Phytomia varians Curran
Creators: name: Meyer, Marc De
name: Goergen, Georg
name: Jordaens, Kurt
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2020
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Diptera
Syrphidae
Phytomia
Phytomia varians

description: Phytomia varians Curran   
(Figs 17, 57, 79)  
 Phytomia varians Curran, 1927b: 361   
 Material examined. HOLOTYPE: ♀, CONGO (DR), Moma, Equateur, June 1925, J. Ghesquière (KMMA). PARATYPES: CONGO (DR), 1♂ (labelled allotype) 1♀, same as holotype (KMMA); 1♀, Moto, Haute-Uele, October–November 1923, L. Burgeon (AMNH). Other material: CONGO (DR), 2♀, Moma, Equateur, June 1925, J. Ghesquière (1 F labelled Prince Leopold as co-collector) (KMMA); 1♀, Medje, 1–7.IX.1910, Lang & Chapin (AMNH).   
 Body size. Body length (n=7): 13.0– 15.1 mm. Wing length (n=7): 10.0–11.0 mm.   
 Redescription. MALE (Fig. 17). Head. Eye bare; holoptic, touching for 3–4 times length of ocellar triangle, facets enlarged in dorsal half. Frons black-brown; with brown pollinosity; dispersed pilosity of short to medium long pale yellow pile; rugose area shining brown, occupying one-third of entire width and more than half of entire height; with shorter dispersed pale pile. Face ground colour brown; with dispersed greyish brown pollinosity, in parts weakly shining black; dispersed pilosity of short pale pile; facial tubercle elongated, strongly pronounced. Gena colour and pollinosity as face; with long pale pilosity. Occiput dorsal third black, with greyish pollinosity; ventrally more densely yellow-white, with dispersed pale pile. Antennal segments orange-brown to brown; arista yellowish, in basal half with medium long pile equal to width of pedicel.   
 Thorax. Scutum and scutellum black ground colour, with brown pollinosity; covered with dense pile of short yellow to orange-brown pile, anteriorly somewhat longer; scutellum mostly with black pile except along posterior margin where pale. Pleural sclerites ground colour black, with brownish pollinosity; covered with dispersed pile of long golden yellow to orange pile except anepimeron with black pile; meron, anterior part of katepisternum and anterior anepisternum bare.   
 Legs. Brown to yellow-orange. Fore leg, femur mainly brown, apical margin narrowly paler; with dense short black pilosity, anteriorly and posteriorly longer; tibia pale in basal half, otherwise orange-brown; with short black pilosity, except in basal half where pale; tarsal segments yellow-orange. Mid leg as in fore leg, except tibia pale for more than basal half, distally darker yellow, over entire length with short pale pilosity. Hind leg, femur brown, in basal fourth and at apical tip paler; dorsally and ventrally with medium long to long pale pilosity, ventrally in apical fourth with dense row of long dark bristly pile, otherwise short pale pilosity; tibia brown, pale in basal two-fifths; with short to medium-long dense pale pilosity; tarsal segments yellow-orange.   
 Wing (Fig. 57). Hyaline. Microtrichia only narrowly at base and with small patch in medial part cell r. Calypters dark with fringe of dark pile.   
 Abdomen (Fig. 79). Mainly black-brown except anterior third to half of tergum 2 where yellowish to orange, anterolaterally more extensively so. Terga 3–4 with anterolateral pair of orange maculae. Terga 2–4 densely pollinose; no distinct bullae but slight medial swelling, especially on tergum 2; pilosity with dense short to medium-long golden yellow pilosity, tergum 2 with pilosity more densely so anterolaterally, along posterior margin short black, in medial part reaching swelling. Sterna brown, with widely dispersed long pale pile.   
 FEMALE. As male except for the following character states. Eye, facets of equal size; dichoptic. Frons with greyish to greyish brown pollinosity rugose area shining brown; occupying slightly more than one-fourth of entire width and equal in height to ocellar triangle. Face more orange-brown. Wing more fumose and microtrichia area more pronounced.   
 Distribution. Congo (DR).
description: Published as part of Meyer, Marc De, Goergen, Georg & Jordaens, Kurt, 2020, Taxonomic revision of the Afrotropical Phytomia Guérin-Méneville (Diptera: Syrphidae), pp. 201-250 in Zootaxa 4803 (2) on pages 237-239, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4803.2.1, http://zenodo.org/record/3909047