Estheria decolor
Creators: name: Zhang, Chun-Tian
name: Shima, Hiroshi
name: Liang, Hou-Can
name: Li, He-Nan
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2019
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Diptera
Tachinidae
Estheria
Estheria decolor

description: Estheria decolor (Pandellé, 1896)
(Figs 7, 19, 31, 43, 59, 85, 98, 113)
Dexia (Dexiomorpha) decolor Pandellé, 1896: 153. Type locality: Hyères, Var (France). Holotype ♀ (MNHN) not examined. References: Herting & Dely-Draskovits (1993: 363; Palearctic catalog, as synonym of E. picta); Cerretti & Tschorsnig (2012: 273, 285; as a valid species).
Diagnosis. Frons of male 1/9–1/7 of head width; parafacial with setulae; 1 st flagellomere yellow, rarely light brown; 4 presutural and 4 postsutural dorsocentral setae; lateral presutural black vitta sharply outlined, wedgeshaped, reaching level of medial posthumeral seta anteriorly; 2 katepisternal setae; scutellum entirely yellow, with 4 pairs of marginal scutellar setae; wing brownish around crossvein r-m; abdomen reddish-yellow, with a narrow black mid-dorsal vitta; tergites 3 and 4 each with two pairs of median discal setae.
Redescription. Body length: 11.0– 11.5 mm.
Male. Head. Frontal vitta black; fronto-orbital plate, parafacial and occiput covered with grayish-white pruinosity; lunule reddish-brown; 1 st flagellomere reddish-yellow except apex dark; palpus reddish-yellow. Frons 1/9–1/7 of head width; fronto-orbital plate and parafacial hairy; facial carina narrow; genal height about 0.8 of eye height; occiput usually with a row of black setulae below postocellar row; 1 st flagellomere about 1.2 times as long as pedicel; arista plumose, aristal hairs about as long as width of 1 st flagellomere; prementum 3.0–3.5 times as long as wide.
Thorax covered with grayish-white pruinosity on dorsum and pleura, with 4 dark longitudinal vittae on dorsum, postpronotum at least partly reddish-yellow. Lateral presutural black vitta sharply outlined, wedge-shaped, reaching level of medial posthumeral seta anteriorly; two median presutural vittae narrow, separated by a distance 5 times the width of a vitta (posterior view); dorsum with 4–6 postpronotal setae, the three strongest nearly arranged in a triangle, 3 presutural and 3–4 postsutural acrostichal setae, 4 presutural and 4 postsutural dorsocentral setae, 3 postsutural intra-alar setae, 3 supra-alar setae, the first one short; scutellum with 4 pairs of marginal setae and 2 pairs of discal setae; 2 katepisternal setae, 1 anepimeral seta. Wing hyaline, brownish, yellow at base; tegula dark brown, basicosta reddish-yellow; crossvein r-m brownish-clouded; lower calypter yellowish-white, yellowish on margin, with short fringe on outer margin. Costal spine shorter than crossvein r-m, relative lengths of 2nd, 3rd and 4th costal sectors approximately 1.2:2.4:1; radial node with 4–5 setulae dorsally and ventrally; cell r 4+5 closed at wing margin, vein M with appendage at bend. Legs dark except trochanters and middle part of tibiae reddishyellow. Fore tibia with a row of anterodorsal setae on upper 2/3 and 2 posterior setae; fore claws and pulvilli longer than 5th tarsomere; mid femur with 3 strong anterior setae, mid tibia with 2 anterodorsal, 2 posterior and 2 ventral setae; hind tibia with 4 anterodorsal, 3–4 posterodorsal and 3 ventral setae, 2 apical dorsal setae, 1 apical anteroventral seta.
Abdomen ovate, reddish-yellow, with thick grayish-white pruinosity entirely covering tergites. Syntergite 1+2 excavated to posterior margin, with 1 lateral marginal seta and 3–4 lateral discal setae; tergite 3 with 2 median marginal setae, 1 lateral marginal seta and 2 pairs of median discal setae; lateral discal seta absent; tergite 4 with a row of marginal setae, 2 pairs of median discal setae, without lateral discal setae; tergite 5 with rows of discal and marginal setae and some irregular discal setae. Male terminalia as in Figs 7, 19, 31, 43.
Female. As male, except as follows: frons about 0.45 of head width; genal height 0.85–0.9 of eye height; 2–3 proclinate orbital setae; upper prevertical seta and ocellar seta stronger than upper frontal setae; outer vertical seta about 0.6 times as long as inner vertical seta. First flagellomere slightly longer than pedicel; prementum about 3 times as long as wide. Fore claws and pulvilli shorter than 5th tarsomere. Abdomen ovate, tergites 3 and 4 each with a pair of median discal setae; tergite 5 with a row of discal setae.
Material examined. China, Inner Mongolia: 1 ♂ (IOZE1689762), Tumuertai, 5–31.VIII.1971, Y.-S. Shi leg. (IZCAS); 1 ♂, Dongsheng, 11.IX.2006, M. Su leg. (SYNU); 2 ♂♂, 1 ♀, Xilinguole Prefecture, Maodeng pasture, 12–26.VII.2015, A.-P. Liu leg. (IGRCAAS); 2 ♂♂, 1 ♀, Wulanchabu, Siziwang Qi, Qianmen, 1–15.VIII.2015, A.- P. Liu leg. (IGRCAAS); 1 ♂, Baiyinxile pasture, Jiuliu experimental field, 13.VII.2016, K.-L. Lu leg. (IMU); 1 ♂, Hohhot, Wuchuan, Daqingshan, Shierdeng Village, 21.VII.2017, J. Gao leg. (IMAU). Spain: 1 ♂, 1 ♀, Salamanca prov., Villar de la Yegua, 9.VII.1990, H.-P. Tschorsnig leg. (SMNS; det. H.-P. Tschorsnig).
Distribution. China *, France, Spain.
Remarks. We identified this species by comparing European and Chinese specimens and using the key in Cerretti & Tschorsnig (2012). It appears to be very similar to E. picta (Meigen), but differs in having narrower frons in male, lateral presutural black vitta sharply outlined, wedge-shaped, reaching to level of medial posthumeral seta anteriorly, inner presutural black vitta narrow, about 1/5 width of pruinose area between inner and outer vittae.
description: Published as part of Zhang, Chun-Tian, Shima, Hiroshi, Liang, Hou-Can & Li, He-Nan, 2019, Four new species of Estheria Robineau-Desvoidy (Diptera: Tachinidae) from China and Nepal, with a review of the East Palearctic and Oriental species, pp. 1-38 in Zootaxa 4603 (1) on page 15, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4603.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/2841928