Botanophila densispinula Xue

1. Botanophila densispinula Xue & Song, sp. nov.

(Figs. 23–26)

Description. Male. Body length 7.5–8.0mm. Head. Eye bare; frons about 1.5–2.0 times the width of anterior ocellus, frontal vitta velvet black and distinctly extended forwards, about 1.0–1.5 times the width of frontoorbital plate, interfrontal setae strong, without proclinate orbital seta, about 8 pairs of frontal setae on lower 3/ 5 of frons; fronto-orbital plate and parafacial black, covered with copperish grey pruinosity, parafacial twice the width of antennal postpedicel, antenna black, antennal postpedicel about 2.5 times as long as broad, arista pubescent, the longest hairs as wide as basal diameter of arista, with indistinct facial carina, epistoma situated in front of vibrissal angle, vibrissal angle and frontal angle level in profile; 2 rows of upcurved subvibrissal setulae, gena covered with grey pruinosity, genal height about 4.0 times the width of parafacial and 1/3 of eye height, genal hairs black, median occipital sclerite bare; postocular setae extending to ventral surface, palpus black and slender, about 3/5 the length of prementum, prementum slender and densely covered with brownish grey pruinosity, 6.0–7.0 times as long as broad.

Thorax. Ground colour black and covered with copperish pruinosity, scutum with 3 black vittae, the median vitta nearly reaching scutoscutellar suture. Pre -acr trichoid in 2 rows and irregular, post -acr row also trichoid, only 1 pair of setae before scutellum distinct, dc 2+3, without outer posthumeral seta, ia 0+2, pra about 1.5 times length of posterior notopleural seta, often without anterior anepisternal seta, scutellum black and without spot, apical part of scutellum with mainly pale hairs on undersurface, notopleuron, basisternum of prosternum, median cavate of proepisternum, anepimeron, katepimeron and meron bare, anterior and posterior spiracles small and dark brown, katepisternal setae 1+2.

Wing. Brown. base dark brown, veins fuscous, basicosta black, costa vein setulose only basally on ventral surface, costal spine strong and as long as r-m, basal node of vein R4+5 bare. Calypters brown, lower calypter about 1/3 the length of upper calypter, haltere yellow.

Legs. Entirely black, Fore tibia with 1 submedial ad, 1 apical d, 1 medial pv; mid femur without av and with complete pv row becoming short distally, mid tibia with 1 ad, 2 pd, 2 pv; hind femur with complete av and pv rows, hind tibia with 3–4 av, 4 ad, 3 pd, 4–6 median pv, without apical pv. Claws short and only 1/2 the length of pulvilli, pulvilli long.

Abdomen. Ground colour black and long-ovate, covered with pale grey pruinosity, with T-shaped spots medially on tergites 2–5, the width of medial spots about half the length of each tergite, lateral and posterior marginal setae strong; tergite 6 bare, sternite 1 with long hairs, sternite 5 swollen, basal part of lateral lobe of sternite 5 with about 6–9 spiny setae, 3–4 setae strong and 3–5 setae short, inner margin of lateral lobe with inversed and spiny spinula.

Female. Unknown.

Type material. Holotype, ɗ, CHINA: Yading, 3600–4100m, 100°32'E, 29°05'N, Daocheng, Sichuan Province, 10.vii.2006, (Jia-yu Liu) (SYNU).

Paratypes, CHINA: 2ɗ, same data as holotype.

Remarks. The new species resembles B. silva (Suwa, 1974), but it differs from it by the male frontal vitta being about 1.0–1.5 times the width of fronto-orbital plate, parafacial about twice the width of antennal postpedicel, prementum about 6.0–7.0 times as long as broad, and proximal part of cercal plate nearly rectangular in posterior view.

Etymology. The specific name is derived from the Latin words densus, meaning dense and spinula, meaning small spine, referring to the inner margin of the lateral lobe of sternite 5 in the male with inversed and thorn-like setae.

Geographic distribution. China.