Anthrax nitidus (Austen 1937)

Anthrax nitidus

MALE.—Integument black, shining under thin gray and brown pruinosity; margins of eyes and lower part of occiput white pruinose. Front and face with black setae, extending almost to antennae on latter. Occiput with black setae; fringe of pile on posterior margin black, a few white hairs behind vertex. First antennal segment much shorter than apical width, surrounding base of second segment; second segment lenticular; base of third segment flattened laterally, narrowing abruptly to styliform part; styliform part about 1.5 times longer than base, about 3 times longer than very short style. (Figure 101).

Mesonotum and scutellum with fine black setae and linear black scales; some linear white scales laterally on mesonotum. Sternopleuron, mesopleuron, and anterior half of pteropleuron with black setae and sparse, linear white scales, some black scales on last two. Prosternum and propleuron with black pile; anterior margin of mesonotum with mixed black and white pile; postalar tuft of pile black, Hypopleuron and metapleuron bare. Coxae with black bristles and mixed black and white, linear scales.

Wing (Plate 3j) translucent, light brown basally, hyaline apically; pigment filling cells C and Sc (subhyaline apically) and basal part of wing from vein R1 above r–m crossvein across bases of cells R2+3, R5, 1M2, and Cu1; pigment fading apically and posteriorly in cells 1A and 2A. Base of cell R4 angled, not spurred; r–m crossvein at basal fourth of cell 1M2; vein R2+3 arising slightly basad of r–m crossvein; contact of cells 1M2 and Cu1 about 1.5 times width of base of cell Cu1. Cell 1A punctiform at margin. Posterobasal part of wing enlarged, cell 2A distinctly wider than cell 1A; alula rounded posteriorly. Stigmatic area unpigmented. Calypter unpigmented, fringe of hairs white. Halter yellow, knob yellow.

Scales on legs black. Middle femur with three macrochaetae anteroventrally; hind femur with five or six macrochaetae anteroventrally. Fore tibia without macrochaetae anterodorsally; hind tibia with single row of macrochaetae anterodorsally.

First abdominal tergum with white pile laterally; posterior terga with sparse black setae and hairs laterally. Posterior margin of first tergum and discs of two through four with linear black scales; posterior margin of second tergum and lateral part of posterior margin of third tergum with linear white scales. Fifth tergum mostly with linear black scales, some lanceolate white scales posterolaterally; terga six and seven with linear black scales medially and lanceolate white scales laterally. Venter with sparse, fine, black setae.

MALE GENITALIA (Figure 51).—Gonocoxites very broad, dorsal margin falling almost at a right angle to ventral margin in lateral view; apices broadly rounded in ventral view; mesal margins bluntly angled, medial sulcus narrow; setae sparse, evenly distributed three-fourths of way to base. Basal segment of gonostylus slightly convex in lateral view, with a few fine setae apically. Distal segment of gonostylus oval in cross section basally, somewhat flattened dorsoventrally; styliform part arising from dorsomedial margin and extending upward and outward, apex slightly curved dorsally; base with sparse, short setae. Apex of epiphallus with a sharp dorsal projection and a sharp, slightly recurved flange on each side. Dorsal bands of epiphallus not joined medially, without setae. Base of aedeagus broad, bulbous with upper margin curving downward and apically to junction with ventral bands before approximation of dorsal bands; ventral bands with a pouchlike protuberance halfway to apex.

FEMALE.—Similar to male. Seventh abdominal tergum without white scales.

VARIATION.—The contact of cells 1M2 and Cu1 may be as much as twice the width of the base of cell Cu1. Cell 1A may be slightly open or closed and short petiolate. The postalar tuft of pile may be black or yellow.

DISTRIBUTION.—The few specimens available of A. nitidus indicate that the species occurs in desert areas in southern California and western Arizona. Its range probably also includes Sonora and Baja California (Map 11).

HOLOTYPE.—, Surprise Canyon, Panamint Mts., Inyo Co., California, IV–24–1957 (P. D. Hurd) (UCAL).

ALLOTYPE.—, 10 mi. W Blythe, Riverside Co., California, X–2–1954 (J. C. Hall) (UCAL).

PARATYPES.—Arizona: ; “Palm Canal,” V–29–1955 (G. D. Butler and D. Turtle) (ARIZ).

California: Inyo Co., , Surprise Canyon, Panamit Mts., IV–24–1957 (P. D. Hurd) (NLM).

Anthrax nitidus adalah spesies lalat yang berasal dari genus Anthrax dan famili Bombyliidae. Lalat ini juga merupakan bagian dari ordo Diptera, kelas Insecta, filum Arthropoda, dan kingdom Animalia.

Lalat ini biasanya memakan nektar dan polen yang ada dalam bunga.