Tachydromia corticola, Grootaert, 2011

Grootaert, Patrick, 2011, The Genus Tachydromia Meigen (Diptera: Hybotidae) from Australia, Records of the Australian Museum 63 (1), pp. 103-112 : 108-109

Tachydromia corticola n.sp.

Fig. 4a–d

Type material. HOLOTYPE ♂, Australia , Queensland, Ravensbourne NP, under bark E. saligna , 8.12.1985, D.J. Bickel; AMS K258776 . PARATYPES: QUEENSLAND. 1♂, same data as in holotype, with additional labels; Tachydromia sp. , det. B.J. Sinclair, 1993; AMS K258844 . 1♀, same data as in holotype, with additional label; AMS K258773 . 1♂, Conondale Ra., Bundaroo Creek , rainforest, G. Cassis & D. Bickel; AMS K258303 . NEW SOUTH WALES. 1♀, Wentworth Falls, Blue Mts , 6.12.1986, D.K.McAlpine, K.C. Khoo, R . de Keyzer ; AMS K258834 . 1♀, Carrai SF, 30°54'19"S 152°17'36"E, 1550 m, sticky trap on E. campanulata , CC-DP-018-5, 11.01– 16.01.1998, E. Tasker; AMS K258854 . 1♀, nr. Gosford , Mooney Mooney Ck., wet scler. forest, 3.12.1985, D.J. Bickel; AMS K258781 .

Diagnosis. Recognized by fore and mid femora entirely yellow, hind femur yellowish basally.

Description. Male length: body 1.9–2.0 mm, wing 1.9–2.0 mm. Head black in ground-colour. Eyes with posterior margin produced far beyond ocellar tubercle; vertex narrower than frons in front of ocellar tubercle. Occiput including vertex almost entirely densely greyish pollinose, with shining patch behind mouth-opening; 2 inclinate, short, black postvertical setae, some pale setae around neck and near mouth-opening and row of pale minute postoculars. Ocellar tubercle pollinose, with 2 moderately long lateroclinate setae. Frons greyish pollinose, slightly widened toward ocellar tubercle, above antennae nearly as broad as anterior ocellus. Antenna with scape, pedicel and postpedicel dusky yellow, stylus brownish. Postpedicel drop-like, short, nearly 1.5 times as long as wide; stylus apical, very long, nearly 3.0 times as long as pedicel and postpedicel combined. Palpus unmodified, slender, rounded apically, shorter than proboscis, brownish; lacking silvery setae, with some scattered black setulae and bearing very long (nearly 2.5 times as long as palpus) black subapical seta. Thorax with prothoracic sclerites and anterior part of mesopleuron brownish yellow in ground-colour, otherwise thorax blackish brown in ground-colour, entirely finely greyish pollinose. Postpronotal lobe large, lacking conspicuous setae, with some minute setulae. Mesonotum with 1 black moderately long notopleural (accompanied with 1 very short seta anteriorly), 1 minute hair-like postalar and 2 scutellars (nearly as long as notopleural seta); some minute setulae present behind postpronotal lobe; mesosternum and metasternum bare between posterior four coxae. Acrostichals minute, arranged in 2 regular rows, ending before prescutellar depression. Dorsocentrals uniserial, mostly minute, prescutellar pair somewhat longer. Legs long, slender; hind femur brown on about apical half, fore and mid tibiae anteriorly and posteriorly brownish, hind tibia brown on apical 1/4, fore and mid tarsomere 5 brown, hind tarsomere 2 apically and hind tarsomeres 3–5 entirely brownish yellow, otherwise legs yellow to dusky yellow (basal part of hind tibia and hind basitarsus rather pale yellow). Coxae with yellowish unmodified setae, finely pollinose. Fore femur strongly thickened, pale pubescent ventrally, with yellowish anteroventral and posteroventral setulae becoming longer basally. Fore tibia slightly spindleshaped. Mid femur slender, slightly swollen on basal half, with rows of anteroventral and posteroventral spine-like setae on swollen part (the latter darker and stronger, the former becoming longer basally) and bearing 4 even stronger black posterodorsal setae before swelling. Mid tibia with short apical projection, bearing ventral spinule-like setulae. Hind leg unmodified, lacking prominent setae. Wing normally developed, rounded at apex, with unmodified venation; two broad brownish bands connected on cells r 1 and r 2+3 leaving narrow basal (except extreme base), apical and median hyaline spaces. One short costal bristle present. Vein R 2+3 straight. Veins R 4+5 and M 1+2 parallel toward wing-apex. Crossveins r-m and bm-cu contiguous. Calypter dusky yellow with concolorous fringe. Halter yellow. Abdomen largely brown in ground-colour but with segments 1–2 dusky yellow; finely greyish pollinose; covered with scattered black setae longer on pregenital segment. Terminalia ( Fig. 4 ) moderately large, rather elongate oval, blackish brown. Right cercus subtriangular, with numerous unmodified moderately long setae. Left cercus larger than right cercus, elongate-oval; with numerous very long strong setae. Right epandrial lamella subrectangular (viewed laterally), lacking ventral subapical process, with numerous unmodified setae of different lengths. Right surstylus differentiated from epandrium, bent inward, rather subrectangular but with deep notch on right upper corner, bearing several spinule-like setae apically and on inner side. Left surstylus undifferentiated from epandrium; left epandrial lamella long narrow, with short dorsal projection on about middle, bearing several long subapical ventral marginal setae. Hypandrium with subapical tubercle bearing several short setae. Phallus short.

Female. Mid femur unmodified, slender, with rows of short anteroventral and posteroventral setulae becoming longer basally. Mid tibia lacking apical projection. Otherwise as in male. Cercus brown, long, slender, covered with minute setulae.

Etymology. The epithet “ corticola ” refers to a habit of the new species “living on bark”.

Distribution. Tachydromia corticola n.sp. is currently known from several localities in New South Wales and Queensland. This species was collected in rainforest (under bark of E. saligna , on trunk of E. campanulata, 1550 m ) and it was taken in December and January.

Figures

Fig. 4. Tachydromia corticola: (a) right