Phaonia trimaculata trimaculata (Bouché)

Michelsen, Verner & Pont, Adrian C., 2024, Macaronesian Muscidae (Diptera). V. The genera Phaonia Robineau-Desvoidy and Muscina Robineau-Desvoidy, Zootaxa 5458 (4), pp. 581-596 : 586-587

3. Phaonia trimaculata trimaculata (Bouché)

( Fig. 3A )

Phaonia trimaculata (Bouché) ; Séguy 1936: 23 (Azores); Frey 1945: 106 (Azores); Báez 1983: 186 ff. (La Palma); Pont 1986: 132 (Azores, Canary Is., Madeira).

“ Phaonia (Euphemia) laeta (Fallén) ”; Santos Abréu 1976: 161 ff. (La Palma).

First recorded and redescribed by Santos Abréu (1976) from both sexes collected on La Palma by the name Phaonia (Euphemia) laeta (Fallén) , a misidentification according to Báez (1983) who studied two of Santo Abréu’s males and redescribed the species.

Material examined. AZORES: [ MZH] São Miguel, Lagoa da Congro , 1♀ 21.v.1938 ( R. Storå); São Miguel, Ribeira Quente, 1♀ 30.vii.1938 ( R. Frey) . MADEIRA: [ BMNH] from sugar cane borer, 1♂ with puparium, ii.1932 (J. Balfour-Brown) .

Description. Small to medium sized, wing length 5.2–7.3 mm. Male: Ground colour of head (including antennae and palpi) and body black, only tip of scutellum translucent ochre yellow; thorax and abdomen covered in dense grey to whitish grey pruinosity delimiting four black stripes on mesonotum, interrupted at suture and falling short of scutellum; anterior spiracle with greyish brown fringes; those of posterior spiracle brownish black; calypteres whitish, contrasting with light brown tinged wing base; knob of halter yellow; wing membrane pale grey, cross-veins r-m and m-cu shadowed; eyes with barely enlarged facets medio-dorsally and long, moderately dense pilosity; arista plumose, longest aristal branches nearly as long as width of postpedicel; frons at narrowest point 2–4 times as wide as anterior ocellus; fronto-orbital plates at this point more or less contiguous. Dorsocentral setae 2 + 4; acrostichal setae 2–3 + 3 (incl. prescutellar); notopleuron with one or several setulae on posterior part; prealar seta long, same size as anterior notopleural setae; katepisternal setae 1 + 2; katepimeron bare; meron with 0–4 setulae beneath posterior spiracle; vein C bare dorsally. Fore tibia with 1–2 p seta; mid tibia with 0 ad and 2–3 p setae; hind femur with complete row of av setae and some short pv setae confined to basal half; hind tibia with 3–4 av and 2 ad setae. Female: Apart from usual sexual differences of the head and abdomen very similar to the male. Pile on eyes less dense and slightly shorter.

Distribution. The nominal subspecies is widely distributed in the Mediterranean region and has also reached the Azores and Madeira. The unexpected record from La Palma (Canary Is.) relies on Báez (1983).

Figures

FIGURE 3. Phaonia trimaculata trimaculata (Bouché), (A), P. trimaculata sordidisquama Stein, (B–F), males. Habitus (A); head and thorax (B); abdomen (C); sternite V (D); hypopygium, caudal (E) and lateral (F).