Bombylella rufiventris (Macquart 1846)

This species is easily recognised by the whitish hair on the thorax in front in males, the presence of reddish or reddish yellow, depressed scaling on scutellum and disc of abdomen above, especially in females and the black hair tufts on the side of the abdomen.

Original description in:
Macquart, P.J.M. 1846. Diptères exotiques nouveaux ou peu connus. Supplement. [1]. Mem. Soc. R. Sci. Agric. Arts, Lille 1844
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/109525#page/118/mode/1up

Translated from Latin & French:
Red hairy. The apex of the abdomen is black, with white dorsal spots.
Face and fron black; a tuft of white hairs on each side of the face and on the posterior edge of the vertex. Antennae black. Thorax with patch of white hair on the shoulders. Abdomen with reddish scales; tufts of black hair on the sides. Legs black. Wings clear; a little yellowish at the base and outer edge; small cross vein located at one third of the discoidal cell; anal cell half-open.

Rediscription in:
Greathead, D. J. 1999. A review of the Afrotropical species of Bombylella Greathead (1995) (Diptera: Bombyliidae). Journal of Natural History, 33(7), 999–1020. doi:10.1080/002229399300056
https://sci-hub.ee/10.1080/002229399300056

Black. Hair black and with pale yellow hair on the occiput, underside of head, thorax, forming a dense band across the mesonotum of the male in front of the wings and dorsal surface of the abdomen. Plumula white. Decumbent red- gold hair-like scales present beneath the hair on the dorsal surface, sparse in males and dense in females. Silver scale spots present on head and abdomen of males and also on thorax of females which have the full complement of spots and the submedian streaks, also a silvery-white patch on the katepisternum. The spots at the sides of abdominal terga 5 and 6 are large and composed of upright scales in both sexes. Abdominal sterna with well-developed bands of silvery-white scales. Legs dark brown and with silvery scales on the posterior sides. Wings with yellow basal infuscation to vein MA only. Veins yellow-brown, r-m cross-vein slightly before middle of discal cell, m-m absent. Alula distinctly longer than wide. Squamal fringe white. Haltere dark blackish brown, paler at apex of knob. Body length, 5-7 mm.

Distribution: Botswana, Kenya, Malawi, South Africa (Kwa-Zulu-Natal, Northern Province), eSwatini, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

iNat observation: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/78219679

Publicado el febrero 8, 2024 05:28 TARDE por traianbertau