Trichopeza sinensis, Yang & Grootaert & Horvat, 2005

Yang, Ding, Grootaert, Patrick & Horvat, Bogdan, 2005, Two New Species Of Trichopeza Rondani (Diptera: Empididae) From South China, With A Key To World Species, Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 53 (1), pp. 69-72 : 69-71

Trichopeza sinensis , new species

( Figs. 1-4 )

Diagnosis. – First flagellomere separated from arista. Scutellum yellow. Thoracic pleura with lower half dark yellow. Legs dark brown with coxae, trochanters and basal

portions of femora pale yellow. Male abdomen with basal three segments brownish yellow.

Male. – Body length 4.0 mm, wing length 5.0 mm.

Head black with pale grey pollen. Eyes contiguous on face for a long distance, with very short erect hairs. Hairs and bristles on head black; ocellar tubercle weakly prominent with 2 oc. 1 vt (longer than oc). Antenna black; scape distinctly longer than wide, with 2-3 dorsal hairs; pedicel with a circlet of apical hairs; first flagellomere much elongated, 6.0 times longer than wide, very short pubescent; arista 1.2 times longer than first flagellomere, one-segmented, black, and very short pubescent. Proboscis directed downward, 0.6 times as long as head height, brownish yellow, and with black hairs; palpus short and thin, dark brown, and with 1 ventral hair and 1 long, black apical hair, nearly as long as palpus.

Thorax black with pale grey pollen; humeri, ventral side of notopleural depression and scutellum yellowish brown i.e. contrastingly paler than dorsum of thorax. Pleura with upper half dark brown, lower half dark yellowish (on alcohol specimens the lower half of the pleura have the same pale colour as the coxae). Hairs and bristles on thorax black; 1 short h, 1 ph, 2 npl (anterior npl short), 1 sa, 1 psa, 4 dc; scutellum with two pairs of bristles (apical pair long). Legs dark brown; coxae, trochanters and basal portions of femora pale yellow. Hairs and bristles on legs black. Fore femur with 6-7 long pv; mid femur with 2 preapical anterior bristles, 1 long av and 6-7 long pv; hind femur with 2 preapical anterior bristles, and with 3 very long av on apical half. Fore tibia with 2 short pd on basal 2/5. Mid tibia with 1 very long ad and 2 pd (basal pd short) at base. Hind tibia with 1 very long ad, 1 short pd and 1 long av at base. Mid and hind tarsomere 1 with 1 short v at extreme base. Wing hyaline, slightly tinged greyish; veins dark brown. Halter dark yellow; base of stalk dark, middle white, bearing 1 short black bristle.

Abdomen black with pale grey pollen; basal three segments brownish yellow. Hairs and bristles on abdomen black. Tergite 8 and sternite 8 fused into a circular band rather narrow dorsally. Male genitalia ( Figs. 2-4 ): left and right epandrial lamella connected basally by very narrow dorsal sclerite; left surstylus long and rather thick with acute apex; right surstylus shorter than left surstylus, nearly acute in posterior view; left cercus nearly straight with large and curved apex bearing several long strong bristles; right cercus strongly curved, rather narrow basally but rather wide apically, and with a posterior process.

Female. – Body length 4.5-5.3 mm, wing length 5.3-5.6 mm. Similar to male, but abdomen wholly black. The acanthophores are triangular knobs in dorsal view, bearing about 60 small black acanthae (spinules).

Types. – Holotype male, Guangdong: Ruyuan, Nanling National Nature Reserve, 26. III. 2003, Lili Zhang ( CAU) . Paratypes 3 females, same data as holotype ( CAU, ZRC) ; 1 female, Guangdong: Ruyuan, Nanling National Nature Reserve , 25. III. 2003, Ding Yang ( CAU) . 1 female, Nanling National Nature reserve (alt. 1500 m), 25.III.2003 (sample 23005, RBINS) ; 1 female Nanling National Nature Reserve, gardens outside entrance of Park (alt. 500 m), 26.III.2003 (sample 23008, RBINS) ; 1 female, forest near entrance of Park (alt. 500 m), leg. P. Grootaert (sample 23010, RBINS) .

Distribution. – China (Guangdong).

Etymology. – The species is named after its country of the origin.

Remarks. – The new species is similar to T. liliae new species, but can be distinguished from the latter by the first flagellomere separated from the arista, thoracic pleuron with lower half yellow or brownish yellow, femora with basal portions pale yellow; male abdomen with basal three segments brownish yellow. In T. liliae , the first flagellomere is fused with the arista, the thorax is wholly black, the femora are wholly brown, and male abdomen has the basal three segments brown.

The acanthophore is quite unusual for empidids. Here it is a triangular piece bearing many short spinules of about the same size (about 60). In the type species, T. longicornis , there is an apical row of large acanthae (spinules) followed by some minute spinules.

Figures

Figs. 1-4. Trichopeza sinensis new species (male). 1. antenna; 2. genitalia, right lateral view; 3. genitalia, left lateral view; 4. genitalia, posterior view.