Anthrax argyropygus albosparsus (Bigot)

Anthrax argyropygus albosparsus (Bigot)

Argyramoeba albosparsa Bigot, 1892, p. 348 [Argyromoeba].—Kertész, 1909, p. 60 [albosparse].

Spongostylum albosparsum.—Aldrich, 1905, p. 222 [Spogostylum].

Anthrax albosparsus.—Painter and Painter, 1962, p. 69.

Argyramoeba angustipennis.—Williston, 1901, p. 275 [not Macquart, 1840; misidentification].

Spongostylum angustipennis.—Aldrich, 1905, p. 222 [Spogostylum] [not Macquart, 1840; misidentification].

MALE.—Body black, tibiae red; integument mostly gray and brown pruinose, eye margins and lower half of occiput white pruinose, upper half of occiput blue green pruinose. Front with black setae and lanceolate black scales, a few white scales laterally below; face with black setae extending almost to antennae, a few white setae below; setae on occiput black, scales black, a few white ones below; fringe of hairs on posterior margin black externally and white internally above, white below. First antennal segment about twice as long as apical width; second segment lenticular, about as wide as base of third segment which is flattened laterally and narrowed abruptly to styliform part; styliform part about equal in length to base and style (Figure 111).

Mesonotum and scutellum with linear black scales, some white scales on posterior margin of scutellum. Sternopleuron, lower half of mesopleuron, and anterior half of pteropleuron with black setae and hairlike white scales. Prosternum and propleuron with white pile; dorsal half of mesopleuron and anterior half of mesonotum with white pile and black setae; postalar tuft of pile black. Fore coxa with white and black bristles, and white scales; middle and hind coxae with black setae and a few white scales, a few white setae present. Hypopleuron and metapleuron bare.

Wing (Plate 3h) brown anteriorly and basally, hyaline posteriorly; cells C and Sc filled with pigment, cell R1 pigmented out to apex, a crescent-shaped hyaline area preapically and elongate hyaline areas at base and submedially; cell R2+3 pigmented along upper margin as far as base of cell R4; cell R pigmented except for a preapical hyaline spot; cell M entirely pigmented; extreme bases of cells 1M2 and Cu1 pigmented; apical margin of pigment in cells 1A and 2A extending from base of cell Cu1 to posterior margin just beyond base of cell 2A. Base of cell R4 angled; r–m crossvein at basal two-fifths of cell 1 M2, vein R2+3 arising slightly basad; contact of cells 1M2 and Cu1 about 2.5 times longer than width of base of cell Cu1; posterobasal part of wing greatly reduced; cell 1A broadly open; cell 2A narrowed, much narrower than cell 1A postmedially, posterior margin incurved; alula vestigial, posterior margin straight. Stigmatic area lightly pigmented. Calypter lightly pigmented, fringe of hairs white and yellow. Halter brown, knob brown above except at extreme apex, yellow below.

Scales on femora mostly black, a few yellow scales posteriorly on fore and middle pairs; fore and middle tibiae with black scales anteriorly and yellow and white scales posteriorly; posterior tibia with black scales. Middle femur with one or two macrochaetae anteroventrally; anteroventral row of macrochaetae on hind femur incomplete basally. Anterodorsal surface of fore tibia with a few weak macrochaetae; hind tibia with single row of macrochaetae anterodorsally.

Sides of first abdominal tergum with white pile; lateral margins of terga two through four with black setae, hairs, and linear scales. Posterior margin of first tergum with lanceolate white scales; discs of terga two through four and middle of five with linear black scales. Lateral thirds of fifth tergum, and sixth and seventh with dense, overlapping, posteriorly produced, lanceolate-truncate, white scales. Sterna with fine, sparse, white and black setae anteriorly and black setae posteriorly, with a few linear black scales.

MALE GENITALIA (Figure 67).—Gonocoxites short and broad ventrally; apices with sharp dorsal lobes and slightly obtuse ventral angles; setae evenly distributed over anterior parts, extending almost to base ventrally. Basal segment of gonostylus rounded in lateral view, with a membranous lobe medially extending beyond base of apical segment and covered with fine setae; base of distal segment of gonostylus rounded transversely, flattened apically, tapering outward to a long narrow styliform part bent sharply upward and inward at apex. Dorsal part of apex of epiphallus formed as a transverse shieldlike structure, convex exteriorly with acute lateral angles; ventrolateral parts bluntly rounded apically, extending far beyond dorsal part, thus forming a deep medial emargination below. Dorsal bands joined mesally, very broad before junction, with a line of setae extending almost to apex. Base of aedeagus narrow, evenly rounded dorsally, undulated ventrally, narrowing to junction with ventral bands before junction of dorsal bands.

FEMALE.—Setae on sternopleuron and lower half of mesopleuron all white. Yellow scales more extensive on posterior surfaces of fore and middle femora. Wing (Plate 3i) more extensively pigmented; cell R1 without hyaline areas basally; cell R2+3 pigmented out to base of cell R4 except for a concave hyaline area before base of cell R4, cell R5 with a large spot extending from cell R2+3 between bases of cells R5 and R4; bases of cells 1M2 and Cu1 broadly pigmented; cell 1A pigmented except at extreme apex; contact of cells 1M2 and Cu1 about twice as long as width of base of cell Cu1. Posterior margin of first abdominal tergum with dense, long, lanceolate white scales; posterior margins of second and third terga with small spots of white scales medially; white scales on posterior segments restricted to lateral margins of fifth tergum. First two sterna with mixed black and white setae, posterior sterna with black setae and black scales.

FEMALE GENITALIA (Figure 87).—Tenth tergum with about 18 spines on each side. Ventral arm of nine tergum undulating and expanding mesally into a broad, dorsally convex plate at apex. Dorsomedial angle of sclerite on each side of gonopore rounded, not produced; lateral arm tapering to a sharp, upturned apex; ventral arm tapering and slightly curving mesad toward apex. Each spermathecal duct about twice as long as bulb; basal section very short; medial section about 2.5 times longer than apical section which is straight; bulb elongate, tapering from just before apex to base and sharply rounded apically.

DISTRIBUTION.—Anthrax a. albosparsus occurs in the forested areas of southern Mexico (Map 20). The few specimens available indicate that it may be allopatric to a. argyropygus on the east. The one specimen of this species collected by the author was found in a steep, rocky canyon 18 miles north of Chilpancingo, Guerrero. The vegetation was an open, subtropical evergreen forest with numerous cacti and other xerophytic plants.

NEW MATERIAL EXAMINED.—Guatemala: , Quirigua, August (Schaus and Barnes).

Mexico: Guerrero, , Acapulco, VI–15–1935 (A. E. Pritchard); , 18 mi. N Chilpancingo, VIII–7–1962 (N. Marston–8). Morelos, , 11 mi. E Cuernavaca, Lobo Canyon, VIII–15–1962, 3900 feet (R. H. and E. M. Painter); , 12 mi. E Cuernavaca, Lobo Canyon, VIII–14–1962, 3600 feet (R. H. and E. M. Painter). Oaxaca, , Tehuantepec (Sumichrast).

TYPE.—According to Painter and Painter (1962) the type of Argyramoeba albosparsa Bigot, a female, is in the Bigot collection in the British Museum. It carries the label “Argyramoeba albosparsa , n. sp. Inédit. Quinz. 1888 J. Bigot. Am. du Nord Colorado.” The redescription by Painter and Painter along with the photograph of the wing of the type indicates that this specimen is a typical member of the species argyropygus closely allied to the subspecies from eastern United States and Mexico.