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

description: Eucelatoria sica sp. nov.
(Figs 25, 70, 108, 123, 139, 155, 172, 178)
Type material. Holotype ♀, labeled “ ECUADOR: Napo prov. / Yanayacu Biological Station / S 00°35.9′ W 77°53.4′ 2163m / 7-vi-06 J.O. Stireman III”, “ HOLOTYPE / Eucelatoria / sica/ ZL Burington [red label]”, “ Eucelatoria ”, “ZLB_E.Ferox 00391” (JOSC; to be deposited in MECN).
Paratypes, 5 ♀♀ and 1 ♂. Ecuador — Napo: 1 ♀, “ ECUADOR: Napo prov. / Yanayacu Biological Station / S 00°35.9′ W 77°53.4′ 2163m / 5-vi-06 J.O. Stireman III”, “ PARATYPE / Eucelatoria / sica/ ZL Burington [yellow label]”, “ZLB_E.Ferox 00208” (JOSC; to be deposited in CNC). 1 ♀, “ Ecuador: Napo Prov. / S 00°35.9′ W 77°53.4′ 2163m / REARED/ Mayo 2008 14546”, “ Eucelatoria sp. 5 ”, “ZLB_E.Ferox 00212”, [puparium on card under specimen] (JOSC). 1 ♂ and 2 ♀♀, as previous except date “ October 2005 ”, the rearing records “8749”, “8723”, and “8732”, the specimen identifiers “00213”[♂; genitalia in vial under specimen], “00211”[♀], “00209”[♀; terminalia in vial under specimen] [each with puparium on card under specimen] (JOSC). 1 ♀, as previous except date “ Jun 2013 ”, rearing record “74951”, and specimen identifier “00210”, additionally labeled “Ecuador Reared/ Eucelatoria sp 5 a/ ZL Burington 2014” [puparium on card under specimen] (JOSC).
Recognition. This species is most similar to E. kopis sp. nov. and E. makhaira sp. nov., as all have two presutural and one postsutural thoracic vittae, black palpi, and tomentum covering the apical third of the scutellum. It differs from E. makhaira sp. nov. in that the parafacial tomentum is yellow and the ocellar setae are strong, and differs from E. kopis sp. nov. in that the piercer is short and sharply curved and the palpus is greatly dilated and flattened in the female.
Etymology. For the curved European sword sica (from proto-Indo-European sek-, “to cut”), most notably used by the ancient Dacians, Thracians, and Illiryians.
Description. [Described from 6 ♀♀ and 1 ♂; head measurements from 3 ♀♀.] Length 3.8–7.3 mm (mean = 5.54 mm).
Head. Parafacial, fronto-orbital plate, vertex, upper half of post-ocular plate, and vibrissal angle tomentum yellow. Lower half of post-ocular plate, genal dilation, postgena, and occiput tomentum ash-gray. Pale occipital setae gray. Ocellar setae strong, subequal to length of posterior reclinate orbital seta. Gena with 3–4 setae, subvibrissal ridge with 1 seta. Facial ridge with setulae on less than lower one-third to one-half. Postocellar setae one-half length of ocellar setae. Paravertical seta one-half to three-fourths length of postocellar setae. Outer vertical seta undifferentiated in male, one-third to one-half length of inner vertical in female. Reclinate orbital setae 2–3. Frontal setae 6–10, last frontal seta level with base of postpedicel, or slightly beyond. Eye with short setulae, each setula no longer than 1–2 facets. Eye height to head height ratio 0.86–0.91 (mean = 0.88). Postpedicel length 0.38–0.41 (mean = 0.40) height of head. Facial ridge length 0.48–0.54 (mean = 0.50) height of head. Parafacial width 0.07–0.09 (mean = 0.08) lateral length of head. Pedicel 0.39–0.40 (mean = 0.40) length of postpedicel. Postpedicel 2.3–3.5 (mean = 2.9) width of parafacial in lateral view. Vertex 0.23–0.26 (mean = 0.24) width of head in dorsal view. Palpus black; subcylindrical in male, greatly dilated and flattened at apex in female; with short setae dorsoapically and longer setae laterally.
Thorax. Dorsomedial length 1.3–1.5 times width of thorax. Lateral tomentum ash-gray to yellow-gray, usually more yellow on anepisternum. Dorsal tomentum yellow to ash-gray. Presutural inner and outer vittae merged into single subquadrate vitta, such that there are only two presutural vittae; partially fused near anterior margin; posteromedially separated by small triangular area of tomentum one-half or less width presutural vitta; sometimes with thin, partial division of inner and outer vittae near notopleural suture. Postsutural vittae merged into single large vitta covering most of postsutural notum; with only a small area of tomentum adjacent to supra-alar and intra-alar seta rows and rectangular area of tomentum near notum posterior margin. Scutellar dorsal tomentum yellow to gray, confined to apical one-third. Postpronotum with 3 setae. Presutural area with 2 supra-alar setae. Postsutural area with 3, rarely 4, dorsocentral setae. Scutellum with 1 pair discal setae. Fore tibia with 3 posterodorsal setae. Wing hyaline. Calypters tan to cream colored.
Abdomen. Cuticle and setulae entirely black. Dorsal tomentum bands yellow to gray, covering one-fourth to one-half area of T3–5; with wide median vitta. Ventral tomentum bands yellow to gray, covering one-third to onehalf area of T3–5. T4 with 5 pairs widely spaced marginal setae, the median and lateral marginal setae forming a continuous row.
Male terminalia (Figs 139, 155, 172). Sternite 5 basal plate with median teeth not visible; apical lobes 1.3 times length of basal plate. Postgonite broadly rounded on posterior margin; slightly dilated at base, narrowed to digitiform apex; posterior emargination deep, 1.3 times width of postgonite at mid length. Surstylus paddle-shaped, more than three times as long as wide; posterior and anterior margins subparallel, apex subquadrate; basal lobe with strong marginal notch. Cercus in lateral view slightly dilated at base, tapered to mid length, subparallel to blunt apex; in caudal view angled from base to middle section, then subparallel to blunt apex. Upper lobe subdigitiform, inner margin u-shaped; 0.21 length of cercus. Median section 0.56 length of cercus. Apical cleft slightly divergent, 0.22 length of cercus. Syncercus apex width in caudal view 0.47 width of syncercus base.
Female terminalia (Figs 108, 123). Piercer generally extending to base of T4, at most to base of T3, in lateral view sharply bent near base, then gradually curved to bent apex; in posterior view parallel sided on basal half, then gradually tapered to apex. Aculeate lobe 1.7 times height of segment 7 base. End tergite halves fused into single triangular plate, four times as long as wide, pointed posteriorly. Cercus with 6 setae; ventral elongation 2 times width of main cercus body in length. Postgenital plate with 10 setae.
Hosts. Four individuals have been reared from a Pyralidae species on Piper L. sp. (Piperaceae) and one from Pyralidae (presumably a different species) feeding on Solanum hispidum Sw. (Solanaceae) (Stireman et al. 2017).
Geographic extent and seasonal occurrence. This species is known only from the type locality, where individuals were collected or reared in montane forest at 2160 m elevation (Fig. 178).
Discussion. The sickle-like shape of the E. sica sp. nov. piercer is unique among E. ferox group species. The piercer’s distinctiveness justifies describing these individuals separately from E. kopis sp. nov., despite a lack of confirmation from male genitalic characteristics.
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 56-57, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5143.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/6601404