Allohelea forceps Li & Wu, 2025

Lou, Jiawen, Wu, Xiaoxiang, Lin, Xiaodan & Li, Jiahui, 2025, Three new species of inflativena group of Allohelea Kieffer (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) from Hainan Island, Zootaxa 5647 (6), pp. 558-570 : 563-566

publication ID	https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5647.6.4
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:C9F40018-A160-4E5B-9EDA-64452A1A1D0D
DOI	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15820408
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/202F8792-4A52-FF97-FF07-0C542DD7FD67
treatment provided by	Plazi
scientific name	Allohelea forceps Li & Wu
status	sp. nov.

Treatment

Allohelea forceps Li & Wu , sp. nov.

Figs 1 View FIGURE 1 (C–D), 2(C–D), 5, 6

Diagnosis. This species can be distinguished from all other species in the inflativena group by the following characters: wing with 3 anterior dark spots; hind femur dark brown with narrow subapical pale area; females with functional spermathecae subequal, swollen near neck; males with gonostylus short and strongly curved, aedeagus with long and curved lateral branches at base.

Description. Female. ( Fig. 1C View FIGURE 1 ) Habitus 1.58–1.74 (1.66, n=4) mm in length.

Head brown. P/H 0.51–0.58 (0.56, n=4). Eyes contiguous, bare. Antenna brown with scape and pedicel slightly darker, flagellum 0.58–0.62 (0.60, n=5) mm in length, AR 1.06–1.20 (1.11, n=5). Three or four bristles on the inner side of antennal sclerite. Palpus light brown with the 5 th palpomere slightly darker; the 3 rd segment 50–54 (53, n=5) μm in length, PR 2.48–2.70 (2.57, n=5), with a small rounded sensory pit at the proximal part. Mandible with 8–9 teeth. Thorax dark brown, except for scutellum brown laterally. Scutellum with 4 large bristles along the posterior margin. Wings ( Fig. 2C View FIGURE 2 ) with 3 anterior dark spots and posterior irregular spots, a bluish brown spot present on apex of vein M 1, blisterlike swelling at base of vein M pale or light brown; macrotrichia sparse, present along costa vein. Wing length 0.90–1.06 (0.96, n=5) mm, width 0.35–0.41 (0.37, n=5) mm, CR 0.73–0.82 (0.81, n=5). Halter pale. Legs ( Fig. 5D–F View FIGURE 5 ) with all coxae dark brown; foretrochanter brown, mid- and hind trochanters dark brown; forefemur and foretibia brown except for subapical pale band and dark apex on femur and pale knee; midfemur and midtibia brown except for pale knee; hind femur dark brown with subapical narrow pale area, hind tibia dark brown and knee dark; all tarsi yellowish white; hind tibia strongly thickened, thickest point about 3 times as broad as thickest point of midtibia. Tarsal spines: foretarsomere Ⅰ with 1 basal, 1 apical, II 1 apical, III 1 apical, IV 0 apical; midtarsomere Ⅰ with 11–13 spines, II 2 apical, III 2 apical, IV 0 apical; hind tarsomere ( Fig. 5B View FIGURE 5 ) Ⅰ with 1 basal, 1 apical; II 1 apical, III 1 apical, IV 0 apical, 2 ventral bristles. Hind tibial comb with 8 spines. TR 1 2.03–2.36 (2.21, n=5), TR 2 2.39–2.67 (2.49, n=5), TR 3 2.07–2.34 (2.2, n=5). Fore- and midclaws divided equal sized, with inner and outer tooth, hind claws single, long, with stout basal tooth. Abdomen brown ( Fig. 5A View FIGURE 5 ). Posterior margin of sternite 8 concave. Two subequal spermathecae, somewhat swollen near base of neck, measuring 59–70 (65, n=5) μm by 44–52 (47, n=5) μm and 59–69 (65, n=5) μm by 53–66 (60, n=5) μm, with short neck; small vestigial spermatheca present.

Male ( Fig. 1D View FIGURE 1 ) body dark brown. Habitus 1.63 mm in length. Generally similar to female, differs as follows: antenna flagellomeres 1–10 light brown, with yellow plumose hairs near the base, flagellomeres 11–13 brown, prolonged conspicuously. Wing ( Fig. 2D View FIGURE 2 ) length 0.86 mm, width 0.27 mm, CR 0.73; irregular spots on the apical of vein M 1 and M 2 and pale spot in cell m 4 are fuzzier than females. Foretarsomere Ⅰ with 0–1 basal spine; Hind tarsomere ( Fig. 5C View FIGURE 5 ) Ⅰ without basal spines and II with 2 apical spines. Genitalia as in Fig. 6A View FIGURE 6 . Sternite 9 ( Fig. 6B View FIGURE 6 ) slightly convex at posterior margin. The posterior margin of tergite 9 is moderately curved, with well-developed apicolateral projections. Gonocoxite elongated, gonostylus short, about 0.5 times as long as gonocoxite, strongly curved, apex pointed. Aedeagus ( Fig. 6C View FIGURE 6 ) broad with 2 long and curved lateral arms at base, strongly narrowed and divided into two slim and long branches at about 1/2 from base. Parameres ( Fig. 6D View FIGURE 6 ) with an elongate basal arm, narrowly connected, two branches strongly recurved distally.

Type materials. Holotype male. CHINA • Hainan Island: Qiongzhong County, Wanling town , alt. 268 m, 19°8.56'N, 109°53.78'E, 28. VII. 2019, Chunqiao Li leg., by Malaise trap, cer1119-1. GoogleMaps

Paratypes (5 females). CHINA • Hainan Island : 2 females, same data as the holotype, cer1119, cer306 GoogleMaps . 1 female, Tunchang County, Fengmu town , alt. 368 m, 19°18.02'N, 110°5.02'E, 19. IX. 2018, Chunqiao Li leg., by light trap, cer269 GoogleMaps ; 1 female, Danzhou City, South China Tropical College: 016 Rural Road next to Cowpea Barren Field , alt. 125 m, 19°18.4'N, 109°5.01'E, 16. VI. 2021, Xiaoxiang Wu, Bin Deng & Zehua He leg., by light trap, cer1152 GoogleMaps ; 1 female, Ledong County, Jianfeng town, Jianfengling National Nature Reserve : Tianchi lake , alt. 800 m, 18°52.00'N, 109°44.00'E, 27. VI. 2020, Bin Deng leg., by sweeping the net, cer1115 GoogleMaps .

Etymology. The name forceps refers to the pincer-shaped aedeagus.

Remarks.The colorations of wings and legs of this new species closely resembles last new species A. hamata Li &Wu and A. annulata Yu. The differences with A. hamata could be seen in the last remarks of A. hamata . The new species can be distinguished with A. forceps by its short and strongly curved gonostylus and aedeagus bifurcate for males, the spermatheca with a faint swelling near neck and hind tibia strongly thickened for females.

Specimens of A. forceps were collected at altitudes of 125–800 m.