Citrogramma frederici Mengual, 2012, SP. NOV.

CITROGRAMMA FREDERICI MENGUAL & GHORPADÉ SP. NOV.

Description

Male: Head: Face with facial tubercle, gradually sloping dorsally, more abrupt ventrally, entirely yellow, yellow pilose, white pollinose laterally; gena yellow, brown pilose medially, white pollinose posteriorly; holoptic; lunule yellow; frontal triangle yellow with orangish macula, black pilose, broad, angle between eyes more than 90°; vertical triangle black, black pilose; ocelli reddish; antenna brown, black pilose on scape and pedicel; basoflagellomere orangish ventrally; arista black; occiput black, silver pollinose, whitish yellow pilose on ventral two thirds, golden-yellow and black pilose on dorsal third.

Thorax: Scutum black with dorsomedial area almost uniformly grey pollinose, with lateral yellow vitta and sublateral matte black vitta, black and yellow dorsally pilose, lateral yellow macula yellow pilose except postalar callus black pilose, densely yellow pilose on lateral notopleuron and supra-alar area; postpronotum yellow; notopleuron yellow continuing until scutellum, with postalar callus entirely yellow; scutellum yellow with medial orangish unclear macula, black pilose, with complete subscutellar fringe of black hairs. Pleuron mostly yellow, except katepisternum black with dorsal yellow macula, meron black, katatergum black posteriorly, posterior anepisternum black on anterior half, and anepimeron yellow with black maculae, entirely yellow pilose; metasternum pilose; calypter yellow with yellow hairs on margin; plumula yellow; halter yellow; spiracular fringes yellow.

Wing: Wing membrane brownish, microtrichose, basally bare: cells R and BM bare basodorsally, cells A 1 and R 1 bare basally. Alula microtrichose, broad, broader than costal cell and slightly narrower than cell BM.

Legs: Procoxa yellow, black dorsally; protrochanter, femur and tibia yellow; mesocoxa and trochanter black; mesofemur and tibia yellow, mainly black pilose, yellow pilose basally; mesotarsus dark yellow, brown; metacoxa and trochanter black; metafemur yellow on basal half, black on distal half, mainly black pilose, yellow pilose basally; metatibia black with medial yellowish ring, black pilose; metatarsus black, black pilose dorsally, golden yellow pilose ventrally.

Abdomen: Figure 79. Parallel-sided, slightly oval; terga 3, 4, and 5 margined. Dorsum mainly black, black pilose dorsally and laterally except tergum 1 yellow pilose laterally and tergum 2 yellow pilose laterally on anterobasal half; tergum 1 black, yellow laterally; tergum 2 black with two mesolateral round yellow maculae, extended forward laterally to anterolateral tergal margin (like ‘golf club’-shaped spots), yellow lateral margin on anterior half; tergum 3 black with broad yellow fascia (about two fifths of tergum length) with anterior margin almost parallel to anterior margin and posterior margin slightly sinuate; tergum 4 black with broad yellow fascia (about one third of tergum length) expanded laterally; yellow fascia on terga 3 and 4 reaching lateral margin; tergum 5 black with two large yellow maculae, with lateral margin almost entirely yellow; terga 2, 3, 4, and 5 with shiny black fascia on posterior margin; sterna 1 and 2 yellow, yellow pilose; sterna 3 and 4 yellow, black laterally, yellow pilose medially, black elsewhere; genital segments brownish; male genitalia brown, as in Figure 144.

Female: Similar to male except normal sexual dimorphism and as follows: frons yellow with medial orange macula pointed posteriorly; anepisternum and anepimeron entirely yellow. Wing microtrichose, basally bare: cell R bare on basoanterior half until the furca of cell R 2+3 and cell BM with small bare area very close to anterior margin (Fig. 133). Terga 4 and 5 margined; tergum 2 black with yellow fascia extended forward laterally to anterolateral tergal margin; tergum 5 black with two large yellow maculae joined medially (Fig. 123).

Length (N = 2): Body, 11.6–12.0 (11.8) mm; wing, 9.7 mm.

Geographical distribution: India.

Etymology: The specific epithet refers to Frederic Christian Thompson (USNM, Smithsonian Institution). Since his retirement in 2009, the government addresses him by his first name, Frederic, but he is hailed as Chris by his friends and colleagues. This new species is named after Chris in his honour, for dedicating his life to the study of the family Syrphidae and other Diptera, and for his guidance and advice to all of his students, especially us (X. Mengual and K. Ghorpadé), in pursuing our own research on this family of flies.

Differential diagnosis: Species very distinct and large, only known from southern India. Citrogramma frederici keys out with C. shirakii, but they differ in male genitalia and wing microtrichia, being bare basally in C. frederici. Female specimen is very similar to C. clarum; a dark orange macula on the frons, wing partially bare, and dark protarsus separate this female from the ones of C. clarum.

Remarks: Species only known from holotype male and paratype female. This new species was originally based on a single male. Later, Ghorpadé sent the female specimen, which was identified by him as a new species too. Thus both of us appear as co-authors.

Holotype male deposited in the Zoölogisch Museum Amsterdam (Universiteit van Amsterdam, The Netherlands) and labelled: ‘SOUTH INDIA /Mysore State/ Shimoga Dist./Agumbe Ghat/ 2000 ft. – V -1981 / T.R.Susai Nathan’ ‘ HOLOTYPE / Citrogramma / frederici /det. X. Mengual 2009 ’ [red, second and third lines handwritten].’

Type locality: India: Karnataka State, Shimoga District, Mysore, Agumbe Ghat, 610 m, 13°30′N, 75°05′E.

Material examined: Type material. Holotype, as above. Paratype. INDIA: Karnataka, 4 km N. Agumbe, 621 m, 22.xi.1984, K. Ghorpadé B201 [1 ♀, USNM].