Revision of the Costa Rican species of Elachiptera (Diptera: Chloropidae)
Author
Mlynarek, Julia J.
Author
Wheeler, Terry A.
text
Zootaxa
2008
1754
41
51
journal article
10.5281/zenodo.181783
04a609cf-4646-4bf8-b5a7-d37a0247de39
1175-5326
181783
Elachiptera melinifrons
Mlynarek and Wheeler
,
sp. n.
(
Figs. 12–16
)
Description:
Total length 2.0mm. Overall colour yellow; head yellow, frontal triangle shining, reaching anterior margin of frons; ocellar tubercle black, shining; frons microtomentose; 4 fronto-orbital setae well-developed, interfrontal setulae pale; occiput yellow with two vertical black stripes extending from cephalic foramen to vertex (occiput darker in one
paratype
); gena pale yellow, microtomentose, genal height 0.2 times eye height; face pale yellow, shining; scape and pedicel yellow, first flagellomere reniform, yellow, slightly darker dorsally, arista brown, broad and parallel-sided for most of its length, pubescence shorter than width of arista at base (
Fig. 12
); palpus, proboscis and clypeus yellow.
Scutum yellow, microtomentose, slightly darker along ventral margin of notopleuron, pronotum black, scutal setulae short and sparse, scutum only slightly longer than wide; scutellum yellow, trapezoidal, 1.7 times wider than long, microtomentose, dorsally flat; apical scutellar bristles strong, on minute brown tubercles on dorsal margin of scutellum, lateral scutellar bristles stronger than adjacent setae (
Fig. 13
). Legs yellow, hind tibia with small, pale, ventral, apical spur; femoral organ not visible in
type
specimens; tibial organ oval, occupying middle quarter of hind tibia. Wing hyaline, veins pale, darker distally, ratio of costal sectors C1: C2: C3: C4—1: 1.2: 0.8: 0.4; halter white.
Abdomen yellow, darker laterally and medially; syntergite 1+2 almost 1.5 times as long as tergite 3.
Male postabdomen (
Figs. 14–16
): Epandrium higher than long in lateral view, wider than high in posterior view, with dense setae; surstylus long with slight widening and anterior bend at two-thirds of length to apex, surstylus with 4 strong anterior setae near base and sparse short setae elsewhere; cercus broad, with narrow ventral projection, cercus with sparse setae including strong ventral seta, cerci separated by broad semi-circular cleft; distiphallus sclerotized except at apex, tapering anteriorly.
Type
material:
Holotype
ɗ:
COSTA RICA
, San Jose, July, H. Schmidt (
USNM
).
Paratypes
: same data as
holotype
(1ɗ, 1Ψ,
USNM
).
Etymology:
The species name is derived from the Latin
melinus
(honey-coloured) and
frons
, referring to the pale yellow head.