Phyllomya elegans Villeneuve. Scale 1937
Creators: name: Shima, Hiroshi
name: Zhang, Wenxia
name: Tachi, Takuji
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2022
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Diptera
Tachinidae
Phyllomya
Phyllomya elegans

description: Phyllomya elegans Villeneuve, 1937
(Figs 7, 16, 25, 59, 76, 108)
Phyllomya elegans Villeneuve, 1937: 13 (as Phyllomyia). Lectotype female (USNM, examined), by designation of Crosskey (1976). Type locality: China, Sichuan (as “Szechuen”).
Phyllomya elegans: Mesnil 1970: 119 (key); Mesnil 1975: 1352 (revision of Palearctic spp.); Crosskey 1976: 72, 190, 273 (lectotype designation, conspectus of Oriental tachinids); Herting 1984: 155 (Palearctic catalog); Shima & Chao 1992: 639 (Yunnan tachinids); Herting & Dely-Draskovits 1993: 387 (Palearctic catalog); Richter 2004: 368 (tachinids of Russian Far East); O’Hara et al. 2009: 41 (Chinese catalog).
Diagnosis. Head dichoptic; 1–2 proclinate orbital setae in both sexes; parafacial with black hairs; pedicel with a long seta at most 2/3 as long as postpedicel; arista short plumose; no acrostichal setae; 2 presutural and 2 postsutural dorsocentral setae; 1 postsutural intra-alar seta; 2 katepisternal setae; costa haired above and below; costal spine indistinct; mid tibia with 2 anterodorsal setae; hind tibia with 3 preapical dorsal setae; male claws and pulvilli slightly shorter than 5th tarsomere.
Redescription. Body length: 7.7–10.3 mm. Male. Head with dense, silvery-white pruinosity, upper fronto-orbital plate darkened and occiput slightly grayish; antenna black; palpus dark brown to black. Vertex 0.31–0.35 of head width; frontal vitta slightly widened anteriorly, only slightly wider than fronto-orbital plate at middle; parafacial narrowed below, 2/3 as wide as postpedicel at middle height; gena 0.40–0.44 of eye height; occiput well bulged. Inner vertical setae converging apically, about as long as eye height; outer vertical seta 2/3 as long as inner vertical seta; ocellar setae rather fine, about 1/2 as long as inner vertical seta; 1 outwardly-directed prevertical seta, about 3/4 as long as inner vertical seta; 1–2 proclinate orbital setae, anterior seta slightly less than twice the length of posterior seta and slightly shorter than prevertical seta, posterior seta fine, about 1/2 as long as anterior seta; 6–8 fronto-orbital setae, lowest seta nearly level with middle of pedicel; fronto-orbital plate with 1–2 rows of sparsely-set, fine, short, black hairs; parafacial with a row of fine and rather long black hairs; postocular setae rather long and strong; occiput with short, black hairs on upper portion, whitish pile on lower 1/3. Base of antenna nearly level with middle of eye height; pedicel with a long seta at most 2/3 as long as postpedicel; postpedicel about 3 times as long as wide and 3 times as long as pedicel; arista short plumose, total width including plumosity at most 1/3 length of pedicel. Palpus weakly clavate, slightly shorter than postpedicel.
Thorax with thin, whitish pruinosity when seen from front, when seen from behind broadly black on median portion of presutural area of scutum, entire postsutural scutum and scutellum. No acrostichal setae; 2 presutural and 2 postsutural dorsocentral setae, if 3 postsutural setae present, then middle seta very fine; only 1 postsutural intraalar seta; 2 katepisternal setae; scutellum with 3 pairs of marginal setae, basal setae fine, shorter than scutellum, subapical setae about 4 times as long as scutellum, apical setae slightly longer than scutellum. Wing hyaline, evenly and weakly tinged with pale brown; basicosta black; calypter white; costa haired above and below; costal spine indistinct; relative lengths of costal sectors 2, 3 and 4 approximately 2:6.5:2.5; last section of vein CuA 1 about 3/5 as long as dm-cu crossvein. Legs black, with thin, whitish pruinosity on coxae, trochanters and femora; pulvilli pale yellowish; fore tibia with 3 anterodorsal and 2 posterior setae; mid tibia with 2 anterodorsal, 2 posterodorsal and 1 ventral setae; hind tibia with 4–6 anterodorsal, 3 posterodorsal and 2 ventral setae and with 3 equally-long preapical dorsal setae; fore claws and pulvilli slightly shorter than 5th tarsomere.
Abdomen nearly cylindrical, with whitish pruinosity on anterior 1/2–2/5 of each 3rd to 5th tergites, pruinosity broadly interrupted longitudinally on mid-dorsal portion. Hairs fine and rather sparse, absent on anterior 1/4–1/5 of each tergite; syntergite 1+2 with a pair of median discal setae, 2 pairs of median marginal setae and 1–2 lateral discal setae on each side; 3rd and 4th tergites each with 2 pairs of median discal setae, a row of marginal setae and 1 rather short lateral discal seta; 5th tergite with a row of discal and a row of marginal setae; 5th sternite with posterior lobe sharply pointed at postero-interior corner. Terminalia: Sixth tergite broadly separated into hemitergites, long triangular in lateral view, with a few setae on posterior margin; surstylus rather narrow, weakly narrowed posteriorly, with several long hairs; cerci broad on basal portion and evenly narrowed to a pointed apex in dorsal view, with distinct suture mid-dorsally, in lateral view weakly curved dorsally along apical 2/3, apex slightly flexed; pregonite flat; postgonite not extending beyond epiphallus; epiphallus short and broad, apex weakly curved ventrally; distiphallus with dorsal sclerite curved on posterodorsal margin; apical membranous portion elongate, as long as basal portion.
Type material examined. Lectotype ♀: Szechuen [= Sichuan] / China, DC Graham (USNM). Paralectotype ♀: China, Sichuan [as “Szechuen”], DC Graham (CNC).
Additional material examined. China, Sichuan: 2 ♂♂, Sichuan [as Szechuen], Emeishan [as Mt. Omei], 11000 ft., 21.vii.1935, D. C. Graham (USNM); 2 ♂♂, Mt. Omei, D. C. Graham (CNC); 2 ♂♂, Emeishan, Jingding, 2900–3030 m, 8.viii.1998, T. Saigusa (KUM).
Distribution. China (Sichuan).
Remarks. This species resembles the Palearctic species P. volvulus in general appearance, but differs from it in the number of acrostichal, dorsocentral and katepisternal setae on the thorax. It is known only from Emeishan in Sichuan, China. Mesnil (1957) recorded it from Japan, but Mesnil & Pschorn-Walcher (1968) and Mesnil (1975) did not refer to this record in their work on Japanese Tachinidae. Crosskey (1976) suggested that the species that Mesnil recorded from Japan might be P. takanoi Mesnil, 1970.
description: Published as part of Shima, Hiroshi, Zhang, Wenxia & Tachi, Takuji, 2022, A systematic study of Old World Phyllomya Robineau-Desvoidy (Diptera: Tachinidae), pp. 401-449 in Zootaxa 5099 (4) on pages 419-421, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5099.4.1, http://zenodo.org/record/6091813