Milichiella arcuata
Content
Description
Body length: 2.5-3.2 mm; wing length: 2.2-2.8 mm.
Male coloration and vestiture: frons subshiny black, ocellar triangle and upper orbital plates shiny black, lunule brown, basoflagellomere black, sometimes basomedially reddish, face greyish microtomentose, palpus black; thorax with mesonotum shiny black, scutellum brown microtomentose, pleura with anepisternum and middle of katepisternum shiny, otherwise brown microtomentose, wing white, veins white, brown spot at tip of vein R1 absent, calypter white, halter yellow, legs black, fore and hind tarsus with yellow brush; abdomen with T2-5 silvery microtomentose. Female coloration and vestiture: halter yellow, abdomen with T1-4 brown microtomentose, T5 shiny.
Morphology. Head: frons with 2+0.8 orbital and 2 frontal setae, anterior frontal seta medioclinate. In males frons 2.2x as wide at posterior margin than at base of antenna, arista about 3.3x as long as basoflagellomere wide, pubescence on arista very short, posterior eye margin with notch (4oc, female: 5-6oc) and slight emargination.
Thorax: 2 dc, 1 prsc, 1 pprn, 1 prs, 2 keps setae, posterior prsc about as long as posterior dc, seta between posterior prsc and posterior dc absent. Wing with vein R4+5 and M1 strongly converging (3.1), and ultimate section of vein M1 1.5x as long as penultimate section. Fore femur normal setulose, tibial organ absent.
Male abdomen: Posteromedial triangular projection of T1 into T2 present. Tergal chaetotaxy: T2 anterolateral corner with 2-3 lines of setae, T2-4 posterior margin with 1 row of setulae. S5 2.1x as long as wide, 1.7x as long and 1.3x as wide as S4, setulose on posterior 3/4 except for middle line. Male genitalia with apical seta on cercus as long as longest epandrial setae; dorsal length of epandrium less than in lucidula; epandrium with striate anteroventral extension and 0 setae on subepandrial plate, surstylus 0.3x as long as epandrium high, dilated posteroapically (1.4x) with anterior margin straight and slight angle at anteroapical margin, 2.0x as long as wide, structure of lateral surface striate, medial surface without setulae.
Special characters: wings and abdomen bright white, labella shorter than palpus.
Remarks. Some males from New Jersey, Massachusetts, Texas and Florida with hyaline wings, black abdominal tip and wider as well as shorter S5.
Male coloration and vestiture: frons subshiny black, ocellar triangle and upper orbital plates shiny black, lunule brown, basoflagellomere black, sometimes basomedially reddish, face greyish microtomentose, palpus black; thorax with mesonotum shiny black, scutellum brown microtomentose, pleura with anepisternum and middle of katepisternum shiny, otherwise brown microtomentose, wing white, veins white, brown spot at tip of vein R1 absent, calypter white, halter yellow, legs black, fore and hind tarsus with yellow brush; abdomen with T2-5 silvery microtomentose. Female coloration and vestiture: halter yellow, abdomen with T1-4 brown microtomentose, T5 shiny.
Morphology. Head: frons with 2+0.8 orbital and 2 frontal setae, anterior frontal seta medioclinate. In males frons 2.2x as wide at posterior margin than at base of antenna, arista about 3.3x as long as basoflagellomere wide, pubescence on arista very short, posterior eye margin with notch (4oc, female: 5-6oc) and slight emargination.
Thorax: 2 dc, 1 prsc, 1 pprn, 1 prs, 2 keps setae, posterior prsc about as long as posterior dc, seta between posterior prsc and posterior dc absent. Wing with vein R4+5 and M1 strongly converging (3.1), and ultimate section of vein M1 1.5x as long as penultimate section. Fore femur normal setulose, tibial organ absent.
Male abdomen: Posteromedial triangular projection of T1 into T2 present. Tergal chaetotaxy: T2 anterolateral corner with 2-3 lines of setae, T2-4 posterior margin with 1 row of setulae. S5 2.1x as long as wide, 1.7x as long and 1.3x as wide as S4, setulose on posterior 3/4 except for middle line. Male genitalia with apical seta on cercus as long as longest epandrial setae; dorsal length of epandrium less than in lucidula; epandrium with striate anteroventral extension and 0 setae on subepandrial plate, surstylus 0.3x as long as epandrium high, dilated posteroapically (1.4x) with anterior margin straight and slight angle at anteroapical margin, 2.0x as long as wide, structure of lateral surface striate, medial surface without setulae.
Special characters: wings and abdomen bright white, labella shorter than palpus.
Remarks. Some males from New Jersey, Massachusetts, Texas and Florida with hyaline wings, black abdominal tip and wider as well as shorter S5.
Diagnosis
Differs from congeners in the combination of shiny mesonotum, white wings and silvery microtomentose male T2-5.
Distribution
Northern America: Eastern Canada (Ontario present, Québec present); North-Central U.S.A. (Kansas present); Northeastern U.S.A. (Indiana present, Maine present, Massachusetts present, Michigan present, New York present, West Virginia present); South-Central U.S.A. (Texas present); Southeastern U.S.A. (Alabama present, Delaware present, District of Columbia present, Florida present, Georgia present, Maryland present, Virginia present); Southwestern U.S.A. (Arizona present); Southern America: Caribbean (Puerto Rico present)
Citation
catalog, North America (Osten Sacken 1878: Catalogue of the described Diptera of North America. [Ed.2]. – Smithson. misc. Collns 16(2[=publ.270]): xlviii+276pp: 209 (as Lobioptera arcuata))
diagnosis (Becker 1907: Die Dipteren-Gruppe Milichiinae. – Annls hist.-nat. Mus. natn. hung. 5: 507-550: 535 (as Lobioptera arcuata))
Nearctic catalog (Sabrosky 1965: Family Milichiidae, pp. 728-733. – In: Stone, A catalog of the Diptera of America North of Mexico, Agric. Handbook, 276, iv+1696pp: 733)
checklist, Puerto Rico (Wolcott 1936: "Insectae Borinquenses." A revision of "Insectae Portoricensis.". – J. Agric. Univ. P.R. 20(1): 627+[3]pp: 391)
New Jersey (Johnson 1904: A supplementary list of the Diptera of New Jersey. – Ent. News May1904: 157-163: 163 (as Lobioptera arcuata))
type information, photos (MCZ type database 2005: Milichiidae. http://mcz-28168.oeb.harvard.edu/mcz/index.htm)
citation (Procter 1946: Part VII. The insect fauna with references to methods of capture, food plants, the flora and other biological features: 566pp: 403)
Florida
chemical attraction to [E]-2-Hexenal (Aldrich & Barros 1995: Chemical attraction of male crab spiders (Araneae, Thomisidae) and kleptoparasitic flies (Diptera, Milichiidae and Chloropidae). – J. Arach. 23: 212-214: 213)
citation (Procter 1938: Part VI. The insect fauna with references to methods of capture, food plants, the flora and other biological features: 496pp: 348)
Florida (Johnson 1895: Diptera of Florida. – Proc. Acad. nat. Sci. Philad. 47: 303-340: 339 (as Lobioptera arcuata))
District of Columbia, Maryland, Canada (Malloch 1913: A synopsis of the genera of Agromyzidae, with descriptions of new genera and species. – Proc. U.S. natn. Mus. 46: 127-154,pls.4-6: 132)
Puerto Rico (Curran, C.H. 1928: Insects of Porto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Diptera or two-winged flies. – Scient. Surv. P. Rico 11: 1-118: 68)
catalog, North America (Aldrich: A catalogue of North American Diptera: 651 (as Milichia arcuata))
Massachusetts (Johnson 1930: A list of the insects fauna of Nantucket, Massachusetts. – Publ. Nantucket Maria Mitchell Assoc. 3(2): 174pp+xviii: 157)
light traps, Florida (Frost 1969: Supplement to Florida insects taken in light traps. – Fla Ent. 52: 91-101: 99)
Massachusetts (Johnson 1925: Fauna of New England. 15. List of the Diptera or two-winged flies. – Occ. Pap. Boston Soc. nat. Hist. 7(15): 326pp: 287)
New York (Johannsen 1928: Diptera in a list of insects of New York: 689-868: 864)
New York (Leonard 1928: List of the insects of New York with a list of the spiders and certain other allied groups. – Mem. Cornell Univ. Agric. Exp. Stn. 101(1926): 1-1121: 864)
Arizona (Cole 1969: Milichiidae, pp. 387-390. – In: Cole & Schlinger, The flies of Western North America, xi+693pp: 390)
Puerto Rico (Wolcott 1951: Milichiidae. In: The insects of Puerto Rico. Diptera, two-winged flies. – J. Agric. Univ. P.R. 32(1948): 529-530: 529)
checklist, North Carolina (Brimley 1938: The insects of North Carolina. Being a list of the insects of North Carolina and their close relatives: 560pp: 389)
Maine (Procter 1927: Part I. The insect fauna with references to methods of capture, food plants, the flora and other biological features: 247pp: 225)
Nearctic checklist (Poole 1996: Diptera, Lepidoptera, Siphonaptera. Nomina Insecta Nearctica. A checklist of the insects of North America. Vol. 3: 1143pp: 179)
New Jersey (Johnson 1910: Diptera of New Jersey. – A. Rep. N.J. St. Mus. 1909(1910): 703-814: 813 (as Lobioptera arcuata))
New Jersey (Smith 1890: Catalogue of insects found in New Jersey: 486pp: 403 (as Lobioptera arcuata))