Pollenia agneteae Rognes 2019, sp.nov.

Pollenia agneteae sp.nov.

(Figs 2–17)

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: 3C8A9E3D-C48F-48E7-A393-3BCF30A56480

Type material. Holotype ♂ (NHMUK), labelled (1) ARMENIA, Aragatsotn: / River Kasakh between / Alagyaz and Aparan, / N40°37' E044°20', 1950 m / 19.v.2012 A.C.Pont (Fig. 9); (2) HOLOTYPE (m) / Pollenia agneteae sp. nov. / K. Rognes des. 2018 [printed on red label]; (3) KR0000002605 [printed on white label].

Condition. The left wing is somewhat torn. The left mid leg below the left femur and the whole right hind leg are lacking (Fig. 2). I had an accident with the specimen and destroyed the outer segment of the fore tarsus of the right leg. The right lobe of ST5 was displaced (Fig. 6) and the sternite is broken into two parts (Fig. 17).

Etymology. The species is named in honour of my wife and companion for more than 40 years of fly work. The specific name is a noun in the genitive case, formed from the modern personal name of a woman (ICZN 1999, Article 31.1.2) by adding the suffix - ae to the stem agnete.

Diagnosis. As a member of the Pollenia semicinerea species-group (Rognes 1988), it is separable from all its congeners by the very broad frons and very elongate and distinctive cerci and surstyli. Description. Male. Length: about 9 mm (holotype measured after dissection). Ground colour black.

Head. Frons at narrowest point/head width ratio 0.150 (Figs 3–4). Frontal vitta almost twice as broad as frontoorbital plate at level of tip of ocellar triangle. Frontal vitta black; fronto-orbital plate, genal dilation and parafacial with thick layer of greyish-yellow microtrichosity. Facial membrane black. Genal dilation with black ground setulae. Area between anterior end of genal dilation, lower end of parafacial and vibrissa reddish. Lunula shiny reddish-brown, pedicel brownish-red, first flagellomere black. Facial carina distinct. Vibrissa well above lower facial margin. Occiput centrally with pale setulae hardly invading posterior end of genal dilation. Palpus black.

Thorax with almost no microtrichosity except on slope at anterior end. Yellow curly “ Pollenia hairs” sparse, mostly confined to (1) a small area around anterior thoracic spiracle, (2) the hind edge of the anepisternum, where it forms a dense brush behind the row of anepisternal marginal setae, (3) a dense cluster in upper part of anepimeron, just below lesser ampulla, and (4) on postalar wall. Pleuron with black setulae, but some pale setulae in upper posterior corner of katepisternum. Both thoracic spiracles yellowish-brown. Halter yellow. 3 postpronotal (“humeral”) setae; 1 outer and 1 inner posthumeral seta; 2 presutural and 3 postsutural acrostichal setae; 2 presutural and 3 postsutural dorsocentral setae; 1 presutural and 2 postsutural intra-alar setae; 3 supra-alar setae; 2 notopleural setae; 2 post-alar setae. Scutellum with 3 pairs of strong and 1 pair of weak marginal setae (latter on one side only) and 1 pair of discal scutellar seta near posterior margin; scutellum about twice as wide as long. Coxopleural streak present. Wing. Basicosta and tegula black. Costagium and veins yellow. Node at junction of humeral crossvein and subcosta bare on underside of wing. Cell r 4+5 open. Second costal sector bare on underside of wing. Node at junction of R 2+3 and R 4+5 with a few small setulae on upper and under sides of wing. Calypters pure white, also rim and hairs along rim. Legs. Fore tibia with 1 posteroventral seta and a row of shorter anteroventral ones (Fig. 7). Mid tibia with 1 large anterodorsal setae and 1 smaller one above it; 2 small posterior setae; 1 small posteroventral seta; 1 large ventral seta. [Left] hind tibia at middle with erect and elongate ground setulae (Fig. 8) [like in P. rudis; see Rognes (1987: fig. 20)]; with 2 anteroventral setae, 2–3 anterodorsal and 3–4 posterodorsal setae. Dorsal preapical seta on hind tibia much shorter than basitarsus. Hind tarsus as long as hind tibia (Fig. 2). All femora with black posteroventral ground vestiture.

Abdomen with conspicuous microtrichosity, with tessellations shifting according to angle of view. Dorsal side with adpressed ground vestiture (Figs 2, 5), ventral side with erect, elongate, and densely set ground vestiture (Fig. 5). ST1–5 as in Figs 6, 16–17. ST2–4 all slightly longer than wide. Terminalia (Figs 10–15). Cerci and surstyli narrow and long. Cerci (Figs 10–11) slightly bent backwards distally, very narrow throughout in posterior view, slightly and evenly converging, a small cleft present at tip; in proximal two-thirds with long erect setae in lateral view (Fig. 11). Surstylus narrowing evenly towards tip in lateral view, with a rounded tip; extreme tip slightly bending outwards in posterior view (Fig. 10); surstyli converging slightly in posterior view (Fig. 10); surstylus with short, rather strong setae in less than distal half of inner surface—beginning a short distance behind tip—and with short weak setulae on outer surface in posterior view. Phallus with a median hypophallic lobe projecting midventrally slightly behind base of paired lateral hypophallic lobes. Latter with a rather narrow central sclerotisation (Figs 12, 14). Pre- and postgonites as in Fig. 15.

Relationships. The dark body colour, the thin layer of microtomentum on the body, the black basicosta and tegula, and the narrow cerci, together with the structure of the phallus, suggest that P. agneteae sp. nov. belongs in the Pollenia semicinerea species-group as defined by Rognes (1988). However, the very broad male frons at its narrowest (0.15x head width) separates it from other members of the group, where the frons is about 1–1.5x as wide as anterior ocellus and narrower than distance between posterior ocelli inclusive (Rognes 1988: 316). The frons to head width ratio is 0.013–0.032 in P. grunini Rognes, 0.016 in P. mystica, 0.014–0.026 in P. pectinata Grunin and 0.020–0.050 in P. semicinerea Villeneuve (Rognes 1988). Only P. paragrunini Rognes has a similar ratio (0.031–0.100) to that of P. agneteae sp. nov., but the terminalia of P. paragrunini are very different (see Figs 10–15 and 27–32).