Astochia armata
Creators: name: Londt, Jason G. H.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 1982
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Diptera
Asilidae
Astochia
Astochia armata

description: <i>Astochia armata</i> (Becker, 1909) Figs 1, 7-10. <i>Neoitamus armatus</i> Becker, 1909: 114; Becker, 1910: 22; Hull, 1962: 557. <i>Astochia armata;</i> Lindner, 1955: 41; Oldroyd, 1970: 312, Oldroyd, 1980: 336. <i>Redescription:</i> Based on all the material examined. <i>Head:</i> Antennae dark red-brown to black with mostly black setae (there are a few yellow setae on ventral aspect of segment one). Mystax mostly yellow but there are a few black setae in upper part. Occipital bristles pale yellow (may be the odd black one), short and not proclinate. Proboscis and palpi dark red-brown to black with shiny yellow-white setae. <i>Thorax:</i> Mesepimeral and hypopleural setae whitish. Mesonotal setae: dorsocentrals-about 5 pairs thin black setae mostly posterior of transverse suture; humerals-Iongish white setae; presuturals-2 black; supra-alars-2 black (one is poorly developed); postalars-l black; scutellars-2 yellow. Metanotal callosities with yellow setae. Wings: 7,2 X 2,1 mm; venation and microtrichial distribution as in Fig. 7. Legs: Forecoxa with white setae anteriorly; hindcoxa with 1 white bristle laterally. Femora orange-brown with anterior faces dark red-brown. Tibiae and tarsomeres yellow-brown with dark red-brown distal tips. Midtibia of <i>cf'</i> equipped with a single, large, black bristle ventrally. Setation of hindfemur: bristles yellow (2 in number usually- 1 may be black); longer setae yellowish; minor setae fine yellow-white, a well-developed strip of white closely-packed setae along ventral side in <i>cf'.</i> <i>Abdomen:</i> In &amp;female; segments 1 -5 pruinose, rest shiny black. Ovipositor long and narrow. Terga and sterna covered with fine, yellow setae except along dorsal midline where they are black. T5 of <i>cf'</i> has a row of strong, ventrally directed, yellow bristles. <i>cf'</i> genitalia as Figs 8-10. <i>Material examined:</i> KENYA: 1 <i>&amp;male;,</i> ? Livingippe (or Lorengippe) Turkana (illegible), 30.iii.1967, E. S. Brown (BM). MALAWI: 4 <i>&amp;male;</i> 3 &amp;female;, Senga Hills <i>ca.</i> 500 m, <i>Brachystegia</i> woodland near lake, 1 -2.xii.1980, Stuckenberg &amp; Londt (NM). ZIMBABWE: 1 &amp;female;, by Sanyati R., nr. Kariba Camp, Tsetse Fly Ops., 8.i. 1956. R. Goodier, found in sandy area by river bank (BM). SOUTH AFRICA: <i>Natal:</i> 3 <i>&amp;male;</i> 4 &amp;female;, Junction of Blaauw Krantz and Tugela R., x. 1896, G. A. K. Marshall (BM); <i>1 &amp;male;,</i> Insuzi River nr Qudeni, 25. ii.1962, A. L. Bevis (DMAG). <i>Other recorded material:</i> KENYA: 1 <i>&amp;male;</i> 1 &amp;female; types (? syntypes), Voi, 1906 (recorded by Becker 1909-repository not known). TANZANIA: 2 <i>&amp;male;,</i> Dar-es­Salaam, Mburumfiuss, 21 bis 24. xii.1951 (recorded by Lindner, 1955-repository probably ZSM). ZAIRE: 2 &amp;female;, Garamba National Park, 28.ii.1951; 1 &amp;female;, same locality, 20.iii.1950 (recorded by Oldroyd, 1970-repository probably KMT). <i>Remarks:</i> Becker (1909) did not designate a holotype and so his specimens must be considered as syntypes. While I have not studied his material I hereby designate the male as lectotype. I collected species near the shore of Lake Malawi about 100 m north of the Grand Beach Hotel. The habitat was very dry at the time. Individuals were often seen perched at the tips of long dried-out grass stems. A copulating pair was captured in just such a situation. The species occupies a habitat quite different from that of <i>A. africana.</i> The adults are apparently active from December to March (Table 1).
description: Published as part of <i>Londt, Jason G. H., 1982, Afrotropical Asilidae (Diptera) 7. The genus Astochia Becker, 1913 (Asilinae: Asilini), pp. 241-251 in ANNALS OF THE NATAL MUSEUM 25 (1)</i> on pages 245-246, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.8370416
description: {"references": ["BECKER, T. 1909. Collections recueillies par M. Maurice de Rothschild dans l'Afrique orientale anglaise. Insectes: Dipteres nouveaux. Bull. Mus. Natn. Hist. Nat. Paris. 15: 113 - 121.", "HULL, F. M. 1962. Robber flies of the world. The genera of the family Asilidae. Bull. U. S. natn. Mus. 224 (1): 1 - 430, (2): 431 - 907.", "LINDNER, E. 1955. Ostrafrikanische Asiliden (Dipt.) (Ergebnisse der Deutschen Zoologischen Ostafrika-Expedition 1951 / 52, Gruppe Lindner-Stuttgart, Nr. 16). Ih. Ver. valeri. Nalurk. Wiim. 110: 24 - 46.", "1970. Studies of African Asilidae (Diptera). I. Asilidae of the Congo Basin. Bull. Br. Mus. nat. Hist. (Ent.) 24: 207 - 334.", "--- 1980. Family Asilidae. Catalogue of the Diptera of the Afrotropical Region. R. W. Crosskey (ed.). British Museum (Natural History), London (Asilidae pp. 334 - 373, 1218)."]}