Estheria acuta
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 acuta

description: Estheria acuta (Portschinsky, 1881)
(Figs 5, 17, 29, 41, 57, 83, 96, 111)
Syntomocera acuta Portschinsky, 1881: 141. Type locality: Akstafa (Azerbaijan). Holotype ♂ (?ZIN) not examined. References: Herting & Dely-Draskovits (1993: 363; Palearctic catalog); Cerretti & Tschorsnig (2012: 272, 284; species and key).
Diagnosis. Frons of male 1/9–1/10 of head width; three strongest postpronotal setae arranged in a triangle; 4 presutural and 4 postsutural dorsocentral setae; male abdomen usually more or less red-brown in ground colour, female abdomen predominantly red-yellow.
Redescription. Body length: 10.5–11.5 mm.
Head covered with yellowish-gray pruinosity, frontal vitta dark brown, gena and lunule reddish-brown; antenna reddish-yellow except for 1 st flagellomere dark. Frons 0.1–0.11 of head width in male, 1.35–1.60 of head width in female, distinctly narrower than fronto-orbital plate; parafacial about 2.5 times as wide as 1 st flagellomere; facial carina low and indistinct; genal height about 2/3 of eye height; lower facial margin not or only slightly protruding; upper occiput with 1–2 rows of black hairs below postocular setae; 10 frontal setae; ocellar seta strong, longer than frontal seta; inner vertical setae crossed, about 0.6 of eye height or less, outer vertical seta indistinct; vibrissa inserted above lower margin of face. Antenna falling short of lower margin of face by more than antennal length, 1 st flagellomere 1.2–1.3 times as long as pedicel; pedicel with a strong seta, about as long as arista; arista plumose, aristal hairs 0.8–1.3 times as long as width of 1 st flagellomere; palpus slender, about as long as prementum; prementum 4–5 times as long as wide.
Thorax with yellowish-gray pruinosity, with 4 dark longitudinal vittae on dorsum, inner vitta on presutural scutum about 1/3 width of pruinose area between inner and outer vittae; postpronotal lobe reddish-brown; scutellum reddish-brown except dark base. Postpronotal lobe with 4–6 setae, the three strongest nearly arranged in a triangle; 2 presutural and 2 to 3 postsutural acrostichal setae, 4 presutural and 4 postsutural dorsocentral setae; 3 postsutural intra-alar setae; 4–5 supra-alar setae, the first one short; proepisternum and prosternum bare, prosternum about 2.5 times as long as wide; 5 pairs of marginal scutellar setae, 2–3 pairs of discal scutellar setae, apical scutellar setae crossed and strong, as long as scutellum, subapical setae reaching apex of apical setae, prebasal and lateral setae slightly shorter than apical setae; 3 katepisternal setae, 1 anepimeral seta. Wing hyaline, brownish, brown-clouded along crossveins r-m and dM-Cu; tegula and basicosta dark brown, at most brown; halter yellow except dark brown apex; calypters milk white, yellowish white on outer margin; lower calypter with short hairs on outer margin. Relative lengths of 2nd, 3rd and 4th costal sections approximately 3:7:4; costal spine as long as crossvein r-m; radial node with setulae dorsally and ventrally; cell r 4+5 closed at wing margin, bend of vein M nearly right-angled, with an appendix which is shorter than crossvein r-m. Legs dark brown except tibiae reddishyellow in middle part. Fore tibia with a row of short anterodorsal setae on upper 2/3 and 2 posterior setae; fore claws and pulvilli as long as or longer than 5th tarsomere; mid femur with 3–5 anterior setae, mid tibia with 3 strong anterodorsal, 1 posterodorsal, 2 posterior and 2 ventral setae (upper one short, lower one strong); hind tibia with 4 anterodorsal, 4 posterodorsal and 2 ventral setae, 2 preapical dorsal and 1 preapical anteroventral setae, posteroventral seta short.
Abdomen long-ovate, reddish-brown in ground colour; tergites entirely covered with dense grayish-white to grayish-yellow pruinosity. Syntergite 1+2 medially excavated to posterior margin, without median marginal setae, with 1 lateral marginal seta and 3–4 lateral discal setae; tergite 3 with 2 median marginal setae, 1–2 lateral marginal setae and 1 lateral discal seta; tergite 4 with 2 median discal setae, a row of marginal setae and 1–2 lateral discal setae; tergite 5 with rows marginal and discal setae. Male terminalia as in Figs 5, 17, 29, 41).
Material examined. China, Shanxi: 3 ♂♂, Hunyuan, Hunyuan Forestry Center, 13.VII.1985, M.- F. Wang leg. (SYNU).
Distribution. Azerbaijan, China *, Hungary, Romania, Turkey.
Remarks. We did not examine the holotype specimens of E. acuta, but identified it using the key of Cerretti & Tschorsnig (2012). This species appears to be similar to E. microcera (Robineau-Desvoidy), but differs in having a wider frons, shorter prementum, 4 presutural and 4 postsutural dorsocentral setae, and reddish-yellow abdomen in ground colour.
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 pages 12-13, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4603.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/2841928