Frank M. Hull.
New Species of Syrphidae from the Neotropical Region.
Psyche 49:84-107, 1942.

Full text (searchable PDF, 2456K)
Durable link: http://psyche.entclub.org/49/49-084.html

The following unprocessed text is extracted from the PDF file, and is likely to be both incomplete and full of errors. Please consult the PDF file for the complete article.

Psyche
[Sept-Dec.
NEW SPECIES OF SYRPHIDE FROM THE
NEOTROPICAL REGION
University of Mississippi
The present study is largely based upon flies in the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Cambridge, and is a continuation of earlier studies made upon these collections through the courtesy of Professor Nathan Banks. Types unless otherwise specified are in the collections of the Museum. Some paratypes are in the author's collection.
Eristalis bequaerti n. sp.
Characterized by the median pair of thoracic vittae, fused on the posterior half, the pattern and yellow post margins of the abdominal segments. Related to texanus Hull. Male. Length 8 mm. Head: the eyes are thickly brown pilose, the front and face black, the sides of both densely whitish pubescent and becoming brownish pubescent towards the middle of the front; a somewhat triangular area in front of the antennae is left brown to black and bare. The pile through the whole middle of the front is black; on the sides and face white and abundant. Cheeks shining black. The vertical and upper occipital pile is black, the antennae are dark brownish- black, the arista bare, the eyes touch for a short distance. Thorax: the mesonotum is opaque grey, bluish on an area be- hind the humeri and faintly brownish-grey on the remainder and with four black velvet vittae. The medial pair coalesces just behind the suture and proceeds singly to the scutellum. Scutellum opaque bluish-black pollinose, the center and apex . obscurely light brown. The pile of the whole pleura and broadly across the front of mesonotum is whitish. The notapleural pile and that upon the posterior half of the mesonotum is black. lPublished with
the aid of a grant from the Museum of Comparative Zoology of Harvard College.




================================================================================

19421 Neotro pica1 Syrphidce 85
Scutellar pile, except for sides and ventral fringe black. Ab- domen: velvet black marked as follows: a brownish-black shining widely separated transverse central fascia upon the second segment, expanded a little laterally, a more slender, un- broken, shining black fascia across the middle of the third and fourth segments. The posterior margins of second to fourth segments are broadly opaque yellow. Abdominal pile short, dense, mostly erect and whitish to yellow. Legs: femora shin- ing blackish, the hind pair considerably thickened in the mid- dle, the tibise brownish-black, the basal third of the first pair and a little more than a third of the second pair brownish- yellow; the base of the hind pair is very dark brown. The first three tarsal joints of anterior and middle tarsi are light yellow- ish-brown; basal three joints of hind tarsi dark brown; remain- ing tarsal joints black. Wings: hyaline and bare, the stigma narrow and dark brown.
Holotype: a male. Villarica, Paraguay, October, F. Schade collector. One paratype, same data. I take pleasure in naming this for Dr. Joseph Bequaert.
Eristalis glabella n. sp.
Related to fuliginosus Hull, the arista is largely whitish, the scutellar cuneate spot is differently shaped and the third ab- dominal segment is almost wholly shining, besides less dense pile upon scutellum and mesonotum.
Female. Length 10 mm. Head: the front is shining black with an opaque, eye-marginal, elongate spot on the upper part of the front from the lower end of which a linear band of white pubescence margins the eyes all the way to the cheeks. Face and cheeks shining black, the sides of the former broadly white pubescent and sparse white pilose. The pile of the front and vertex is black with some white pile upon the lower part. An- tennae brown, the third joint oval and rounded apically; the arista bare, pale yellow at base and whitish on practically its whole length. Thorax: subopaque black, shining in front of the scutellum and sides of the post calli. The suture is linearly margined anteriorly with whitish pubescence; the humeri is margined anterio-medially with brown pollen and there is a pair of medial, obscure, brown pollinose stripes on the anterior part of the mesonotum. Scutellum opaque black and brown pollinose in an oblique light; it is sparsely black pilose and



================================================================================

86 Psyche [Sept.-Dec.
with a slender, posteriorly-pointed, yellow wedge down the middle narrowly reaching the apex. Abdomen: elongate, ev- erywhere black and shining; there is a posterior fascia and medial extension upon the second segment; a medial basal spot on the third segment and the whole of the first segment opaque. The medial vittae of the second segment from a posterior view is margined with whitish pollen. Legs: shining black, the hind femora much thickened in the middle, the anterior fore tibise reddish-brown, the hind pair light brownish-red; all of the tarsi are light brown, the hind pair almost orange. Apex of hind tibiae with a fairly sharp spur. Wings: apical half of wings to posterior margin strongly tinged with brown. Holotype: a female, Summit, Canal Zone, February 24, 1940, A. G. B. Fairchild.
This fly may prove to be the female of fuliginosus Hull. However there are a number of dissimilarities as outlined above. Eristalis thalia n. sp.
Related to mitis Curran and parvulus Williston. It has no grey spot on the second segment of the abdomen. Thorax brownish-black, black trivittate.
Male. Length 8 mm. Head: the eyes are densely long brown pilose, the face front and cheeks are shining black, the sides of the face and front before the antennae brown. The face below antennae, and widely on the sides as low as the bottom of the tubercle, is yellowish-white pubescent and long yellowish-white pilose. The pile of the front and vertex is black; of upper occiput mixed black and yellow. Antennae: first joint brown; others wanting. Eyes not quite touching; they approach one another near the middle of the front. Thorax: opaque brown- ish black, feebly shining along the lateral margins with a narrow, anteriorly attenuated, medial black vittae evanescent before reaching the scutellum and a similar, slightly wider vittae on the middle of each half of the mesonotum, obscurely interrupted at the medial end of the suture. The anterior por- tion of the lateral vittae is twice as wide as the medial one; the posterior end of this vittae is pointed. Viewed posteriorly the three vittae of the mesonotum are separated by two wide yel- lowish-brown pollinose stripes. Pile of pleurae and mesonotum, except just behind the suture and upon the posterior half of the post calli where it is black, entirely pale yellow. Scutellum



================================================================================

19421 Neotropical Syrphidce 87
opaque greenish-yellow with the sides, the narrow base and an extremely narrow rim black; its pile is black except upon the extreme rim. Squamae pale brownish-white with black rim and yellow fringe. Abdomen: short, broad, the first segment and upon the second segment a very broad, basally expanded, medial vittae slightly expanded before the apex and continued at this width over the third segment where it is expanded again apically. Fourth segment wholly black except for its post margin; it has a central, slender, transverse, medially indented, shining black fascia. The black portion only of the third seg- ment has a similar indented shining fascia. Segments two to four have each a wide yellow post margin; the sides of the second and third segment are left broadly light yellow, with in places a brownish tinge. The pile upon the black areas is black and is yellow basally upon the second segment and the corners of the third and fourth. Legs: shining black, the bases of the first four tibiae and the extreme base of hind tibiae brownish. Hind femora very little thickened, its pile golden except for a few black apical hairs and ventral short and long black bristles on the apical half. The hind tibiae ends transversely; hind trochanter without special hair. Wings: hyaline and bare. Holotype : a male. Bogota, Department Cundinamarca, alti- tude 2 600 meters (Osorna, collector).
Eristalis antiopa n. sp.
Mesonotal pattern as found in fwcatus Wiedemann; scutel- lum slaty black, legs black, abdomen bluish-black. Female. Length 9.5 mm. Head: eyes short, yellowish-brown pilose; the face, cheeks and front are shining bluish-black, the latter yellow just before the antennae; the sides of the face are broadly silver pubescent and pilose. This pile extends laterally up to the middle of the front. The central frontal pile and occipital pile is widely black throughout. All but the upper part of the front is blackish pollinose, merging laterally into silvery pubescence; the front is bare just above the antennae and with a narrow, opaque, black vittae in the middle on the upper part. The antennae are black, the arista dark brown, bare and white- tipped. Thorax: the mesonotum is opaque bluish-black with a median black vittse proceeding from the base of the scutellum and dividing into two vittse in the middle of the posterior half of the mesonotum. There are a pair of similar undivided vittse



================================================================================

88 Psyche [Sept-Dec.
on either side in the middle running from scutellum to the an- terior margin and interrupted at the suture. The posterior sec- tion is slightly curved,' its lateral sides concave. The mesonotal pile is short and black, the pleural pile white, the scutellum blue-black, faintly shining, its pile chiefly black. The squamae are white with broad black margin and white fringe. Abdomen: black, the second and fourth segment has narrow yellow post margins; the second segment has a basal, posteromedially produced, opaque black fascia which does not reach the sides. It almost touches a rather wide, posterior black fascia which narrowly reaches the posterior corners. The third segment has a similar, narrower, less produced basal fascia and a shorter but equally wide posterior fascia. Fourth segment similar, each fascia still more reduced. Between these black opaque fascia the abdomen is shining metallic greenish-black. Legs: shining black, slightly greenish on the hind femora which are consid- erably thickened in the middle. The extreme base of the tibiae is dark brown; the first two joints of the middle tarsi are dark brown, the remainder of tarsi black. Hind tibiae ending trans- versely; hind trochanters without special hair. Wings: hyaline and bare.
Holotype : a female. Villarica, Paraguay (F. Schade) ; para- types: two females, same data, one in author's collection. Eristalis dorothea n. sp.
Related to scuteZZaris Fabricius, this species is characterized by the thick, soft, golden pile of the scutellum and parts of the mesonotum; half of the scutellum yellow; mesonotum with peculiar pattern.
Female. Length 12 mm. Head: the eyes are short brown pilose, the face, cheeks and front are black and moderately shining, the sides of the narrow produced face are thickly yel- lowish pubescent and yellowish pilose. The front is widely shining on the lower half and narrowly yellowish pubescent on the eye margins with an opaque black fascia on the upper half which is a little expanded along the eye margin; viewed obliquely there is a short, linear, yellowish pollinose vittae on the upper part of the front below the opaque black. There is a rounded protuberance in the middle above the antennae. An- tennae brown, the third joint blackish, the arista pale brown. Thorax: the mesonotum is moderately shining bluish-black



================================================================================

19421 Neotro pica1 Syrphidx 89
with across the middle, just behind and margining the suture, a lateral, evanescent, attenuated, medially club-shaped, opaque black fascia which is medially interrupted. On the anterior half of the mesonotum, anteriorly submarginal, there is a medially interrupted, wide black fascia. Pile of mesonotum yellow on the middle of the anterior half and in front of the suture, and in a narrow band in front of the scutellum in front of and on the post calli; elsewhere the pile is short and black. Pleural pile short and pale. The scutellum is opaque black on the basal half, brownish in the lateral corners, opaque egg-yellow .
on the remainder; its pile is short, dense and golden with a few longer yellow hairs on disc and rim. Abdomen: elongate, slender, apically pointed and shining bluish black; the first segment is opaque black on its posterior and lateral margins and corners. The second segment has a postmarginal fascia, medially indented, laterally attenuated, and a subbasal, medial, rounded, posteriorly acutely filate, opaque black spot. Viewed posteriorly the central portion of this segment is whitish polli- nose. The third segment has a similar, slightly wider posterior fascia and no anterior spot. The fourth segment has a post marginal, indented black fascia a little wider sublaterally. Pile of the abdomen very short, chiefly black on the black areas, whitish elsewhere. Legs: the femora are brownish-black, the apical half of first four tibiae diffusely dark brown and growing lighter basally and with pale yellow pile. The hind tibiae are quite flat, rather arcuate apically and with a very short scoop- like production. Its pile and pubescence is pale. Hind femora greatly thickened in the middle, quite narrow before apex, its pile chiefly brassy; its ventral apical half has many short black spines and some long black bristles. The short black spines reach to the basal third. Wings: pale grey, the stigma three times as long as wide, the wing almost wholly villose. Holotype: a female. Villarica, Paraguay, v (I?. Schade) . Microdon barbouri n. sp.
Characterized by the general greenish color, which includes the face, the broad base of the abdomen, and the emarginate scutellum, antennae black and longer than the face. Female. Length 11 mm.; antennae 3 mm. additional. Head: almost everywhere brilliant green; golden on either side of the antennae and eye margins, shining black just before the



================================================================================

90 Psyche [Sept.-Dec.
antennae with a narrow shallow depression on the lower part of the front, triangular in shape, the apex of the triangles of either side meet just above the shining black area. Pile of face light shining yellow and yellow across the lower part of the front, broadly behind the ocelli and over the whole of the green occiput. There is a band of dense black pile from eye to eye in front of the ocelli and a few black hairs in front of the antennae. The antennae are black, the first joint is as long as the last two, the second joint small, the third joint rounded, scarcely flattened with large, elongate subapical pore, its apex bluntly pointed. The arista is brown and thickish except at apex;
it is two-thirds as long as the third joint. Thorax: mesonotum brilliant, bluish-green, becoming golden in the mid- dle of the anterior half and violaceous just before the scutellum. The pleurae are green with a golden cast. The scutellum is green with a- purplish cast and translucent reddish by a re- flected light. The whole pile of the thorax and scutellum is rather thick and moderately long and light golden. Scutellum large, wide and long, emarginate posteriorly; the rounded apical productions are not very far apart; the indentation be- tween is shallow. Abdomen: broad, apically pointed, brilliant blue-green; it is golden in the middle of the first segment, still more so along the middle posterior part of the third segment and somewhat golden in the corners of the third segment, where it is continued over on the narrow lateral margins of the fourth segment and again in the anterior corners of the fifth segment. The junction of the gold and blue-green on the sides of the fourth and fifth segments is linearly violet. Pile of abdomen short, appressed, light golden, with on either side a broad, diagonal fascia of black pile on the second to fourth segments. Legs: femora golden-green, tibiae and tarsi light reddish-brown, the tibiae with faint greenish cast; all of the pile of the legs is thick, long and golden. Wings: uniformly tinged with light brown, the apical cross vein bulges outward and is broadly rounded without a spur. The posterior apex of the second posterior cell is similarly rounded.
Holotype: a female. Paranagua, Parana. March 1937. (G. Fairchild collector.) I take pleasure in naming this interesting and beautiful species for Dr. Thomas Barbour, the director of the Museum of Comparative Zoology.




================================================================================

19421 Neotropical Syrphidas 91
Microdon banksi n. sp.
Because of the shape of the arista this species slightly resem- bles pachystylum Will., but it is quite different in coloration and venation and other details.
Female. Length excluding antennae 6.5 mm.; antennae about 2 mm.; wing 5 mm. Head: eyes very widely separated, the upper occiput extremely thickened but with rounded posterior margin, the vertex shining brownish-black; the pile just in front of the ocelli, just behind it and again just in front of the antennae black, elsewhere the pile of the head is wholly shining pale brassy. Along the upper occiput near the eyes the pile appears to be directed towards the eye margins; upon the inner upper eye margins it is directed towards the ocelli; from a point in the middle of the very broad front it appears to be directed in all directions, and opposite this mid-point it is upon the eye margins directed first towards the antennae and then down ventrally towards the face. About the antennae the pile is slightly more reddish and upon the face more whitish. Face short, not in the least produced, quite convex, most so upon the lower half, the pile thick, abundant, shining and directed downward but not flattened. Viewed from in front the sides of the face are more equally wide, perhaps barely wider below than across the antennae. The ground color of the face in front is shining brownish-black. Antennae elongate, the first joint but little over one-half as long as the third and together with the second and the extreme base of the third reddish-brown. The third joint is black, slightly narrower in the middle, upon its outer surface slightly curved, about twice as thick as the also outwardly curved first joint; arista basally produced from the outer side, very short, and thickened into a basally blunt spear-shaped structure, the tip needle-shaped, the whole arista light reddish. Thorax: almost as wide as the head, moderately shining brownish-black with more or less erect black pile except as follows: some pale brassy pile bordering a lunate, shallow depression on each half of the anterior part of the thorax, again narrowly across the mesonotal transverse suture, upon a sub- lateral stripe along the posterior half of the thorax and again in acute short triangles, one on each side, reaching forward from the posterior margin of the mesonotum. Pile of scutellum wholly erect and pale; its ground color dark blackish-brown;



================================================================================

92 Psyche [Sept.-Dec.
the surface sharply flattened and roughened; without spines or emarginations. A bdomen : relatively short, compact, wholly dark blackish-brown, a little lighter upon the first segment; its pile thick, sharp and setaceous, chiefly black and only suberect. Along the posterior margins of the third, fourth and fifth seg- ments there is appressed, golden, quite sparse and scattered pile that is unusually long, it encroaches extensively upon the middle of the fifth segment but is scarcely present in the mjd- line of the third segment. There is a similar patch broadly and outwardly along the posterior margin of the second segment. Legs: the femora, except the narrow apices, very shining dark chestnut-brown, the pile over this area black. Apices of all of the femora, whole of tibiae and tarsi light yellowish-brown, also quite shining; tibia1 pile chiefly pale on the basal half, but reddish-brown apically. Hind femora very little thickened. Wings: broad, and deep, strongly tinged with brown, a heavy stigma1 cross vein present; the subapical cross vein on its basal half is rounded outwardly; it joins the third longitudinal vein at right angles, there is a well developed spur from the posterior corners of both the first and second posterior cell. Holotype: one female. Coast below Pico Turquino, June 20-30, 1936, Cuba 1936, Darlington collector. One paratype female, same data, in author's collection. I take pleasure in naming this interesting species for Pro- fessor Nathan Banks.
In the second female the lunate depressions of the thorax seem to be absent, the pile of the anterior half, at least on the sides, is almost wholly golden, there is a narrow median vittse of golden pile with a broad heavy stripe of black pile on either side of it interrupted at the suture and the lateral margins on the posterior half seem to be wholly golden pilose, the lateral margins of the anterior half of the mesonoturn however are black pilose. The third antenna1 joint is almost wholly light brownish-red, only the apical third being infuscated. Volucella osburni n. sp.
Related to sexpunctata Loew. There are only twelve bristles on the arista; the profile of the face is different. Male. Length 8 mm. Head: eyes densely brown pilose, the face cheeks and front light translucent yellowish-brown, a little more reddish on the lower part of the face and cheeks; the



================================================================================

1942 I Neotropical Syrphidce 93
latter is separated by a narrow black line. The pile of the face is yellow, of the front dense, long and black. In profile the tubercle is low and long. Antennae orange, the third apex of the joint considerably more narrow than the base. The dorsal rays of the arista are about twelve and blackish; the arista pale yellow. The vertical pile is yellow. Thorax: mesonotum and pleurae shining black, the wide lateral margins of the former including the humeri, the whole of scutellum and a spot in front of the scutellum light, subtranslucent brownish-yellow. All thoracic and scutellar pile is golden. Scutellar margin with three pairs of stiff yellow bristles and none in front of the scutellum. Marginal mesonotal bristles golden. Squamae and fringe yellow. A bdomen: light translucent brownish-yellow, the middle and the posterior border of the first segment, a median vittse and a lateral, elongate postmarginal fascia on the second segment shining black. Third segment with a similar but much narrower, medial, anteriorly attenuated, vittae and similar short fascia in the posterior corners. The fourth segment has a still narrower, median vittse attenuated at both ends and in each posterior corner an elongate vittate spot twice as long as wide. Pile of abdomen everywhere short, thick, erect and golden ex- cept on the black areas of the second segment where it is black. There are a few black hairs along the lateral portion of the post margin of the third segment. The whole pile of the fourth seg- ment is long, erect and golden. Legs: brownish-yellow, the anterior side of hind femora with an elongate, blackish-brown streak fading on the outer third. The narrow bases of the other femora are slightly blackish; the anterior and hind tibiae are narrowly blackish at apex; the last two tarsal joints blackish. Pile of legs golden except apically along the tibise. Wings:
hyaline with pale yellow veins and basal half of stigma1 cell pale yellow. Stigma brown, twice as long as wide, costal setae black.
Female. Similar to the male, the black cheek lines are faint or confined to a tiny spot on the eyes. Front pale yellow, the crescentic area along the eyes punctate, the area between the red ocelli blackish, its pile yellow. Mesonotum similar, the wide median black area replaced by light brown. The yellow pres-
cutellar spot may be quite large. Pattern of abdomen similar. The median vittae upon the second segment is reduced to a slender brownish streak; the first segment may be wholly



================================================================================

94 Psyche [Sept .-Dec.
yellow; the vittz upon the third and fourth segment are re- duced.
Holotype: a male) Villarica, Paraguay) X (F. Schade). Allo- type) a female and eight paratypes) all with the same data. I take pleasure in naming this species for Dr. R. C. Osburn. Baccha nectarina n. sp.
Related to phceoptera Schiner; the wings are wholly dark brown) the pattern of the abdomen is different. Male. Length 17 mm. Wings 13 mm. (longer than the ab- domen). Head: cheeks and face yellow) the former brownish in front, the latter brownish on either side of the yellow-brown tubercle) and forming apparently two diffuse vittz. The front is brownish-yellow and brown semicircularly in front of the .
antennz which leaves) in front of the semi-circle a light brown spot in the center of which is a large) shining black) rounded callus. The upper part of the front has a subopaque, blackish triangle) almost equilateral, its apex touching the convergence of the eyes. The upper eye margin of the front is linearly blackish. The pile of the face, front and vertex is black, and golden on the whole of the occiput. The antennz are orange and black pilose; dorsal margin of the third joint brownish-