Usia annetteae Gibbs

Gibbs, David, 2014, A world revision of the bee fly tribe Usiini (Diptera, Bombyliidae) Part 2: Usia sensu stricto, Zootaxa 3799 (1), pp. 1-85 : 24-26

Usia annetteae Gibbs sp. nov.

(Plate II)

Type material examined. HOLOTYPE; Lebanon, 25km SE of Tripoli, Horsh Ehden Nature Reserve /, Alt. 1300–1600 m, 29 May–3 June 2001, J.C. Deeming [♂ NMWC]. PARATYPES; Israel, Mt. Hermon, 1600 m, Israel, 28 May 1980, leg. Kugler [♀ TAU ]; 600 m, Hermon, 9 June 1975, F. Kaplan [♂ TAU] ; 1800 m, Mt. Hermon , 12 June [19]96, Merz & Freidberg leg. [1♂ 3♀ MHNG] ; 1600 m, Mt. Hermon , 29 May 2000, leg. B. Merz [2♂ MHNG] ; Mt. Hermon, Astra, 9 July 1987, A. Freidberg [♂ TAU] ; Mt. Shalhavit, 1900 m, 9 July 1987, I. Nussbaum [2♂ 1♀ TAU] ; Hermon Mt., 1750m, 8 July 1987, I. Naussbaum [♂ TAU] ; Hermon, 1600 m, 23 May 1994, F. Kaplan & A. Freidberg [♂ TAU] ; 1800 m, Har Hermon, 12 June 2003, T. Stern [♂ TAU] ; 1800m, Har Hermon, 11 & 12 June 2003, A. Freidberg [1♂ 3♀ TAU]. Lebanon, 25km SE of Tripoli, Horsh Ehden Nature Reserve/ Alt. 1300–1600 m, 29 May–3 June 2001, J.C. Deeming [♂♀, NMWC] ; Horsh Ehden NNR, Mixed forest 1500 m, 29 May–1 June 2001, [leg.] P. Gatt [2♂ PCME].

Etymology. Named in honour of Annette Greathead, who generously allowed me access to the literature and collection of the late David Greathead.

Diagnosis. A relatively small shining black species but very variable in size, known only from Lebanon and the Golan Heights on the Israli/Syrian border (disputed territory. Entirely black, lacking metallic reflections, vestiture relatively sparse, fine and white so appearing a rather naked fly. Occiput shining, male eyes separated by the distance across lateral ocelli, mesonotal vestiture orientated inwardly or forward, but the anterior acrostichal reclinate. Wings brown-tinged with anal lobe a little narrower than anal cell. Genitalia typical of the group differing only subtly from close congeners.

Description. Measurements. Body length. 3.0– 6.4mm. Wing length. 2.5–5.1mm.

Male. Head. Oral margin very narrow, almost linear, almost disappearing below, shining blackish to vaguely brown. Frons black, shining, with conspicuous linear silvery dust spots laterally on anterior half, depressed in front of anterior ocellus where slightly more rugose. Eyes separated at their narrowest by less than one sixth head width, equal to width across lateral ocelli. Lateral ocellus separated from eye margin by about diameter of that ocellus. Ocellar tubercle shining, undusted, eye margins in front of anterior ocellus diverging relatively evenly to rear of oral opening. Translucent white hairs on ocellar tubercle averaging width of frons, rear of frons in front of anterior ocellus with a few inconspicuous, pale, proclinate hairs laterally, anterior part of frons with denser hairing across most of width. Occiput shining black with grey dusting confined to occipital callosities, especially on external side, pale hairs, shorter and more even above. Ommatidia uniform in size across eyes. Antennae black, third segment, a little less than twice length of scape and pedicel together, narrow and parallel sided or slightly swollen basoventrally, sensilla inconspicuous, translucent pale brownish. All antennal segments with very short whitish hairs above, longest just before apical sulcus. Palps small, black, apically about as broad as oral margin at widest, pale apical setae about two-thirds length of palps. Proboscis shorter than head-thorax length, black, dorsally hairless. Thorax. Mesonotum shining black, grey dusting on dorsum of post pronotal lobe and above wing root. Disc relatively sparsely punctured, many areas with smooth shining cuticle, the punctures separated by distancesignificantly wider than a puncture, anterior slope of thorax and anterior part of paramedian vittae entirely impunctate, latter shallowly transversely wrinkled. Paramedian vittae extending from anterior slope of thorax to about half way to wing insertions. Mesonotum relatively sparsely clothed with pale whitish vestiture, in places very faintly yellow tinged. All hairs nearly perpendicular, those on disc and posteriorly slightly leaning forward. Laterally hairs longer, inclined towards middle of mesonotum. Acrostichal hairs between bare paramedian vittae in 4–5 irregular lines, posterior ones proclinate, anterior ones reclinate, dorsocentrals indistinguishable from the general vestiture.

Scutellum shining as adjacent parts of mesonotum, erect-hairs on disc as dense as on rear of mesonotum. Pleurae grey dusted except for ventral half of katepisternum and all but lower hind corner of anepisternum, which are polished black. Fairly long white hairs on pronotum and posterior half of anepisternum. Wing. Membrane with brownish tinge often a bit more intense in middle of first basal cell, squama very pale yellow, veins yellow basally, browner in apical half. Crossvein r-m at or slightly before middle of discal cell, conspicuously beyond dm-cu. Anal lobe broad, with evenly curved trailing edge, a little narrower than anal cell. Haltere. Pale yellow, base of stem slightly brownish. Legs. Coxae black with coating of grey dust like that on pleurae. Remainder of legs black, undusted, shining below setulae. Coxae externally and femora ventrally covered with moderately long, white hairs, on femora a little more than greatest depth of tibia. Femora dorsally and tibia rather densely covered with short, recumbent, white hairs. Abdomen. All tergites shining black, undusted, each densely puncto-rugose, apical margin a little less densely punctate, instead more shining. Disc uniformly and densely covered with pale brownish, recumbent hairs, longer paler and more erect laterally. Sternites grey dusted basally, more shining apically, faintly punctate, with fairly long, erect white to very pale yellow hairs. Genitalia. Relatively small and simple, globular. Epandrium flask-shaped with apicolateral blunt extensions and median ‘V’-notch extending half length of epandrium, shining black, cuticle punctate, evenly coated with pale yellow erect hairs. Gonocoxite about twice as broad as long, shining black, haired as epandrium, gonostylus simple, curved with basal ‘thumb’.

Female. As male except as follows: frons wider, about one-fifth head width, diverging a little more anteriorly, lateral ocelli separated from eye margin by twice their diameter. Dusting of frons more conspicuous and extensive. Oral margin a little wider, especially medially and with a greater tendency to be brownish. Occipital usually with some dusting above neck. Genitalia. Tip of abdomen coming to a rounded point; apical sternite almost square, with an apical notch, in undissected specimens it can be seen to be apically silvery dusted. Furca typical of the group, with pointed tip and with long arms, conspicuous dark-pigmented vaginal plate.

Discussion. This species is very similar to the two European species U. manca Loew and U. putilla Becker , also small, shining black species with an undusted occiput. These three species have very similar male and female genitalia and are clearly sibling species. Indeed if it were not for the intercession of manca between them, then putilla and annetteae would probably be better considered conspecific at opposite ends of a cline. However, manca differs from both in having a linear anal lobe to the wing. So far there is no evidence that any of these species occur in either the Balkans or Turkey so annetteae is very widely separated from manca in Italy and putilla in France and Spain.

Distribution. Northern Israel (Golan Heights), Lebanon from 600 to 1900m.