Exoprosopa brevinasis Bezzi, 1924

Greathead, D. J., 2001, A study of the Exoprosopa busiris (Jaennicke) group of Bezzi (1924) in tropical Africa (Diptera: Bombyliidae), Journal of Natural History 35 (1), pp. 127-147 : 138-139

Exoprosopa brevinasis Bezzi

(Figures 5, 10)

Exoprosopa brevinasis Bezzi, 1924: 343 , Kenya [examined]

Exoprosopa engyoptera Hesse, 1956: 874 , Kenya, syn. n.

E. brevinasis is very variable in size and some specimens approach the size of E. goliath which may, therefore, only be giant specimens of E. brevinasis . The description

of E. engyoptera is clearly that of a specimen of E. brevinasis , a species which Hesse had not seen. Bezzi (1924) gives a full description.

Diagnosis

As E. luteicosta but: proboscis longer, face only bluntly produced, only buccal rim pale, black tuft almost absent. Flagellomere 2 longer. Hair yellow on mesonotum, tinged yellowish on pleura. Scales on legs ochreous. Bands on terga of even width, yellowish. All sterna with white scales and yellowish hair. Wing (®gure 5) with cross veins heavily infuscated, longitudinal ones less so. Discal cell not bulging into r 5 which is greatly narrowed at wing margin. Male genitalia (®gure 10) similar to E. luteicosta , sides of epiphallus straight. Length of body, 13±18 mm; of wing, 15± 21 mm.

Material examined

Kenya: Kibwezi , 1 3 l m, ii.1929, van Someren ( BMNH) ; Makumi, Ukamba , 1 1 l m, v.1947, van Someren ( BMNH) ; Athi River , 1m, 27.iv.1967, D. J. Greathead ( DJG) ; Narok, 2m, 23.iii.1975, (Coll. 139) ( DJG) ; lower western slopes Ngong Hills , grassland acacia, 5000 ft, 1 1 l m, v.1971, G. R. Cunningham-van Someren ( DJG) ; Kabete , 1, l 6.v.1913, T. J. Andersson ( BMNH) ; Lukenia , 2m, iii.1937, van Someren ( BMNH) ; SW Turkana, 1, l 24.iv.1954 ( DJG) . Tanzania: 50 miles N of Dodoma, 1 2 l m, 7.v.1966, D. and A. Greathead ( DJG) ; 15 miles S of Longido , 2m, 30.iv.1966, D. and A. Greathead ( DJG) ; plains E of Arusha, 1 2 l m, 30.iv.1966, D. J. Greathead ( DJG) ; Arusha, 4m, 19.ix.1967, D. J. Greathead ( DJG) ; Old Shinyanga, 1m, 4.iv.1952, E. Burtt ( BMNH) ; E Kilimanjaro, Mt. Meru , 4500±5000 ft, 1m, iv.1937, B. Couper ( BMNH) . Zambia: 7 miles NE Broken Hill , 1m, 1.i.1912, F. V. Bruce Miller ( BMNH) .

Distribution Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia (®gure 18).