Phortica eparmata

Phortica eparmata species complex Diagnosis

Anepisternum with a few setulae; arista lacking pubescence and branches on distal ½ (Figs 2A, 3A); aedeagal median rod expanded subapically (excluding P. lanuginosa Chen & Toda, 2007; as in Chen et al. 2007, fig. 29) (Fig. 2D, F); aedeagal basal bridge nearly tripartite (Figs 2D, 3D, 4C, 5C, 6C).

Males and females

HEAD. Eye brownish red. Ocellar triangle dark brown to black. Frons pollinose, grayish brown to black, with a few interfrontal setulae medially. Fronto-orbital plate often silvery white. Pedicel and first flagellomere grayish brown. Face grayish brown, with yellowish white patches on lower corners. Clypeus medially white to yellow, laterally dark brown to black. Gena grayish yellow to brown; postgena dark brown. Palpus somewhat triangular, grayish yellow distally, brown basally, with a few setae distally. Vibrissa prominent; other genal setae small.

THORAX. Mesoscutum and pleura grayish orange brown, with brownish to black patches and pollinose pattern. Postpronotal lobe pale yellow, with one long and a few short setae. Acrostichal setulae in ca. 6–8 irregular rows. Prescutellar setae usually one pair. Scutellum usually concolorous with thorax, with dark brown to black patch. Basal scutellar setae divergent; apicals cruciate.

WING. Hyaline, sometimes smoky; veins grayish yellow. Basal medial-cubital crossvein present; C1 setae 2, indistinctly differentiated. Costal vein with spinules on ventral surface between R2+3 and R4+5. R2+3 slightly curved to costa at tip; R4+5 distally convergent with M1. Halteres white.

LEGS. Yellow; femora usually brown to black except for apical portions; tibiae usually with three brown to black rings. Foreleg femur with 2–3 irregular rows of long setae on posterior surface. Preapical dorsal setae present on all tibiae. Midleg tarsus ventrally with two rows of minute cuneiform setulae on inner and outer sides; hindleg tarsus with one row of minute cuneiform setulae on underside; fore- and hindleg first tarsomeres each as long as three succeeding tarsomeres combined; midleg first tarsomere as long as other tarsomeres combined.

ABDOMEN. Tergites yellow to orange yellow; second to fifth tergites with broad brownish to black bands on posterior margins; sixth tergite nearly entirely dark, narrowed anterolaterally. Sternites usually grayish yellow.

MALE TERMINALIA. Epandrium almost not constricted mid-dorsally, with pubescence and setae; apodeme developed along anterior margins. Cercus almost oval, separated from epandrium, entirely pubescent and setigerous. Surstylus with numerous setae on outer surface. Membrane between epandrium and cercus pubescent. Hypandrium arched, usually with one pair of apodeme processes on anterior portion; posterior ends contiguous to lateral corners of gonopods and anteroventral corners of epandrium. Gonopods fused to each other, forming posteromedian plate, anteriorly forming vertical process. Parameres usually basally contiguous to anterior portion of hypandrium and tips of distally bifurcated ventral branch of aedeagal apodeme. Aedeagus composed of outer membranous tube and more or less sclerotized median rod; outer membrane posteriorly connected to vertical process of gonopod; median rod basally and/or medially connected to basal corners of gonopods by one or two pair(s) of bridges and basally contiguous to dorsal branch of aedeagal apodeme; basal bridge sometimes with sclerotized branch (Figs 2D, 3D, 4C, 5C, 6C); ventral bridge (termed inner paraphysis by Bächli et al. 2004) usually contiguous to medial process of aedeagus (as in Chen et al. 2007, figs 40, 44, 49, 53), sometimes elongated and dilated apically (as in Chen et al. 2007, fig. 57).

For the new species described herein, only characters that depart from the above universal description are provided for brevity.