Beckerina dominicana Borgmeier 1969

Beckerina dominicana

MALE.—Length 1.6–1.8 mm. Frons distinctly broader than long laterally (3:2), width 0.31 mm, honey yellow, shining, sparsely hairy, with a few crossed hairs anteriorly, without median line. Postantennals strong, close together. First row nearly straight, the antials about two-fifths of frontal width apart, a little more than the preocellars; anterolaterals close to anterior corner of frons, a little removed from eye-margin. Second row slightly convex, the bristles equidistant. One strong lower postocular bristle; 2 strong bristles on jowls; cheeks with a few short hairs. Third antennal joint round, brown; arista short (0.39 mm), pubescent. Palpi pale yellow, flat, the bristles strong but of moderate length.

Thorax subshining, yellowish brown or brownish yellow above, pleura pale yellow. Two dorsocentrals. Scutellum with 4 subequal bristles.

Abdomen dull, venter yellow; tergites velutinous black-brown, 2–5 subequal, 6th a litle longer, all with pale brown or yellowish apical bands. Pubescence short, scarce dorsally. Hypopygium small, brown, at left with a small rounded hairy lobe; a digitiform process is not perceptible; ventral plate rounded. Anal segment yellow, short, depressed, with short hairs.

Legs yellow, hind femur blackish near tip. Foretarsus slender, longer than tibia (4:3). Midtibia with several irregular straight or oblique hair-seams, some of which ending at middle, 1 reaching apex. Hind femur 3 times as long as broad. Hind tibia with a complete anterior hair-seam and several irregular ones on dorsal face, between both there is a bare strip with a single row of short hairs; no setulae.

Wing (Figure 152) grayish yellow, veins dark brown. Length (paratype) 1.48 mm (1.69 in holotype), width 0.59 mm. Costa 0.47 of wing length, ratio of segments 25:15:7. Cilia moderately long (0.11 mm), widely placed; there are 5 pairs between 1st and 3rd veins. Mediastinalis wanting. Fork long, acute. Fourth vein weakly concave; 5th but little curved; 6th slightly sinuous. Axillary margin with 3 hairs. Halteres dark brown.

Holotype male (USNM 70278), paratype male (CTB; mostly destroyed by psocids; wing on slide), Dominica, South Chiltern Est., 2 Feb. 1965 (W. W. Wirth).