Protearomyia nigra (Meigen)

Macgowan, Iain & Reimann, André, 2021, A new species of Protearomyia (Diptera, Lonchaeidae) with a review of the genus in the Palearctic, Zootaxa 4966 (4), pp. 487-493 : 491

Protearomyia nigra (Meigen)

Protearomyia nigra (Meigen, 1826) : Systematische Beschreibung der bekannten europäischen zweiflügeligen Insekten, 5: 305 ( Lonchaea ). Type locality: ( Germany?). HT ♀ MNHN-ED-ED2474. Male terminalia: Fig. 2A ( Reimann & Stuke 2016) .

Distribution: Andorra, Austria, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Russia (Leningrad Oblast, Mordovia), Spain, United Kingdom.

Remarks: According to Morge (1962: 397) the Holotype is in good condition, but its capture locality is unknown. However, Kovalev & Morge (1984) state it as Germany? Despite the Holotype being a female, we consider that females of the genus are not currently attributable to species and as a result, with some five Protearomyia species now being known from Germany, future investigation of the holotype may be required.

P. nigra was until recently the only Protearomyia species known in Europe apart from in Mediterranean areas and as a result it was often recorded without examination of the male terminalia or from females. With several cryptic species under this name now having been described we only list here the distribution data for specimens which we have examined or were listed by McAlpine (1983). In the British Isles P. nigra adults have been recorded from a wide range of sites and habitat types that include woodland, parkland, scattered trees within rough grassland, a recent tree plantation bordering an active sand quarry, scrub woodland and grassland on a power station ash waste site and a suburban garden. Many of the German records are associated to habitats close to small creeks or swamp areas, but there are also records from pasture and shrubs in altitudes up to 2200 m.

European and British capture data indicate that Protearomyia nigra is also found as early as April, but its flight period extends later in the season with records into August. MacGowan (2016) records P. nigra in the Parco Nazionale dello Stelvio, Italy occurring at altitudes of between and 940 and 2315 m, when no other lonchaeids were recorded above 1630 m. Probably due to the ease of capture of the adults by sweeping or whilst they are feeding on flowers this species is often one of the best represented of the Lonchaeidae in museum collections. We do however recommend that specimens in museum collections standing as P. nigra be re-examined in order to obtain a better understanding of the distribution of the genus in the Palearctic.

Figures

FIGURES 1–4. Protearomyia jonesi sp. nov. Male genitalia. 1. Epandrium and associated structures, lateral view. 2. Same, posterior view. 3. Phallus and parameres, lateral view. 5. Same, ventral view.