Pieza rhea Evenhuis, 2002, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Evenhuis, Neal L.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2002
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Diptera
Bombyliidae
Pieza
Pieza rhea

description: Pieza rhea, sp. nov.
Male. Length: 1.05­1.34 mm. Head. Black. Eyes dichoptic; ocelli forming a narrow triangle; lateral ocellus 1.5 its diameter from inner eye margin; frons slightly longer than wide, depressed medially; antenna black, scape minute; pedicel slightly wider than long; first flagellomere short, ovoid, broadest at or slightly beyond middle, slightly longer than wide; length of second flagellomere equal to width of first flagellomere; proboscis black, projecting beyond oral margin for distance 1.5 head height; occiput black, with sparse black hairs.
Thorax. Mesonotum dull black; humeral callus, interhumeral triangular mark, lateral margin (broad and deeply incised behind prealar suture), postalar callus, narrow admedian vitta, and prescutellar area yellow; black color of mesonotum not reaching base of scutellum; dorsum of mesonotum with scattered black hairs; scutellumyellow, spot of black basomedially, with scattered dark hairs; pleura with upper portion yellow to yellowish white, lower portion black; coxae and femora dark brown to black on basal 1/2; apical tarsal segments black; otherwise legs yellowish; halter withstem and knob yellow.
Wing. Hyaline; veins brown; costa ending at midpoint between end of veins R4+5 and M1; cell r4+5 longer than cell dm; vein R2+3 arising at nearly 90°; cell dm narrowed apically; vein at base of cell m1 shorter than r­m crossvein.
Abdomen. Dorsum dark brownish; tergites I­II yellowish laterally, tergites III­VI with narrow yellow to yellowish white fasciae on posterior margin of each segment; dorsum with scattered yellowish hairs; venter yellow.
Genitalia. Not dissected.
Female as in male except as follows: genitalia (Fig. 18) with vaginal furca V­shaped, lateral processes long, thin; spermathecal reservoir as in deresistans but sclerotized for more of its length; apical spermathecal duct long, thin, tapering from reservoir to sperm pump; sperm pump membranous, flared apically, one­half length of apical duct; basal spermathecal duct subequal in length to sperm pump, fused with common duct at vaginal orifice.
Types. Holotype male and allotype female from UNITED STATES: Florida: Highlands County: Archbold Biological Station, Lake Placid, 6.xi.1986, on flowers of Polygonella gracilis, M. Deyrup. Paratypes: 2 males, topotypic, collected with the types; 1 male, topotypic, 30.x.1987, M. Deyrup; 1 male, topotypic, 1.xi.1987, M. Deyrup; 1 female, topotypic, 19.x.1992; 1 female, same data except, on flower of Polygonella basiramia; 1 female, Archbold Biological station, 15.x.1996, on flowers of Polygonella basiramia, M. Deyrup; 7 females, same data except 16.x.1996; 2 males, 13 females, same data except 17.x.1996, Grid Road; 1 male, 11 females, same data except 18.x.1996, on flowers of Polygonella gracilis, center fire lane; 1 female, same data except 21.x.1996; 6 females, same data except 22.x.1996, on Polygonella basiramia, scrub habitat, Rd 14A (all ABS); 8 males and females, topotypic, 8­14.x.1964, P.H. Arnaud, Jr. (CAS, USNM); 2 males, Vero Beach, 9.iii.1956 [collector unknown] (USNM). Holotype and allotype in USNM.
Etymology. The specific epithet derives from the Greek “ ” = flow, current, referring to the yellow to whitish pattern on the abdominal tergites.
Distribution. Known only from the above two localities in southern Florida (Archbold Biological Station and Vero Beach).
description: Published as part of Evenhuis, Neal L., 2002, Pieza, a new genus of microbombyliids from the New World (Diptera: Mythicomyiidae), pp. 1-28 in Zootaxa 36 on pages 21-22, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.156131