Blepharella meridionalis 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 : 1667-1670

Blepharella meridionalis Shima and Tachi sp. n.

( Figure 6 )

Diagnosis

A medium-sized goniine; antennal scape and pedicel reddish brown; occiput without black setulae behind postocular setae; palpus yellowish; scutum black in ground colour, with whitish or pale yellowish grey pruinosity, scutellum reddish yellow on apical 1/2, with greyish white pruinosity; apical scutellar setae very fine, hair-like, crossed horizontally; tibiae all black; 3–4 anterodorsal setae on mid-tibia; hind tibia with a closely set comb-like row of anterodorsal setae, without a submedian strong seta; male claws and pulvilli longer than 5th tarsomeres; abdominal dorsum with whitish pruinosity on anterior 1/2 of 3rd tergite, 2/3 of 4th and 3/4 of 5th tergites; male 4th abdominal venter with fine dense short sexual hair patches.

Description

Holotype male, INDIA / Karnataka St. / Bandipur (900–/ 1200 m), 5.x.1993, H. Shima ( BLKU) . Paratype: 1 female, same data as holotype, except collector, H . Kurahashi; 1 male, Thailand, Kanchana Brui, Sai Yok (500 m), 9–13 .xii .1975, W. Tumrasvin (all in KUM).

Male. Head with whitish pruinosity, pale yellowish white on fronto-orbital plate and upper parafacial; antenna brown-black, reddish yellow on anterior margin of scape and on broad marginal area of pedicel; palpus reddish yellow, weakly darkened basally. Vertex 0.21–0.24 of head width; frontal vitta about 2/3 of fronto-orbital plate at middle; parafacial subequal in width to postpedicel at mid-height; gena 0.32–0.34 of eye height; lower margin of face only slightly produced forward, almost same level as base of vibrissa. Fronto-orbital plate with very fine short hairs, which do not descend below lowest frontal seta; inner vertical seta strong, about 2/5 as long as eye height; outer vertical seta indistinct; 2 reclinate orbital setae, anterior seta stronger than posterior seta and 2/5 of eye height; 8 frontal setae, lowest seta well below level of base of arista and almost level of mid-height of parafacial; vibrissa nearly above level of lower margin of face by about length of pedicel; facial ridge with rather strong short downcurved setae on about lower 1/4; gena with genal dilation about 9/10 of entire height and having very short fine hairs, 1–2 rows of lower marginal hairs slightly longer; occiput weakly bulged, without black setulae behind row of postocular setae on upper 2/3. Antenna falling short of lower margin of face by about 4/5 length of pedicel; postpedicel about 4 times as long as pedicel; arista thickened on basal 1/3, 2nd aristomere shorter than wide. Palpus clavate, about 4/5 as long as postpedicel.

Thorax black in ground colour, with dense pale yellowish grey pruinosity on dorsum, greyish pruinosity on pleura; scutellum reddish on apical 1/2; 5 longitudinal vittae on scutum, median vitta very narrow on presutural scutum and rather broad inner and outer vittae; basal scutellar seta slightly longer than subapical seta and about 1.5 times as long as scutellum; lateral scutellar setae double, posterior seta slightly longer than anterior seta and about 1.3 times as long as scutellum; apical scutellar setae very fine hair-like, 1/3 as long as scutellum and crossed horizontally; several hairs among discal scutellar setae rather strong and erect. Wing hyaline, basal portion weakly darkened; relative lengths of costal sector 2nd, 3rd and 4th approximately 4:5:3.5; length of vein M1 from dm-cu crossvein to bend about 1.5 times distance between bend and wing margin; crossvein dm-cu straight, about 1.5 times as long as last section of vein CuA1. Legs black, pulvilli pale brownish; mid-tibia with 3–4 anterodorsal setae, upper setae shorter than lower setae; hind tibia with a closely set row of comb-like anterodorsal setae, without submedian strong anterodorsal seta; claws and pulvilli longer than 5th tarsomeres.

Abdomen black in ground colour, weakly reddish on lateral portions of 3rd and 4th tergites, dorsum with dense greyish pruinosity on anterior 1/2 of 3rd tergite, 2/3 of 4th and 3/4 of 5th tergites, median longitudinal vitta narrow but distinct on 3rd to 5th tergites; venter with whitish pruinosity on anteroventral portions of syntergite 1 + 2 to 5th tergites and anterior margins of 3rd–5th tergites. Hairs on abdomen fine, dense and short of 3rd and 4th tergites, longer and erect on 5th tergite; venter of 4th tergite with dense fine short and recumbent sexual hair patches occupying posterior 4/5 of tergite; syntergite 1 + 2 with a pair of fine short median marginal setae, at most 1/3 as long as 3rd tergite; 3rd tergite with a pair of rather strong median marginal setae, at most 2/5 as long as 4th tergite.

Male terminalia. Cerci in lateral view rather broad, apex weakly curved ventrally, in dorsal view strongly narrowed on basal 1/4 and weakly widened to posterior 1/4, then narrowed to posterior apex, narrowly separated from each other on apical 1/2; surstylus broad in lateral view, narrowed at basal 2/3 to weakly pointed apex; dorsal arms of hypandrium fused narrowly separated on basal 1/3 then fused to apex; postgonite rather narrow, as long as pregonite; epiphallus inclined to basiphallus; distiphallus with dense short spinules on apical portion.

Female. Differing from male as follows: Antenna with scape and pedicel more broadly reddish; vertex 0.27–0.28 of head width; inner vertical seta about 1/2 as long as eye height; outer vertical about 1/2 as long as inner vertical seta; 2 subequally long proclinate orbital setae, about 1.5 times as long as reclinate orbital setae; frontal vitta weakly widened anteriorly, about 1/3 as wide as fronto-orbital plate at middle; 7 frontal setae, lowest seta level with base of arista; facial ridge with only a few strong setae above vibrissa; antenna falling short of lower margin of face by about 2/3 lengths of pedicel; postpedicel 2.5–2.6 times as long as pedicel; palpus club-like, curved dorsally, about as long as postpedicel; mid-tibia with 4 anterodorsal setae, upper and lower setae finer than others; claws and pulvilli shorter than 5th tarsomeres; venter of abdomen evenly with whitish pruinosity; hairs on abdominal dorsum rather sparser on 3rd and 4th tergites, erect and stronger on 5th tergite; a pair of median marginal setae each on syntergite 1 + 2 and 3rd tergite, about 1/2 as long as following tergite; venter of 4th tergite without sexual hair patches.

Female terminalia. Sixth tergite separated only halfway to posterior margin, with 2 or 3 rows of dense long setae on posterior margin; 6th abdominal spiracle on anteroventral margin of 6th tergite and 7th spiracle on posteroventral portion of 6th tergite; 6th sternite slightly longer than 6th tergite, with dense long hairs on posterior 1/2; 7th tergite broadly separated into 2 hemitergites, lower margin rounded, with 2–3 rows of fine long hairs on posterior margin; 7th sternite about 1.5 times as long as 7th tergite, ventromedian portion well expanded on posterior 1/3, with dense short hairs on posteroventral 2/3; 8th tergite strongly reduced to two short and rather wide hemitergites, broadened ventrally, without hairs; 8th sternite reduced to a small quadrate sclerite, with several very short hairs; epiproct very small, dot-like; cerci short and wide.

Egg. Length: 1.8–1.9 mm. Dark brownish; elliptic in form, anterior portion narrowed; chorion with small punctuations marginally and weak quadrate or pentagonal ridges found around most of median portion, ridges weakly developed and sometimes overlooked; aeropylar structure large.

Body length: 10.2–12.3 mm.

Host. Unknown.

Etymology

The specific name refers to the southern part of Asia, from the Latin adjective ‘ meridionalis ’ (southern).

Distribution

India (Karnataka, Bandipur), Thailand (Kanchana Bri).

Remarks

This species is rather similar to B. leucaniae in general appearance, but differs from it in the tibiae all black and the male terminalia without distinct hair fascicles on the dorsal surface of the cerci.

Figures

Figure 6. Blepharella meridionalis Shima and Tachi sp. n. (A) Adult male in dorsal view. (B) Same in lateral view. (C) Adult female head in lateral view. (D) Epandrium, cerci and surstylus in latero-dorsal view. (E) Same 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 dorsal view. (K) same in lateral view. Scale bars: D–I = 0.2 mm; J, K = 0.1 mm.