E, F): A and C: habitus lateral views, B: abdomen, ventral view, C head, frontal view, E: genitalia, ventral view, F genitalia lateral view. Scale bars (A, B, C, D) = 1 mm, scale bars (E, F) = 0.5 mm.

FIGURE 2. Pelecocera garrigae sp. nov. paratype female: A: head and abdomen: lateral view, B head frontal view, C: head, dorso-lateral view, D and E: abdomen: dorsal views. Scale bars = 1 mm.

FIGURE 3. Distribution of the six Pelecocera species in France.

FIGURE 7. Photographs and schematic dorsal views of Pelecocera heads, showing the shape of the swollen part of the vertex in females of A: P. scaevoides, B: P. pruinosomaculata, C: P. lugubris, D: P. garrigae sp. nov. and E: P. caledonica.

FIGURE 8. Head, lateral view, A: Pelecocera tricincta, B: Pelecocera garrigae sp. nov..

FIGURE 9. Head, frontal view to show parafaces (arrow) of different Pelecocera species from France.A. Pelecocera lugubris, B: Pelecocera garrigae sp. nov., C: Pelecocera scaevoides, D: Pelecocera pruinosomaculata.

FIGURE 10. Head semi-lateral view to show the lunules (arrow) of: A. Pelecocera lugubris, B: Pelecocera garrigae sp. nov., C: Pelecocera scaevoides, D: Pelecocera pruinosomaculata.