Blepharella malayana Shima and Tachi, 2025

Shima, Hiroshi, Tachi, Takuji & Zhang, Wenxia, 2025, The genus Blepharella Macquart (Diptera: Tachinidae) from the Oriental Region, Journal of Natural History 59 (21 - 24), pp. 1647-1687 : 1663-1667

Blepharella malayana Shima and Tachi sp. n.

( Figure 5 )

Diagnosis

A small- to medium-sized dark-coloured goniine; 2–3 reclinate orbital setae, anterior seta strongest; antenna and palpus usually brown-black; thoracic dorsum almost entirely shining black, at most with a faint brownish pruinosity on postpronotum, pleura with very thin dark greyish pruinosity; mid-tibia with 2 anterodorsal setae in both sexes; hind tibia with a rather sparsely set row of anterodorsal setae, without a submedian strong seta among them in male, a sub-basal and a submedian strong setae in female; male claws and pulvilli shorter than 5th tarsomeres; 3rd abdominal tergite without pruinosity and with a pair of strong median marginal setae in both sexes.

Description

Holotype male, MALAYSIA, Sabah / Crocker Range / Inobong / 2.ii.2006 / T. Tachi ( ITBC) . Paratypes: 1 male, MALAYSIA, [Malaya], Ulogombach rd ., 30 km E. K. L., 20.x.1975, S. Shinonaga; 1 male, MALAYSIA, Sabah, Inobong , 4 .ii .2004, T. Tachi; 4 males 2 females, same locality as holotype (alt. 500 m), 2–5 .ii .2006, H. Shima and T. Tachi ( BLKU, KUM); 1 female, MALAYSIA, Sabah, Crocker Range, Mahua (alt. 1000 m), 29 .i .2006, T. Tachi; 1 male 2 females, MALAYSIA, Sabah, Imbak expedition, Sandakan , 15–16 .v .2004, T. Tachi (BLKU, ITBC, KUM).

Male. Fronto-orbital plate and parafacial with yellowish pruinosity, fronto-orbital plate sometimes dark near upper portion; face, facial ridge and genal dilation with greyish pruinosity; occiput black on marginal portions and dark greyish on cento-median portion with yellowish pile; antenna brown-black and palpus dark brown sometimes with reddish brown on apical portion. Vertex, or narrowest portion of frons, 0.21–0.24 of head width; frontal vitta weakly widened anteriorly, about 2 times as wide as, or slightly less than, fronto-orbital plate at middle; parafacial narrowed below, about as wide as postpedicel at mid-height; face produced forward on lower margin, projection from base of vibrissa to margin of face in profile about 2/3 as long as pedicel; gena 0.22–0.25 of eye height, genal dilation occupying almost entire gena or slightly narrower; occiput flattened. Inner vertical seta slightly shorter than 1/2 of eye height; 2 reclinate orbital setae, sometimes 3, and 3/4 as long as inner vertical setae, when 3 setae present, then anterior 2 setae subequal in length and 3rd setae at most 2/3 as long as anterior seta; 6–9 frontal setae, lowest seta nearly level with anterior apex of pedicel; fronto-orbital plate with 2–4 rows of fine rather long and dense hairs; vibrissa slightly above level of lower margin of face; facial ridge with short strong setae mixed with short hairs on lower 1/4; genal dilation with fine short and dense hairs, 1–2 longer hairs on anterior portion; occiput with a row of fine black hairs behind postocular setae on upper 1/2. Antenna falling short of lower margin of face by about 4/5 length of pedicel; postpedicel 3.0–3.5 times as long as pedicel; arista thickened on basal 1/3; 2nd aristomere slightly longer than wide. Palpus weakly widened near middle, slightly shorter than postpedicel.

Thoracic dorsum, including scutellum, shining black without pruinosity except for postpronotal lobe on which posterior portion brownish pruinosity is sometimes found; pleura with very thin dark brownish pruinosity. Prosternum with several rather long hairs on each sides; basal scutellar seta as long as subapical seta, slightly shorter than 2 times length of scutellum; lateral scutellar setae double, posterior scutellar seta stronger than anterior seta and about 3/4 as long as scutellum; apical scutellar setae short, about 1/2 as long as scutellum, crossing each other erectly or suberectly; distance between bases of subapical scutelllar setae about 2/3 of that between basal and subapical setae of corresponding side. Wing hyaline, weakly tinged with pale brown basally and along costa and vein R1; calypters brownish; relative lengths of costal sectors 2nd, 3rd and 4th approximately 3:4.5:2.5; length of vein M1 from dm-cu crossvein to bend about 2.5 times distance between bend and wing margin; crossvein dm-cu weakly sinuate, about 1.5 times as long as last section of vein CuA1. Legs brown-black; pulvilli pale brown; mid-tibia with 2 anterodorsal setae; hind tibia with a rather closely set row of anterodorsal setae, a submedian strong seta absent; claws and pulvilli shorter than 5th tarsomeres.

Abdomen shining black in ground colour, sides of 3rd tergite sometimes weakly reddish brown; no pruinosity on dorsum of syntergite 1 + 2 and 3rd tergite; dorsum of anterior 1/4–3/5 of 4th tergite and 1/2–2/3 of 5th tergite with white pruinosity, pruinosity on 4th tergite sometimes very thin and almost disappearing on central portion, venter of anterior margin of 4th tergite and anterior 1/2–2/3 of 5th tergite with rather distinct pale yellowish white pruinosity. Hairs on dorsum dense rather strong and suberect to erect on 3rd and 4th tergites, stronger and erect on 5th tergite, venter with recumbent hairs on syntergite 1 + 2 and 3rd tergite and erect and strong on 5th tergite, very fine dense and recumbent sexual hair patches occupying posterior and lateral 3/4 of 4th tergite; syntergite 1 + 2 with a pair of median marginal setae 1/2–1/3 as long as 3rd tergite; 3rd tergite with a pair of strong median marginal setae 1/2–2/3 as long as 4th tergite; 5th tergite with regular rows of discal and marginal setae; 5th sternite with anterior margin well excavated near middle, median membranous portion wide and narrow; posteromedian excavation narrow inverted V-shaped, posterior lobe with several weak hairs on median portion and strong setae on posterior margin.

Male terminalia. Cerci in lateral view well curved ventrally beyond middle, apex rounded, in dorsal view well narrowed from base to basal 1/4, then nearly parallel-sided, apical 1/2 portion weakly separated from each other; surstylus in lateral view slightly wider than base of cerci, weakly narrowed to apex and weakly pointed at apex, with short fine hairs; dorsal arms of hypandrium widely separated from each other; pregonite wide, without hair marginally; epiphallus rather broad.

Female. Differing from male as follows: Vertex 0.23–0.25 of head width; outer vertical seta developed, about 2/3 as long as inner vertical setae; anterior reclinate orbital seta about 1.5 times as long as posterior seta; 2 subequally long proclinate orbital setae, about 2/3 as long as anterior reclinate orbital seta; 5–6 frontal setae; frontal vitta only slightly widened anteriorly, about 2/5 as wide as fronto-orbital plate; parafacial slightly narrower than postpedicel at mid-height; postpedicel 3.0–3.3 times as long as pedicel; hind tibia with more sparsely set row of anterodorsal setae, a stronger subdorsal and submedian setae present among them; abdominal dorsum with whitish pruinosity on anterior 2/3 of 4th tergite and 2/3–4/5 of 5th tergite; venter of 4th tergite without sexual hair patches.

Female terminalia. Sixth tergite rather broadly separated into 2 hemitergites, with 1–2 rows of setae on posterior margin, about 2/3 as long as 6th sternite; 6th abdominal spiracle on anteroventral margin of 6th tergite and 7th spiracle on posteroventral portion of 6th tergite; 6th sternite with rather sparse setae on posterior 1/2; 7th tergite widely separated into 2 long and narrow hemitergites, slightly longer than 6th tergite, with 1–2 rows of fine short setae on posterior margin; 7th sternite slightly longer than 7th tergite, medioventrally projected, with several short setae on posterior 1/2; 8th tergite reduced to 2 ‘C’-formed hemitergites, about 1/3 as long as 7th tergites, without hair; 8th sternite absent; epiproct absent; cerci small and short.

Egg. Length: 0.15–0.16 mm. Brown in colour and rounded; in dorsal view chorion with strong and large pentagonal or hexagonal ridges covering most of surface, ridges well recognisable and with short pubescence on lower portion; small punctuations in ridges; aeropylar structure as large as pentagonal or hexagonal ridges, separated by small ridges.

Body length: 5.7–8.9 mm.

Host. Unknown.

Etymology

The specific name is taken from the country name of the collecting place for this species, Malaysia.

Distribution

Malaysia (Malaya and Sabah).

Remarks

This species resembles B. kinabalensis Shima and Tachi sp. n., but differs from it in having distinctly pruinose 4th and 5th abdominal tergites. This species is also similar to B. bomolocha and B. fuscibasis Shima and Zhang sp. n., in the structure of the male terminalia.

Figures

Figure 5. Blepharella malayana Shima and Tachi sp. n. (A) Adult male in lateral view. (B) Same in dorsal view. (C) Female head in lateral view. (D) Male genitalia in lateral view. (E) Epandrium, cerci and surstylus in lateral view. (F) Same in dorsal view. (G) Hypandrium, pre- and postgonite, epiphallus and aedeagus in lateral view. (H) Female terminalia in lateral view. (I) Same in ventral view. (J) Egg in lateral view. (K) Same in dorsal view. Scale bars: D–I = 0.2 mm; J, K = 0.1 mm.