Strongylophthalmyia laosensis Evenhuis

Evenhuis, Neal L., 2016, World review of the genus Strongylophthalmyia Heller (Diptera: Strongylophthalmyiidae). Part I: Introduction, morphology, species groups, and review of the Strongylophthalmyia punctata subgroup, Zootaxa 4189 (2), pp. 201-243 : 224-225

Strongylophthalmyia laosensis Evenhuis , n. sp. ( Fig. 26 )

Diagnosis. This species is most similar to S. indochinensis , n. sp. and S. microstyla on the basis of the short pointed dorsal antennal process, but it can be distinguished from both by the pointed process being one-half the width of the flagellomere (this process much less than one-half the width in S. indochinensis , n. sp. and S. microstyla ).

Description. Lengths. Ƌ: body, 3.4–4.1 mm; wing, 2.8–3.0 mm. Male. Head: elongate, frons shining black, yellow above ptilinal suture; face yellow; gena gray, silvery pollinose, row of short white hairs ventrally; occiput brown, yellowish brown posteroventrally; clypeus small, squarish, brown; palpus bacilliform, yellowish white with black apically; proboscis brown.

Antenna ( Fig. 26 ): yellow; flagellomere subovoid, clothed with white hairs, with short pointed dorsal process, length about one-third length of flagellomere, densely clothed with white hairs; arista short, length subequal to dorsal process, styliform, bare.

Thorax: shining brown; mesonotum and scutellum sparsely clothed with short hair-like setulae; katepisternum with white hairs ventrally near mid coxa.

Wing: hyaline with tinge of brown at extreme apex due to dense microtrichia; vein R2+3 nearly straight, ending in costa at level of crossvein dm-cu; crossvein r-m at basal one-third of cell dm; crossvein dm-cu perpendicular to CuA1; length of last section of CuA1 to wing margin shorter than dm-cu; veins R4+5 and M1+2 slightly converging distally; halter white.

Legs: yellow; fore coxa with 2 long yellowish white hairs; fore femur dorsally with 8 short black thorn-like spicules in in single row on basal half; tarsi white.

Abdomen: tergites I–II brown, tergites III–VI black, with short sparse brown hairs, these hairs longest on tergites V–VI; sternites brown.

Male genitalia. Not dissected; epandrium and surstylus shining dark brown, with white hairs; cerci light brown, narrow basally, flared and rounded apically, with long white hairs dorsally, shorter black hairs apically and ventrally

Female. Unknown.

Material examined. Holotype ♂ ( BPBM 17814 ) from LAOS: Vientiane Province: Ban Van Eue [18.6738°N, 102.22°E], 15 Nov 1966, native collector, Rondon-Bishop Museum collection ( BPBM).

Remarks. Coleopterist, J.A. Rondon was on contract in the 1960 s to the Bishop Museum to collect Laotian insects for their collection. If he did not personally collect insects, he would label the collector as an anonymous “native collector ”.

Distribution. Laos.

Etymology. This species is named for the country of the type locality.

Figures

FIGURES 26 – 33. Male Strongylophthalmyia, antennae. 26. S. laosensis, n. sp., arrow points to short dorsal antennal process; 27. S. lowi, n. sp.; 28. S. malayensis, n. sp.; 29. S. microstyla Shatalkin, arrow points to minute dorsal antennal process; 30. S. nigricornis Frey; 31. S. nigripalpis, n. sp., arrow points to minute dorsal antennal process; 32. S. palpalis Papp, photo: courtesy HNHM, arrow points to minute dorsal antennal process; 33. S. pappi, n. sp.