Bactrocera (Bactrocera) balagawii, Drew & Ma & Smith & Hughes, 2011

Drew, R. A. I., Ma, Jing, Smith, S. & Hughes, J. M., 2011, The Taxonomy And Phylogenetic Relationships Of Species In The Bactrocera Musae Complex Of Fruit Flies (Diptera: Tephritidae: Dacinae) In Papua New Guinea, Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 59 (2), pp. 145-162 : 148-149

Bactrocera (Bactrocera) balagawii , new species

( Fig. 1 )

Material examined. – Holotype male, PAPUA NEW GUINEA: East Sepik Province, Koiken, Wewak area , 6.iv.2001, S. Balagawi, attracted to methyl eugenol.

Location of Types. – Holotype ( T. 152247) in QM.

Diagnosis. – A medium sized species; face fulvous with a pair of small circular black spots; postpronotal lobe and notopleuron yellow; scutum black; two lateral postsutural vittae present; medial postsutural vitta absent; mesopleural stripe reaching anterior npl. seta dorsally; scutellum yellow; wings with a narrow dark fuscous costal band overlapping R 2+3, broad fuscous cubital streak present, cells bc and c colourless, microtrichia in outer 1 / 3 of cell c only; abdominal terga III–V entirely orange-brown.

Description. – Male.

2+3

Head. – Vertical length 1.6 mm. Frons length 1.5 times breadth; fulvous with dark fuscous around orbital setae and on anteromedial hump; latter with a small number of short dark hairs; orbital setae black: 1 s.or.; 2 i.or.; lunule redbrown. Ocellar triangle black. Vertex dark fuscous. Face fulvous with a pair of small circular black spots; length 0.48 mm. Genae fulvous, large dark fuscous subocular spot; dark seta present. Occiput red-brown, fulvous along eye margins; occipital row with five strong black setae. Antennae with segments 1 and 2 red-brown, segment 3 red-brown with fuscous on apex and outer surface; length of segments: 0.25 mm, 0.29 mm, 0.88 mm.

Thorax. – Scutum black with red-brown markings as follows: below and behind lateral postsutural vitta, around mesonotal suture, between notopleuron and postpronotal lobe and inside postpronotal lobe. Pleural area dark fuscous to black except red-brown below postpronotal lobe. Yellow markings as follows: postpronotal lobe; notopleuron; mesopleural stripe reaching anterior npl. seta dorsally, not continuing onto katepisternum, anterior margin slightly convex; anatergite (posterior apex black); anterior ¾ katatergite (remainder black); two parallel sided lateral postsutural vittae of medium width and ending at ia. setae. Postnotum black. Scutellum yellow except for a narrow black basal band. Setae: sc. 2; prsc. 2; ia. 1; p.sa. 1; a.sa. 1; mpl. 1; npl. 2; scp. 4.

Legs. – All segments pale fulvous without dark markings; mid tibiae each with an apical black spur.

Wings. – Length 6.2 mm; cells bc and c colourless; microtrichia in outer third of cell c only; remainder of wings colourless except dark fuscous cell sc, narrow costal band which is dark fuscous to R and around costal margin to apex of wing and pale fuscous over R 2+3 almost to R 4+5, broad fuscous cubital streak; dense aggregation of microtrichia around A 1 +CuA 2; supernumerary lobe weak.

Abdomen. – Elongate oval; terga free; pecten present on tergum III. Tergum I and sterna I and II wider than long. Tergum I dark fuscous except for a narrow orange-brown transverse band across posterior margin but not reaching lateral margins; tergum II orange-brown except for a narrow transverse fuscous band sub-anteriorly but not reaching lateral margins; terga III–V entirely orange-brown. A pair of oval orange-brown shining spots on tergum V. Posterior lobe of surstylus short, sternum V with a deep concavity on posterior margin.

Attractant. – Methyl eugenol.

Distribution. – East Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea.

Hosts. – No known record.

Etymology. – This species is named after Dr. Solomon Balagawi in recognition of his extensive contributions to fruit fly research in Papua New Guinea.

Remarks. – Bactrocera balagawii new species is similar to B. prolixa in possessing an elongate-oval abdomen, costal band overlapping R 2+3 and cells bc and c colourless. It differs from B. prolixa in having each lateral postsutural vitta ending at ia. seta, a wider mesopleural stripe reaching to anterior npl. seta dorsally and abdominal terga III–V entirely orange-brown.

Figures

Fig. 1. Bactrocera (Bactrocera) balagawii, new species.