Folia faunistica Slovaca, 2009, 14 (24): 143—147

DOLICHOPODIDAE NEW TO SLOVAKIA, WITH ONE GENUS NEW TO THE WESTERN PALAEARCTIC REGION

Marc Pollet

Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (KBIN), Dept of Entomology, Vautierstraat 29–31, B–1000 Brussels, BelgiumUniversity of Ghent (UGent), Research Group Terrestrial Ecology (TEREC), K. L. Lede-ganckstraat 35, B–9000 Ghent, BelgiumResearch Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO), Information and Data Center (IDC), Kliniekstraat 25, B–1070 Brussels, Belgium [marc.pollet@inbo.be]

Abstract: First records of Achalcus nigropunctatus Pollet et Brunhes, 1996 and Medetera veles Loew, 1861 from Slovakia are presented, with information on their distribution and ecology. A female specimen of Setihercostomus is report-ed from Slovakia as well, which represents the first record of this genus from the Western Palaearctic region.

Key words: Dolichopodidae, faunistics, distribution, ecology, new records, Setihercostomus, Slovakia.

In the frame of two separate events, samples of Do-lichopodidae (Diptera) from Slovakia were recently put at my disposal for identification. Both sample sets contained species that appeared new to Slo-vakia. The first action was a contribution to a mo-nograph on the Dipteran fauna of the Pol’ana Bio-sphere Reserve (Pollet et al. 2009). The second one was the request by Martin Suvák to examine a small number of dolichopodid specimens collected within and near greenhouses of the Botanical Gar-den of the P. J. Šafárik University at Košice (Slova-kia). In the present paper, detailed information on these species is given, and a description of a female specimen of Setihercostomus sp. is presented, with a short note on the systematic position of the genus.

Achalcus nigropunctatus Pollet et Brunhes, 1996

Slovakia: Poľana Biosphere Reserve, Pstruša res. nr. Zvolen, 48°33’N, 19°20’E, 355 m, undergrowth of alder forest, 17.7.2003, sweepnet, 2 ♂, J. Rohá-ček leg., M. Pollet det., Silesian Museum, Opava coll. (Inv. c. d 050 2–2003).

A rare Western European species that has origi-nally been described from high altitude habitats in France, Switzerland and Germany (Pollet 1996). More recently, it has also been encountered in low altitude marshland habitats in Germany (Stark

pers. comm.), the UK (Drake 2008) and Finland (Kahanpää pers. comm.). It is considered endange-red in Germany (Bellstedt & Wagner 1998), and vulnerable in the Czech Republic (Olejníček 2005).

First record from Slovakia.

Medetera veles (Loew, 1861) (Fig. 1)

Slovakia: Košice, Botanical Garden of the P. J. Šafárik University, reproduction greenhouse, 25.8.2006, 2 ♂, 1 ♀; greenhouse with mostly Anthurium sp., 26.8.2006, 4 ♂; cold greenhouse, 26.8.2006, 1 ♂, 2 ♀; greenhouse with Orchidaceae, 3 ♂, 1 ♀; exposi-tion greenhouse, 26.8.2006, 2 ♀, all M. Suvák leg., M. Pollet leg., all M. Suvák coll., except for 2 ♂ in M. Pollet coll.

M. veles is primarily a Nearctic species distributed throughout Canada and the US, but also known from Bermuda and Mexico (Pollet et al. 2004). In the Palaearctic, it has thus far been recorded from Fen-noscandia (Finland, Sweden, Norway), the United Kingdom (Scotland) and Belgium in the West, and Russia, Kazakhstan and Japan in the East (Yang et al. 2006; see also Sinclair et al. 2008), but will un-doubtedly show up in other countries as well. It do-es not seem to be confined to greenhouses, and has been found outdoors on tree trunks of poplar (Po-pulus sp.) in association with other species of the M. veles species group, like M. jacula (Fallén, 1823),

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M. truncorum Meigen, 1824 and M. saxatilis Collin, 1941 (Pollet unpubl. data). First records from Slo-vakia.

Setihercostomus sp. (Fig. 2A, B)

Slovakia: Pol’ana Biosphere Reserve, Detva – Hor-ná Chrapková, 48°36’N, 19°26’E, 850 m, boggy me-adow, 16.5.2002, sweepnet, 1 ♀, J. Roháček leg., M. Pollet det., Silesian Museum, Opava coll. (Inv. c. d 050 3–2002).

At present, this genus includes three species from Oriental China, and one Palaearctic species from the Ussuri region of Southeastern Siberia (Rus-sia) (Yang et al. 2006; see also Sinclair et al. 2008). The type species of the genus Setihercosto-mus Zhang et Yang, 2005, S. setifacies (Stackelberg, 1934), has been described on the basis of male spe-cimens only. The Poľana B.R. female largely mat-ches the description of S. setifacies (see further), but with males from Poľana B.R. currently lacking, there is no certainty about the real identity of this specimen. For this reason, a detailed description of this specimen is presented below. First record from the western Palaearctic.

Morphological abbreviations: ad: anterodorsal; av: anteroventral; pd: posterodorsal; pv: postero-ventral; vt: ventral; fore leg: leg I; mid leg: leg II; hind leg: leg III; 5 tarsal segments with tarsomere

(I–III)1 as most basal and tarsomere (I–III)5 as most apical.

Diagnosis: at first sight similar to Hercostomus par-vilamellatus (Macquart, 1827), but face with two strong bristles (absent in H. parvilamellatus), veins R4+5 and M1 parallel (distinctly converging in H. par-vilamellatus), and clutch of minute setae in front of posterior spiracle (absent in H. parvilamellatus).

Description: Head. Face silvery grey, parallel-sid-ed, rather wide, 1.3x as wide as postpedicel length, with diverging shallow ridges on basis; bare, with 2 strong (1.2x as long as postpedicel length), curved black bristles on rim between epistoma and clypeus (Fig. 2B), and with 3 minute, yellow setae on lower ½ of epistoma. Frons dusted grey, with brownish tinge. Occiput brownish black, slightly dusted grey, convex. Palp small, about 1/7 of eye height, ovoid, brownish black, with pale pubescence and 1 strong, black api-cal bristle. All postocular bristles black. Two pairs of small, black postocellar bristles. Antenna black, with scape pubescent dorsally, and pedicel with ring of bristles at apex. Postpedicel rounded ovoid, with blunt apex; slightly longer than scape and pedicel combined. Arista rather robust and distinctly pubes-cent, inserted dorsally at apical 1/3, 1.5x as long as first three antennal segments combined.

Thorax and abdomen. Mesonotum, including scu-tellum, and abdomen brownish black, with dark green reflection; all bristles black unless otherwise

Fig. 1. Male specimen of Medetera veles (picture by Martin Suvák, 15.11.2006).

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Fig. 2a, b. Female specimen of Setihercostomus sp. from Pol’ana Biosphere Reserve (Slovakia). A. habitus, lateral view; B. head showing pair of strong curved bristles on the lower face (pictures by Yves Laurent, 16.12.2009).

146© Faunima, Bratislava, 2009 http://zoology.fns.uniba.sk/ffs

mentioned. Pleura dusted greyish, with a clutch of 3 minute, erect setae in front of posterior spiracle. Eight strong acrostichal bristles, biserial, reaching 5th dorsocentral bristles posteriorly, latter distinct-ly medially off-set. Six dorsocentral bristles; fur-ther complete dolichopodine chaetotaxy of mesono-tum. Scutellum with 2 strong black median bristles, 2 minute, pale lateral setae and a sparse black pu-bescence both on disk and margin. Upper propleura with about 6 minute, yellow setae; lower propleura with one strong, black, prothoracic bristle. Five ab-dominal tergites visible and pubescent.

Wings slightly smoky, with veins R4+5 and M1 parallel towards wing apex; proximal section of M1 0.7x as long as apical section; proximal section of CuA1 1.5x as long as apical section; apical section of CuA1 2.3x as long as outer crossvein dm-cu. Halter yellowish white. Squamal fringe black.

Legs. All bristles and setae black. Coxae and trochan-ters brownish black; coxa II with narrow yellowish white apical edge. All femora brownish black, yel-lowish only at extreme apex. Coxa III with strong erect bristle at centre, and with 3 minute dark se-tae. Femur I with multiple rows of small inclined vt bristles on basal 1/4, about as long as 1/3 of femur depth; with three small preapical pv bristles. Femur II with one strong black ad preapical bristle; with multiple rows of small inclined vt bristles on basal 1/3, about as long as 1/3 of femur depth. Femur III with one strong black ad preapical bristle and one small black av preapical bristle; with multiple rows of small inclined bristles on basal ½, less than 1/3 as long as femur depth. Tibia I yellow, brownish on basal ¼; with 1 ad bristle at about basal 1/3, fol-lowed by a serration of black bristles to apex; with 2 pd bristles at about basal ¼ and ½. Tibia II yel-low with basal ¼ brownish; with 3 ad bristles at about basal ¼, 2/5 and 2/3, 2 pd bristles at basal ¼ and 2/3, and one av bristle at basal 3/5; all bristles 1.7–2.0x as long as tibial depth, except for smaller basalmost ad bristle; with 4 large and one small apical bristles. Tibia III yellowish brown, with ba-sal 1/6 and apical 1/3 brown; with 3 ad bristles at basal ¼, ½ and 2/3, and 3 pd bristles at basal 1/5, 2/5 and 3/5; all bristles about 2x as long as tibial depth; with one strong dorsal preapical bristle and a dense pd pubescence on apical ½; with 2 strong and one small apical bristles; with one vt bristle at about basal 2/3, 1.4x as long as tibial depth. Tarsus I dark brown with taI1 pale yellow on basal ½. Tar-sus II dark brown with taII1 pale yellow on basal 2/3. Tarsus III dark brown with taIII1 pale yellow on less than basal ½. Length ratio of femur/tibia/ta1/ta2/ta3/ta4/ta5 of leg I: 7.7/7.8/3.5/1.5/1.3/1/1, of leg II: 7.5/8.3/3.5/1.9/1.4/1/1, and of leg III: 7.5/9.4/1.8/3.6/1.9/1.3/1.

Body length: 2.0 mm, wing length: 2.5 mm.

Remarks: the only non-gender related features of S. setifacies that differ from those of the female spe-

cimen described above are: an entirely brown fe-mur and tarsus III, an entirely yellow tibia I and II, and 4 pd bristles on tibia III. As all of these charac-ters are known to show intraspecific variation in Dolichopodidae, it remains probable (but not sure) that the Poľana female might indeed belong to S. se-tifacies.

The clutch of minute setae in front of the posteri-or spiracle (character no. 15 in Brooks 2005) is rather inconspicuous as a diagnostic character, but represents the key character (synapomorphy) for the monophyly of the Dolichopus genus group sen-su Brooks (2005), encompassing Dolichopus, Ethi-romyia and Gymnopternus. Despite the fact that this clutch has been encountered in some species of Ta-chytrechus and Apelastoneurus as well, it is very li-kely that Setihercostomus also belongs to the abo-ve genus group when considering other characters like e.g. the parallel course of the R4+5 and M1 ve-ins (also present in Ethiromyia and Gymnopternus). This clutch of minute seate has not been mentioned in the description of any of the four Setihercostomus species, but it is assumed that it has simply been overlooked by the respective authors.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Sincere thanks are due to Martin Suvák (the Bota-nical Garden of the P. J. Šafárik University, Košice, Slovakia) and Jindřich Roháček (Slezské zemské Muzeum, Opava, Czech Republic) who kindly provi-ded me with the dipteran material and with whom I enjoyed a very nice collaboration. I am much indeb-ted as well to Maurice Leponce and Yves Laurent (Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Brus-sels, Belgium) who produced the pictures of the Se-tihercostomus specimen.

REFERENCES

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Olejníček J, 2005: Dolichopododidae (lupicovití). pp. 292–295. In: Farkač J, Král D & Škorpík M (eds): Červený seznam ohrožených druhů České republiky. Bezobratlí. List of threatened species in the Czech Republic. Invertebrates. Agentura ochrany přírody a krajiny ČR, Praha, 760 pp.

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Submitted: 16.12.2009Accepted: 17.12.2009

Published online: 30.12.2009