Tachydromia apterygon Plant & Deeming 2006
Creators: name: Gonçalves, Ana Rita
name: Grootaert, Patrick
name: Andrade, Rui
name: Paulo, Octávio S.
name: Mengual, Ximo
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2021
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Diptera
Hybotidae
Tachydromia
Tachydromia apterygon

description: Tachydromia apterygon Plant & Deeming, 2006
Figs 3, 16 I–J, 19 J, 22–24
Tachydromia apterygon Plant & Deeming, 2006: 13 (male only).
Diagnosis
Small (length = 2 mm), slender, overall dark, with minute bilobed squamiform wings (Fig. 22) in both sexes and halteres absent. Frons, vertex and occiput largely covered by grey microtrichia; 1 pair of lateroclinate ocellars; 1 pair of proclinate verticals; palpi pale yellow, antennae with scape and pedicel yellow, postpedicel brown; proboscis shiny black; postpedicel sub-conical, similar length as of pedicel. Thorax black with portion of episternum densely covered with grey microtrichia. Legs with colour pattern of yellowish and dark brown to black; fore tibia with ciliation of short coarse setae. Mid tibia with anteroventral spur at apex, produced into short apical elongation, about as long as diameter of tibia at apex (Fig. 19J); spur with several distinct setae and, on distal half margin, a few short, stout, curved spinose setae. Abdomen black, covered with grey microtrichia and short setae, longer at hind margin of last sternite.
Type material examined
Holotype ITALY • 1 ♂; Lazio, 10 km south of Forca d’Acero, on road to Sora; 1 Jul. 2005; J.C. Deeming leg.; NMWC.
Additional material examined
ITALY • 5 ♂♂, 10 ♀♀; Frosinone, San Donato Val di Comino; 41°43′58.7″ N, 13°49′12.2″ E; 26–29 Jun. 2017; A.R. Gonçalves and R. Andrade leg. • 2 ♂♂; L’Aquila, Gioia dei Marsi, Parco Nazionale D’Abruzzo Lazio e Molise; 41°51′34.0″ N, 13°46′52.1″ E; 26–29 Jun. 2017; A.R. Gonçalves and R. Andrade leg. • 19 ♂♂, 13 ♀♀; L’Aquila, Pacentro; 42°02′56.7″ N, 14°02′51.7″ E; 26–29 Jun. 2017; A.R. Gonçalves and R. Andrade leg. • 18 ♂♂, 14 ♀♀; Pescara, Sant’Eufemia a Maiella; 42°06′01.2″ N, 14°02′10.5″ E; 26–29 Jun. 2017; A.R. Gonçalves and R. Andrade leg. • 13 ♂♂, 13 ♀♀; L’Aquila, Ofena; 42°23′06.1″ N, 13°45′37.8″ E; 26–29 Jun. 2017; A.R. Gonçalves and R. Andrade leg. • 2 ♂♂; Pescara, Farindola; 42°23′45.7″ N, 13°47′06.8″ E; 26–29 Jun. 2017; A.R. Gonçalves and R. Andrade leg. • 2 ♂♂, 3 ♀♀; Lazio, Leonessa; 42°30′59.3″ N, 12°59′10.9″ E; 26–29 Jun. 2017; A.R. Gonçalves and R. Andrade leg.; ZFMK • 4 ♂♂, 3 ♀♀ (all male terminalia studied, RBINS); Lazio, Posta; 42°31′51.2″ N, 13°03′37.4″ E; 26–29 Jun. 2017; A.R. Gonçalves and R. Andrade leg.
Description
Female (previously undescribed)
Similar to male. Micropterous, wing round, brownish, bilobate, apical margin of posterior lobe bearing 1 long seta, anterior lobe bearing 3 shorter setae, lobes covered with grey microtrichia. Differs from male in following: legs mainly covered with microtrichia and regular rows of setae; spur on mid tibia absent; cercus pale brown with grey microtrichia and long setae; a few longer setae on apical sternites.
Distribution and habitat
Italy. Currently, this species is only known from the central Apennine Mountains (Fig. 23). It occurs on the edge of forests of Fagus sylvatica L. (Fig. 24), on the leaf litter and short herbaceous vegetation, where it can be abundant. It has also been found in mixed deciduous woodland at lower altitudes, inside the forest, on the leaf litter.
Remarks
Despite the sampling effort at the end of July, the species was not found at the mixed deciduous woodland type locality. However, it was still very abundant at higher altitudes. The type specimen was collected at the beginning of July, so by the end of the month, it may already be too hot and dry for this species to survive at lower altitudes.
description: Published as part of Gonçalves, Ana Rita, Grootaert, Patrick, Andrade, Rui, Paulo, Octávio S. & Mengual, Ximo, 2021, Revision of the morphology, phylogenetic relationships, behaviour and diversity of the Iberian and Italian ant-like Tachydromia Meigen, 1803 (Diptera: Hybotidae), pp. 1-56 in European Journal of Taxonomy 732 on pages 16-18, DOI: 10.5852/ejt.2021.732.1213, http://zenodo.org/record/4471717