Psilota Meigen 1822
Creators: name: Young, Andrew D.
name: Skevington, Jeffrey H.
name: Steenis, Wouter Van
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2020
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Diptera
Syrphidae
Psilota

description: Key to the Australian species of Psilota
1. Face bare, abdominal tergite 3 with a distinct tubercle. Male dichoptic. Purplish-red species (Fig. 30).... P. purpurea sp. nov.
- Face pilose, abdominal tergite 3 never with tubercle. Male holoptic. Colouration variable, never purplish red............. 2
2. Hind femur with an apicoventral carina, either low and triangular, distinct and triangular, or distinct and lobe-like (Fig. 47C, D)................................................................................................ 15
- Hind femur simple, with at most an apicoventral patch of setulae............................................... 3
3. Face black or iridescent bluish-green, never yellow.......................................................... 5
- Face yellow.......................................................................................... 4
4. Abdomen dark brown with tergites 3 and 4 almost entirely yellow, tergites 3 and 4 with relatively long, dense, pale yellow pile. Scutum and scutellum with mixed black and yellow pile, scutellum sometimes with completely black pile (Fig. 7)............................................................................................. P. apiformis sp. nov.
- Abdomen with tergites orangeish-brown, with only short pile. Scutum and scutellum entirely yellow pilose (Fig. 38)........................................................................................ P. xanthostoma sp. nov.
5. Face with dense, bright yellow pilosity. Face coppery, vertex, thorax and abdomen strongly greenish-blue iridescent. Thorax mostly black pilose, with some mixed white pilosity on anterior half of scutum and posterior anepimeron. Legs black pilose. Tergites 1–3 black pilose. Antenna entirely bright orange (Fig. 5)................................ P. aislinnae sp. nov.
- Face with black or white pilosity, never bright yellow. Thorax and abdomen variable, but if iridescent blue or green, never as extensively black pilose. Antenna variable in colour.......................................................... 6
6. Entire body strongly iridescent. Head and thorax blue and green iridescent, abdomen red and green iridescent. Antenna entirely orange (Fig. 25)....................................................................... P. metallica sp. nov.
- Entire body usually not iridescent. If iridescent, then thorax and abdomen always blue or green, never green and red. Antenna variably coloured..................................................................................... 7
7. Wing with anterior brown vitta. Tergite 2 with two yellowish-brown triangular maculae, ranging from less than half the length of tergite 2 to spanning almost the entire length of the tergite (Fig. 12).............................. P. basalis sp. nov.
- Wing never with anterior brown vitta. Tergite 2 with or without yellow markings, but never with two triangular maculae... 8
8. Tergite 2 never with yellow markings, black or dark red...................................................... 10
- Tergite 2 either almost entirely yellow (Fig. 13), or black medially with lateral edges broadly yellow (Fig. 20)............ 9
9. Tergite 2 almost entirely yellow, usually with a posterior black margin, sometimes lateral margin also yellow. Tergites 1, 3 and 4 black, tergite 4 sometimes with frontal margin yellow (Fig. 13)................................. P. bicolor sp. nov.
- Tergite 2 black medially with lateral edges broadly yellow, tergites medially 3 and 4 black, usually also with lateral edges yellow. Tergite 1 black (Fig. 20)............................................................. P. flavoorta sp. nov.
10. Thorax black. Abdomen black or red, at most faintly iridescent blue on posterior margins. Postpedicel usually dark brown or black, occasionally dull orange with a brown dorsal edge..................................................... 12
- Thorax and abdomen iridescent blue or green. Postpedicel bright orange......................................... 11
11. Abdomen faintly iridescent blue, almost black. Calypter entirely pale (Fig. 22)........................ P. livida sp. nov.
- Abdomen iridescent indigo blue, mostly extremely bright, in some specimens just a little iridescent. Calypter dark at least at margin, usually entirely dark brown (Fig. 11).................................................. P. azurea sp. nov.
12. Abdominal tergites 2 to 4 mostly or entirely red (Fig. 17)........................................ P. cuprea complex
- Abdominal tergites entirely black, sometimes with faint iridescent blue posterior margins or with long bright yellow-orange pile............................................................................................... 13
13. Face faintly iridescent blue. Pollinosity on face restricted to two lateral triangles below antenna. Tergites 2 to 4 with faint posterior iridescent blue margins (Fig. 15)........................................................ P. calva sp. nov.
- Face black. Pollinosity on face uniform. Tergites 2 to 4 never with faint iridescent blue posterior margin............... 14
14. Scutellum entirely to almost entirely white pilose, with at most two apical and a few anterior black pile (Figs 8,9). Tergites 3 to 5 with long, dense, bright orangish-yellow pile in female (Fig. 9), in male with shorter, very dense black pile (Fig. 8)................................................................................................. P. auricauda
- Scutellum with mixed black and white pile, or entirely black pilose. Female never with long, dense, orangish-yellow pile on tergites 3 to 5, male with less dense, mostly partly white pile on tergites 3 to 5 (Fig. 35)................ P. tristis complex
15. Face faintly iridescent blue. Pollinosity on face restricted to two lateral triangles below antenna. Hind femur with a distinct apicoventral equilateral triangular carina (Fig. 24)............................................ P. mcqueeni sp. nov.
- Face colour variable. Pollinosity on face covering most of face. Hind femur with either a low triangular carina or a distinct lobe-like carina...................................................................................... 16
16. Hind femur with distinct lobe-like posteroventral apical carina, extending downwards from ventral side of femur at an approximate 30° angle (Fig. 47D)............................................................................. 21
- Hind femur with low posteroventral apical carina, not extending downwards, in line with ventral side of femur (Fig. 47C). 17
17. Body metallic blue. Face with extremely long, dense, yellow pile (Fig. 23)......................... P. longipila sp. nov.
- Body black or partly yellow. Face with pilosity variable, but never with long, dense, yellow pile...................... 18
18. Wing with apical tip dark brown. Large black species with mostly black legs (Fig. 14)............. P. brunnipennis sp. nov.
- Wing colourless or with anterior half faintly tinted brown. Never with distinct apical brown spot. Size variable, legs often orange............................................................................................... 19
19. Facial pile entirely pale (Fig 27)................................................................... P. nitida
- Facial pile at least partly black, usually with pile closest to eye pale (Figs 26, 33).................................. 20
20. Male genitalia with inner lobe of surstylus broadest near base, very nearly parallel-sided. Lateral edges of tergite 3 with many long, pale pile (Fig. 46A)............................................................... P. spathistyla sp. nov.
- Male genitalia with inner lobe of surstylus paddle-shaped, broadest near apex. Lateral edges of tergite 3 black pilose (Fig. 44E)................................................................................ P. nigripila sp. nov.
21. Tergites 3 and 4 with long, dense, tangled, bright yellow pile. Black species with orange legs (Fig. 32)..... P. solata sp. nov.
- Tergites 3 and 4 with black and/or white pile, never with long, dense, tangled, bright yellow pile. Body colour variable.... 22
22. Face dull orange to brown. Thorax metallic blue. Abdomen metallic green (Fig. 36)................ P. viridescens sp. nov.
- Face black. Thorax and abdomen variable................................................................. 23
23. Carina on hind femur entirely covered in thick black setulae on posterior side. Frons pale pilose. Abdomen faintly iridescent green (Fig. 34)....................................................................... P. spinifemur sp. nov.
- Carina on hind femur usually with setulae only on ventral rim. If medial side of carina completely covered in setulae, then frons black pilose. Abdomen variable......................................................................... 24
24. Thorax and abdomen distinctly iridescent blueish-green in ground colour. Pleuron usually shining, free of pollinosity. Frons pale or black pilose. If pleuron pollinose, then frons always pale pilose.......................................... 27
- Thorax black in ground colour, abdomen black or at most black with faintly blueish-green metallic sheen. Pleuron densely pale pollinose. Frons black pilose in male, in female black pile sometimes restricted to small area above lunula or missing completely............................................................................................. 25
25. Halter yellow to orange (Fig. 10)........................................................... P. auripila sp. nov.
- Halter with at least knob dark brown..................................................................... 26
26. Male genitalia with apex of outer lobe hooked sharply downwards towards base of surstylus. Abdomen black (Fig. 42G)............................................................................................... P. femoralis
- Male genitalia with outer lobe curved smoothly downwards. Abdomen with faint metallic blueish-green sheen (Fig. 47A)......................................................................................... P. zophos sp. nov.
27. Pleural pile almost entirely black, at most with a few pale pile near anterior and posterior spiracle. Scutum entirely dark pilose. Frons pale pilose. Antenna orange. (Fig. 16)........................................................ P. coerulea
- Pleural pile entirely white or with some dark pile intermixed. Scutal pile entirely dark pilose or with pale pile intermixed. Frons pilosity variable. Antenna variable in colour............................................................... 28
28. Pleuron white pollinose and white pilose (Fig. 29)............................................ P. pollinosa sp. nov.
- Pleuron shining and free of pollinosity, white or black pilose.................................................. 29
29. Antenna entirely dark, black to dark brown. Frons extensively black pilose (Fig. 21)................ P. fuscifrons sp. nov.
- Antenna entirely or almost entirely orange, at most with some brown on dorsal surface. Frons usually entirely pale pilose, sometimes with frons entirely black pilose or mixed black and white pilosity..................................... 30
30. Calypter pale or greyish, sometimes with dark brown rim. If calypter with brown rim, then pleural pile white........... 32
- Calypter entirely dark brown. Pile fringe on rim of calypter pale or dark. Pleural pile black or white................... 31
31. Pile on rim of calypter yellow, except at corner where upper and lower calypter meet, where pile is dark brown. Pleural pile mostly white with some interspersed black pile (Fig. 31)..................................... P. smaragdina sp. nov.
- Pile on upper calypter entirely white, pile on lower calypter entirely dark brown. Pleural pile white (Fig. 6)............... P.................................................................................. .. alexanderi sp. nov.
32. Tergites 3 and 4 mostly black pilose, with only lateral edges of tergite 3, and lateral and apical edges of tergite 4 white pilose. Frons with some black pilosity (Fig. 28)..................................................... P. occidua sp. nov.
- Tergites 3 and 4 with at least basal half of tergite entirely white pilose, sometimes entirely white pilose; never entirely black pilose medially with white pilose lateral edges. Frons pilosity colour variable..................................... 33
33. Legs partly orange, fore- and mid tibiae almost entirely orange. Calypter entirely white. Frons entirely pale pilose (Fig. 18). Male genitalia with outer lobe of surstylus smoothly curved downwards over entire length (Fig. 42E).... P. darwini sp. nov.
- Legs dark, tibia mostly orange with at least dark apical half posteriorly. Calypter often with a dark brown rim. Frons entirely pale pilose or with some black pile interspersed (Fig. 37). Male genitalia with outer lobe of surstylus bent downwards sharply at one-third its total length, with apex bent backwards towards base of surstylus (Fig. 46G)..................... P. viridis
description: Published as part of Young, Andrew D., Skevington, Jeffrey H. & Steenis, Wouter Van, 2020, Revision of the Psilota Meigen, 1822 flower flies (Diptera: Syrphidae) of Australia, pp. 1-127 in Zootaxa 4737 (1) on pages 17-19, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4737.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/3669490