Copestylum (Tachinosyrphus) pseudotachina (Hull, 1936)

Fig. 142

Tachinosyrphus pseudotachina Hull 1936: 167

Type locality and data. “ Crucero, Moscardones, Peru ” (T, ♂, USNM) .

Material examined. Tarapacá: 1♂, Pampa Antuta, Alto Chiapa, 27.IV.1969, Leg. L.E. Peña (MEUC) ; 1♂, Cerro del Inca, Collahuasi, 15–20.IV.2015, Leg. R. Barahona-Segovia (PCRBS) ; Antofagasta: 1♀, Socaire, VII.2017, phot. col. Diego Reyes (CSP) .

References. Hull, 1937: 167 (desc.); Hull, 1949b: 350 (desc.); Thompson, 1972b: 107 ( Milesiinae rev.); Thompson, 1974b: 5 (corrections and restrictions of type locality); Thompson et al., 1976: 70 (cat.); Whittington, 1992: 214 (desc. Graptomyza); Thompson, 1999a: 332 (key); Rotheray et al., 2007: 1 (desc.).

World distribution. Peru and Chile.

Chilean distribution. From Tarapacá to Antofagasta region (Fig. 147).

Altitudinal range. This species inhabits mainly highland ecosystems (3,800–4,200 m.a.s.l.).

Biology and notes. Although the Systema Dipterorum (Thompson & Pape 2010) reports C. pseudotachina in Chile, we did not find any article that confirms that this species occurs in the country. Therefore, we treated this species as a new to Chile. It is the only known syrphid with bristle-like hairs on the abdomen and bare arista, which is considered a novel trait in the tribe Volucellini (Thompson 1972) . There are only three records of this species in Chile, all from highlands in the Chilean ‘altiplano’ belonging to the Puna province (Morrone 2014), considered a hotspot of biodiversity (Myer et al., 2000). There, this species visits yellow flowers of Parastrephia quadrangularis (Meyen) Cabrera (Rodrigo Barahona-Segovia pers. obs.), and Aloysia deserticola (Phil.) Lu-Irving & O’Leary (Diego Reyes, CSP record), a common plant species that blooms once Bolivian winter is over (Fig. 142). This species has low abundance and is affected by habitat loss due to mining and water exploitation, and climate change.

Conservation status. EN under B1ab (iii) + 2ab (iii) using EOO = 4,242 km 2; AOO = 12 km 2 and three localities (or subpopulations).

Subgenus Viereckomyia Curran, 1925