Carpophthoromyia vittata Fabricius 1794

C. vittata (Fabricius, 1794)

(Figs. 8, 22, 26, 27)

Musca vittata Fabricius, 1794: 355.

Dictya vittata: Fabricius 1805.

Trypeta vittata: Wiedemann 1830.

Carpophthoromyia vittata: Austen 1910 (p.p.), Bezzi 1918 (p.p.), Bezzi 1924a (p.p.), Bezzi 1924b, Cogan & Munro 1980 (p.p.).

Carpophthoromyia amoena Enderlein, 1920: 356. syn.n.

Carpophthoromyia amoena: Munro 1935, Cogan & Munro 1980, Copeland et al. 2005.

Carpophthoromyia dimidiata: Copeland et al. 2005 (misident.).

Diagnosis

Arista with medium long setulae; three frontals; scutum with one transverse band; postpronotum white; scutellum completely yellow or with small apical spot, ventrally not passing beyond apical setae; no hyaline wing indentations; S­band and inverted V­band fused basally near vein A1+CuA2, subapically separate.

Description

Head. Antennal segments reddish brown. Arista with medium long rays, longest ones slightly more than half the width of first flagellomere. Frons yellow, upper third (area in between orbitals to upper margin ocellar triangle) sometimes brown, occasionally frons completely reddish brown. Three frontals placed on oblique line, with anterior frontal 2.5 times as far from the inner eye margin than posterior frontal; two orbitals. Face white to yellow, upper margin near antennal base and sometimes gena darker brown.

Thorax. Scutum shining black­brown; black setulae, except for one broad transverse band with silvery setulae anteriorly of transverse suture, median part of transverse band broader. Postpronotum white to yellow. Anepisternum with white to yellow band with lower margin reaching posteroventral corner or almost so; with pale setulae, lower margin to lower third with black setulae, two anepisternals. Katatergite black, anatergite largely white, sometimes both white. Scutellum white to yellow, ventrally with brown apical spot, not passing beyond apical scutellars and not visible in dorsal view, sometimes divided medially and/or hardly discernible. Subscutellum black.

Legs dark brown to reddish brown, tibia and tarsal segments yellow, at most basal margin of tibia slightly darkened.

Wing (Fig. 8). Anterior margin without hyaline indentations in cells c or sc. S­band and inverted V­band fused basally near vein A1+Cu2; separate subapically between veins R4+5 and M. S­band with subapical tooth. Crossvein DM­Cu strongly sinuous. R­M ratio 1.12­1.45.

Abdomen. Shining black­brown; with black setulae, tergite 2 with brown patches and/ or silvery setulae along posterior half. Spermatheca cylindrical. Female terminalia: oviscape as long as abdomen; shining black brown, with black setulae. Aculeus yellow to orange, cylindrical, about 10 to 20 times longer than wide (Fig. 22); aculeus tip darker orange and slightly downcurved (Figs. 26­27).

Body length: 6.01 (5.20–6.80)mm; wing length 6.27 (5.20–7.12)mm

Material examined

Type material:. Holotype C. amoena Ψ: CAMEROON, Buea, Marquardsen (MNHU). (Type material of C. vittata lost; previously in ZMK).

Other material: CAMEROON: 1ɗ, Ekok, 24mi E Tekmo, 650m, 11­12.X.1966, E.S. Ross & K. Lorenzen (CAS, via TAU). CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: La Maboké, 1Ψ, 6­10.XI.1967, L. Tsacas; 1Ψ, 3.IX.1970, L. Matile; 1ɗ, 13.IX.1970, L. Matile (all MNHN). CONGO (D.R.): 1ɗ, Ituri, Kasenyi, Lac Albert, 17.XII.1953, J. Verbeke (KMMA via TAU); Lukolela, left bank, 1ɗ, 20.XI.1930; 1Ψ, 17.I.1931, both J.P. Chapin (BMNH); Lukolela plantation, November 1934, J. Ghesquière (KBIN); 1Ψ, Lulonga: Bokata, 18.III.1928, E. Mestdagh (KBIN, via TAU); 1ɗ, Lulonga: Lokolenge, June 1927 (KMMA); 1ɗ; Stanleyville, January 1924, J. Ghesquière (KMMA); 2ɗɗ 1 sex unknown, Yangambi, 5.VII.1952, K. Schedl, “S.44­5” (KMMA). GHANA: 1ɗ, Accra, IV.1922, “in laboratory”, J.W. Scott Macfie (BMNH); Appam, 1ɗ, 14.X.1911; 1ɗ, 15.X.1911, both W. van Eeden (BMNH); 1Ψ, Bobiri, 23mi SE Kumasi, 21.XI.1959, N.O. Jago (BMNH); 1ɗ, Weshiang, R. Dainsu, 10mi NW Acrra, 24.XI.1912, H.F. Hamilton (BMNH); 1ɗ 1Ψ, ‘Guinea’ Mus. Westerm.’(ZMK). KENYA: Kakamega Forest, 1Ψ, 18.XII.1970, 5200ft, A.E. Stubbs (BMNH); 1ɗ, 8­9.XI.1983, I. Yarom (TAU); 1Ψ, 14.I.1996, I. Yarom & A. Freidberg (TAU); 3ɗɗ 1Ψ, 2.VI.2000, USDA collection number 712; 3ɗɗ 1Ψ, I. VIII.2001, USDA collection number 1431, both reared ex fruits Drypetes gerrardii, R.S. Copeland (KMMA). NIGERIA, 1Ψ, Ile­Ife, W. State, 10.IV.1972, J.T. Medler (BMNH); 1Ψ, Olokomeji, Ibadan. Bridwell collection (USNM). TANZANIA: 1ɗ, Ukerewe Island, Father Conrad (NMK). Unknown locality (probably Ivory Coast, C. Girard pers. comm.): 1Ψ, “ms 30­4­71 ”; 1Ψ, “lisiére, Ficus cap. 12­5­71 ” (both MNHN).

Distribution

Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo (D.R.), Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania; perhaps also Ivory Coast. The record from Zimbabwe (Hancock 1987) refers to C. dimidiata.

Host plants

As with C. dimidiata, C. vittata is also reared from Drypetes gerrardii in Kenya.

Comments

The identity of this species is rather confusing. The species was originally described by Fabricius (1794) who only provided a short description. This was based on a female specimen which is now lost (Verner Michelsen, pers. comm.). A shorter version of the description was repeated in Fabricius (1805). Wiedemann (1830) gives a redescription (under Trypeta vittata) apparently based on the original type. From both the original description and especially the redescription it is apparent that the type had a yellow scutellum and that the hyaline area between the S­band and the inverted V­band was complete. Wiedemann (1830) only mentions an incision (“einen braunen Einschnitt”) in the hyaline band. Loew (1861) describes the male sex of Trypeta vittata based on a specimen from Senegal. However, the diagnostic characters he provides correspond with Carpophthoromyia dimidiata and not C. vittata: apical part of the scutellum broadly brown, and the S­band and inverted V­ band connected, thereby interrupting the hyaline area between both bands. The illustration of the wing (Loew 1861: Tab. II, fig. 3) also clearly shows the connection. Unfortunately, subsequent authors like Austen (1910) and Enderlein (1920) followed the concept of Loew (1861) for recognition of C. vittata. This led Enderlein (1920) to describe C. amoena for those specimens with largely yellow scutellum and no connection between S­band and inverted V­band, characters present in true C. vittata sensu Fabricius (1794) as far as can be judged from the descriptions by Fabricius and Wiedemann. Consequently, C. amoena is considered a junior synonym of C. vittata. Bezzi (1923: 524) already pointed out that there might be some confusion regarding the identity of C. vittata, based on a specimen he studied from Mozambique. A year later (Bezzi 1924a) he added to the confusion by describing C. dimidiata, based on material from Natal, South Africa. He differentiates this new species from C. amoena by the presence of a connection between the S­Band and inverted V­band in the former, and from C. vittata by (among other, variable, characters) the scutellum being largely brown apically. Hence, C. dimidiata corresponds with C. vittata sensu Loew (1861) and Enderlein (1920).

Nevertheless, the material at hand still shows some variability with regard to extension of the hyaline break and the apical scutellar spot, with especially the material from Kenya showing transitional stages between typical C. vittata and C. dimidiata. We consider the material from western Kenya (like Kakamega Forest) belonging to C. vittata while material from Central (east of the Gregory Rift Valley) and eastern Kenya belonging to C. dimidiata.