Limonia karafutonis Alexander, 1924

Podenas, Sigitas & Podeniene, Virginija, 2017, Limonia crane flies (Diptera: Limoniidae) of Korea, Zootaxa 4231 (1), pp. 1-37 : 14-16

Limonia karafutonis Alexander, 1924

( Figs. 20–23 )

Limonia karafutonis Alexander, 1924: 550 .

Examined material: Metatype , 1 male (slide-mounted), Japan, Mt. Shirouma , Shinano, Alps, VIII–8, 31 [1931], Machida ( USNM) ; 5 males, 1 female (pinned), North Korea, Kankyo Nando , Puksu Pyaksan, altitudes 5000 and 6000 ft., July 29 to August 11, 1939, A. Yankovsky ( USNM) ; 3 females (pinned), N. Korea, Pontani Paiktusan , altitudes 4500 and 6000 ft., July 22 and 23, 1940, Yankovsky ( USNM) ; 2 males, 1 female (pinned), Korea, Prov. Ryang-gang, Chann-Pay plateau, Sam-zi-yan, 1700 m, No. 209, 27 Aug. 1971, leg. S. Horvatovich et J. Papp, [Malaise trap in Larix — Betula forest, rain falling from time to time] ( HNHM) .

General body coloration of most specimens yellowish brown, dark colored specimens grayish brown. Male body length 6.3–7.5 mm, female 6.7–9.8 mm, wing length of male 8.4–9.8 mm, of female 8.7–10.7 mm. Wing reaches distinctly beyond tip of abdomen in both sexes.

Head. Dark brown dusted with silvery gray, posterior margin yellowish. Male antenna 1.75–2.35 mm long, female 1.65–1.85, 14-segmented. Scape elongate, nearly cylindrical, dark brown. Pedicel short, oval, dark brown, except yellowish distal margin. Two basal flagellomeres bicolorous, yellow at base, dark brown at apex, remaining flagellomeres dark brown. Segments subcylindrical, covered with a dense whitish pubescence. Longest verticils about three times as long as respective segments. Rostrum dark brown. Palpus black. Labella reddish brown.

Thorax. Cervical sclerite dark brown. Pronotum dark brown dorsally, obscure yellow laterally. Mesonotal prescutum yellow with wide dark brown median stripe. Lateral stripe short, light brown. Scutal lobe same color as median stripe of prescutum, except yellow postero-lateral margin. Area separating scutal lobes yellow. Scutellum dark brown, with weak median yellowish line. Mediotergite brownish with narrowly yellowish lateral margins. Pleuron yellow with brownish area below wing base. Wing ( Fig. 20 ) brownish with small brown spots at base of Rs, tip of Sc2 and R2, brownish area surrounding cord, distal end of discal cell and Cu and indistinct smoky areas in whole cells. Veins brown. Venation: Sc1 long, reaching far beyond middle of Rs, Sc2 nearly reaching branching point of Rs. Rs long, slightly arcuate. Basal deflection of CuA1 slightly before branching point of M. Halter 1.4–1.7 mm long in male, 1.7–1.8 mm in female, stem yellow at base, turning blackish distally, knob blackish. Coxae yellow, fore coxa dorsally brownish, trochanters yellow. Femora brownish yellow with wide black apical ring. Tibiae brownish yellow, tip narrowly darkened. Tarsi brown. Male femur I: 4.9–5.9 mm long, II: 5.7–7.0 mm, III: 5.8–6.4 mm; tibia I: 6.4–7.0 mm, II: 6.2–6.6 mm, III: 6.6–7.3 mm; tarsus I: 5.9–6.6 mm, II: 5.6–6.8 mm, III: 5.3– 5.6 mm long. Female femur I: 5.2–6.2 mm long, II: 5.7–6.7 mm, III: 5.8–6.8 mm; tibia I: 5.6–7.0 mm, II: 6.4–6.6 mm, III: 6.5–7.8 mm; tarsus I: 6.1–6.5 mm, II: 5.3–5.7 mm, III: 5.2–5.8 mm long.

Abdomen. Tergites brown to dark brown. Basal tergites lighter at frontal margin. Basal sternites obscure yellow, distal sternites dark brown. Male genitalia ( Figs. 21, 22 ) brownish yellow with slightly infuscated distal part of gonocoxites. Ninth tergum with wide shallow emargination at posterior margin. Gonocoxite with large setose ventromesal lobe. Gonostylus elongate, turning narrower towards apex, setose. Paramere with small triangle-shaped apical lobe. Penis comparatively long, setose, bifid at apex, tip sharply curved downwards. Ovipositor ( Fig. 23 ) brownish yellow, tenth tergite dark brown at base, dorsal margin of hypovalva dark brown. Cercus long and narrow, slightly arched. Valva with brown stripe along the middle, tip reaching beyond middle of cercus.

Variation. Two males, collected in 1971, are distinctly darker than remaining specimens, with brownish gray areas on thorax, especially on pleura, instead of yellow, but the wing venation and pattern are very similar to those of typical form of L. karafutonis , male genitalia are also very similar except that mesal angle of paramere of dark form is slightly less acute than in lighter specimens. Light colored female was collected together with darker males.

Elevation range in Korea. All specimens were collected at altitudes from nearly 1400 to more than 1800 m.

Period of activity. Adults are flying from late July through the whole August.

Habitat. Mixed larch and birch forest.

General distribution. Currently known from Japan, Honshu Island, the Far East of Russia, Mongolia and North Korea.

Figures

FIGURES 20 – 23. Limonia karafutonis. 20: wing; 21: male genitalia, dorsal view; 22: male genitalia, ventral view; 23: ovipositor, lateral view.