New synonymy of Epochra Loew with Euphranta (Rhacochlaena Loew) (Diptera: Tephritidae) and description of a new species from Mexico

6 Pages·1993·2.4 MB·

by  A L Norrbom

PROC. ENTOMOL. SOC. WASH.
95(2), 1993, pp. 189-194
NEW SYNONYMY OF EPOCHRA LOEW WITH
EUPHRANTA (RHACOCHLAENA LOEW) (DIPTERA: TEPHRITIDAE) AND
DESCRIPTION OF A NEW SPECIES FROM MEXICO
Allen L. Norrbom
SystematicEntomology Laboratory, USDA, ARS, PSI, %U.S. NationalMuseum, NHB
68, Washington, D.C. 20560, U.S.A.
Abstract.—The generic name Epochra Loew (1873) is synonymized with Rhacochlaena
Loew (1862), a subgenus of Euphranta Loew. A new species, Euphranta mexicana, is
described from specimens reared from fruit ofRibes pringlei Rose in Morelos, Mexico.
The male and female terminalia of Euphranta canadensis (Loew), n. comb., are also
A
described. species ofBiosteres (Braconidae) is reported to parasitize E. mexicana.
Resumen.—E\ nombre generico Epochra Loew (1873) se sinonimiza con Rhacochlaena
Loew(1862), un subgenerodeEuphranta Loew. Sedescribe una nuevaespecie, Euphranta
mexicana, con especimenes criados de frutos de Ribespringlei Rose en Morelos, Mexico.
Tambien, se describen las terminalia del macho y de la hembra de Euphranta canadensis
(Loew), comb. n. Ademas, se registra una especie de Biosteres (Braconidae) que parasita
E. mexicana.
Key words: Euphranta, Epochra, Tephritidae, fruit flies, Ribes
Most genera of the tribe Euphrantini Euphranta. Both Nearctic species, includ-
(Diptera: Tephritidae) are restricted to the ing the new central Mexican species de-
Old World tropics, although at least 12 of scribedinthispaper,breedinfruitofspecies
the approximately 90 known species ofEu- ofRibes L. (Saxifragaceae).
phranta Loew occur in the Palearctic Re- The terminology used in this paper fol-
gion. Until recently the tribe was thought lows McAlpine (1981), and for the wing
nottooccurintheNewWorld,butA. Freid- bands, Foote (1981, Fig. 71).
berg(pers. comm.) and Footeetal. (in press)
discovered that the NearcticgenusEpochra Euphranta subgenus Rhacochlaena Loew
Loewhasasetuloseanatergiteand therefore
belongs in the Euphrantini. Upon further Rhacochlaena Loew 1862: 50 (type species
examination, Freidberg and I found no sig- Trypeta toxoneura Loew, by monotypy);
nificantdifferencesbetweenitandEuphran- see Hardy 1983 and White 1986 for ad-
ta subgenusRhacochlaena Loew, so I there- ditional synonymy.
fore consider Epochra a subjective junior Epochra Loew 1873: 238 (type species Try-
synonym ofRhacochlaena. peta canadensis Loew, by monotypy).
New Synonymy.
Hardy (1983), White (1988), Komeyev
(1990), and White and Elson-Harris (1992) Diagnosis.—The two New World species
summarized the limited but diverse biolog- ofEuphranta can be distinguished from all
ical data that are known for the species of other American genera of Tephritidae by
PROCEEDINGS OFTHE ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OFWASHINGTON
190
their setulose anatergite. Their lack ofpre- 10-1 1.VIII.1989, emerged 5.X.1989, A. L.
sutural supra-alar and posterior orbital se- Norrbom.
tae are also useful diagnostic characters. Paratype.—(5 (USN]VI), same data as ho-
Remarks.—The type species ofRhacoch- lotype (teneral, wings not expanded).
laena and Epochra do not differ in chae- Diagnosis.—£". mexicana can be recog-
totaxy, wing venation or other characters nized from E. canadensis by the characters
that Hardy (1983) and Hancock (1986) use given in the key, by its wider apical spot in
to separate the genera of Euphrantini. In cell r4+5 (Fig. IC), and by its shorter inner
particular, the acrostichal (prescutellar) se- surstylus (Fig. 2A, C) and aedeagus. Al-
tae are present, which is the main character though the female of E. mexicana is un-
used to distinguish Rhacochlacna from the known, its syntergostemite 7 probably is
subgenusEuphranta. Phylogeneticrelation- shorter than that ofE. canadensis, because
ships among the species ofEuphranta have the length of that structure is usually cor-
not been analyzed, but E. toxoneura and E. relatedwiththatoftheaedeagus.Ofthenine
canadensis appear to be relatively closely Palearctic species ofthe subgenusRhacoch-
related. They are among the species with laena, E. toxoneura (Loew), E. licenti Zia,
short aristal hairs and with the subapical E.japonica(Ito), and E. transmontana(Ito)
wingbandinterruptedincellr.+,. Theirdis- have wing patterns most similarto E. mex-
tiphalli and aculei also are very similar icana, with the discal band interrupted and
(compare Fig. 2E-Fwith White 1988, Figs. the subapical band not extended anteriorly
33-34). I therefore see no reason to recog- through cell r.+j. They differ from E. mex-
nize Epochra as a separate taxon. icana in that the apical band is extended
into cell r,, and the discal and subapical
Key TO THE Nearctic Species of
bands are separated posteriorly. Also, in
Euphranta (Rhacochlaena)
some ofthese species, the subbasal band is
Wing(Fig. IC)withdiscalband(bandacrossr-m) interrupted in cells r, and r2+3.
interruptedincellr.,,,itsanteriorpartequidistant Description.—//^'^(i." Ocellar seta absent;
from its posterior part and subapical band (band
acrossdm-cu).Apicalbandnotconnectedtodiscal 1 orbitalseta,posteriorsetaabsent; 3frontal
bandalongCosta,notextendedintocellr,. Discal setae, middle one closer to anterior than to
and subapical bands broadly connected posteri- posterior seta; arista short pubescent. Tho-
orly, no hyaline space between them in cell cu,. rax: Generally pale brown; scutum mostly
Scutummostlydarkbrownorbluishgray.[Central dark bluish gray or dark brown, sides and
Mexico.] mexicana Norrbom, n. sp. broad medial postsutural stripe pale brown;
Wing (Fig. lA, B) with discal band (band across
r-m) uninterrupted and anteriorly well separated scutellum pale brown; mediotergite and
from subapical band (bandacrossdm-cu). Apical subscutellum dark brown; mesonotum 2.00
mm
bandnarrowlyconnectedtodiscalbandalongCosta long; thoraxentirely microtrichose (ex-
in cell r,. Discal and subapical bands usuallysep- cept scutum medially, anterior to scapular
aratedbyhyalinespaceincellcu,. Scutum orange setae), scutum with 2 paired stripes that ap-
brown. [Canada, northern and western U.S.A.
south to mountains ofCalifornia and New Mex- pearshiny ordarkerat some anglesbecause
ico.] canadensis (Loew) of microtrichia of different density or
shape—these include 1 submedial stripe
Euphranta {Rhacochlaena) mexicana
from anterior margin to about halfway be-
Norrbom, New Species
tween transverse and scuto-scutellar su-
(Fig. IC, 2A, C) tures, and 1 sublateral stripe, interrupted at
Holotype.-5 (USNM), JVIEXICO: Mo- transverse suture but extended to intra-alar
relos: LagunasdeZempoala, rearedex. fruits seta; innerand outer scapularsetae present;
of Ribes pringlei Rose (891VI13) collected presutural supra-alar seta absent; 1 post-
VOLUME NUMBER
95, 2 191
^'- X
^ -'
<"
T
<
Fig. 1. Wings: A, E. canadensis, Chaffee Co., Colorado; B. same, Modoc Co., California; C, E. mexicana,
holotype.
mm
pronotal, 2 notopleural, 1 postsutural su- aedeagus 1.12 long, 0.56 times as long
pra-alar, 1 intra-alar, 1 postalar, 1 acrosti- as mesonotum; distiphallus similar to E.
chal, 1 dorsocentral, 2 scutellar, 1-2 large canadensis.
anepisternal, 1 anepimeral, and 1 katepi- Biology.—Ribespringleiis a shrub or un-
stemal seta present; dorsocentral setacloser derstorytreeat LagunasdeZempoala, a site
m
toacrostichal setathantopostsuturalsupra- at approximately 3000 altitude. Approx-
alarseta;anatergitewithlongfinesetae. Legs: imately 20 percent of the fruits collected
entirely palebrown; femora without ventral were infested. The larvae were heavily par-
spines; mid tibia with 1 large ventroapical asitized by a braconid wasp {Biosteresn. sp.
spinelike seta. W^m^ (Fig. IC): Length 4.99 nearsanguineus(Ashmead)); 50waspadults,
mm; subbasal band complete, extended an- butonlytwoadultsofE. mexicana, emerged
teriorly into stigma, separated from discal from the sample offly puparia.
band; discal band interrupted in cell r.^,,
itsanteriorpart broad and equidistant from Euphranta {Rhacochlaena) canadensis,
its posterior part and anterior end of sub- New Combination
apical band; discal and subapical bands (Fig. lA, B, 2B, D-G)
broadly connected posteriorly, hyaline area
betweenthem incelldm notextendedacross Trypeta canadensis Loew 1873: 235.
vein Cu,; apical band not extended into cell Epochra canadensis: Loew 1873: 238; see
r,, and isolated from discal band, incell v^+^ Foote et al. (in press) for full synonymy,
very broad, extended more than halfway to distribution, host and type data.
—
dm-cu.Abdomen:Tergadarkbrown,except Description. //^<2^.- Ocellar seta minute
terga 3 and 4 yellow medially, and terga 1 or absent; 1 orbital seta, posterior seta ab-
+ 2 and 5 yellow posteromedially. Male sent; 3 (rarely 4) frontal setae, middle one
terminalia: Surstyli (Fig. 2A, C) very long, usually closer to anterior than to posterior
mm
outer surstylus 0.45 long; inner sursty- seta; arista short pubescent. Thorax: Gen-
lus 0.78 times as long as outer surstylus; erally pale brown; scutum mostly orange or
PROCEEDINGS OFTHE ENTOMOLOGICALSOCIETY OFWASHINGTON
192
Fig. 2. Terminalia: A, C, E. mexicana; B, D-G, E. canadensis; A, B, epandrium, surstyli and proctiger,
posteriorview;C, D,epandriumandsurstyli,lateralview; E,distiphallus,lateralview; F,aculeus, ventralview;
G, spermathecae(2 of3).
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95, 2 193
palebrown, with grayish microtrichia, rare- nine Palearctic species ofRhacochlaena as
ly with brown postsutural sublateral stripe; well as from E. mexicana; E. incompleta
scutellum pale brown, often with broad Hardy, from Borneo, perhaps has the most
medial brown spot; mediotergite and sub- similarwingpattern. White and Elson-Har-
scutellum typically yellow with T-shaped ris(1992: 344)recentlyredescribedthethird-
dark-brown mark, but sometimes more ex- instar larva ofE. canadensis.
tensively yellow or brown; mesonotum Specimens examined.—83 specimens
mm
1.83-2.70 long; thoracicchaetotaxyand from Alberta, British Columbia, Cahfomia,
scutal microtrichia as in E. mexicana, with Colorado, Idaho, Maine, New Mexico, Or-
stripes appearing shiny or darker than rest egon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.
of scutum at some angles. Legs: Orange,
other characters as in E. mexicana. Wing Acknowledgments
(Fig. lA, B): Length 4.94-6.17 mm; discal I am grateful to A. Freidberg (Tel Aviv
and subapical bands usually separated pos-
University) for permission to include in-
teriorly (connected in posterior halfofcell formationabouttherelationshipsofEpoch-
cui in only 19 from Maine and 13 from Al- ra that we discovered jointly. S. F. Smith
berta among 83 specimens examined); api-
(Dept. ofBotany, Smithsonian Institution)
cal band extended into cell r, and narrowly kindly identified the specimens of Ribes
connected to discal band, in cell r4^5, ex- pringlei, and P. M. Marsh (Systematic En-
tendedatmosthalfwaytodm-cu.Abdomen: tomology Lab.) and R. A. Wharton (Texas
Terga yellow, each especially terga 4 and 5, A&M University) identified the braconid
often with mediolateral dark brown spot or
wasps. T. B. Griswold prepared the wing
band ofvarying size. Male terminalia: Sur-
illustrations. R. J. Gagne, A. Freidberg, V.
styli (Fig. 2mB,mD) very long, outer surstylus Hernandez, A. S. Menke, H. Y. Han, and
0.40-0.45 long; inner surstylus 0.90- I. M. White provided useful suggestions in
0.95 times as long as outer surstylus; ae-
mm their reviews ofthe manuscript.
deagus2.08-2.54 long,0.93-1.08 times
aslongasmesonotum;distiphallus(Fig. 2E) Literature Cited
stout, surface largely covered with minute
platelikeorscalelikesculpture(extentofthis Foote,R. H. 198L ThegenusRhagoletisLoewsouth
oftheUnited States(Diptera: Tephritidae). Unit-
difficult to determine). Female terminalia:
mm ed States Department of Agriculture, Technical
Syntergostemite7 1.49-1.74 long,0.75- Bulletin no. 1607, 75 pp.
0.79 times as long as mesonotum; aculeus Foote, R. H., F. L. Blanc,andA. L. Norrbom. Hand-
mm
relatively short and broad. 0.59-0.65 book ofthe Fruit Flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) of
long, 0.35-0.38 times as broad as long, tip America North of Mexico. Cornell University
Press, Ithaca. (In press.)
(Fig. 2F)with 3 pairsofstrongstepsorlobes;
Hancock,D.L. 1986. ClassificationoftheTrypetinae
3 spermathecae (Fig. 2G) long and slender. (Diptera: Tephritidae). with a discussion of the
—
Remarks. Specimens of E. canadensis Afrotropical fauna. Journal ofthe Entomological
from the Pacific Coast states generally have Society ofSouthern Africa 49:275-305.
an apical hyaline spot in cell v^^^ (Fig. IB) Hardy, D. E. 1983. The fruit flies ofthe tribe Eu-
phrantiniofIndonesia,NewGuinea,andadjacent
thatisusuallyabsentin specimensfrom far-
islands(Tephritidae:Diptera).InternationalJour-
thereast(Fig. 1A). Thepresenceofthisspot nal ofEntomology 25: 152-205.
is variable in series ofspecimens from the Komeyev, V. A. 1990. Fruit flies ofthe subfamilies
same localities in Maine. Idaho, and Wash- Phytalmiinae, Acanthonevrinae and Adraminae
ington, however, and I foundnocorrelation (Diptera, Tephritidae) from Soviet Far East. pp.
betweenitandothervariablecharacters.The N1.16A-.12S5t.orIonzhLeelveaj,.eAd.s.S..,NeS.wYs.oSftIonrsoezchtesnSkyo.staenmd-
connectionoftheapicalbandwiththediscal atics ofSoviet Far East. Far East Branch ofthe
band distinguishes E. canadensis from the USSRAcademyofSciences,Vladivostok. 136pp.
PROCEEDINGS OFTHE ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OFWASHINGTON
194
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