Leucophora delestero Ramírez-Mora & Patitucci, 2025

Leucophora delestero Ramírez-Mora & Patitucci sp. nov.

https://zoobank.org/NomenclaturalActs/d3ed4594-942e-4676-a454-449f2afdb410

Figs. 27–28 View FIGURE 27 View FIGURE 28

Diagnosis. Leucophora delestero sp. nov. can be differentiated from its congeners by the following combination of characters: very long plumose arista, frontal vitta almost parallel-sided; central longitudinal vitta not extending over the scutellum, abdominal tergites 6 and 7 with irregular margins.

Material examined. Holotype 1 ♀ ( IFML): “ R. Argentina / Santiago del Estero / Lago Muyo / 29-III–22- IV-1937 / col. R. Goldbach [white label, printed]”; “MR 2458 [white label, printed]”; “ Holotype ♀ / Leucophora delestero [red label, printed]”.

Paratypes 2 ♀ ( MACN, MLPA): “ R. Argentina / Salta, Orán / Abra Grande / 10-I–28-II-1967 / col. R. Goldbach [white label, printed]”; “MR 2459 [white label, printed]”; “ MACN _En / 44650”; “ Paratype ♀ / Leucophora delestero [red label, printed]”. “Manantiales – Jujuy / 3-II-958 / Torres-Ferreyra col. [white label, printed]”; “MR 2447 [white label, printed]”; “ Paratype ♀ / Leucophora delestero [red label, printed]” .

Description

Female ( Figs. 27–28 View FIGURE 27 View FIGURE 28 )

Body length 6.1–7 mm, wing length 5.2–5.7 mm.

Coloration ( Fig. 27 View FIGURE 27 ). Head dark brown with greyish pruinosity; frontal vitta black to dark brown anteriorly ( Fig. 27B View FIGURE 27 ). Fronto-orbital plate with white pruinosity, inner half and posteriorly with brown pruinosity. Parafacialia, genae, and face with whitish pruinosity; parafacialia in profile with a wide shifting brown to black patch from level of insertion of antennae to almost mid-length of the postpedicel ( Fig. 27C View FIGURE 27 ), genae with a brown patch from the vibrissal angle to almost the lower eye margin. Ocellar triangle with brownish pruinosity. Scapus and pedicel dark brown, pedicel light brown on inner and dorsal surfaces; postpedicel black; arista yellow with dark brown base. Prementum dark brown. Palpi light brown with darker apices. Thorax dark brown with greyish pruinosity, with three longitudinal dark brown vittae ( Fig. 27D View FIGURE 27 ), central vitta filling the space between the presutural acrostichal setae and almost filling the space between the postsutural dorsocentral setae, not extending over the scutellum, lateral vittae filling the space between the posthumeral and supra-alar presutural setae and following the intralar postsutural setae. Scutellum with anterolateral surface darkened. Anepisternum with diffuse light brown patch ( Fig. 27A View FIGURE 27 ). Legs brown. Coxae with whitish pruinosity. Femora darkened, more evident on fore femora. Tarsomere dark brown. Pulvilli light brown. Wing membrane hyaline. Veins light brown. Calypters whitish. Halteres brown with darker base.Abdomen dark brown with greyish pruinosity, with a dark brown longitudinal vitta ( Fig. 27E View FIGURE 27 ). Posterior margins of tergites 2–4 brown. Posterior margin of tergite 5 yellowish.

Head. Fronto-orbital plate at narrowest point 2.1–2.6x width the anterior ocellus, widening anteriorly, with minute scattered setulae; frontal vitta at narrowest point 2.1–2.3x width the anterior ocellus, almost parallel sided; eyes separated at narrowest point 6.4–7.4x width of anterior ocellus ( Fig. 27B View FIGURE 27 ). 6 pairs fr s, with a few minute setulae in between ( Fig. 27C View FIGURE 27 ). infr s slightly shorter than shortest fr s. oc s as long as the longest fr s; ocellar triangle with 2 additional pairs of setulae; poc s 0.5x the length the oc s. o vt s as long as the longest fr s, divergent. Postpedicel 2.8x the pedicel length; arista 1.4–1.5x the postpedicel length, plumose, longest hairs 1.9–2.2x the postpedicel width. Parafacials 0.3–0.4x width of eye. Genae below lowest point of eye margin 0.3–0.4x eye height ( Fig. 27C View FIGURE 27 ). Prementum 0.5x head height. Palpus 0.4x as long as head height, slightly dilated at tip.

Thorax. Chaetotaxy: 6 pairs of psut acr s, prescutelar pair longer than the longest presut acr s ( Fig. 27D View FIGURE 27 ). Prealar seta 0.5x the length the notopleural anterior. 5 anepst s. 1+2 kepst s, the lower posterior less developed ( Fig. 27A View FIGURE 27 ).

Legs. Mid femur with 1 av seta on basal fourth; 3 pv setae on basal third; a row of a setae slightly projecting beyond basal half; 2 p setae. Mid tibia with 1 ad and pd setae; 2 p setae. Hind femur with a row of longer av setae on distal half; a complete row of ad setae; 1 subapical d and p setae, 2 subapical pv setae. Hind tibia with 3 av setae, 2–3 ad and pd setae.

Abdomen. Lateral marginal setae strong. Sternite 1 with a few posterolateral setulae.

Ovipositor ( Fig. 28 View FIGURE 28 ). Tergites 6–7 represented by a pair of plates almost connected on posterior margin ( Fig. 28A View FIGURE 28 ), plates almost of equal length, posterior margin a row of setulae which extends onto the lateroventral membranes, forming with the setulae on the sternites a more or less continuous band around each segment (longest setae of each tergite shorter than tergite length). Spiracles 6th and 7th both situated in membrane ( Fig. 28B View FIGURE 28 ), 6th situated behind lateroventral corner of tergite 6, 7th situated on intermembrane space between segments 6–7. Tergite 8 widely divided into a pair of strongly sclerotized and pigmented lateral plates continuous along posterior margin, the longest tergite; lateral plates and posterior band of equal width, anterior margin with rounded apex; in profile ( Fig. 28C View FIGURE 28 ), parallel side but with irregular margins; posterior margin with a row of setulae. Epiproct laterally fused with cerci, 2x wider than long, posterior margin notched and with 3–4 pairs of setulae. Sternites 6–7 1.7–2.3x longer than wide ( Fig. 28B View FIGURE 28 ), longer than respective tergite, slightly constricted on posterior half, slightly tapered anteriorly; on posterior margin with scattered setulae. Sternite 8 represented by a pair of small and scarcely sclerotized plates, strongly narrowed anteriorly, setulose. Hypoproct wider than long, setulose, with longer setulae on posterior margin. Cerci broad, longer than epiproct ( Fig. 28A View FIGURE 28 ), parallel sided, partly pilose, dorsally and laterally bearing a couple of recurved spines, two longest and stoutest towards inner margin (longer than cerci height) ( Fig. 28C View FIGURE 28 ). Spermathecae ( Fig. 28D View FIGURE 28 ).

Male. Unknown.

Remarks. The ovipositor structure in L. delestero sp. nov., is similar to L. tacuil sp. nov., and L. yacochuya sp. nov., but differs from both in the shape of sternites 6–8 and by the presence of spiracles 6th on the membrane of segment 6 and spiracles 7th on the membrane of segment 7; meanwhile, in the other two species, both pairs of spiracles (6th and 7th) are located on segment 6.

Etymology. The species’ epithet refers to the name of the Argentine province “ Santiago del Estero ”, where the holotype was collected.

Distribution. Neotropical: ARGENTINA ( Jujuy, Salta, Santiago del Estero) ( Fig. 54C View FIGURE 54 ).