Nemotelus (Nemotelus) uliginosus (Linnaeus, 1767)

Kahanpää, Jere, 2010, Finnish species of Nemotelus (Diptera: Stratiomyidae), with description of a new species, Zootaxa 2401, pp. 30-40 : 34-35

Nemotelus (Nemotelus) uliginosus (Linnaeus, 1767)

( Figures 4 , 10 )

Material examined. Finland 1Ƥ Åbo?/ Åland? (Ingelius). Al: 531Ƥ Eckerö (R. Frey, Hellén); 13 Eckerö, 16.VII.1922 (R. Frey); 131Ƥ Föglö (Hellén); 13 Geta (Poppius); 231Ƥ Hammarland (Forsius, Hellén, R. Frey); 131Ƥ Jomala 29.VI.1954 (E. Thuneberg); 535Ƥ Jomala (Hellén, R. Frey); 131Ƥ Jomala 11.VIII.1945 (Nordman); 332Ƥ Kökar (Forsius, Hk. Lindberg); 132Ƥ Kökar 7.VII.1922 (R. Frey); 13 Lumparland (Forsius); 13 Mariehamn 1.–7.VIII.1945 (A. Nordman); 2Ƥ Saltvik (R. Frey); 732Ƥ Sottunga Husö 3. & 7.VII.1942 (Hk. Lindberg); 631Ƥ Aland (A. Palmén, E. J. Bonsdorff, Mäklin, Tengström). Ab: 1Ƥ Houtskär (Hellén); 1Ƥ Korpo Jurmo 10.VIII.1960 (M. Meinander); 1Ƥ Korpo Skalmören 13.VII.1961 (S. Panelius); 1Ƥ Nagu Lillandet 10.VII.1961 (M. Meinander); 631Ƥ Nagu Lökholm 9.-10.[VII.]1961 (M. Meinander); 1Ƥ Nagu öarna NE om Lökholm 7.VII.1961 (M. Meinander); 334Ƥ Nystad (Hellén); 733Ƥ Parainen (R. Frey). N: 236Ƥ Borgå (S. Hellén); 631Ƥ Helsingfors (A. Pippingskjöld); 13 Hangö 22.VI.1922 (Harald Lindberg); 13 Tvärminne Ören (coll. Nordman). Oa: 23 G. Wasa [Gamla] 1930 (U. Widlund); 13 Vasa (Ingelius). Om: 26325Ƥ Jakobstad (R. Frey); 23 Jakobstad 18.VII.1937 & 24.VI.1959 (R. Storå); 232Ƥ Jakobstad (Storå); 132Ƥ Larsmo (Storå); 1Ƥ Lohtaja 23.VI.1926 (Krogerus); 4Ƥ N. Karleby [Nykarleby] (R. Frey); 631Ƥ Pedersöre 12.VII.1932 & 14.VII.1932 (R. Storå); 132Ƥ Ostrob. m. (J. Sahlberg). Oba: 239Ƥ Hailuoto (W. Hackman, R. Frey); 131Ƥ Hailuoto 9.-12.VII.1966 (W. Hackman); 6320Ƥ Karlö (R. Frey, Wuorentaus); 23 Limingo (Tolvanen); 1132Ƥ Liminka 20.VII.1929 (R. Tuomikoski); 331Ƥ Liminka (Tuomikoski); 5Ƥ Uleåborg (Coll. Nylander); 536Ƥ Lumijoki Varjakka 72028:34081, 4.VII.2005 (J. Kahanpää); 13 Liminka, Virkkula 71932:34200, 4.VII.2005 (J. Kahanpää).

Diagnosis. Rostrum well-developed, slender, tip downturned. Sides of rostrum without conspicuous silver-white hairs. Postpronotum yellow. Subnotopleural stripe considerably widened towards wing base. Fore and mid tibiae yellow or yellow-brown medially. Wing vein R4+5 forked.

3: Frontal vitta very narrow, eyes almost touching. Eyes with large dorsal and small ventral facets. Lower frons with a large white spot which does usually reach the level of antennal bases. T2–T3 white, T4–T5 with black transverse bands. Genitalia: Rozkošný (1973), Rozkošný (1983).

Ƥ: Frons with a pair of large triangular or bar-shaped spots. Tergites black, only lateral margins, posterolateral corners and posteromedial triangles on T2–T5 pale.

Distribution. Palearctic – from Europe to China. Widespread on the Baltic coast of Finland, from Helsinki in the east to Hailuoto island west of Oulu in the north (65° N). Most new records are from shores of the Bothnian Bay where suitable habitat is still rather common. In contrast the south-western archipelago (between the city of Turku in Finland and Stockholm in Sweden), which used to be a stronghold for this species, has yielded only a single record in the last decade.

Comments. N. uliginosus is a halobiont like the preceding species. While it is strictly coastal in Finland, it has elsewhere been found in non-marine habitats wherever soil salinity is high enough. Adults are locally common on salt marshes where they visit various low flowers. Larvae have been found in shallow brackish water ( Rozkošný 1973), under algal mats covering a dried-up brackish pool ( Stubbs & Drake 2001) and under debris on wet grass ( Payne 1974). Rozkošný (1973) erroneously recorded N. uliginosus from inland localities in Russian Karelia and the Finnish provinces Sb and Kb. These records are based on misidentifications of N. infortunatus .

The following two Nemotelus species have not been found in Finland, but the northern limit of their occurrence reaches the shores of the Baltic Sea. Both species look superficially like the species described above at least in one sex.

Figures

FIGURES 4 – 6. Nemotelus males in a) dorsal view, b) lateral view. 4. N. uliginosus (Linnaeus). 5. N. brevirostris Meigen. 6. N. pantherinus (Linnaeus).

FIGURES 10 – 12. Nemotelus females in a) dorsal view, b) lateral view. 10. N. uliginosus (Linnaeus). 11. N. brevirostris Meigen. 12. N. pantherinus (Linnaeus).