Blepharoneura chaconi Norrbom & Condon 2010, new species
Creators: name: Norrbom, Allen L.
name: Condon, Marty
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2010
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Diptera
Tephritidae
Blepharoneura
Blepharoneura chaconi

description: Blepharoneura chaconi Norrbom & Condon, new species   
Figs. 23–24, 87, 108, 116–117, 149  
 Diagnosis. This species differs from other species of Blepharoneura by the following combination of characters: Scutellum with pair of submedial brown marks or with single large inverted U-shaped or inverted triangular brown mark; anepisternum entirely yellow; notopleuron with brown spot lateral to posterior seta; anepimeron with brown mark on posterior half; and cell r4+5 proximal to dm-cu more extensively hyaline than brown. The aculeus is most similar to B. mikenoltei and mexicana, lacking small scales on the medial membrane, and the tip with a moderately broad medial concavity and 4 pairs of step-like lobes, but the gap between the medial and submedial lobes is shallower than in both of those species.   
 Description. Head (Fig. 87): Dark brown area on ocellar tubercle extended well beyond postocellar seta (by distance equal to distance between postocellar setae), subtriangular beyond seta. Medial occipital sclerite with pair of dark brown submedial vittae on ventral half. Occipital suture narrowly dark brown.   
Thorax: Postpronotal lobe entirely yellow or with minute brown spot at junction with anepisternum. Scutum entirely microtrichose, with 2 pairs of dark brown vittae; submedial vitta occasionally narrowed slightly posterior to transverse suture but uninterrupted and extended to or almost to level of dorsocentral seta, rarely (1 specimen [USNMENT00048386]) connected to mark on posterior margin; sublateral vitta narrowly interrupted at transverse suture and narrowly separated from mark on posterior margin; posterior margin with 1 broad brown mark narrowed medially. Notopleuron on lateral margin with brown spot posteriorly, usually (11 of 16 specimens) also with smaller anterior spot. Small brown spot anterior to postsutural supra-alar seta present, sometimes (4 of 16 specimens) faint. Brown vitta anterior to postalar seta present, sometimes (5 of 16 specimens) faint. Brown spot, usually large, lateral to dorsolateral corner of scutellum present. Scutellum with pair of triangular submedial brown marks or with single inverted U-shaped or large inverted triangular brown mark. Subscutellum and mediotergite brown except narrow medial vitta orange and extreme dorsolateral corner of mediotergite yellow. Pleuron (Fig. 108) yellow, with following brown areas: small to large spot on posterior half of anepimeron; dorsal, posterior and ventral edges of katatergite; all of anatergite; large spot on meron; and sometimes 1–2 small spots or (3♂) 1 large triangular mark on katepisternum. Basalare entirely yellow. Dorsocentral seta aligned with or usually slightly anterior to postalar seta.  
Legs: Mostly yellow. Mid and hind femora with elongate, usually moderately broad anteroventral and posteroventral dark orange to red brown marks on apical 1/4–1/3.  
Wing (Figs. 23–24): Length 6.50–8.02 mm, width 2.70–3.47 mm, ratio 2.18–2.41. Crossvein r-m at 0.58– 0.63 distance from bm-cu to dm-cu. Cell c with 2 rectangular to inverted trapezoidal hyaline to subhyaline spots, both reaching costa and subcosta but often fading to pale brown on margins, especially posteriorly, or basal spot often mostly pale brown; medial brown area as dark as to slightly paler than area of cell r1 posterior to pterostigma, often paler medially, as broad as to broader than basal hyaline spot and usually as broad as to broader than distal spot. Pterostigma often without subapical hyaline spot (9 of 16 specimens), but small to large spot [#3] frequently present, sometimes (4 of 16 specimens) reaching R1. Cells r1 and r2+3 basally (proximal to apex of R1) with 2–3 and 0–2 pale brown to hyaline spots, respectively. Radial cells medially with 1 relatively narrow, rounded quadrate to inverted trapezoidal basal hyaline mark [#5] in cell r1; cell r2+3 with broad hyaline spot [#8] aligned with or slightly proximal to r1 mark, and slightly more distal very broad hyaline spot [#9]; cell r4+5 with large hyaline spot [#14] aligned with r1 mark and very large spot [#15] (more than 3/4 width of cell) slightly proximal to anterior end of dm-cu, usually connected or fused into 1 large irregular hyaline spot, and with small anterior spot [#48] near midlength. Distally cell r1 usually with 1 small marginal hyaline spot [#6] (absent in 2 specimens, second spot present on 1 wing of 1 specimen), usually also with 1–2 small hyaline posterior spots. Cell r2+3 with 1–2 marginal hyaline markings (with elongate proximal marginal mark [#10] extending to R4+5 and 1 smaller rounded submarginal or marginal spot [#11] or with 1 elbow-shaped mark [fused spots #10 and 11] reaching costa proximally and sometimes distally). Cell r4+5 with small hyaline spot [#16] on anterior margin aligned between apical marks in cell r2+3 or aligned with more distal spot, with large posterior hyaline spot aligned with proximal spots in cell m and sometimes with smaller hyaline spot aligned with distal mark in m, and with 1 small rounded submarginal or marginal hyaline spot [#18]. Cell m often with small proximal hyaline spot [#49] near midlength of dm-cu and with 1–3 large hyaline markings (2 marginal [#27, 29] and 1 anteromedial [fused #26A, #26] spots, anteromedial and proximal mark often partially connected or fused, or occasionally all 3 connected to form inverted V), anteromedial and distal spots often touching vein M. Cell br usually with subbasal hyaline spot [#12]. Cell bm usually with circular subbasal hyaline spot [#19], with larger subapical hyaline spot [#20], or with single broad hyaline area [fused #19, #20]. Cell bcu occasionally with irregular diffuse area in lobe but without distinct spot. Posteromedial part of wing with large broad hyaline areas; cell br with broad subapical hyaline spot [#13] and smaller more proximal spot [#44], occasionally partially fused; cell dm with long broad hyaline area [fusion of at least #51, #52, #21, #22, #23, #24, #50] aligned with large hyaline mark in cell cu1, anteriorly extended almost to or beyond level of r-m, transverse or tapered distally, extending as far as or farther posteriorly than anteriorly; cell cu1 with large medial hyaline area [fusion of at least #31, #32, #33, #34, #36], usually anteriorly trilobed and posteriorly bilobed, including 2 (rarely 1) anterior and 1 subbasal marginal or submarginal brown spots; subapical marginal hyaline spot [#37] large, reaching or almost reaching vein Cu1. Cell dm with moderately large anterior subapical hyaline spot [#25?] and 1 small to moderate sized posterior hyaline spot [#53] aligned with subapical mark in cell cu1.  
Abdomen (Figs. 116–117): Yellow with dark brown spots to predominantly dark brown. Syntergite 1+2 with 4 evenly spaced spots and 2–4 spots or bands on posterior margin, not connected medially, some or all more anterior spots occasionally connected with posterior spots or bands. Tergites 3–6 with 4 rows of evenly spaced dark brown spots and with lateral and posterior margins also dark brown, on posterior margin separated medially except sometimes on male tergite 5. Some or all spots and bands on tergites 3–6 frequently connected except medially where there is narrow irregularly margined vitta, in 3 specimens spots and bands largely fused, but at least medial vitta, anterior submedial yellow spot on tergites 3–5, and anterior sublateral yellow spot on tergite 3 present.  
Female terminalia: Oviscape entirely dark brown; length 1.20–1.40 mm. Aculeus (Fig. 149) 0.90 mm long, 2.80–3.05 times as long as wide, without scales dorsally or ventrally on membrane medially; tip angular basolaterally, relatively short triangular (lobed part 0.43–0.46 times as long as wide), with moderately broad shallow medial apical concavity (less than 1/3 as broad as distance between apices of submedial lobes) and 4 pairs of step-like lobes; sublateral lobe larger than submedial lobe; lobes separated by relatively deep gaps, lateral gap 1.87–2.00 times as long as wide, gap between medial and submedial lobes about 1/3 as long as wide. Spermathecae subspherical, with straight, slender sclerotized neck and large cylindrical basal apodeme.  
Male terminalia: Medial surstylus with prensisetae separated by several times width of medial prensiseta, medial prensiseta on curved lobe, lateral prensiseta small to minute, less than one-fourth as wide as medial prensiseta, acute, and orange brown (similar in color to medial surstylus, not dark brown like medial prensiseta).  
 Distribution. Costa Rica. The type specimens were collected at 2200–2600 m elevation.   
 Type data. Holotype ♀ (INBio INBio002151664), COSTA RICA: San José: San Gerardo de Dota, 400 m W of Albergue Savegre, LS 389000 484200, 2200–2300m, collected on Cyclanthera sp., on underside of leaf, abdomen green when alive, 21 May 1997, E. Rojas 97–ER-076. Paratypes: COSTA RICA: San José: Cerro de la Muerte, Estación Biológico Cuericí, 9°32'N 83°42'W, 2600 m, Malaise trap, Dec 1999, P. Hanson, 1♂ (UCRSJ USNMENT00213572); Río Savegre, 9°35'N 83°48'W, 2450 m, 29 Jun 2001, A. Freidberg, 1♂ (TAUI USNMENT00056536); San Gerardo de Dota, along Río Savegre, 9°33'N 83°48'W, 2200 m, on Sechium pittieri (Cogn.) C. Jeffrey (95CR15), possibly feeding on flowers, 8–10 Aug 1995, M. A. Condon & A. L. Norrbom, 2♀ (USNM USNMENT00048384–85); same, on Sechium pittieri (95CR15), 18–21 Aug 1995, A. L. Norrbom, 2♀ (USNM USNMENT00048388–89); same, on Cyclanthera langaei Cogn. (95CR14) or Sechium pittieri (Cogn.) C. Jeffrey (95CR15), mixed patch of plants, end of log site, 21 Aug 1995, A. L. Norrbom, 1♂ (USNM USNMENT00048390); San Gerardo de Dota, Albergue Savegre, LS 389000 484200, 2200–2500 m, 19–22 May 1997, F.A. Quesada, 2♂ 2♀ (INBio INBIO002410492, INBIO002410545–46, INBIO002410549); same, 19 May 1997, E. Rojas, 1♂ (USNM INBIO002539948) 1♂ (INBio INBIO002539949); San Gerardo de Dota, Finca Miguel Viquez, on stems or leaves of Sechium pittieri (Cogn.) C. Jeffrey (95CR15), 18–21 Aug 1995, A. L. Norrbom, 1♂ (USNM USNMENT00048386) 1♀ (CDFA USNMENT00048387).   
 Etymology. The name of this species is a noun in the genitive case honoring Ephraim Chacon, who along with his family and neighbors, preserved the forest that includes the type locality.   
 Biology. Adult specimens have been collected at San Gerardo de Dota, Costa Rica on Cyclanthera langaei Cogn. and, more commonly, on Sechium pittieri (Cogn.) C. Jeffrey (Figs. 210–211). Plants of two Sechium species and C. langaei frequently grow together at this locality. The adults presumably feed on leaf, stem, or some type of green plant tissues because the abdomen of one specimen had green contents when alive. Two females were observed with their heads in flowers of Sechium, possibly feeding, so this may be the more likely host plant. It is possible that the unidentified larvae feeding in nodes of this plant (see Biology section and Figs. 212–214) could be B. chaconi.
description: Published as part of Norrbom, Allen L. & Condon, Marty, 2010, Revision of the femoralis group of Blepharoneura Loew (Diptera: Tephritidae) 2374, pp. 1-139 in Zootaxa 2374 (1) on pages 57-59, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.2374.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/5315903