Blepharella setifrons 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 : 1673-1675

Blepharella setifrons Shima and Tachi sp. n.

( Figure 8 )

Diagnosis

A small black goniine without pruinosity on thorax and abdomen; male with wide frons and basal 1/2 parafacial hairy and claws and pulvilli shorter than 5th tarsomere; scutellar dorsum black except for dorsal area of postpronotal area; abdomen black except narrowly reddish lateral area of 3rd and 4th abdominal tergites and 5th tergite with greyish pruinosity on anterior 1/2–1/3; mid-tibia with 3 anterodorsal setae; hind tibia with rather long and sparsely set anterodorsal setae; abdominal syntergite 1 + 2 and 3rd tergite each with a pair of median marginal setae; male 4th abdominal venter with sexual hair patches of short hairs and quadrate in form.

Description

Holotype male, BORNEO/ Mt. Kinabalu /(1300 m) SABAH / 9-11.xi.1973 / H. Shima ( BLKU).

Male. Closely resembling B. malayana Shima and Tachi sp. n., but differing as follows: Fronto-orbital plate with dark greyish pruinosity; parafacial, face and genal dilation with greyish pruinosity; gena below eye and lower anterior portion of parafacial reddish brown; vertex 0.24–0.25 of head width; frontal vitta about 1/2 as wide as fronto-orbital plate at middle; parafacial narrowed below, 1.2–1.3 times as wide as postpedicel at mid-height; gena about 0.28 of eye height; inner vertical seta about 2/3 of eye height; 3 reclinate orbital setae, anterior seta strongest and about 3/4 as long as inner vertical setae; 9–10 frontal setae, lowest seta nearly level with anterior apex of pedicel; fronto-orbital plate with 3–4 rows of 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 2/3; genal dilation with rather long and dense hairs; antenna falling short of lower margin of face by about length of pedicel; postpedicel about 3.2 times as long as pedicel. Thoracic dorsum except for brownish apex of scutellum shining black, without pruinosity except for dorsal area of postpronotal lobe with greyish white pruinosity; wing hyaline, weakly tinged with pale brown basally; relative lengths of costal sectors 2nd, 3rd and 4th approximately 3:5:3; mid-tibia with 2–3 anterodorsal setae; hind tibia with a rather sparsely set row of anterodorsal setae, a submedian strong seta absent. Abdomen with no pruinosity on dorsa of syntergite 1 + 2, 3rd and 4th tergites, and posterior 1/2 of 5th; dorsa of anterolateral margin of 4th tergite and anterior 1/2–2/3 of 5th tergite with white pruinosity; abdominal syntergite 1 + 2 and 3rd tergite each with a pair of median marginal setae, 1/2 as long as following tergite; 5th sternite with anterior margin weakly excavated near middle, median membranous portion wide and narrow; posteromedian excavation inverted U-shaped, posterior lobe with several weak hairs on median portion and strong setae on posterior margin.

Male terminalia. Cerci in lateral view strongly swollen near apex, not well curved ventrally; surstylus in lateral view well wider than base of cerci, narrowed to apex and weakly pointed at apex; dorsal arms of hypandrium widely separated from each other; epiphallus broad; dorsal sclerite of distiphallus elongate, about 1.5 times as long as ventral sclerite.

Female. Unknown. Body length: ca. 7.6 mm.

Host. Unknown.

Etymology

The specific epithet is taken from the hairy head of this species, the Latin noun ‘ seta ’ (hair) plus noun ‘ frons ’ (face).

Distribution

Malaysia (Sabah).

Remarks

This species closely resembles B. malayana Shima and Tachi sp. n. in general appearance, but is easily distinguished from it in having the wide frons and well setulose facial ridge. The broad susrstylus and elongate dorsal sclerite of the aedeagus in this species are also different from those of B. malayana Shima and Tachi sp. n.

Figures

Figure 8. Blepharella setifrons Shima and Tachi sp. n. (A) Adult male in lateral view. (B) Same in dorsal view. (C) Adult male head in lateral view. (D) Same in dorsal view. (E) Epandrium, cerci and surstylus in lateral view. (F) Same in dorsal view. (G) Hypandrium, pre- and postgonites, epiphallus and aedeagus in lateral view. (H) Male 5th sternum in ventral view. Scale bars: D–H = 0.2 mm.