Eucelatoria auriceps
Creators: name: Burington, Zelia L.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2022
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Diptera
Tachinidae
Eucelatoria
Eucelatoria auriceps

description: Eucelatoria auriceps (Aldrich, 1926)
(Figs 1F, 6, 28, 51, 73, 96, 111, 125, 141, 158, 173)
Xiphomyia auriceps Aldrich, 1926: 11. Holotype, USA, Virginia, Shenandoah River (USNM). Other references: Sabrosky & Arnaud (1965: 1051).
Eucelatoria auriceps: Wood (1985: 42), O’Hara & Wood (2004: 88).
Type material examined. Holotype ♂, labeled “Shen. R./ Clarke Co. Va. / IX-3-23”, “ ♂?”, “JMAldrich/ Coll ”, “ Holotype No./ 28900/ U.S. N.M.”, “ Xiphomyia / auriceps” (USNM).
Allotype ♀, “Shen. R./ Clarke Co. Va / IX-2-23”, “ Allotype No./ 28900/ U.S. N.M”, “USNM ENT 00039932”, “ZLB_E.Ferox 00030” (USNM).
Other material examined. 13 ♀♀ and 2 ♂♂. USA — Arkansas: 1 ♀, “ Miss. Co., Ark / 29-vii-1971 ”, “Cotton-Corn/ Strip”, “Malaise/ Trap”, “ R. Kirkton / Wilson”, “USNM ENT 00039933”, “ZLB_E.Ferox 00078 [specimen ID]”(USNM). Georgia: 1 ♂ and ♀, “ Panthersville, Ga./ 6–6–48/ P. W. Fattig ”, the first labeled “USNM ENT 00039931”, “ZLB_E.Ferox 00029” [♀]; the second, “00039930” and “00028” [♂] (USNM). Maryland: 1 ♀, “MD Calvert Co. / Port Republic / 12.VII.1994 / D.M. Wood ”, “auriceps? piercer is longer”, “ZLB_E.Ferox 00016” (DMW). Ohio: 5 ♀♀, “ USA: OH: Hocking Co.,/ Crane Hollow (S. End)/ 39°25.5′ N, 82°34.1′ W / 17.vii.2012, JO Stireman”, the specimen IDs “ZLB_E.Ferox 00015”, “00014”, “00012”, “00410” [abdomen in vial below specimen], and “00011”; the second labeled “JOS712.46”; the fifth labeled “JOS712.54” (JOSC). 1 ♀, “OH, Greene Co., Beavercreek / Twp., Fairborn Marsh,/ 39.7708 N, 84.0064 W, 12.vii.2012,/ IS Winkler”, “ISW0011”, “ZLB_E.Ferox 00017” (JOSC). 1 ♀, as above except date “ 26.vii.2012 ”, no ISW number, and specimen ID “00013” (JOSC). 1 ♀, as previous locality except “ Fairborn Marsh Wtlds. / Malaise trap- Forest / 26-vii-2012 / ID# FBM 023 [voucher FMB023]/ J.O. Stireman III”, the specimen ID “00413”. 1 ♀, “ USA: OH: Greene Co. / Wright St. U. woods, / Malaise trap Edge / 5-VII-2011 / ID# WSU0301/ J. O. Stireman III”, “ZLB_E.Ferox 00411” (JOSC). 1 ♀, as previous except date “ 17-Aug-2011 ”, WSU number “0332”, and specimen ID “00412” (JOSC). West Virginia: 1 ♂, “ USA: WV: Hampshire Co. / 3.5 km S. of Springfield / Co. Rt. 2814/ 5–6.vii.2013 / J.O. Stireman III”, “JOS713.7”, “ZLB_ E.Ferox 00018” [genitalia in vial under specimen] (JOSC).
Recognition. This North American species possesses thin, fine thoracic vittae, strong ocellar setae, and a relatively long piercer in common with E. texana and E. sabroskyi sp. nov., but is distinct from them in the yellow color of the head and thorax tomentum. The sometimes sympatric E. borealis sp. nov. can be distinguished additionally by its indistinct thoracic vittae and weak ocellar setae.
Redescription. [Redescribed from 9 ♀♀ and 2 ♂♂; head measurements from 5 ♀♀.] Length 6.2–7.9 mm (mean = 6.9 mm).
Head. Parafacial, fronto-orbital plate, vertex, post-ocular plate, and vibrissal angle tomentum dense yellow. Genal dilation, postgena, and occiput tomentum ash-gray, darker on genal dilation, sometimes extending to ventral part of post-orbital plate. Pale occipital setae light gray, no longer than setulae of genal dilation. Ocellar setae subequal to one-half length of posterior reclinate orbital setae. Gena with 4 setae, subvibrissal ridge with 2 setae. Facial ridge with setulae on lower third or less. Postocellar setae divergent, one-half length of ocellar setae. Paravertical seta three-fourths to subequal with postocellar setae. Outer vertical setae lateroclinate, distinctly longer than adjacent post-orbital setae. Reclinate orbital setae 3. Frontal setae 7, last frontal seta just ventral to arista base. Eye apparently bare. Eye height to head height ratio 0.82–0.85 (mean = 0.84). Postpedicel length 0.43–0.44 height of head. Facial ridge length 0.51–0.58 (mean = 0.55) height of head. Parafacial width 0.08–0.12 (mean = 0.11) lateral length of head. Pedicel 0.28–0.34 (mean = 0.32) length of postpedicel. Postpedicel 1.5–2.2 (mean = 1.8) width of parafacial in lateral view. Vertex 0.24–0.26 (mean = 0.25) width of head in dorsal view. Palpus yellow to tan, sub-cylindrical at tip in males, slightly expanded in females, with short, stout apicodorsal setae.
Thorax. Dorsomedial length roughly equal to width. Lateral tomentum ash-gray, merging to yellow-gray on dorsal part of anepisternum. Dorsal tomentum dense yellow, appearing gold, sometimes grayer, merging to ash-gray near vittae, especially medially on postsutural area. Presutural outer vitta triangular, distinctly connected to anterior margin. Postsutural outer vitta fusiform, wider anteriorly than presutural vitta. Inner thoracic vittae linear, slightly divergent, not connected to outer vittae and unbroken at suture, extending posterior to level of first postsutural acrostichal setae. Scutellar dorsal tomentum yellow, appearing gold, short, extending nearly to base. Postpronotum with 3 setae. Presutural area with 2 supra-alar setae. Postsutural area with 4 dorsocentral setae, rarely 3. Fore tibia with 1 posterodorsal seta. Wing hyaline. Calypters tan to cream colored.
Abdomen. Cuticle and setulae entirely black. Dorsal tomentum bands dirty gray, appearing bronze in some light; one-third to one-half length of T3–5; with distinct median vitta. Ventral tomentum bands ash-gray, appearing blue in some light; one-half to three-fourths length of T3–5. T4 with 1 pair of median marginal setae and 1–3 pairs of lateral marginal setae, the lateral setae usually weaker than the median setae and decumbent.
Male terminalia (Figs 125, 141, 158): sternite 5 basal plate with median teeth separated 0.4 width of basal notch; apical lobes 1.5 times length of basal plate. Postgonite gradually curved, anterior emargination narrow, crescent shaped, less than width of postgonite at mid length. Surstylus widely rounded, paddle-shaped, apex blunt; longer than cercus; 0.6 times as wide as long; gradually curved posterobasally. Cercus in lateral view nearly parallel sided, not dilated at tip, with slight point at apex; in caudal view lateral margin curved from base, narrowed to mid length, then subparallel to blunt subquadrate apex. Upper lobe subtriangular, blunt at outer angle, angled on inner margin to small median projection; 0.2 length of cercus. Median section 0.5 length of cercus. Apical cleft margins slightly divergent, greatest width subequal apex of cercus; 0.2 length of cercus. Syncercus apex width in caudal view 0.4 width of syncercus base.
Female terminalia (Figs 96, 111): piercer generally extending past apex of abdominal segment 1+2, in lateral view gradually curved along basal two-thirds, gradually bent at tip; in posterior view, parallel sided on basal third, then narrowed gradually to tip. Aculeate lobe 2.25 times height of segment 7 base. End tergite rectangular, elongate, blunt ended, more than 4 times as long as wide. Cercus with 5 setae; ventral elongation 2–3 times length of cercus. Postgenital plate with 12 setae.
Host(s). Unknown.
Geographic extent and seasonal occurrence. Individuals of E. auriceps are known only from the eastern United States, collected as far west as Arkansas, as far south as Georgia, and as far north as southern Ohio (Sabrosky & Arnaud 1965; O’Hara & Wood 2004) (Fig. 173). It is likely that E. auriceps occurs throughout the southeastern United States. Specimens were collected primarily in July in the northern part of its range and in June in Georgia. The holotype and allotype were collected in Virginia in September.
Discussion. It is difficult to confuse the female of this species with another North American species of Eucelatoria, or, indeed, any Nearctic tachinid. The combination of bright gold head and nearly abdomen-length piercer distinguishes it from both the northern E. borealis and the southern E. texana, which have shorter piercers and gray parafacials. Both E. sabroskyi sp. nov. and E. rivalis have a long piercer but also have gray parafacials. Central American species with gold heads and long piercers have distinctly different thoracic vittae patterns. Specimens from Crane Hollow, Ohio were collected on lush deciduous vegetation surrounding a small creek (J.O. Stireman, pers. comm.), which suggests that the host of E. auriceps lives in or adjacent to humid deciduous forests. Individuals are also often collected while they are nectar feeding in old fields (J. Brown, I.S. Winkler, pers. comm.). Genetic data places this species as sister to E. sabroskyi sp. nov. and without genetic clusters by geographical locality (Fig. 1).
description: Published as part of Burington, Zelia L., 2022, A taxonomic revision of the Eucelatoria ferox species group (Diptera: Tachinidae), pp. 1-104 in Zootaxa 5143 (1) on pages 23-24, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5143.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/6601404