Chelipoda inconspicua Collin, 1928

Published, First, 2007, The Hemerodromiinae (Diptera: Empididae) of New Zealand II. Chelipoda Macquart, Zootaxa 1537 (1), pp. 1-88 : 36-37

21. Chelipoda inconspicua Collin, 1928

[ Figs. 32, 33 , 120 , 131 ]

Chelipoda inconspicua Collin, 1928: 36–37 .

Type material. Collin (1928) described Chelipoda inconspicua from two males and a female from Ohakune , xi.1922 (males), 1–14.xii.1922 (female) and a female from Mt. Ruapehu, iii/1924, all collected by T . R . Harris [ BMNH]. Ohakune and Mt. Ruapehu are in: New Zealand, North Island , RI. One male in good condition labelled: Ohakune, xi.1922, TRH [ BMNH] is here designated lectotype. The remaining male and two females from Collin’s syntype series are here designated paralectotypes [ BMNH] .

Additional material: North Is.; 2♀, TO, Whirinaki Forest 13–14/xii/1986, ARP [ NMWC]; 1♀, WN, Tararua Range, Dundas Hut Ridge, 7/ii/1985, CFB [ NZAC]; 1♀, TK, Pouakai Ra., Malaise trap, 9/i/1978, JSD [ NZAC]; South Is. ; 8 ♂, 7♀, NN , Abel Tasman NP, Totaranui , 23/xi/1977, ES [ NZAC]; 1♀, NN , Canaan, Harwoods Hole , 762m, 1/ii/1978, AKW [ NZAC]; 1♀, DN, Catlins, Tautuku Lodge 7–8/ii/1982, JWE [ LUNZ]; 2♂, 2♀, KA , Kaikoura , clear window trap in forest canopy, date unknown, RKD [ NMWC] .

Description. Male: length 1.8–2.5mm.

Head: black with black bristles, dusted pale grey, not substantially paler on face and front of frons; lpo short, pale, 4–5 serial; upo stout, black, erect but upper setae of series proclinate; verticals clearly differentiated from upo, vt2 shorter than vt1; ocl strong, about 2X as long as vt1 and upo; the pair of small setae on front of frons rather well developed but still shorter than width of frons before antennae. Mouthparts yellowish brown, palpi paler bearing long terminal bristle. Antennae black, postpedicel short conical, 2–2.5X as long as wide (usually about 2X as long as wide in dry specimens), arista 1.5X as long.

Thorax: ground colour black or brownish black, pleura slightly paler; mesonotum rather uniformly brownish grey dusted, sometimes with darker lateral markings and indications of a median prescutellar darker stripe; pleura rather paler grey dusted with nebulous darker stripes sometimes apparent and lower katepisternum shining or very thinly dusted. All thoracic setae black; dc1 about 0.5X as long as dc2, both situated close together anteriorly on mesonotum; dc3 almost as strong as dc2, dc4 absent or minute, dc5 slightly shorter than dc1; unp, lnp, sa, and pprn very strong, pprn with scattered minute hairs about base, ph of similar strength to dc1.

Legs: blackish brown, only base of C 1 yellowish and T 1 sometimes slightly paler, the dark colour of mid and hind legs not conspicuously contrasting with the front legs. Coxae grey dusted but C 1 usually with a shining area distally on outer face; C 1 about as long as thorax, moderately stout, about 5X as long as wide, only slightly narrowed apically and with only short hairs and bristles; C 2 and C 3 with anteroapical fan of short hairs. F 1 about as long as C 1, strongly inflated, widest 0.4–0.5 from base, 3.2–3.5X as long as wide; ventral denticles and spines black or brownish black, in 4 rows throughout; femoral formula 3(3–3)/12(10–14)/6(6–8)/4(4–5), basal 2 av spines close together, pv spines more evenly spaced, pv denticles slightly more spine-like distally, ventral bristle 0.2 from base strong, yellowish. F 2 without pv bristles distally. T 1 about 0.6X length of F 1, about 20 minute black adpressed denticles ventrally, becoming closer together, stouter and more erect basally; a few perpendicular cilia ventrally and dorsally amongst more decumbent short hairs; at2 very short, only 0.25–3X as long as at3.

Wing: membrane slightly dark tinged, veins brownish, cell cup open but vein A 1 visible as a faint darkening of membrane from base to just beyond end of CuA 2 ( Fig. 131 ); costal bristle distinct, black; halteres pale; squamae with dark fringes.

Abdomen: blackish brown, tergites with posterior marginal setae inconspicuous except on tergites 1 and 2 but well developed on tergite 5. Male genitalia ( Figs. 32, 33 ) with epandrium narrow, apical lobe curving posteriorly, bearing conspicuous long setae. Hypandrium separated from and partially overlapped by epandrium, three pairs of long conspicuous setae posteriorly; cercus not fused with epandrium, broad basally with two rounded lobes, inner lobe hairless but with two or more strong setae at base, outer lobe bearing distinct setae and a very long seta near base; subepandrial process long finger-like, curved, conspicuous in posterior view; postgonite apparently with a broad inner process closely apposed to phallus apically and a narrower rather club ended outer process. [see figure]

Description. Female: length 2–3mm, very similar to male, F 1 ( Fig. 120 ) with ventral spines perhaps slightly stronger, femoral formula 3(3–3)/13(12–15)/7(5–8)/4(4–4). Abdomen slightly longer, tergites with posterior marginal setae weakly developed, terminal papillae dark with longer hairs apically and on outer face.

Comments. This species is in the C. consignata -group and has thoracic markings very obscure, postpedicel moderately short, dc1 shorter than dc2. C. inconspicua is very similar to C. interposita from which it is most readily distinguished by the pale base to C 1, the colour of the front legs not contrasting with that of the mid and hind legs and the lack of distal pv bristles on F 2. Some individuals (mostly from higher altitudes) can be very dark and the base of C 1 may be only vaguely paler than the distal part. It is found in forests of the North and South Islands, often in mountainous areas and capture dates are from November to February inclusive. On the Kaikoura Peninsular, forest type was recorded as southern beech ( Nothofagus sp. ) and Matai ( Prumnopitys taxifolia ) and the Whirinaki specimens were taken in mixed podocarp forest. Two females in the LUNZ collection taken at 760m in the South Boland Valley, Fiordland, have C 1 uniformly dark and may represent a different species.

Figures

FIGURES 29–33. Male genitalia of Chelipoda spp. 29–30. C. fuscoptera sp. n., 29. lateral view. 30. posterior view. 31. C. gracilis sp. n. posterior view. 32–33. C. inconspicua Collin. 32. anterior view. 33. posterior view.

FIGURES 117–123. Legs of Chelipoda spp. 117–119. C. abdita Collin. 117. ♀ right mid leg, posterior view. 118. ♀ right posterior leg, posterior view. 119. ♂ front leg, posterior view. 120. C. inconspicua Collin ♀ front leg, posterior view. 121. C. otiraensis (Miller) ♂ front leg, anterior view. 122. C. tangerina sp. n. ♂ front leg, posterior view. 123. C. secreta Collin ♂ front leg, posterior view.

FIGURES 131–139. Wings of Chelipoda spp. 131–133. Base of wing showing cell cup. 131. C. inconspicua Collin. 132. C. abdita Collin. 133. C. modica Collin. 134–139. Whole wings 134. C. gracilis sp. n. ♂. 135. C. modica Collin ♂. 136. C. abdita Collin ♀. 137. C. digressa Collin ♂. 138. C. mirabilis Collin ♂. 139. C. cycloseta sp. n. ♂.