Hessemydas parkeri, Kondratieff, B. C., Carr, Ryan J. & Irwin, Michael E., 2005

Kondratieff, B. C., Carr, Ryan J. & Irwin, Michael E., 2005, Two new genera and four new species of Mydidae (Diptera) from Madagascar, Zootaxa 978, pp. 1-14 : 6-8

Hessemydas parkeri , sp. nov.

( Fig. 6–10 ).

Diagnosis: Hessemydas parkeri can be readily distinguished from H. tulear by the generally lighter brown coloration with less distinctly defined light colored bands along the posterior edges of the terga, the short proboscis, and the wide oral cavity. In the male, the shape of the epandrial lobes, gonocoxites, phallus, and the parameral sheath ( Figs. 7–9 ) are distinctive.

Description.— Male: Length of body 15–15.5 mm, length of wing 10–10.5 mm.

Head: Black, face, oral cavity, oral margin brown silver gray pollinose; polished or pollinose, thin around ocelli, frons, face, and oral cavity; pilosity of face long, white; occiput and postocciput with white pilosity; labium brown, extending anteriorly equidistant to face, base silver pollinose, apical portion covered with small, thin erect brown pilosity, basal portion with long, thin, brown pilosity, ventrally and laterally; palpi brown, covered with long white pilosity, length 1/2 width of labium. Antennae brown to dark brown, apicoflagellomere clavate, widest 2 x width of base, apically with a knob containing a pit with a small spine ( Fig. 6 ).

Thorax: Brown, mesonotum tinted gray pollinose, with a pair of median black pollinose stripes converging posteriorly, and a shorter pair of submedian black pollinose stripes; lateral edges of scutum and notopleuron gray­white, with long white pilosity; prepostpronotal lobe enlarged, light brown; plurae polished brown with silver gray pollinosity on meron, dorsal edge of metakatepisternum, dorsal edge of katepimeron, and dorsal edge of katepisternum; ventral lobe of anepimeron and katetergum with white pilosity; scutellum and mediotergum white pollinose; scutellum, postpronotal lobe with sparse white pilosity; post alar callus brown with silver pollinose posteriorly. Wings hyaline, venation brown, typical of genus. Halter brown. Legs brown, covered with short, stiff, brown setae, tibiae and tarsal segments with a row of stiff brown spines ventrally, pulvilli, with yellow pollinosity; claws with apical 1/3 black; hind legs with two ventrolateral rows of thick, stiff, brown spines; thicker, erect and arising from tubercles on femora; coxae with short, thin, stiff brown setae.

Abdomen: Brown covered with stiff, brown pilosity, with posterior margins of terga 1–7 yellow, lateral margins of terga with punctuations; terga 1–2 with long white pilosity, bullae brown, outlined in black; gray pollinose tint on some terga; sterna brown, posterior margins yellow.

Male terminalia: Brown covered with white pilosity with thin silvery pollinose; epandrial lobes long, pointed extending medially, diverging laterally at apex ( Figs. 7–9 ); lateral edge with triangular lobe; gonocoxite with apex curving posteriorly near midline, forming small point, apex with short, dense erect setae, lobe of dorsal margin enlarged and cupped anteriorly ( Figs. 7–9 ); cercus light brown, with apical light brown setae; epandrium dark brown covered with pale yellow setae. Phallus with ejaculatory apodeme narrow, pointed apically; parameral sheath thick, sculptured enclosing 3/4–2/3 of ejaculatory apodeme ( Fig. 10 ).

Female: Head black posteriorly on vertex and around ocelli. Mesonotum black, brown along margins. Abdomen with sparse short golden pilosity, denser posteriorly; with posterior dark colored bands posteriorly on each tergum. Wings hyaline; all veins except A1and M3 surrounded by brown coloration; intersection of R4 and R5 with a small accessory vein. Acanthophorites (tergum 10) with a single row of thick blunt, opaque, black spines. Sternum 10 bulbous, divided medially; with thin brown setae laterally. Cercus covered with short thin erect brown setae.

Material examined: Holotype male from MADAGASCAR: Tulear Prov., Beza Mahafaly Reserve, Malaise trap in deciduous forest, 165 m, 9–14 IX 2001, 23 °39.39'S, 044°37.75'E, M. E. Irwin, F. D. Parker, & Harin’Hala. Paratypes. Same locality as holotype but hand netted, M. E. Irwin, F. D. Parker, R. Harin’Hala, 13 IX 2001, 1 male; 9–14 X 2001, 1 male; M. E. Irwin, F. D. Parker, R. Harin’Hala, 5 X 10 – XI 2001, 1 male; Parcel II, nr. Bellevue, 21–28 XI 2001, R. Harin’Hala and M. E. Erwin, 2 males; 11–18 XII 2001, 11 males; Parcel I, 25 XII 2001 ­2 I 2002, 11 males; 1–8 II 2002, 3 males; Parcel II, 200m, 23°41.19'S, 0044°35.45'E, 1–8 II 2002, 9 males; Parcel I, 8–15 II 2002, 7 males; 15–22 II 2002, 14 males; Parcel I, 22 II­1 III 2002, 10 males; 165 m, R. Harin’Hala and M. E. Erwin, 23°39.39'S, 0044°37.75'E, 1 I­7 III 2002, 9 males; Parcel I, 7–14 III­2002, 12 males; Parcel I, 14–22 III 2002, 5 males; Parcel 1, 28 VII 9– VII 2002, 7 males; M. E. Irwin, F. D. Parker, R. Harin’Hala, 20 IX­11 X­2002, 5 males; Parcel I, 5–11 X 2002, 10 males; Parcel I, M. E. Irwin, F. D. Parker, R. Harin’Hala, 4 males; 4 km NW Manombo, Malaise trap in deciduous forest, 3–13 X 2002, M. E. Irwin, F. D. Parker, R. Harin’Hala, 1 male; M. E. Irwin, F. D. Parker, R. Harin’Hala, 5–17 X 2002, 23 males, 3 females; M. E. Irwin, F. D. Parker, R. Harin’Hala, 17 X 2002, 9 males, 3 females; 11–20 X 2002, 6 males; 4 km NW Manombo, Malaise trap in deciduous forest, 13–21 X 2002, 1 male.

Etymology: The patronym honors Frank D. Parker.

Figures

FIGURES 6 – 10. Hessemydas parkeri, sp. nov. 6. Antenna, lateral view. 7. Male terminalia, lateral view. 8. Male terminalia, caudal view. 9. Male terminalia, dorsal view. 10. Phallus, lateral view.