Apotropina raymenti (Curran, 1930)

Ang, Yuchen, Lumbers, James & Riccardi, Paula R., 2023, A conspectus of Australian Apotropina (Diptera, Chloropidae) with the description of two new species, ZooKeys 1187, pp. 261-299 : 261

Apotropina raymenti (Curran, 1930)

Fig. 20A-D

Ephydroscinis raymenti Curran, 1930: 1.

Neoborborus speculabundus : Rayment 1931: 191; Richards 1973: 396 (synonymization).

Type locality and distribution.

Australia: Victoria (Sandringham, Pt Phillip).

Examined material.

Cotype [= paratype] series for Ephydroscinis raymenti Curran, 1930 ♀♀♀ K66965 (separated to three specimens individually: K 559467, K 559468, K 559469). Deposited in the AMRI. Label transcription of imaged specimen: "Australian Museum, K 559468; Pt. Phillip, Vict., OCT 1934, T. Rayment; K66965 ; Cotype" .

Taxonomic notes.

Apotropina raymenti belongs to a group of described species (including A. exquisita , A. ornatipennis and A. proxima ) that have dark bodies with shiny tomentosity, wings with distinct dark patterning covering at least the medial region from costal margin to beyond R2+3 vein, and usually shiny-white alula. Apotropina raymenti can be distinguished from other species in this group with the following combination of characters: short capitate proboscis, arista completely brown; scutal color pattern with paired white lateral vittae on postscutum and none on prescutum; katepisternum completely whitish tomentose; wing veins lighter basally but darker near apex (Fig. 20A, B ). This species is only known from female specimens, male morphology unknown. However, there is evidence that species in this group may have sexually dimorphic color patterns (see Fig. 1 ) where males may have more prominent patterns than females. This species was described with life history information, as a likely parasitoid associated with the bee species Lasioglossum (Homalictus) niveifrons (Cockerell), where it visits the host’s ground burrows near the coastline. Rayment (1931) further erected a new genus to describe a species, Neoborborus speculabundus Rayment under family Borboridae Newman [= Sphaeroceridae Macquart]; it was subsequently transferred to Chloropidae by Richards (1973: 396) and synonymized under A. raymenti ( Sabrosky 1989). In AMRI are deposited a cotype [=paratype] series (K66965) of three female specimens (K 559467, K 559468 (imaged), K 559469). Chaetotaxy as observed: 1 vibrissa; 3 weak proclinate interfrontal setae; 2 postpronotal setae; 2 scapular setae; 1+1 notopleural setae; short weak reclinate biseriate acrostichal row only on the medial region; 1+3 dorsocentral setae; 1+1 supra-alar setae; postalar and intrapostalar setae present; missing/indistinct prescutellar setae; scutellum without discal setulae; katepisternal seta weak. Original descriptions provided in Suppl. material 1.

Figures

Figure 1. In situ photo of Apotropina sp. showing sexual dimorphism. iNaturalist observation (Grove 2019) of two individuals (likely of A. ornatipennis (Malloch) or similar where ♂ wings (bottom left) have color pattern extending to wing apices (blue arrow), while the ♀ color pattern (top right) does not (red arrow).

Figure 20. Apotropina raymenti (Curran) ' cotype' [= paratype] ♀ (K 559468) A habitus, lateral view B habitus, dorsal view C head, anterior view D specimen labels.