Ruppellia semiflava Wiedemann 1830
Creators: name: Badrawy, Haitham B. M.
name: Mohammad, Salwa K.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2011
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Diptera
Therevidae
Ruppellia
Ruppellia semiflava

description: Ruppellia semiflava Wiedemann, 1830
(Figs 1–2, 5–13, 20–25)
Ruppellia subapicalis Lyneborg, 1983 (replacement name for Rueppellia apicalis Kröber, junior secondary homonym of Salentia apicalis Becker in Becker & Stein, 1913) syn. nov.
Ruppellia pallida Kröber, 1929 syn. nov.
Rueppellia apicalis Kröber, 1929
Type material. Ruppellia semiflava Wiedemann, 1830: Holotype female, " Abyssinia ", Egypt [Germany, Frankfurt-am-Main, Forschungsinstitut und Naturmuseum Senckenberg (SMF)].
Ruppellia subapicalis Lyneborg, 1983: Holotype male, "Merza Halaib, 21.I.1929 ", Egypt (CUC). (Fig. 1) (Note: The type is mounted on a circular cardboard and is in good condition. This is a typical dark male specimen. The genitalia have not been dissected.)
Ruppellia pallida Holotype female, "Gebel Elba, 15.III.–30.IV.1928 ", Egypt (CUC). (Fig. 2)
Diagnosis. Flagellar style with two segments; mesonotal cuticle gray to grayish brown with two blackish gray strips at center; mesonotum silver pubescent with sparse, short, black setae; postpronotal lobe pale brown; scutellum pale gray to blackish brown pubescent; thoracic dc macrosetae: (4–8: 5–9); abdomen with cuticle orange-reddish brown to grayish black dorsally with or without white rings at posterior margins of tergites 1–5.
Description. Length: (male) body 5.0– 6.5 mm, wing 3.5–4.5 mm; (female) body 5.5–7.5 mm, wing 4.0–5.0 mm.
Male. Head: Ocellar tubercle with brown ocelli, elevated and dark gray with whitish pubescence. Eyes holoptic, pale reddish brown, ommatidia larger in upper half. Frons blackish with white pubescence in lower part of frontal triangle. Lower occiput and gena with dense long white hairs. Antenna shorter than head length, black. Scape 3 times longer than wide with short, black setae except the apical part with one long setae. Pedicel nearly square with a few short black setae. Flagellum slightly bilaterally compressed, as long as scape, covered with black microsetae. Flagellar style two segmented with a minute apical spine. Thorax: Mesonotal cuticle dark brownish gray with two blackish gray strips at center. Mesonotum silver pubescent with sparse, short, black setae. Scutellum blackishbrown pubescent. Pleural cuticle dull gray. Katepisternum and dorsal part of anepisternum dull gray pubescent. Thoracic macrosetae: 3 np, 1 sa, 1 pa, (5: 6–7) dc, 1 sc. Wing membrane translucent light brown, with regular brown band, especially around the apical tip of vein R2+3 and along the vein R4. Halter yellowish-white. Legs brown, coxae brown, lightly grayish pubescent. Fore femur dark brown with 2 setae midway and yellowish in apical part, mid femur pale yellowish brown with one seta midway, mid tibia light brown, fore tibia and hind femur and tibia dark brown, tarsi black. Abdomen: Cuticle black dorsally with white rings at posterior margins of tergites 1–4, with sparse, short, whitish setae. Gonocoxites without outer process; gonostyli with an extero-ventral projection; aedeagus with nearly straight cone and strong upright distiphallus; ejaculatory apodeme short and not broadened apically.
Female. Head: Eyes dichoptic, dark brown. Frons glossy dark brown, wider than ocellar tubercle, divergent ventrally, with two pairs of white pubescence at middle and lower parts on the margin. Antenna brown. Scape with short dark brown setae except the apical part with long setae. Pedicel nearly square with a few brown setae. Flagellum of antennae slightly bilaterally, as long as scape, covered with black microsetae. Flagellar style two segments, with a minute apical spine. Thorax: Mesonotal cuticle dark gray with two blackish gray strips at center. Mesonotum silver pubescent with sparse, short, black setae. Pospronotal lobe pale brown. Scutellum grayish brown pubescent. Pleural cuticle dull gray. Katepisternum and dorsal part of anepisternum whitish gray pubescent. Thoracic macrosetae: 3 np, 1 sa, 1 pa, (4: 5–6) dc, 1 sc. Wing membrane translucent light brown, with regular pale brown band, especially around the apical tip of vein R2+3 and along the vein R4. Halter pale yellow. Legs pale brown, coxae pale brown, lightly whitish gray pubescent. Fore femur with 2 setae midway and mid femur with one seta at midway, fore tibia and tarsi black. Abdomen: Cuticle reddish brown dorsally with narrow pale whitish rings at posterior margins of tergites 1–2 and narrow gray rings at posterior margins of tergites 3–4, fifth to seventh tergites dark gray with sparse, short, black setae.
Variation. Other specimens from Egypt, males characterized by eyes bronze metallic, ocelli reddish brown, frons covered with dense white pubescence, antenna brown, scape with short, dark brown setae except the apical part with long setae, scutellum pale gray pubescent, thoracic dc macrosetae: (7: 7) or (7–8: 9), legs pale brown to blackish-brown, tarsi dark brown, abdomen with cuticle orange dorsally with white rings at posterior margins of tergites 1–2 and narrow gray rings at posterior margins of tergites 3–5, sixth to seventh tergites dark gray with sparse, short, black setae or with cuticle grayish black dorsally without any rings and covered with sparse, white long hairs, first tergite pale grayish brown, tip of the abdomen with short, black setae. Specimens from the UAE, In males, thoracic dc macrosetae: (4–7: 4–7), abdomen with cuticle completely black dorsally or with the first segments reddish with white rings at posterior margins of tergites 1–5, but in females thoracic dc macrosetae: (4: 4), abdomen with cuticle orange or dark brown with white rings at posterior margins of tergites 1–5 in females.
Geographical distribution. Egypt, Israel, Oman, UAE, Yemen.
Other specimens examined. EGYPT: Gebel Elba (South Eastern Desert) 15.III. to end April 1928 (holotype) [latitude and longitude coordinates, 23° – 35°] (1 female); M. Halaib 21.I.29 (holotype) [latitude and longitude coordinates, 22.5° – 36.3°] (1 male); G. Elba January 1933 (1 male) [latitude and longitude coordinates, 23° – 35°]; W. Edeib [latitude and longitude coordinates, 22.15° – 36.24°] 26.II–7.III. 1938 (1 male) (CUC); Dakhla Gedeida 18.III.1934 (1 male, Zygophillum) (MAC). OMAN: Muscat, Paul Ardo, 10.IV1985 (1 male) (MHC). UNITED ARAB EMIRATES: al-Ajban, 24.36°N / 55.01°E, light trap, A. van Harten, 10.–17.X.2005 (1 female, malaise & light traps); 25.III.–16.IV.2006 (2 males); 1.IV.–2.V.2006 (1 female, malaise-traps); 17.IV.–29.V.2006 (13 males and 5 females); 6–22.V.2006 (8 males and 1 female); 05–12.VI.2006 (1 male); 18.VII.–15.VIII.2006 (1 female); 15.VIII.–11.IX.2006 (3 males and 1 female); Near Mahafiz, 25.09°N / 55.48°E, light trap, A. van Harten, 21– 28.III.2006 (1 male); 07–14.IX.2006 (3 males); Sharjah Desert Park, 25.17°N /55.42°–52°E, light trap, A. van Harten, 14.X.2004 (1 female, light & hand collecting); 29.III–06.IV.2005 (1 male); 06.–13.IV.2005 (1 female); 23.–30.IV.2005 (1 female); 30.IV–07.V.2005 (1 male); 17–24.III.2007 (1 male); 1–8.IV.2007 (1 male); 23– 30.IV.2007 (1 male); 21–28.V.2007 (1 female); 25.V.–15.VII.2008 (2 males and 2 females); 04.VIII.–04.XI.2008 (1 male); 16.III.2009 (1 female, water trap, C. Schmid-Egger legit); Um al-Quwain, 25.31°N / 55.32°E, pitfall traps, legit, A. van Harten (1 female) (MHC). YEMEN: LAHJ, malaise trap, A.v.Harten & A.Sallam, IV.1999 (1 female); 1.IV.–17.V.2000 (2 males); 1.III.2001 (1 male); 17.XII.2001 – 31.I.2002 (1 male); 03.V.2002 (4 males and 1 female); A. Rep. TAΊZZ, light trap, A.v.Harten & A.R.Al.Yarimi, I.2000 (1 male); Al Kowd, light trap, leg. A. van Harten & S. Al Haruri, VII.–IX.2001 (4 males and 1 female); 12 km NW of Manakhah, malaise trap, A.v.Harten, 27.III–05.IV.2002 (1 male) (MHC); Yemen Bajeil III.1937 (1 male); Yemen Zeidieh III.1937 (2 females) (MAC).
Remarks. This species is recorded in Oman, UAE and Yemen for the first time. Ruppellia semiflava is found in north-eastern part of the Afrotropical region (Gebel Elba) and the Arabian Peninsula. Specimens from different populations show considerable variation of number of dorsocentral setae and coloration. After examining many specimens from Tunisia, Egypt through Israel to UAE and Yemen, it was not possible to separate the different populations into distinct species by characters other than coloration of the abdomen and antennae. In addition, no characters in the male genitalia were found to diagnose separate species. Thus, we combine all these forms under one name. After examining the female type specimen of R. pallida Kröber, 1929 (Fig 2) and the male type specimen of R. apicalis Kröber, 1929 (Fig. 1) (new name = subapicalis Lyneborg, 1983), both in CUC, it is clear that both specimens belong to the same species (this species is also identical with the new material collected from UAE). Therefore the oldest name for this species is R. semiflava Wiedemann, 1830 and all the other described species are placed into synonymy.
description: Published as part of Badrawy, Haitham B. M. & Mohammad, Salwa K., 2011, Review of Ruppellia Wiedemann, 1830 (Diptera: Therevidae) in the Middle East, pp. 35-44 in Zootaxa 3097 on pages 37-39, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.279123