Tephritis dilacerata ( Loew 1846 )

Korneyev, Severyn V. & Korneyev, Valery A., 2019, Revision of the Old World species of the genus Tephritis (Diptera, Tephritidae) with a pair of isolated apical spots, Zootaxa 4584 (1), pp. 1-73 : 22-24

Tephritis dilacerata ( Loew 1846)

( Figs 2 c–d; 9–12)

For synonymy, see Tephritis dilacerata dilacerata below.

Diagnosis. Tephritis dilacerata can be easily separated from other Tephritis species by the following combination of characters: wing with moderately developed pattern not extended into anal cell and anal lobe, with 2 dark spots at the apices of R 4+5 and M veins isolated from the remaining wing pattern; cell r 1 with 3 hyaline spots distal of apex of vein R 1, large hyaline spots in r 1 and r 2+3 widely confluent to form a bold N-shaped mark, 4 hyaline spots proximal and distal of crossvein r-m large, often entirely confluent with large hyaline spots in cells r 2+3 and dm to form hyaline crossband of irregular shape splitting dark pattern into discal and subapical areas; basal halves of cells dm and cua with isolated brown bars not reaching vein A 1 +Cu 2; abdominal tergites dark brown, white setulose and setose; oviscape brown setulose without white setae; aculeus poorly sclerotized basally, apically narrowed into blunt, simple, slightly rounded tip ( Fig. 10a ).

Tephritis dilacerata shares a very similar shape of aculeus and host plants of the tribe Cichorieae with T. formosa , T. kovalevi , T. sonchina Hering 1937 and T. youngiana new species, differing from them by the moderately reduced and divided wing pattern. It is most similar to T. youngiana new species in having the proximal dark spot (posterior of pterostigma) conspicuously narrowed in cell cua and not reaching vein Cu 2 +A 1, but differing by having most hyaline spots in the dark field larger and often confluent, the hyaline spot in cell r 2+3 proximally of r-m level subrectangular and widely confluent with the large hyaline spot distall of r-m level and, if rarely separated by a narrow dark bar, then touching the hyaline spor in cell br (in T. youngiana new species, the dark fields with smaller and isolated hyaline or yellow dots, the proximal hyaline spot of r 2+3 is always isolated from the distal, and the hyaline or yellow spots basally and distally r-m are either reduced or, if confluent, then widely isolated from hyaline spots in cell dm). In addition, females of T. dilacerata , T. formosa , T. kovalevi , and T. sonchina share a dark setulose oviscape without white setae, differing by wing pattern and body coloration as described above.

Tephritis dilacerata can be separated from T. kovalevi , T. formosa and T. theryi by having the proximal dark spot (posterior of pterostigma) conspicuously narrowed in cell cua and not reaching vein Cu 2 +A 1 (in compared species the proximal dark spot is wide, turning posterobasally and connected to datk patches on vein Cu 2 +A 1 through cell cua T. formosa and T. theryi can be recognized also from the cell r 2+3 proximally of r-m level entirely dark without hyaline spots. T. kovalevi kovalevi also can be recognized from the predominantly reddish yellow thorax and abdomen). Tephritis sonchina , in addition, differs by having the 2 dark spots at apices of R 4+5 and M joined to the remaining pattern to form an apical fork typical for most Tephritis species.

Tephritis dilacerata shares its general habitus and especially the wing pattern (cell r 1 with 3 hyaline spots, the large hualine spots of r 1 and r 2+3 largely confluent, crossvein r-m often in the light field of fused hyaline spots proximal and distal of it, dark fields with moderately large dots and partly fused large spots) with T. crepidis and T. conyzifoliae those have 50% of specimens with isolated spots on apices of veins R 4+5 and M, differing from them by the basal one-third of cell cua, as well as anal cell and vein mostly hyaline (in T. crepidis and T. conyzifoliae with grey, partly confluent pattern reaching anal cell and anal lobe).

Tephritis dilacerata is similar to T. bardanae in size, 3 hyaline spots in cell r 1 spots and the dark brown wing pattern not touching vein A 1 +Cu 2, differing from it by having a hyaline crossband of irregular shape dividing the dark pattern through crossvein r-m lying in a hyaline area (in T. bardanae , pattern is Y-shaped, unbroken through crossvein r-m lying in a dark field); in addition, females of T. bardanae differ from T. dilacerata by having the oviscape white setulose ventrally and anterobasally.

Tephritis dilacerata , T. hendeliana , and T. hyoscyami also share wing pattern with widely confluent large hyaline spots, but T. hendeliana and T. hyoscyami , differ by having 2 large hyaline spots in cell r 1 (additional, third small hyaline spot present in T. dilacerata ) and the dark spot at fusion of veins Cu 2 and A 1 connected to base of vein Cu1 by a black bar (separated in T. dilacerata ). Furthemore, females of these 3 species clearly differ in the length, vestiture and coloration of oviscape (mostly yellow, entirely brown setulose and much shorter than 3 posteriormost abdominal tergites in T. dilacerata —or black, black and white setulose and conspicuously longer than tergites 4–6 in T. hendeliana and T. hyoscyami ).

Description. Head and thorax: As in T. bardanae .

Legs: Yellow, femora sometimes brown yellow. Fore femur with 2 rows of posterodorsal setae, of them setae of first, dorsalmost, row white, and those of second row white in basal half and yellow in apicla half; 1 row of longer yellow or brown posteroventral setae. Hind femur with single longer yellowish seta on dorsum.

Wing ( Figs 9 b–d): Pattern brown, with 2 large spots at apices of veins R 4+5 and M isolated from remaining dark pattern, as described for T. bardanae , except as follows. Basal cells bc, bm and bcu hyaline; cell c with pale brown or hyaline base and small brown spot anterirly at middle. Pterostigma dark brown with hyaline or yellow spot. Cell r 1 posterior to pterostigma brown, 2 trapeziform hyaline spots in r 1 separated by narrow dark bar; apex of r 1 brown, with small hyaline spot, in 5% of specimens indistinct. Cell r 2+3 with hyaline base, posterior to pterostigma brown, with 2 large hyaline spots, often widely confluent or only in 7% of specimens separated by complete brown bar anterior of r-m crossband (on 1 or rarely both wings); preapical brown area (posterior to cell r 1 apex) usually with 1–5 hyaline spots. Apex hyaline with triangular dark spot on R 4+5 vein. Cell br hyaline in basal half and dark in apical half, usually with 2–4 hyaline spots. Crossvein r-m with 4 separate or, in 65% of specimens, confluent hyaline spots on both sides of crossvein in br and r 4+5. Cell r 4+5 at dm-cu level with large round spot adjacent crossvein dm-cu and smaller spot anterior of it, in 35% of specimens completely fused into 1 pear-like hyaline spot as long as cell width. Medium third of cell r 4+5 brown with 5–15 round hyaline dots; apex of r 4+5 cell almost hyaline with triangular isolated apical dark spots on R 4+5 and M veins. Dark spot on vein M apex always larger than spot on vein R 4+5. Cell dm with hyaline basal quarter, distal dark part of cell with numerous small hyaline spots and large hyaline pear-like spot at r-m level, cell apex brown with 5–6 tiny hyaline dots. Cell m very variable with 2–6 large, partly or completely merged hyaline spots, and 5–10 dots. Cell cu dark, with large partly confluent hyaline spots and single brown bar in basal one-third reaching at most to its longitudinal fold, but not to posterior margin, brown area at middle in 90% of specimens separated from dark spot at apex of vein Cu 2 +A 1. Anal cell with grey spot at fusion of Cu 2 and A 1 and 1–3 small dark spots on vein Cu 2 +A 1. Anal lobe entirely hyaline.

Abdomen: Abdominal tergites black, often with narrow yellow posterior margin, densely white microtrichose, white setulose and setose, male tergite 5 and female tergites 5 and 6 with yellow or brown marginal setae.

Terminalia. Male. Epandrium and phallus similar to those in T. bardanae . Female. Oviscape as long as or slightly longer that tergites 5–6 combined, shining dark yellow to red. Eversible membrane with 2 pairs of taeniae 0.4–0.45 × as long as membrane itself and uniformly small scales on whole surface of the membrane ( Fig. 10c ). Aculeus 0.9–1.35 × as long as costal cell, 5–8 × as long as wide, with widely rounded apex ( Figs 10 a–b). 2 long and narrow, papillose spermathecae 6–8 × as long as wide ( Fig. 10d ).

Remarks. Tephritis dilacerata is considered to consist of 2 subspecies, which share the characters given above and differ only in absolute and relative length of the ovipositor (oviscape and aculeus): T. dilacerata dilacerata occurring predominantly in Europe (and occasionally or intentionally introduced elsewhere) and T. dilacerata kaszabi new subspecies from Mongolia. Males of these subspecies are indistinguishable, unless they were collected or reared together with females.

Analysis of DNA sequences (S. Korneyev: unpublished data) shows that T. dilacerata is closely related to T. formosa , T. kovalevi , and T. youngiana forming with them a monophyletic cluster.

Figures

FIGURES 2a–h. Tephritis, spp. wings: a—T. valida; b—T. kogardtauica; c—T. dilacerata dilacerata; d—T. dilacerata kaszabi; e—T. kovalevi kovalevi; f—T. kovalevi kumana; g—T. formosa; h—T. youngiana. Scale bar = 1 mm.

FIGURES 9a–d. Tephritis dilacerata dilacerata: a—lectotype ♀ habitus; b–d—wings; bar = 1 mm.

FIGURES 10a–d. Tephritis dilacerata dilacerata: a—tip of aculeus, ventral view; b—aculeus, ventral view; c—eversible membrane, ventral view; d—spermathecae. Scale bar = 0.5 mm.