Culicoides (Drymodesmyia) propinquus Macfie, 2025

Huerta, Herón, Spinelli, Gustavo R. & Grogan Jr, William L., 2025, An atlas of wing photographs and a key to species of the genus Culicoides Latreille from Mexico (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae), including new records, new synonymy, two new species and new status of Culicoides neghmei Vargas and C. propinquus Macfie, Zootaxa 5566 (1), pp. 1-51 : 12

Culicoides (Drymodesmyia) propinquus Macfie , stat. nov.

( Figs. 33 , 104–105 )

Culicoides propinquus Macfie, 1948: 81 (male; description; Mexico, type locality Chiapas, San Cristobal, La Aurora; figures: wing, paramere, apicolateral process). Vargas 1949a: 204 (in species list of Mexico); Ortiz 1950c: 464 (in species list of Neotropical region); Khalaf 1954: 38 (in guttipennis group); Fox 1955: 223 (in catalogue of bloodsucking midges in the Americas); Wirth & Hubert 1960: 648 (review of the copiosus group; key); Wirth et al. 1988: 58 (atlas of wing photographs of the Neotropical species; distribution; wing figure; in miscellaneous unplaced species); Borkent & Wirth 1997: 79 (in world species of biting midges); Borkent & Spinelli 2000: 42 (in catalog of new world south of the United States; distribution; miscellaneous unplaced species); Borkent & Spinelli 2007: 75 (in catalog of the Ceratopogonidae of the Neotropical region; distribution; miscellaneous unplaced species); Borkent & Dominiak 2020: 140 (in catalogue of biting midges of the world); Mendez & Ibáñez-Bernal 2023: 32 (in catalogue of Culicoides of Mexico; in miscellaneous unplaced species).

Culicoides (Oecacta) propinquus Macfie. Forattini 1957: 410 (male; redescription; key; figures: wing, paremere, apicolateral process); Wirth 1974: 35 (in catalogue of Diptera of the Americas south of the United States).

Remarks. This species has been placed in different species groups over time. For example, Khalaf (1954) included in the guttipennis species group, Wirth & Hubert (1960) in the copiosus species group, Wirth (1974) and Forattini (1957) in the subgenus Oecacta and Wirth et al. (1988) and all subsequent catalogs in miscellaneous unplaced species. Wirth et al. (1988) refer to figure 228 as Culicoides propinquus , when comparing and examining the photograph of the male holotype, is not specific to this species.

Our examination of photographs of the genitalia of the male holotype ( Fig. 105 ), palpus ( Fig. 104 ) and wing pattern ( Fig. 33 ), indicates that it is a typical member of the subgenus Drymodesmyia , which is consistent with the diagnosis of Wirth & Hubert (1960) by the following characters; third palpal segment greatly swollen, wing with dende setae; wing pattern of well defined, rounded pale spots, a pale spot present straddling middle of vein M 2, pale spot in cell cua 1 that widenes toward vein CuA 1, r-m crossvein pale; four apical tibial spines; male genitalia with well-developed apicolateral process, dorsal and ventral roots of gonocoxite simple, parameres short with basal knob directed laterobasally, stem swollen at base, without ventral lobe, the apex slender, simple and twisted, and aedeagus short, broad with low basal arch and stout basal arms.

Material examined ( photography). HOLOTYPE male. MEXICO, Chiapas, San Cristobal , N. of Aurora , alt. 1090 m., 9-iii-1938, A. Dampf, at light, slide mounted in Canada balsam. No. 6480 NHMUK. QR code 014775976.

Distribution. Known only from the type locality in Chiapas, Mexico.

Figures

FIGURE 30–37. Wings, dorsal view. Female and male. Subgenus Drymodesmyia: 30. Culicoides panamensis Barbosa, 31. Culicoides pilosus Wirth & Blanton, 32. Culicoides poikilonotus Macfie, 33. Culicoides propinquus Macfie (male), 34. Culicoides ryckmani Wirth & Hubert, 35. Culicoides sitiens Wirth & Hubert, 36. Culicoides torridus Wirth & Hubert, 37. Culicoides wirthomyia Vargas (male). Scale: 0.5 mm; Fig. 33 (0.05 mm).

FIGURE 104–105. Culicoides propinquus Macfie. Male. 104. Palpus, lateral view, 105. Genitalia, ventral view. Scale= 0.05 mm.