Blepharella tenebrosa 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 : 1678-1679

Blepharella tenebrosa Shima and Tachi sp. n.

( Figure 10 )

Diagnosis

A small blackish goniine; head with dark greyish to greyish pruinosity; vertex 0.19–0.20 of head width; parafacial subequal in width to postpedicel at middle height; antenna dark brown, postpedicel about 3 times as long as pedicel; palpus dark brown, cylindrical; thoracic dorsum shining black, without pruinosity except on dorsal area of postpronotal lobe with brownish pruinosity; mid-tibia with 2–3 anterodorsal setae; hind tibia with 2 stronger setae among a rather closely set row of anterodorsal setae; male fore claws and pulvilli longer than 5th tarsomere; male with sexual hair patches on 4th abdominal venter.

Description

Holotype male. THAILAND / Doi Suthep / Chiang Mai / 18.xii.1975 / H. Shima leg. ( BLKU).

Male. Closely resembling B. kinabalensis Shima and Tachi sp. n., but differing as follows: Head with slightly pale yellowish grey pruinosity on parafacial; vertex 0.19–0.20 of head width; parafacial narrowed below, subequal in width to postpedicel at mid-height; antenna dark brown, postpedicel about 3 times as long as pedicel; 2nd aristomere about 2 times as long as wide. Thoracic dorsum shining black, dorsal portion of postpronotal area, narrow posterior portion of postpronotal area and notopleuron with thin dark brownish pruinosity; prosternum with only fine hairs on each side; distance between bases of subapical scutellar setae only slightly shorter than that between subapical and basal setae of corresponding side; lower calypter pale brown; relative lengths of 2nd, 3rd and 4th costal sectors approximately 3:4:2.5; length of dm-cu crossvein about 2 times length of ultimate section of vein CuA1; mid-tibia with 1–2 anterodorsal setae; hind tibia with 2 strong anterodorsal setae (each inserted separately) among a row of rather separated anterodorsal setae. Abdominal dorsa of 3rd and 4th tergites with rather short and suberect hairs, 5th tergite with sparse and erect hairs on especially anterior 1/2 of tergite and rows of long and erect anterior and posterior dorsal setae on anterior 1/2 and apical portions.

Male terminalia. Sixth tergite separated into 2 wide triangular hemitergites, without hairs; cerci in dorsal view nearly parallel-sided and apical 1/3 rather widely separated, in lateral view rather broad and weakly curved dorsally at apex; surstylus in lateral view broad, well narrowed to pointed apex, with many rather long hairs; epiphallus rather broad and short, on dorso-apical portion of basiphallus; distiphallus with long and narrow dorsal sclerite, almost 2/3 of length of ventral sclerite.

Female. Unknown. Body length: ca. 8.2 mm.

Host. Unknown.

Etymology

The specific epithet refers to the dark colour of this species, with the Latin adjective ‘ tenebrosus ’ (dark).

Distribution

Thailand (Doi Suthep).

Remarks

This species appears to be similar to B. kinabalensis Shima and Tachi sp. n. in general appearance and the male terminalia, but differs from it by the wide parafacial, longer 2nd aristomere, 4th and 5th abdominal tergites each with a pair of narrow whitish anterodorsal pruinose bands on anterior margins, and the male surstylus longer and well narrowed to the apex. Both species have the male cerci curved dorsally on apex and dorsal apex of the distiphallus very much elongated.

Figures

Figure 10. Blepharella tenebrosa Shima and Tachi sp. n. (A) Adult male in lateral view. (B) Same in dorsal view. (C) Epandrium, cerci and surstylus in latero-dorsal view. (D) Same in lateral view. (E) Same in latero-dorsal view. (F) Hypandrium, pre- and postgonite, epiphallus and aedeagus in lateral view. (G) Same in lateral view. Scale bars: 0.2 mm.