Skip to main content

Four species druid flies (Hendelia Czerny, 1903, Diptera, Clusiidae) from China as new to science

Four species druid flies (Hendelia Czerny, 1903, Diptera, Clusiidae) from China as new to science

NEWS - Four species of the genus druid flies (Hendelia Czerny, 1903) collected from China, were described as new to science: wide gena druid fly (Hendelia latustigenis), long antenna druid fly (Hendelia macrocera), triangular druid fly (Hendelia deltoides) and pale yellow druid fly (Hendelia flavida).

Clusiidae (Diptera, Acalyptratae) consists of 14 genera and at least 640 species. Hendelia Czerny, 1903, has about 59 species distributed worldwide, 29 species in the Palearctic and Eastern regions, 4 species are known in Japan, 3 species are known in Russia and 3 species are known in China.

H. deltoides males are 4.4-4.6 mm long and have wings 4.2-4.4 mm. The head is mostly yellow, the palps are white, the face is dark brown and the back half is yellow. Thorax mostly yellow with 3 light brown lines extending to scutellum. Surstylus nearly triangular, 1/5 length of genitalia and apex without spines. Hypandrium with 4 setae.

Specimen collected from Shaanxi, Chongqing, China. Specific name “deltoides” refers to the nearly triangular surstylus. This species is similar to H. angulosa (Sueyoshi), but can be distinguished by the black face and three fronto-orbital setae (vs. yellow face and head with only two fronto-orbital setae).

H. macrocera males is 4.3-4.5 mm long and wings 4.2-4.4 mm long. Head mostly yellowish including face and fronts, palps yellowish white, interfrontal setae long and strong, stalks very long. Scutum with Y-shaped brown lines extending to scutellum. Surstylus nearly “triangular” in shape. Hypandrium with two pairs of ventromedial setae.

The specimen was collected in Shaanxi, China. The specific name “macrocera” refers to the long antennae. The new species is similar to H. extensicornis Frey, but can be separated by the long and strong vibrissae, the interfrontal setae are very strong and almost parallel (vs. vibrissae are small, interfrontal setae are small and crossed).

H. latustigenis males is 4.2-4.5 mm long and the wings are 4.1-4.3 mm. The head is mostly yellowish and the palps are yellowish white. The mesontum has 2 brown lines extending to the anterior edge of the scutellum, the hypandrium has a finger-like protrusion in the middle that has 2 long setae at the apical part.

The specimen was collected from Shannxi, China. The specific name “latustigenis” refers to the relatively broad genera. The new species differs from the others in the middle hypandrium with a finger-like projection ending in two long setae, and in the lower hypandrium with two or three medium setae.

H. flavida males is 3.4-3.6 mm long and has wings 2.2-2.4 mm long. Body mostly yellow. Head and thorax yellowish, palps white, scutum with 3 faint brown lines. Cerci very small, almost equilateral triangles and completely fused. Pregonite with 4 medial setae and no smaller setae or setulae.

The specimen was collected from Yunnan, China. The specific name “flavida” refers to the mostly pale yellow color. The new species is similar to H. plumosa (Sasakawa), but differs in having a yellowish head, faint lines on the scutum, and completely fused cerci (vs. yellow head, more distinctly striped thorax and separate cerci).

Original research

Yang S-L, Yin X-M, Xi Y-Q (2024). Four new species of the genus Hendelia Czerny, 1903 (Diptera, Clusiidae) from China. ZooKeys 1212: 255-266, DOI:10.3897/zookeys.1212.127558

Dlium theDlium
Labels:

Popular Posts

Blood lily (Scadoxus multiflorus)

Blood lily or Haemanthus multiflorus ( Scadoxus multiflorus ) is a species of plant in the Amaryllidaceae, a bulbous shrub that produces rhizomes. Leaves and flowers may appear together or leaves may be produced later. The base of the leaves and stems are tightly wrapped to form a pseudo-stem or false stem, 5-60 cm long. Flowers in umbels at the top of the stem, leafless, 12-75 cm long. Pseudostems and scapes are often covered with reddish brown to dark purple spots. The flower umbel is in the shape of a globe with 10-200 individual flowers. Each flower has a stalk, 15-45 mm long. The tepals and filaments of the stamens are red. The base of the tepals is fused to form a cylindrical tube, 4-26 mm long, the free end of the tepals 12-32 mm long, narrow and spreading. The fruit is a berry having a diameter of 5-10 mm. Kingdom: Plantae Phylum: Tracheophyta Subphylum: Angiospermae Class: Liliopsida Order: Asparagales Family: Amaryllidaceae Subfamily: Amaryllidoideae Tribe: Haemantheae Ge...
Read more

Indian rosewood (Dalbergia latifolia)

Sonokeling or Java palisandre or Indian rosewood ( Dalbergia latifolia ) is a species of plant in the Fabaceae, a large tree producing hardwood, medium weight and high quality, rounded leaves, thin and broad pods, highly adaptive, grows in dry and rocky landscapes with lots of sunlight. D. latifolia has medium to large size, cylindrical stems, up to 40 m high with a ring of up to 2 m, the bark is brownish gray and slightly cracked longitudinally. The crown is dense, dome-shaped and sheds leaves. The leaves are compound and pinnate oddly with 5-7 strands that have different sizes and appear alternately on the shaft. The leaves are round or elongated in width or heart, the upper surface is green and the surface is pale green. The flowers are small, 0.5-1 cm long and clustered in panicles. The pods are green to brown when ripe and are elongated lanceolate, pointed at the base and tip. The pods have 1-4 seeds which are soft and brownish. Indian rosewood grows at elevations below 600 m,...
Read more

Plumeria rubra and Plumeria obtusa, the differences

SPECIES HEAD TO HEAD - The genus frangipani trees ( Plumeria Tourn. ex L.) has only 18 officially recorded species and two very similar species, frangipani ( Plumeria rubra L.) and white frangipani ( Plumeria obtusa L.). Both have the same habitus, flowers and fruits and are difficult to distinguish. The leaves of both species have slightly different shapes. Therefore, the leaves are very important to distinguish the two species, especially the shape of the tip. P. rubra has simple, lanceolate leaves with acute tips. P. obtusa has simple, elliptic leaves with rounded tips. By Aryo Bandoro Founder of Dlium.com . You can follow him on X: @Abandoro . Read more: Plumeria rubra Plumeria obtusa
Read more