Parydra (Chaetoapnaea) pusilla ( Meigen, 1830 )

Stuke, Jens-Hermann, 2025, Taxonomic and faunistic comments on European Parydra Stenhammar, 1844 (Diptera: Ephydridae) with new species from Finland and Jordan, Zootaxa 5686 (1), pp. 49-105 : 94-96

Parydra (Chaetoapnaea) pusilla ( Meigen, 1830)

( Figs. 18 , 101–104 )

Ephydra pusilla Meigen 1830: 126 ; locus typicus not given [presumably Stolberg]; holotype ♂ [MNHN, Becker 1902].

Napaea pygmaea Robineau-Desvoidy 1830: 800 ; locus typicus not given [presumably France]; holotype ♂ / ♀ [missing from coll. Robineau-Desvoidy, Mathis & Zatwarnicki 1995]; synonymy by Cogan (1984).

Ephydra infecta Haliday 1833: 175 ; type-locality: „Holywood in Downshire“ [Britain]; 3 syntypes [NMID, de Courcy Williams & O'Connor 1989]; synonymy by Haliday (1839).

Ephydra (Parydra) nasuta Stenhammar 1844: 192–193 ; type-locality: „in Ostrogothia ad Häradshammar et prope Sudercopiam; in Bahusia ad Marstand“, „Lapponia et Bottnia“ [ Sweden]; syntype ♂ ♀ [MZLU, UZIU, Mathis & Zatwarnicki 1995]; synonymy by Haliday (1856).

Material examined: 242 specimens from Germany , Finland , Iceland and European Russia with new country records from Georgia: GEORGIA : 1♀, 12.vii.2019, Kochki river s Epremovka [41.189°N 43.748°E] ; 1♀, 11.vii.2019, lake Kartsakhi wsw Kartsakhi [41.236°N 43.249°E] ; 1♀, 10.vii.2019, small lake 2.2 km ene Imera [41.650°N 44.215°E] ; 2♂♂, 3.vii.2019, Snostskali river 0.6 km se Achkhoti [42.618°N 44.624°E] ; 1♂ 1♀, 4.vii.2019, Snostskali river se Akhaltsikhe [42.588°N 44.667°E] ; 1♀, 11.vii.2019, Vachiani lake [41.357°N 43.436°E] .

Diagnosis: A distinctive small Parydra species with the silver dusted face bearing two strong facial setae. The male terminalia is uniquely characterised by the large semicircular hypandrium ( Fig. 102 ) in dorsal view. Males are also unique in having sternite 5 densely setulose.

Distribution in Europe: Widely distributed and not rare in boreal, Atlantic and continental Europe, rarer or unrecorded in southern Europe. Outside of Europe it has been reported from Turkey ( Pârvu & Popescu-Mirceni 2006, Popescu-Mirceni 2011) and its distribution reaches east Asia ( Krivosheina 1995).

Biology: Inhabits a wide variety of more or less vegetated freshwater or saline wetlands. Polyvoltine with the long flight period spanning at least from February until October and probably year-round. Stigmatomyces trianguliapicalis has been reported to grow on P. pusilla ( Rossi et al. 2010) . Nielsen et al. (1954) illustrate the larvae. The larval diet is currently unknown.

Figures

FIGURE 18. Habitus of Parydra pusilla (Meigen).

FIGURES 101–104. Terminalia of Parydra pusilla (Meigen). 101, dorsal view. 102, hypandrium, maximal expansion. 103, phallus and phallus apodeme, lateral view. 104, hypandrium with postgonite, lateral view; hy—hypandrium; lpha—lateral arms of phallus apodeme; pg—postgonite; ph—phallus; pha—phallus apodeme.