Pellacara Gagne, new genus
Creators: name: Gagné, Raymond J.
name: Etienne, Jean
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2015
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Diptera
Cecidomyiidae
Pellacara

description: Pellacara Gagné, new genus
Figs. 35–53
Diagnosis. Uniquely derived characters of this genus include: the single, strong seta at the tip of the fourth palpal segment; the somewhat narrowed eyes at the vertex of the head; the placement of parts of the male terminalia beyond the posterior half of the gonocoxite; the presence on the gonocoxite of a posteroventral lobe; the female cerci with many elongate, broad, round-tipped setae on distal half; the reduced number of larval papillae, some with very long setae; the very short shaft of the spatula, and the conical pair of protuberances on the pupal vertex. Other non-unique derived characters that serve to limit this genus are: the reduced number of curved setae and enlarged alveoli on the female flagellomeres; R5 reaching C slightly anterior to wing apex; the cylindrical and completely setulose gonostylus: and the elongate-protrusible ovipositor with fused cerci.
Description. Adult: Head (Fig. 35): Eye facets circular, contiguous except slightly farther apart near level of antennal bases; eyes somewhat narrowed at vertex (Fig. 46) and separated by diameter of 2–3 facets. Antenna: scape and pedicel with a few setae and several setiform scales ventrally; first and second flagellomeres connate. Male antenna with 19–20 flagellomeres (Fig. 43): all but apical with prominent necks; circumfila consist of a complete subbasal ring and a partial distal ring connected by two vertical strands; short, straight setae encircle node below proximal circumfilum; and many long, basally curved setae from hooded alveoli present between circumfila, chiefly on venter, very few dorsally. Female antenna with 22–26 flagellomeres (Fig. 44): cylindrical, narrowed apically but without appreciable necks; with 2 complete circumfila, connected 2–3 times by vertical strands; with only 4 basally curved setae from hooded alveoli on basal segments, gradually reduced to two on distal segments, none on dorsum. Frons convex, with many setae and scales. Labella (Fig. 45) hemispherical in frontal view, with several strong setae apically. Palpus (Fig. 45) of 4 well-defined segments, with many setae and scales, the fourth segment always with unique, short, strong, apical seta.
Thorax: Scutum with 4 longitudinal rows of setae with a few scales intermixed, the 2 dorsocentral rows broadest anteriorly, tapering posteriorly and vanishing before scutellum, the 2 lateral rows continuous along length of sclerite. Scutellum with abundant setae on anterior half but discontinuous mesally. Anepisternum with a few scales dorsally; anepimeron setose; pleura otherwise bare. Wing (Fig. 49): C broken beyond junction with R5; R5 straight to slightly curved, reaching C anterior to wing apex; M not apparent; CuA forked. Acropods (Fig. 47): tarsal claws curved, with long, prominent basal tooth; empodia as long as claws; pulvilli about half length of claws.
Male abdomen (Fig. 48): Tergites and second through seventh sternites with anterior pair of trichoid sensilla. Tergites: rectangular, fourth and fifth about 3 times as wide as long; first with single row of posterior setae and no scales; second through fourth with single posterior row of setae, fifth and sixth with two posterior rows; second through sixth without lateral setae, posterior ¾ of surface covered with scales; seventh about half length of sixth, weakly sclerotized posterior to trichoid sensilla, otherwise with a few scales posterolaterally; eighth sclerotized only anteriorly, the two trichoid sensilla the only vestiture. Sternites: second through fifth rectangular, mostly covered with setae and, anteriorly, a few scales; sixth through eighth trapezoidal, decreasing successively in size, with evenly distributed setae covering posterior half, without scales. Pleura covered with scales. Terminalia (Figs. 50–51): cerci, hypoproct, aedeagus and mediobasal gonocoxal lobes seated at midlength of gonocoxites; cerci ellipsoid, with a few setae dorsally and ventrally on apical third; hypoproct notched, resulting lobes each with single seta; gonocoxite robust with ventromedial corner elongated posterior to level of insertion of gonostylus, the mediobasal lobe entire, its posterior margin oblique and blunt, with a few short setae and otherwise covered with setulae; gonostylus robust, cylindrical, with wide apical tooth, setose mainly dorsally and laterally, completely setulose; apodeme entire; aedeagus ampule-shaped, very short in dorsoventral view.
Female abdomen (Figs. 36–37, 52): Tergites and second through seventh sternites with anterior pair of trichoid sensilla. Tergites: rectangular, fourth and fifth about 3.5 times as wide as long, first through fifth with single posterior row of setae, an additional partial second row present on sixth, all without lateral setae, the posterior ¾ of surface covered with scales; seventh quadrate, as long but about half width of sixth, with several rows of large and small setae posteriorly, bare elsewhere except for anterior trichoid sensilla; eighth somewhat smaller than seventh, quadrate, with sparse row of short setae posteriorly. Sternites: rectangular, second through fourth with setae posteriorly and at midlength, fifth through seventh with generally strong setae entirely covering posterior twothirds, scales not present. Pleura covered with scales. Ovipositor (Figs. 36–37) elongate, both eversible and protrusible parts evenly covered with short setae, the latter part about twice as long as seventh sternite; cerci fused, cylindrical, about 1.5 times as long as wide, covered with setae of various sizes, longest setae pointed and located dorsoposteriorly, thick and blunt-tipped setae mostly located ventroposteriorly; hypoproct tapered to point, without posterior setae.
Pupa (Figs. 38–40): Integument unpigmented except for antennal bases and enlarged abdominal spicules. Vertex on each side with large, conical, pointed projection and large seta situated on conspicuously raised base. Antennal bases each with two prominent conical projections, one apically, the other basally. Face smooth, without lobes; with 2 papillae on each side of labellum, the outer with seta, the inner without; on each posterolateral corner 2 papillae, 1 with seta, 1 without. Prothoracic spiracle moderately long. Abdomen (Fig. 38) on second through sixth segments with elongate, anteriorly recurved spiracles; second through sixth terga with enlarged, spinose spicules at midlength on dorsum; terga elsewhere and pleura and sterna uniformly covered with short spicules.
Larva, third insta r (Figs. 41–42): Body elongate, generally spindleform, deeply incised intersegmentally. Head capsule black, hemispherical, apodemes much shorter than head capsule; antennae conical, about as long as wide. Spatula (Fig. 53) short, shaft wider than long, with 2 long, acute, anterior teeth. Integument white, dorsally with short spicules anterior to dorsal papillae and large, black, pointed verrucae posterior to dorsal papillae; ventrally with rows of minute spicules centrally; elsewhere, including collar segment, smooth. Papillae reduced in number, some setae very long: present are a pair of lateral short-setose papillae on each side of spatula, pair of setose ventral papillae and pair of sternal papillae without setae on all thoracic and first through seventh abdominal segments; 4 dorsal and, on each side, 2 pleural papillae on thoracic and first through seventh abdominal segments, setae of the dorsal papillae and the dorsalmost pleurals black and very long; eighth abdominal segment without dorsal papillae and only 1 short-setose pleural papilla per side; terminal segment with 6 papillae with short setae.
Type-species, Pellacara postica Gagné.
Etymology. The name Pellacara combines the Greek pella and cara, for black and head, respectively, in reference to the black head capsule of the larva. This is the first instance noted of a black instead of a brown larval head among Cecidomyiinae.
Remarks. No other genus of Neotropical Lasiopteridi has such distinctive male terminalia, with most of the inclusive parts situated beyond the midlenth of the gonocoxite, and with the gonostylus broad and evenly cylindrical throughout its length. Pellacara resembles Myrciariamyia Maia (1995) among unplaced Neotropical Lasiopteridi in having enlarged spinules on the pupal abdominal terga. The enlarged spinules are a modification that presumably allows a pupa to gain purchase against the gall wall while exiting. In this case, the resemblance appears to be superficial because the two genera are otherwise distinct. Myrciariamyia adults have the more usual type of male terminalia, with the various parts connected to the base of the gonocoxites, and fused female cerci that are deeply notched and splayed. Also, it appears from the drawings in Maia (1995) that Myrciariamyia, unlike Pellacara, has lost the anterior pair of trichoid sensilla of the abdominal tergites and sternites.
description: Published as part of Gagné, Raymond J. & Etienne, Jean, 2015, Three new genera and three new species of Lasiopteridi (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) on Rubiaceae from Guadeloupe, French West Indies, and a key to genera of Neotropical Lasiopteridi unplaced to tribe, pp. 511-526 in Zootaxa 4028 (4) on pages 520-523, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4028.4.3, http://zenodo.org/record/239000