Prochyliza azteca McAlpine, 1977

Prochyliza azteca McAlpine 1977: 45 . Type locality: México (San Cristóbal de las Casas). Holotype (♀) and paratype (1 ♀) in CNC.

Material examined. 1 ♀ (CNC, paratype): México, San Cristóbal de las Casas; 12.vi.1969; leg. B. V. Peterson; det. J. F. McAlpine. 1 ♀ (CNC): Panamá, Chiriqui, Cerro Punta; 19.v.1977; det. J. F. McAlpine.

Diagnosis. The following combination of characters is distinctive of P. azteca: lower quarter or less of the frons orange (Fig. 5 C); gena black; front coxa, mid and hind femora and mid and hind tibiae entirely yellow; margins and fringes of calypters white.

Remarks. According to McAlpine (1977), the two strictly Neotropical species of the genus, P. azteca and P. inca, were derived from the Holarctic fauna. McAlpine (1977) also suggested that P. i nc a would be the most closely related to P. azteca . However, the morphology of the male of P. az t e ca remains undescribed, so it is not possible to know if this species shares with P. inca the extremely distinctive two horn-like spines on the epandrium (Fig. 5 D).

Biology. The larvae are necrophagous. Jirón & Cartín (1981) collected both adults and larvae on a dead dog during the dry season in a secondary forest of San José, Costa Rica, highlighting that P. a z t ec a was one of the most abundant insect species during most part of the decomposition process. The experiment of Jirón & Cartín (1981) was carried out in the campus of the University of Costa Rica, meaning that P. azteca may have developed synanthropic tendencies.

Distribution. Neotropical; described from southeastern México (McAlpine 1977), it has been also recorded from Costa Rica (Jirón & Cartín 1981) and Panamá (Ozerov & Norrbom 2010).