Ablabesmyia ( Ablabesmyia ) praegracilis, 2019

Ablabesmyia ( Ablabesmyia) praegracilis View in CoL View at ENA sp. n.

( Figure 8 View FIGURE 8 )

Type material. Holotype male, CHINA: Guangdong Province, Shantou City, Nan’ao County, Tsing’ao Reservoir , 19.ix.2015.

Etymology. From the Latin prae-, very, and gracilis, slender, referring to the thin dorsal lobe in the aedeagal complex.

Description. Male (n=1). Total length 2.5 mm.

Coloration. Thorax dark brown with yellowish pleural membrane; scutal vittae indistinct. Abdomen mostly white; T I, VI and VII entirely brown; T II–V, VIII and IX anteriorly brownish; gonocoxite of hypopygium anteriorly brown. Wing ( Fig. 8A View FIGURE 8 ) with 2 dark spots at apices of R 1 and R 4+5. Legs white with dark bands; foretibia with sub-basal and median bands located 0.78 and 0.39, respectively, from apex.

Head. Temporals 23. AR 1.3. Clypeus with 27 setae. Lengths of palpomeres 1–5 (µm): 30, 80, 100, 90, 185.

Thorax. Anterior portion broken off. Dorsocentrals 21; humerals 5; prealars 12; supraalars 1; scutellars 27.

Wing. Length from arculus to tip 1.2 mm. Squama torn off basally, with at least 16 setae. Costa ending at M 3+4. VR 0.88.

Legs. All tibiae each with single spur. Ti I spur 33 µm long, with 5 lateral teeth; Ti II spur 40 µm long, with 4 lateral teeth; Ti III spur 45 µm long, with 3 lateral teeth. Ti III comb indistinct. Lengths and proportions of legs as in Table 7.

Hypopygium ( Fig. 8B View FIGURE 8 ). T IX without lateral setae. Gonocoxite 125 µm long, with weak basolateral bulge. Aedeagal complex ( Fig. 8C View FIGURE 8 ) with dorsal lobe 43 µm long, 0.83 times as long as blade, thin, bearing apical spiculae; blade 52 µm long, slender, curved dorsally, tapering toward pointed apex; lateral lobe 42 µm long, paddle-shaped, membranous with outer ridge; lateral filaments not evident. Gonostylus 110 µm long, 0.88 times as long as gonocoxite.

Female, pupa and larva. Unknown.

Remarks. The male of A. ( A.) praegracilis sp. n. is similar to that of above-described A. ( A.) huananensis sp. n. in the wing with two dark spots at the ends of R 1 and R 4+5 and the costal vein ending above the tip of M 3+4, the mid- and hind legs each with a single tibial spur, the slender aedeagal blade with a pointed apex, and the membranous aedeagal lateral lobe, but can be separated by the thin dorsal lobe with apical spiculae. There are also similarities with the males of A. ( A.) hilli Freeman and A. ( A.) rimae Harrison as discussed under A. ( A.) huananensis sp. n. In the former two species, however, the dorsal lobe is shorter than half of the aedeagal blade and lacks apical spiculae (see Roback 1982b for A. ( A.) hilli, Harrison 1991 for A. ( A.) rimae ).