Dasyhelea flavifrons Guerin-Meneville
Creators: name: Grogan, William L.
name: Díaz, Florentina
name: Spinelli, Gustavo R.
name: Ronderos, Maria M.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2019
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Diptera
Ceratopogonidae
Dasyhelea
Dasyhelea flavifrons

description: Dasyhelea flavifrons (Guérin-Méneville)
Ceratopogon flavifrons Guérin-Méneville, 1833: 165 (France).
Dasyhelea flavifrons: Kieffer 1919: 51 (combination); Szadziewski & Dominiak 2006: 142 (in review of European synonyms in Ceratopogonidae); Borkent & Grogan 2009: 11 (in Nearctic catalog; distribution); Borkent, 2016: 65 (in online World catalog).
Dasyhelea oppressa Thomsen, 1935: 285 (New York); Wirth 1965: 127 (in Nearctic catalog; distribution); Waugh & Wirth 1976: 230 (in revision of eastern USA Dasyhelea; distribution); Wilkening et al. 1985: 519 (Florida county records); Hribar & Grogan 2005: 231 (records from Monroe County, Florida); Szadziewski & Dominiak 2006: 142 [as synonym of D. flavifrons (Guérin-Méneville)]; Borkent & Grogan 2009: 11 (in Nearctic catalog; distribution; as synonym of D. flavifrons); Grogan et al. 2016: 208 (Guadeloupe records).
Diagnosis. The only Neotropical species of the grisea group with the following combination of characters. Males with slender, distally recurved asymmetrical gonocoxal apodemes; paramere usually fused with right apodeme, the distal portion elongate, curved, apex usually bent ventrolaterally, tip pointed; gonocoxite with or without small basomesal spur; gonostylus straight to slightly curved, surface pubescent except for apex, tip rounded or pointed; aedeagus with heavily sclerotized basal portion and tapered posterolateral arms; and tergite 9 elongate, tapered distally with moderately narrow straight posterior margin and long cylindrical apicolateral processes. Females with subgenital plate bearing a pair of basolateral pointed projections and distal portion more or less arrowhead-shaped; and spermatheca subspherical with long neck region that is often recurved, retort-like.
Discussion. This common Holarctic species was previously known in North America as D. oppressa Thomsen. Szadziewski & Dominiak (2006) regarded D. oppressa as a junior synonym of D. flavifrons and they listed 11 other specific synonyms in the Palearctic region. Dasyhelea flavifrons was recently recorded from the Neotropics in the Caribbean region from Guadeloupe (Grogan et al. 2016). We provide the first records of D. flavifrons from Curaçao.
Material examined. CURAÇAO, Christoffel, Nat. Pk., Weg Narr, Playa Kanoa, 12°9ʹ7.82ʹʹ N, 68°52ʹ9.13ʹʹ W, 10-XI-2014, M. C. Thomas, blacklight trap, 1 female; same data except Weg Naar, Playa Kanoa nr. cement Plant, 6-XII-2015, 1 female; same data except Piscadera, 0.5 km N of Carmbi, 12°7ʹ36.88ʹʹ N, 69°58ʹ14ʹʹ W, 6-XI-2014, 1 female; same data except Piscadera Baai, 5-XII-2015, Blacklight trap in mangroves, 4 females; same data except Christoffel Nat. Pk., 12°20ʹ40.29ʹʹ N, 69°06ʹ29.59ʹʹ W, 9-X 1I-2015, R. Turnbow, Thorn scrub area, 13-XI- 2014,1 female. New Curaçao record.
description: Published as part of Grogan, William L., Díaz, Florentina, Spinelli, Gustavo R. & Ronderos, Maria M., 2019, The Biting Midges of the Caribbean island Curaçao (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) I. Species in the genus Dasyhelea Kieffer, pp. 301-325 in Zootaxa 4700 (3) on pages 306-307, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4700.3.1, http://zenodo.org/record/3548509