Estheria maculipennis Herting 1968
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 maculipennis

description: Estheria maculipennis Herting, 1968
(Figs 9, 21, 33, 45, 61, 87, 100, 115)
Estheria maculipennis Herting, 1968, 11: 61. Type locality: Mongolia, Hentiy Aimag [as “Chentej aimak”], Čandagan tal, Chentej aimak. Holotype ♂ (HNHM) not examined. References: Herting & Dely-Draskovits (1993: 364; Palearctic catalog); Zhang et al. (2013: 139; as “ E. alticola ”, misidentification).
Diagnosis. Prementum 6–7 times as long as wide, 3 presutural and 4 postsutural dorsocentral setae, postpronum and scutellum reddish-yellow at least apically, wing brown to dark clouded along crossvein r-m, tegula dark brown, basicosta brown, lower calypter with short fringe on outer margin, tergites 3 and 4 each with a pair of laterodiscal setae.
Redescription. Body length: 8.0–12.0 mm.
Head. Pedicel, base of 1 st flagellomere and palpus reddish-yellow. Frons 1/5–1/6 as wide as eye in male, 1.5 times as wide as eye in female; width of parafacial at antennal base about 1/2 of eye width in male and 3/ 4 in female; genal height about 1/2–3/5 of eye height in male and 4/ 5 in female. Antenna falling short of lower margin of face by more than 1 st flagellomere length; 1 st flagellomere 1.2–1.5 times as long as pedicel; arista plumose, aristal hairs about as long as width 1 st flagellomere; prementum 6–7 times as long as wide.
Thorax black in ground colour, with yellowish-gray or brownish pruinosity; postpronum and apex of scutellum reddish-yellow or yellow, dorsum with 4 longitudinal black vittae, inner vitta about 1/4 width of pruinose area between inner and outer vittae in male, narrower in female. Postpronotom with 3 setae arranged in a triangle and 1–2 weak inner setae; 2 presutural and 2 postsutural acrostichal setae, 3 presutural and 4 postsutural dorsocentral setae, 3 postsutural intra-alar setae; prealar setae weak; 3 katepisternal setae; scutellum with 3 pairs of strong marginal setae, apical scutellar setae crossed. Wing brown to dark clouded along crossvein r-m, portion beyond dM-Cu brownish. Tegula dark brown, basicosta and halter brown; calypters whitish, lower calypter with short fringe on outer margin. Costal spine weak, as long as crossvein r-m, relative lengths of 2nd, 3rd and 4th costal sectors approximately 1:2:1; base of R 4+5 with setulae dorsally and ventrally; section of M between crossveins r-m and dM-Cu about twice as long as section between dM-Cu and bend; vein M from dM-Cu crossvein to bend about as long as distance between bend and wing margin; M at bend with an appendage shorter than crossvein r-m; wing cell r 4+5 closed at margin or with a petiole at most 0.20 times as long as postangular section of M. Legs with all tibiae and ventral apices of femora reddish-yellow or yellow, femora brown to dark in male and entirely reddishyellow in female. Fore tibia with a row of anterodorsal setae and 2 posterior setae; mid femur with 3–4 anterior setae, mid tibia with 3 anterodorsal, 3 posterodorsal and 2 ventral setae; hind tibia with 3 anterodorsal, 5 posterodorsal and 3 ventral setae, 2 preapical dorsal setae. Male claws and pulvilli longer than 5th tarsomere.
Abdomen dark brown in ground colour in male, wholly covered with pruinosity, with irregular markings. Syntergite 1+2 excavated to posterior margin, without median marginal setae, with 1 lateral marginal seta, 2–3 lateral discal setae; tergites 3 and 4 each with 2 median discal setae and a pair of lateral discal setae. Male terminalia as in Figs 9, 21, 33, 45.
Material examined. China, Inner Mongolia: 3 ♂♂, Wulagai, Dong Ujimqin Qi, 22.VIII.1971, Y.-S. Shi leg. (IZCAS).
Distribution. China (Inner Mongolia), Mongolia, Russia (E Siberia).
Remarks. We identified this species based on Herting’s (1968) original description. It is similar to E. acuta (Portschinsky), but differs in having narrower frons, longer prementum, and abdomen dark brown in ground colour in male.
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 17-18, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4603.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/2841928