Hexachaeta cundiboyacensis Rodriguez 2025, new species
Creators: name: Clavijo, Pedro Alexander Rodriguez
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2025
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Diptera
Tephritidae
Hexachaeta
Hexachaeta cundiboyacensis

description: Hexachaeta cundiboyacensis Rodriguez, new species
Figs. 1–2, 4–7, 9–13, 15
Diagnosis: Hexachaeta cundiboyacensis runs with difficulty to H. nigriventris in the key of Hernández-Ortiz (1999) but differs from it and all other species of the colombiana species group in having the following combination of characters: costal cell entirely pale yellow except a narrow brown area on anterior margin, darkening apically to pterostigma vs costal cell with dark marking occupying nearly of anterior mid length in H. nigriventris; proximal hyaline mark in cell r 1 projecting beyond vein R4+5 into br cell vs proximal hyaline mark in cell r 1 reaching vein R4+ 5 in H. nigriventris; abdominal tergite 1+2 entirely yellow, yellow with two laterally brownish spots, or yellow with broad brownish band on apical margin, tergites 3–6 and oviscape entirely brownish black; vs all tergites, including syntergite 1+2, entirely brownish black in H. nigriventris and the shape of aculeus tip as in (Fig.15).
Description
Female. Head (Figs. 4–5): Yellow to orange except brownish black ocellar tubercle, occiput entirely yellow to orange; 1.35–1.64 mm high and 0.75–0.88 mm wide; setae black except genal seta dark orange, 3 frontal setae, 2 orbital setae, posterior and lateral vertical setae well developed, 12–14 postocular setae; ocellar seta well developed, longer than frontal setae, frons with black sparse setulae, lunule bare. Facial carina concave. Postpedicel yellow to orange, twice as long as wide, rounded apically. Arista brownish black except base yellow to orange with few short black hairs from middle to apex. Palpus yellow with sparse pale orange setulae.
Thorax (Fig. 6): Mostly yellow to orange, with postpronotal lobe and lateral margin of scutum bordering it yellowish to white. Scutellum yellowish to white; subscutellum and mediotergite entirely yellow to orange without brown markings. Mesonotum 2.72–3.44 mm long. Postpronotal lobe, notopleuron, scutum and scutellum entirely microtrichose; 2 pairs of scapular setae; dorsocentral seta aligned one half to two-thirds distance from postsutural supra-alar seta to postalar seta; acrostichal seta strong, at level of intra-alar seta; 2 pairs of scutellar setae; 1 postpronotal, 2 subequal notopleural, 1 intra-alar, 1 postalar, 2 anepisternal, 1 katepisternal, and 1 anepimeral setae. Katepisternal seta black, well developed, as long as anepisternal seta. Scutal and scutellar setulae black. Legs: Entirely yellow to orange without brown markings.
Wing (Fig. 7): 6.80–7.86 mm long. Pattern dark brown; costal cell entirely pale yellow except anterior margin narrowly brown, darkening and slightly widening apically; cell r 1 with two hyaline markings, proximal mark extended to middle of cell br or vein M 1, distal mark extended into discal cell; discal and subapical bands jointed on vein M 4; anterior apical band approximately two times as broad as than posterior apical band, nearly reaching apex of vein M 1; anterior apical band and posterior apical band near to touch vein R 2+ 3 in cell r 2+3.
Abdomen: Female (Fig. 9) Predominantly brownish; syntergite 1+2 variable, all yellow, yellow with two lateral brownish spots, or yellow with broad brownish band on apical margin, tergites 3–6 entirely brownish black, tergite sometimes 3 yellow with brownish black band laterally. Male (Fig. 10) syntergite 1+2 variable: entirely yellow, yellow with two laterally brownish spots or yellow with a brownish broad band on apical margin, tergites 3–5 entirely brownish black. All tergites with sparse black setulae.
Male Terminalia (Fig.11): Epandrium dark brown with black setulae, in lateral view height than length, dorsally convex. Proctiger short, membranous, with ventral sclerite extending along the ventral side to the apex, with minute pale brown setulae. Lateral surstylus in lateral view 3.5 times longer than wide, with glabrous, slightly curved elongated acute apex and distinct dorsal preapical hook, two prensisetae tooth-shaped, well developed. Distiphallus as in (Fig. 12), moderately long and slender in ventral and lateral views very weakly sclerotized.
Female Terminalia (Figs. 13, 15): Oviscape entirely brownish black, 1.60–1.75 mm long; aculeus (Fig. 13) 0.80–0.90 mm long, aculeus/oviscape ratio 0.49, aculeus tip as in (Fig. 15) 0.08–0.09 mm long (n=20).
Distribution: Hexachaeta cundiboyacensis is known only from Colombia at locations in Cundinamarca and Boyacá departments between 861–2465 meters altitude.
Biology: Specimens from El Colegio locality (Cundinamarca) were reared from the fruits of Aegiphila integrifolia (Jacq.) B.D. Jacks. (Lamiaceae) (Fig. 17), and the larvae were found feeding inside the seeds (Figs. 18–20). Specimens of Opius (Bellopius) hexachaeta Kula and Aguirre (Braconidae) (Fig. 21) were also recovered in the samples parasitizing larvae of H. cundiboyacensis.
Etymology: The name of this species is derived from Cundinamarca and Boyacá departments where the type series was collected.
Type data: Holotype ♀ (MPUJ — ICAMF00000625) Colombia: Boyacá: Miraflores, vereda Ruista predio el Milagro, 5.2188°N 73.1803°W, 1559 m, McPhail trap 4. Paratypes: Colombia: Boyacá: Berbeo, predio El Pensamiento, 5.1927°N 73.0698°W, 1361 m, McPhail trap 112, 28 Oct 2015, ♂ 4♀ (ICAMF00000504). Miraflores, vereda Ruista predio el Milagro, 5.2188°N 73.1803°W, 1559 m, McPhail trap 4, 9 Jul 2020, 2♀ (ICAMF00000552); 23 Jul 2020, 2♀ (ICAMF00000555); 26 Nov 2020, ♂ 2♀ (ICAMF00000581); 10 Dic 2020, 12♂ 16♀ (USNM — ICAMF00000625); 24 Dec 2020, 18♂ 22♀ (ICAMF00000626); 3 Jun 2021, 2♂ 12♀ (ICAMF00000638); 17 Jun 2021, 4♂ 8♀ (ICAMF00000640); 15 Jul 2021, ♀ (ICAMF00000643); 1 Jul 2021, 4♂ 9♀ (ICAMF00000644). Zetaquira, vereda Guanata, predio El Placer 5.2542°N 73.1772°W, 1636 m, McPhail trap 2, 13 Jun 2018, ♀ (ICAMF00000508); 27 Jun 2018, ♀ (ICAMF00000505); 30 Jun 2020, ♀ (ICAMF00000553); 9 Jul 2020, ♀ (ICAMF00000554); 26 Nov 2020, ♂ 2♀ (USNM — ICAMF00000580); 10 Dec 2020, 4♂ 5♀ (ICAMF00000623); 24 Dec 2020, 6♂ 2♀ (ICAMF00000624); 17 Jun 2021, ♀ (ICAMF00000339); 1 Jul 2021, ♀ (ICAMF00000645); 15 Jul 2021, ♀ (ICAMF00000646). Cundinamarca: Albán, vereda la Maria, diagonal al palacio de las golosinas casa verde, 4.8801°N 74.4376°W, 2268 m, McPhail trap 2, 27 Jun 2017, 1♂ (ICAMF00000506). El Colegio, Predio Boyacá, 4.5500°N 74.4875°W, 861 m, reared from fruits of Aegiphila integrifolia collected 3 Jan 2019, adults emerged 15–23 Jan 2019, P. A. Rodriguez, 2♂ 2♀ (ICAMF00000556). Pacho, predio La Pradera, 5.1126°N 74.1085°W, 2465 m, McPhail trap 8, 30 Sep 2015, ♂ (ICAMF00000507); same, ♀ (ICAMF00000509); 21 Oct 2015, ♀ (ICAMF00000511); 20 Nov 2015, 2♀ (ICAMF00000510).
description: Published as part of Clavijo, Pedro Alexander Rodriguez, 2025, New species and host plants of Hexachaeta Loew (Diptera: Tephritidae) from Colombia, pp. 463-476 in Zootaxa 5575 (3) on pages 464-467, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5575.3.7, http://zenodo.org/record/14747230