Chelipoda abjecta Collin

Published, First, 2007, The Hemerodromiinae (Diptera: Empididae) of New Zealand II. Chelipoda Macquart, Zootaxa 1537 (1), pp. 1-88 : 25-26

publication ID	https://doi.org/ 10.11646/zootaxa.1537.1.1
DOI	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5088493
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/6A078784-BA7C-FFA4-AFFE-F9891DA1F332
treatment provided by	Felipe
scientific name	Chelipoda abjecta Collin
status

Treatment

12. Chelipoda abjecta Collin View in CoL

[ Figs. 12–14 View FIGURES 12–15 , 86 View FIGURES 82–90 , 93 View FIGURES 91–103 , 124 View FIGURES 124–129 ]

Chelipoda abjecta Collin, 1928: 37–38 View in CoL .

Type material. Collin (1928) described Chelipoda abjecta from two males and three females from Ohakune, iii.1923, v–vii.1923 and 1–9.iv.1923, T. R. Harris [ BMNH]. Ohakune is in: New Zealand, North Island, RI. A male from Collin’s syntype series, in good condition, labelled Ohakune iii.1923, T. R. Harris [ BMNH] is here designated lectotype . The remaining male and three females from Collin’s syntype series labelled Ohakune, iii.1923, v–vii.1923 and 1–9.iv.1923, T. R. Harris [ BMNH] are here designated paralectotypes .

Additional material: 28♂, 77♀ all from North Island regions CL, BP, TO, and WO .

Description. Male: length 3.0– 3.5mm (wet specimens), 2.5–3.0mm (dry specimens)

Head: brownish black dusted grey, front of frons yellowish, face yellow with pale dusting; lpo pale, 3–4 serial; upo brown or black, uniserial; vertical setae clearly differentiated from line of upo, vt2 smaller than vt1, of similar length to upo; ocl fine, diverging, rather longer than width of frons at front ocellus; a few additional hairs on and behind ocellar triangle; a pair of short setae near front of frons. Mouthparts yellow, palpi very narrow with distinct pale apical bristle. Antennae ( Fig. 93 View FIGURES 91–103 ) black, scape with distinct dorsal bristle; ped with apical circlet of setae longest on outer face; postpedicel 1.5–2.0X as long as wide, conical, arista 3X as long.

Thorax: ground colour of mesonotum rather uniformly brownish black, pleura ( Fig. 86 View FIGURES 82–90 ) slightly paler with dark lower katepisternum and a faint yellowish stripe running from base of C 1 across upper katepisternum and meron. Mesonotum and pleura rather uniformly pale grey dusted, sometimes with faint indications of darker stripes. Dorsocentrals with only dc2 strongly developed; dc1, dc3 and dc5 only small hairs, dc3 often absent, dc4 usually absent; acr absent; lnp, pprn and sa strong, ph well developed, about as long as pa; sct strong, convergent. Laterotergite with 4–5 distinct setae.

Legs: yellowish, sometimes F 1 behind, F 2, F 3 and distal tarsal segments slightly darkened; C 1 linear, slightly inflated basally, about as long as thorax with only small bristles and hairs in front and behind; F 1 moderately inflated below, widest 0.4 from base, about 5.5X as long as wide; femoral formula 3(3–3)/11(9–12)/ 2(1–4)/7(6–9), pv series of denticles few in number, only developed basally becoming more spine-like distally where converging with pv series of spines which become shorter and finer distally; a distinct ventral spine 0.1–0.15 from base. F 2 slender, no distinct bristle distally. F 3 slightly curved, convex anteriorly. T 1 0.6–0.65X as long as F 1, a linear series of about 25 minute closely adpressed denticles ventrally with a row of short outstanding hairs immediately behind and a dorsal fringe of short fine adpressed bristles but otherwise short haired; at1 <0.5X length of T 1, finely pilose ventrally, fine hairs dorsally; mt1 and pt1 longer, 0.6–0.7X as long as respective tibiae, some outstanding hairs below but not finely pilose; at2 moderately short, about 0.5X as long as at3.

Wing: with simple venation, veins brownish yellow, anal cell more or less open (in some lights A 1 visible as slight deformation of membrane, appearing continuous to base but more usually appearing as a short faint section about end of CuA 2.

Abdomen: brownish, paler below, tergites 2–7 with short dark hairs, not distinctly longer on posterior margin. Male genitalia ( Figs. 12–14 View FIGURES 12–15 ) with epandrium narrow, slightly lobed apically, long setae apically, even longer posteroapically; hypandrium consisting of two chitinized lateral lobes connected ventrally by a weakly chitinized membrane, each lobe with 3–4 distinct bristles posteroapically; cercus not fused with epandrium, bearing fine setae apically and a longer seta on inner margin basally; postgonite a simple pointed structure lacking palmate tip and without strong setae.

Description. Female: very similar to male, femoral formula 3(3–3)/12(11–13)/4(2–5)/6(5–8), F 1 ( Fig. 124 View FIGURES 124–129 ) with pv series of denticles tending to be slightly more numerous and more clearly differentiated from pv spines. Abdominal pubescence sparser, tergites with disc almost bare, longer hairs confined to lateral margins, terminal papillae dark with long hairs apically and on outer face.

Comments. C. abjecta is a medium sized species in the C. consignata group, closely allied to C. otiraensis but with dc3 absent and thoracic markings weaker. It is superficially similar to C. interposita and C. inconspicua but F 1 is quite slender and dc3 is small or absent (distinct in interposita & inconspicua ). C. abjecta is apparently confined to the North Island and is particularly frequent in Nothofagus forests and Leptospermum scrub on the Volcanic Plateau, occurring as high as the sub-alpine zone and in the Urewera National Park. Adults have been found from November to May with peak emergence in April and May.