Ulidia skrylniki, Kameneva & I., 2019

Kameneva, Elena P. & I., Valery A. Korneyev I., 2019, New species and synonymies in the genus Ulidia (Diptera: Ulidiidae) from the Middle East, Israel Journal of Entomology (Oxford, England) 49 (2), pp. 243-266 : 258-260

Ulidia skrylniki n. sp.

( Figs 31–36)

LSID: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:280CFF6F-05A3-434D-BF13-B72BAD21F019 .

Etymology: The species is named in honor of Yuriy Skrylnik, Ukrainian entomologist, collector of the type series.

Diagnosis: This species can be easily recognized from all known species of Ulidia by the combination of frons, occiput, mesonotum and abdominal tergites 1–3 sparsely gray pollinose without shining dots at bases of setae and setulae, entirely hyaline wing, face and gena yellow, frons depressed, palp long, extending beyond oral margins. It is similar to U. ruficeps , widespread from Greece and Israel to Iran and Kyrghyzstan, in having elongate head with strongly depressed frons, widely yellow face, and long palp, readily differing from that species by the uniformly microtrichose frons and mesonotum (in U. ruficeps , frons subshining and mesonotum glossy).

Description: Head ( Figs 32–35) black, with mostly yellow to yellowish brown frons, facial carina and gena. Head ratio h:l:w=1:1.2:1.6. Frons 0.9–1.0× as long as wide, black in posterior half and yellow to orange in anterior half, entirely and uniformly covered with sparse white microtrichia, including vertical plate, orbits and ocellar triangle ( Fig. 34), frons slightly depressed medially, moderately densely and short setulose. Vertical plate with 2 orbital setae and 2–3 rows of moderately long erect setulae 0.5–0.75× as long as setae); ocellar setae lateroclinate, 1.0–1.2× as long as posterior orbital seta.

Face yellow, lunule conspicuously projected anteriorly, with 6–8 setulae; facial carina yellow 0.9–1.0× as wide as antennal groove, subshining, finely shagreened; epistome yellow, smooth, shining; subgena high. Antennal groove 1.5–1.6× as high as wide, deep, entirely yellow, almost entirely white microtrichose. Parafacial yellow, white microtrichose in posterior 0.3–0.5 of width along eye. Gena yellow, matt, white microtrichose in posterior part, black setulose, 0.55× as high as eye ( Fig. 32). Occiput black, entirely white microtrichose. Ventral half of occiput conspicuously swollen. Medial vertical seta 0.39–0.45× as long as frons width, 1.0–1.1× as long as lateral vertical and 1.3–1.5× as long as ocellar, orbital, and postocellar setae. Antenna: scape black, pedicel deeply incised, black, white microtrichose; flagellomere 1 round, as long as wide, black, silvery white microtrichose; arista bare, entirely black. Clypeus yellow. Palp black in apical 0.6 of length, brownish yellow at base, with long basoventral setae and a few short marginal apical setae, silvery white microtrichose. Mouthparts black, short, labellum 0.8× as long as eye; prementum shining black.

Thorax ( Figs 31, 33) entirely black, covered with silvery white sparse white microtrichia not hiding colour of cuticle; antepronotum, posterior portion of postpronotal lobe, anterior half of anepisternum anterior half of katepisternum, and meron partly shining black; posteroventral margin of scutellum, anatergite, and mediotergite almost entirely microtrichose.

Scutum narrow, 1.1–1.2× as long as wide, one intra-alar row of 3–4 setulae and regular row of 9–11 dorsocentral setulae and 1 dorsocentral seta ( Fig. 33); acrostichal seta lacking; at most 4 setulae between dorsocentral setae; postpronotal lobe with 1 seta and 2–3 setulae; proepisternal ridge low, with 8–10 black setulae; other setae moderately long, black, 1 postsutural supra-alar, 1 intra-alar and 1 postalar seta present. Scutellum transverse, twice as wide as long, with 2 pairs of black scutellar setae.

Wing hyaline, with yellow cell bc, gray cell sc, and brown veins; cell r 4+5 apically slightly narrowed, vein M reaching costa at wing apex; section of costal vein between apices of R 4+5 and M wide, ≤0.50–0.55× as long as crossvein DM–Cu. Postero-apical extension of cell cup 1.2× as long as transverse section of vein Cu 2. Calypters with long white fringe. WL=2.9–3.0 mm. Haltere with base and stem brown, knob brownish yellow.

Legs entirely black, mostly white microtrichose; most setae and setulae fine, black; fore basitarsus and 2 basal hind tarsomeres with brush of brownish yellow setulae on ventral surface; mid tibia with 1 apicoventral seta; hind femur slender, with 1–2 preapical dorsal setae.

Abdomen entirely black, dorsally matt, finely shagreened, sparsely white microtrichose; tergite 2 laterally long setose; syntergite 1+2 wide, tergites 3–4 setose mosly laterally; female abdominal tergite 2 without dimple-like structures; female tergite 6 hidden underneath of tergite 5. Sternites wide, separated by rather narrow, black membrane from tergites; oviscape shining black, black setulose, 1.2× as wide as long and 1.1–1.3× as long as tergites 4 and 5.

Female terminalia not dissected.

Male. Unknown.

Biology: Unknown.

Holotype: ♀ Afghanistan: 10 km S of Bamyan, 34°67.40'N 68°80.08'E, 2800–2900 m, 12.vi.2016, Yu. Skrylnik ( SIZK).

Paratype: 1♀ Afghanistan: same locality as holotype, 22–30.v.2010, I. Pljusch ( SIZK) .