Cecidomyia violacea Skuse, 1888

Kolesik, Peter & Gagné, Raymond J., 2016, Revision of early taxa of Australian gall midges (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae), Zootaxa 4205 (4), pp. 301-338 : 329

Cecidomyia violacea Skuse, 1888

[ Fig. 16 ]

Cecidomyia (Diplosis) violacea Skuse, 1888: 101 .

Material studied. Syntypes, male(s) and female(s), “ Sydney , Woronora , Middle Harbour , and Blue Mountains (Masters and Skuse). In caves hanging upon the long threads of spider’s web”, in ANIC. We mounted all four surviving specimens (all collected at Woronora): one male (designated here as lectotype, ANIC 29-38498 ) and three females (paralectotypes, ANIC 29-38497,499 , 500). The male has preserved wings, head without mouthparts and without flagellomeres, legs with surviving claws and terminalia. The females retain wings, head capsules (first two flagellomeres damaged but present in one of the specimens) and legs, and shrivelled postabdomens.

Description. Male. Wing 2.7 mm long, 0.9 mm wide; wings with violet reflection, more evident in female ( Skuse 1888); R4+5 slightly curved at distal third, joining wing at wing apex; C broken at juncture with R4+5; Cu forked, reaching wing margin; Rs weak, situated slightly closer to arculus than to distal end of R1; wingfold reaching wing margin; CuP present, fading close to Cu branching point. Head with occipital protuberance. Flagellomeres binodal; proximal node simple; distal double, larger than proximal, pyriform ( Skuse 1888). Legs extremely long, slender, tarsal claws toothed, tooth strong and long on forelegs, thin and short on mid and hindlegs. Terminali as in Fig. 16 c. Female. Wing 3.1 mm long, 1.1 mm wide. Palpus 4-segmented, first segment shortest, last longest, second and third of equal length, palpiger present. Antennal with flagellomeres simple, with neck 1/3 node length ( Skuse 1888). Terminalia badly folded in all 3 specimens and unexaminable.

Remarks. Skuse (1890) stated that he found this species in large numbers about Sydney in December to April and that Mr Helms obtained specimens at Dundoon, Richmond River, NSW, in April. In ANIC we found no specimens from either of these later collections. The illustrations of the morphology in Fig. 16 should help identify this species if it is found again. The shape of the tarsal claws shows some similarity to those of both Diadiplosis and Resseliella , but Diadiplosis does not have an occipital protuberance and no Resseliella is known to have mediobasal lobes on the gonocoxite.

Figures

FIGURE 16. Cecidomyia violacea (Skuse) (unplaced Cecidomyiidi). a – f: male; g – h: female. (a) wing, (b) occipital protuberance on head in dorsal view, (c) terminalia in dorsal view (cerci and hypoproct partially damaged and folded), (d) claw and empodium of foreleg, (e) claw and empodium of midleg, (f) claw and empodium of hindleg, (g) first flagellomere (partially damaged), (h) palpus with palpiger.