Latheticomyia infumata Wheeler

(Figs 1A–I, 2A–K, 3)

Latheticomyia infumata Wheeler, 1956: 312, Figs 2E–F; Hennig, 1969: 590, 591 (comments about species distribution); Marques & Rafael, 2016: 432, 433, Fig. 50 (key). Type locality: Santa Maria de Ostuma, north of Matagalpa, Nicaragua. Holotype female, NMNH.

Diagnostic characters [partially based on Wheeler (1956) and Hennig (1969)]. Antenna black dorsally, yellow on inner surface except first flagellomere apically black (Figs 1D–E); frontal vitta with a wide dark brown longitudinal mark, bifurcated anteriorly from the ocellar tubercle (Figs 1D–E). Chaetotaxy: two ocellar setae, anterior long and strong, posterior short and thin; convergent postocellar seta long and strong; inner vertical seta thinner and short, about 1/3 length of postocellae seta; outer vertical seta; two pairs of upper orbital setae long and strong, anterior pair longer; five pairs of frontal setae, two pairs short and thin interspersed with three pairs long and strong (Fig. 1C). Scutum dark brown with lateral margins and a postsutural triangular spot posteriorly pale yellow (Fig. 1F). Pleurae dark brown with upper margin of katepisternum, anepimeron, katatergite and katepimeron pale yellow; a small longitudinal slender pale-yellow stripe on upper portion of katepisternum; propleuron with ventral margin yellow (Figs 1A–B). Wings uniformly light brown (Fig. 1I). Legs: coxae and trochanters yellow, mid and hind coxae with some small pale brown spots; fore femur dark brown; mid femur with yellow base, basal half brown and remaining yellow; hind femur brown with yellow base and a wide yellow ring distal to mid-length; fore and mid tibiae yellow with apex pale brown to dark brown; hind tibia yellow with a brown ring basal to mid-length and apex brown; fore tarsus brown, mid and hind tarsi yellow (sometimes the apex of tarsomeres slightly darkened).

Male description (Fig. 1A). Similar to female except for sternite 6 brown, larger than anterior ones, in form of inverted triangle, weakly sclerotized anteriorly, bearing a pair of black short spines and short and slender setae posteriorly, two pairs of long and slender setae laterally on anterior margin. Terminalia (Figs 2A–K): Syntergosternite 7+8 brown with posterior margin yellow. Epandrium (Fig. 2A–B) brown with an inverted subtriangular yellow spot anteriorly; slightly longer than broad, with brown setae that are short and sparse dorsally, and slightly longer and denser lateroventrally. Surstylus (Fig. 2H–J) elongated and slender, slightly sinuous, tapering apically (dorsal view), with the apex forked with apices bearing two dark spiniform seta. Cercus (Figs 2A–B, H) protruding, slightly constricted near apex and conspicuously bristly. Subepandrial sclerite short (Fig. 2I–J), bacilliform sclerite with a digitiform process bearing a long, apical seta, and a shorter, slender, subapical seta (Fig. 2I–J). Hypandrium short ventrally, elongated dorsally considering the phallic plate, that extends dorsally from the hypandrial arms measuring approximately 2/3 of the length of the terminalia (Figs 2C–G), only posterior margin sclerotized, the remaining weakly sclerotized, hypandrial arms joined dorsally, gonocoxal portion prolonged and slightly divergent anteriorly. Phallus ribbon-shaped, slender, basiphallus straight and distiphallus slightly curved (Figs 2C–D, G). Postgonite elongate, but not exceeding the base of the basiphallus; pregonite short, with two slender setae apically (Figs 2C–E, G). Phallapodeme rod-like, elongate (Figs 2C–G).

4+5

Material. BRASIL, Amazonas, Santa Izabel do Rio Negro, Pico da Neblina, 8–18.x.1990, 2,030m, Arm [adilha] Malaise, J.A. Rafael and J. Vidal cols (1 male, 4 females — INPA) .

Geographical distribution. Nicaragua, Brazil * (Amazonas; Fig. 3).

Remarks. In Nicaragua, type specimens were collected mainly on a coffee farm on the mountainside, at an altitude of about 4.000m, next to a dense cloud forest above and a predominantly pine forest below (Wheeler 1956). The Brazilian specimens were collected in the Pico da Neblina Mountain, the highest mountain in the Brazilian Amazon region (2.995m).

Discussion. Marques & Rafael (2016) found a female specimen from Peru that they considered very similar to L. infumata, but which presented some differences in relation to the description of this species, mainly in the size of the triangular spot of the scutum: the triangular spot of L. xantha is longer, occupying almost the entire length of the scutum, and the coloration of the legs differs between these species (Marques & Rafael 2016, see Figs 34, 47 and 50). The female specimen observed by Marques & Rafael (2016) was examined by us and compared with the Amazonian specimens studied in this work and we concluded that they are not the same species.

As Latheticomyia infumata was described from Nicaragua and the specimens studied here were collected in Northern Brazil, at first, we thought they could be different species. However, the female specimens studied here fit Wheeler’s (1956) description and figures, and the only male present in the material was collected together with the females. As such, we here consider them conspecific.

Two females of Latheticomyia collected from Ecuador and Southern Brazil and deposited at the Canadian National Collection of Insects, Arachnids, and Nematodes (Ottawa, Ontario, Canada) were analyzed by Hennig (1969). The author states that both specimens agree almost perfectly with the description and illustrations given by Wheeler for L. infumata but differ in the number of scutellar setae. Since L. infumata was described from Nicaragua, Hennig (1969) considered the possibility that they are different species, because the two specimens were collected from two distant localities. Hennig (1969) suggested that there was a group of species very closely related to each other and to L. infumata . Unfortunately, we were unable to study these two cited specimens and, given the doubt raised by Hennig (1969), we considered this the first formal record of L. infumata for Brazil.