Helgreelia gaimarii, Filho, Fernando Da Silva Carvalho, Esposito, Maria Cristina & Santos, Rita De Cássia Oliveira Dos, 2009

Filho, Fernando Da Silva Carvalho, Esposito, Maria Cristina & Santos, Rita De Cássia Oliveira Dos, 2009, A new species of Helgreelia Gaimari (Diptera: Odiniidae) from Brazil, with a key to the Neotropical species of Odiniidae, Zootaxa 2219, pp. 61-68 : 62-64

Helgreelia gaimarii sp. nov.

(Figs. 1–18)

Body length: 3.1–3.3 mm.

Head ( Figs. 10, 12 and 13 ): Higher than long. Eye obliquely oval. Ocellar triangle grayish pruinose with short black setulae; ocellar bristles proclinate and divergent. Postocellar bristle absent. Inner and outer vertical bristles strong and subequal. Fronto-orbital plate and parafacial light brown with dense grayish pruinosity, with scattered small setulae between the two posterior fronto-orbital bristles. Frontal vitta orange to lightbrown. Frontal row of one inclinate anterior seta and two reclinate posterior setae. Lunule high, broadly arched, with few scattered setulae; lunule and face with grayish pruinosity. Gena gray, silvery pruinose, with black spots at base of each setula; oral vibrissa strong, two subvibrissal setae. Antennae short, widely separated, orange, including arista; pedicel with short black setulae along posterior edge; first flagellomere rounded in lateral view, with whitish pruinosity; arista slender with long rays on basal half (appearing plumose) and short rays on distal portion (pubescent). Genal groove area orange, narrow, bare. Palpus orange with silvery pruinosity; spatulate; with dark setulae. Proboscis orange with slender black setulae.

Thorax: Scutum densely goldish-gray pruinose, except narrowly whitish to yellowish pruinose anteriorly, with a faint, wide brownish median vittae that begins at anterior edge and reaches the anterior edge of scutellum posteriorly, with black spots at bases of dorsocentral setae, and with a faint lateral, short brownish vitta in line with postsutural intra-alars; scattered setulae confined to area between dorsocentral row of setae and above lateral brown spot. Pleural region uniformly grey, except for yellow postpronotal lobe. Scutellum pale yellow with whitish pruinosity, medially brownish along anterior edge; without setulae. Chaetotaxy: acrostichals absent; dorsocentrals, 1+3; intra-alar, 0+1; supra-alars, 1+1; postpronotal, 1; postalars, 2; notopleural, 1; postalars, 2; scutellum with 2 pairs of marginal bristles. Katepisternum with 3 strong setae along dorsal edge (anterior one largest), and minute setulae along edge close to middle coxa. Legs ( Fig. 13 ). Extensively yellowish, covered with short brown setulae. Fore femur with posterodorsal and posteroventral rows of bristles; femora with posterior brownish band, faint in mid- and fore femora. Tibiae yellow with one basal and one pre-apical brown ring; mid tibia with 1 strong spur. First and second tarsomeres yellow, third to fifth brownish. Wing ( Fig. 14 ). Costal vein extended to vein R4+5 with costal spinules extending to vein R4+5. Wing membrane mostly darkly infuscate, with white marks as follows: along apical portion of M and CuA1; along A2; around crossveins rm and dm-cu; cell cua1 with a white circle basally, under vein A1+CA2. Wing veins yellow to light brown. Halter pale yellow.

FIGURES 1-4. Helgreelia gaimarii n. sp. 1. Male genitalia, lateral view. 2. Anterior region of male genitalia, lateral view, enlarged. 3. Region highlighted with a dotted circle in figure 1. 4. Male genitalia, dorsal view. aa= aedeagal apodeme; c = cercus; e = epandrium; g = gonopod; h = hypandrium.

Abdomen ( Fig. 11 ): Tergites predominantly light brown with posterior edge yellow, with sparse silvery pruinosity, covered with short black setulae and some larger ones laterally. Sternites grayish, covered with sparsely scattered setulae, sternites 2–5 with strong setulae along posterior margin.

Male terminalia (Figs. 1–9). Epandrium small; higher than longe in lateral view, setulose in anterior half and with stronger bristles laterally, and with a very long bristle on the posterolateral corner (longer than epandrium and hypandrium together). Surstylus and surstylar lobe absent. Hypandrium elongate, tapering anteriorly in lateral view. Gonopod in form of a single lobe at posterior part of each hypandrial arm, with short and long setulae. Paramere absent. Aedeagus small, tongue-shaped, divided in middle, with posterior end pointed and slightly upcurved. Aedeagal apodeme very long, strongly sclerotized, rod-like, with posterior end broad and bilobed. Cercus small, fully setulose and with long bristles.

Female terminalia ( Figs. 15–18 ). Tergite 6 very large, sclerotized, shield shaped, extending laterally around segment to ventral surface and with sparsely scattered setulae; 6th spiracle in membrane between tergite 6 and sternite 6. Tergite 7 short, with posterior sclerotized half setulose; extending laterally around segment to ventral surface, and enclosing 7th spiracle in anterolateral corner; posterolateral corner lobe like, with cluster of long, posteriorly directed setulae. Sternite 6 narrow, wider than long; covered with strong setulae and fewer short, sparse scattered setulae. Sternite 7 small, narrower than sternite 6, bare. Segment 8 tubular and membranous. Two sclerotized dome-like spermathecae ( Fig. 18 ). Epiproct and hypoproct very small and plate-like; hypoproct with two long hair-like setulae on posterior edge. Cerci completely separate, long and slender, with one long setula and few short setulae.

Distribution: Brazil (Pará)

Etymology: The specific epithet, gaimarii , honors Dr. Stephen D. Gaimari, who described the genus Helgreelia and who has contributed substantially to the study of Diptera .

Comments: The genus Helgreelia has two previously described species, H. albeto Gaimari and H. parkeri Gaimari. Helgreelia gaimarii n. sp. differs from H. albeto mainly in the coloration of the abdomen; in H. albeto the abdomen is mostly orange, whereas in H. gaimarii n. sp., the ground color of the abdomen is brown, like in H. parkeri . Helgreelia gaimarii n. sp. differs from H. parkeri mainly in the shape of aedeagus; in H. parkeri the aedeagus has a conspicuously upcurved posterior margin (Fig. 4b, Gaimari 2007), whereas in H. gaimarii n. sp. the posterior margin of the aedeagus is only slightly upcurved ( Figs. 8 and 9 ). Moreover, H. gaimarii n. sp. does not display the abdominal color pattern present in H. parkeri , that is gray and brown pruinose (Fig. 1b, Gaimari 2007). In H. gaimarii n. sp. the abdominal tergites are mostly brown with posterior margin yellow ( Figs. 11 and 13 ). In addition, the arista of H. gaimarii n.sp. is plumose on the basal half (with relatively long rays) ( Fig. 10 ), whereas in H. parkeri the arista is entirely pubescent (with very short hairs) (Fig 2a and 2b, Gaimari 2007).

Type material. The holotype 3 is labeled: “ BRAZIL, Pará, Bragança, Fazenda Salina (01°02’04” S, 46°45’48” W), butterfly trap baited with pineapple fermented with wine, R. C. O. Santos leg. ” The holotype is double mounted, is in excellent condition, and is deposited in the MPEG. Paratypes: 4 3 and 5 Ƥ with the same data as the holotype (1 3, 2 Ƥ; CSCA); (3 3, 2 Ƥ; MPEG).

Figures

FIGURES 10 – 14. Helgreelia gaimarii n. sp. 10. Head, lateral view. 11. Abdomen, dorsal view. 12. Head, oblique lateral view. 13. Lateral habitus of female. 14. Wing. Scale bar = 1.0 mm.

FIGURES 15 – 18. Helgreelia gaimarii n. sp. 15. Female genitalia, ventral view. 16. Female genitalia, dorsal view. 17. Female genitalia, lateral view. 18. Spermatheca, lateral view. ce = cercus; ep = epiproct; hy = hypoproct; S = sternite; T = tergite. Scale bar = 0.1 mm, except figure 18 = 0.05 mm.

FIGURES 5 – 9. Helgreelia gaimarii n. sp. 5. Aedeagus and aedeagal apodeme, ventral view. 6. Aedeagus, ventral view. 7. Hypandrium, lateral view. 8. Aedeagus, lateral view. 9. Male genitalia, lateral view. a = aedeagus; aa = aedeagal apodeme, c = cercus, e = epandrium, g = gonopod, h = hypandrium. Scale bar = 0.01 mm.