Dacus ( Neodacus ) kapoori Maneesh & Hancock, 2025

Dacus ( Neodacus) kapoori Maneesh & Hancock , sp. nov.

( Figures 1–5 View FIGURE 1 View FIGURE 2 View FIGURE 3 View FIGURE 4 View FIGURE 5 )

Diagnosis: A large ( 9.54 mm), dark reddish brown species, face with elongate black spots apically fused below antennal suture, reddish brown thorax with fuscous postpronotal lobes, wing with broad, faint costal band and dark apical spot covering anterior portion of cell m but not reaching vein R 2+3 or apex of cell r 4+5, abdomen slightly humped on tergite IV but without medial vitta and with dark brownish black transverse bands on abdominal tergites III, IV and V, the transverse black band on tergite V broad, reaching lateral margins and with distinct medial vitta between ceromata. Supra-alar and prescutellar acrostichal setae absent. Spermathecae berry bunch like elongated and glans with distinct knobs.

Differential Diagnosis: D. kapoori sp. nov. is a cryptic species similar to D. sphaeroidalis but can be differentiated by dark fuscous postpronotal lobe, thin transverse band on tergite IV, broader transverse band on tergite V reaching lateral margins, longer median vitta on tergite V, shape of spermatheca and glans of phallus with globosonodii ( cf. fig. 2C, Hardy, 1973 & fig. 10R, David and Ramani, 2019). In general appearance it also resembles Dacus sp. but can be differentiated by latter mentioned characters, katatergite and anatergite basally black and shorter posterior lobe of lateral surstylus. Detailed differences are listed in Table 1.

Head: Brownish fulvous, lunule darker, bases of frontal and orbital setae black, front darker medially between the frontal setae, face slightly fulvous with an elongate black spot in each antennal furrow, not reaching antennal suture but connected anteriorly to base of antennal suture by thin black lines on either side ( Figure 1B View FIGURE 1 ). Antennae ( 1.95 mm) longer than head height ( 1.75 mm), dark brownish with 2 nd segment longer than 1 st segment. Light black subgenal spot present. Setae: 2 frontal, 1 orbital, 2 vertical, 1 genal and row of 4–5 thin black postocular setulae.

Thorax: Dark reddish brown with yellow markings as follows: notopleuron, suture, anepisternal stripe, anatergite, katatergite and scutellum. Scutum lighter in colour except area just above scutellum darker ( Figure 1C & D View FIGURE 1 ). Postpronotal lobes dark brown to fuscous. Notopleuron connected to triangular yellow marking on suture. Anepisternal stripe as broad (or slightly broader apically) as notopleuron, extended to katepisternum as a yellow spot. Pleura largely reddish brown except broad black stripe anterior to yellow anepisternal stripe and black patches on anepimeron. Apical half of katatergite and anatergite yellow, the rest dark brown to black. Scutellum yellow, subtriangular, with moderate-sized reddish brown basal band. Setae: 2 scapular, 1 anterior (very weak) and 1 posterior notopleural, 1 intra-alar, 1 post-alar, 1 anepisternal and 1 apical scutellar. Fore and mid femora reddish fulvous, hind femora with apical half reddish brown, the rest yellowish. All tibiae reddish fulvous except foretibia slightly lighter. Basitarsus yellowish, tarsomeres reddish fulvous.

Wing 7.64 mm long, lightly infuscated all over except cell bm, base of cell br below cell bc and alula hyaline. Costal band yellowish, broad and faint. Infuscation darker in cell sc, base of cell r 1, middle of cell br below Rs and cell bcu. Infuscation on cell bcu extension slightly broader in male ( Figure 3B View FIGURE 3 ). Broad, dark brown almost circular apical spot extending broadly into cells r 2+3 and m but not reaching apex of vein R 2+3 and leaving apex of cell r 4+5 hyaline, faint medially and alongside costa in females and reaching costa in males ( Figure 3A & B View FIGURE 3 ). Supernumerary lobe slightly rounded and weak, cell m with apical folds in male. A narrow hyaline line can be seen in both male and female from apex of bm-cu crossvein to base of cell cua 1 ( Figure 3A & B View FIGURE 3 ).

Abdomen: Tergite I slightly broader than long and reddish brown. Tergite II anterior half reddish brown, rest yellowish white. Tergite III dark brownish with moderately broad black transverse band anteriorly and tergite IV with narrow transverse black band on anterior margin ( Figure 1E & F View FIGURE 1 ). Tergite IV dark brownish except posterior end slightly humped and yellowish white. Tergite V with a broad black transverse band anteriorly, enclosing ceromata anteriorly and reaching lateral margins and medial vitta on tergite V reaching beyond ceromata basally ( Figure 2A, B View FIGURE 2 & 3C View FIGURE 3 ). Base of tergite V in male light yellowish, darker in female. Pecten present on tergite III in male and fulvous brown ceromata present in both male and female. Sternite V of male quadrate with a moderate posterior concavity ( Figure 3D View FIGURE 3 ).

Genitalia: Female with oviscape 1.76 mm long, reddish fulvous, aculeus 2.31 mm long, eversible membrane 2.64 mm long. Aculeus chisel-like, with 3 pairs of preapical setae (basal longer that apical two) and roundish at tip ( Figure 4D View FIGURE 4 ). Spicules on distal eversible membrane keel-shaped with 3–5 spines with medial one the longest. Spermatheca berry bunch like and elongated ( Figure 4F View FIGURE 4 ).

Male with epandrium sphaeropedunculate in posterior view and twice as high as proctiger, which is triangular. Long setae distributed all over the epandrium except anterior end. Lateral surstylus longer than median surstylus and latter with dark, thick, striated and blunt prensisetae. Posterior lobe of lateral surstylus longer than anterior and both lobes setose ( Figure 4A View FIGURE 4 ). Aedeagus 2.31 mm long excluding glans ( 0.58 mm), the latter with patterned preputium, the pattern restricted to preputium only and with 4 roundish knobs on lateral wall of acrophallus and 2 at base of preputium ( Figure 4B, C View FIGURE 4 , 5A & B View FIGURE 5 ), the posterior two closely attached. Such structure not recorded before. These knobs hollow in the middle ( Figure 4B, C View FIGURE 4 , 5A & B View FIGURE 5 ) and it appears that these sclerotized knobs on acrophallus wall are part of tubular pathway and might have taxonomic value. We would like to refer it ‘ globosonodus (pleural globosonodii)’, derived from Latin words globosus and nodus which means round knob. Vesica broad, wrapped dorsally around the preputium and subapical lobe as high as vesica. Subapical lobe capitulate with broad membranous capitulum.

Type Material: Holotype 1♀, on Pyrus sp. , INDIA, Himachal Pradesh, Solan, Nauni , 30°51'47"N 77°10'7". 12.iii.2024, Maneesh leg. Paratypes 1♂, 1♀, on Pyrus sp. , INDIA, Himachal Pradesh, Solan, Nauni, 30°51'47"N 77°10'7". 12.iii.2024, Maneesh leg. Paratype 1♀, on Bambusa sp. , INDIA, Himachal Pradesh, Solan, Nauni, 30°51'47"N 77°10'7". 03.vii.2025, Maneesh leg. Types in Zoological Survey of India ( HARC, Solan) .

Etymology: This species is named after the Late Dr. V. C. Kapoor (Ex Professor & Head of Zoology, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana) for his notable work on animal and Tephritidae taxonomy in India.

Host Plant: Unknown.

Parapheromone: Unknown.