A revision of the genus Argyra from China ( Diptera : Empidoidea : Dolichopodidae )

The species of the genus Argyra Macquart from China are revised. The following 3 species are new to science: Argyra (Argyra) serrata sp. n., A. (A.)pallipHosa sp. n., A. (A.) nigripilosa sp. n.

Diagnosis.Abdomen wholly metallic green.Palpus yellowish.First flagellomere rather large and distinctly elongated (2.4 times longer than wide); arista subdorsal.Fore coxa with yellow hairs and bristles; mid and hind coxae with black hairs and bristles.
Head metallic green with pale grey powder; irons and face with dense silvery white powder.Hairs and bristles on head black; middle and lower postocular bristles (including ventral hairs) yellow.Ocellar tubercle distinct, with 2 long strong oc and 2 very short posterior hairs.Antenna (Fig. 1) black; scape with black dorsal hairs; first flagellomere rather large and distinctly elongated (2.4 times longer than wide), somewhat acute apically; arista subdorsal, black, with basal segment 0.45 times as long as apical segment.Proboscis black with black hairs; palpus yellowish with dense white pollen, and with yellow hairs and 1 yellow apical bristle.
Etymology.The specific name refers to the serrate apical genital process.
Remarks.The new species is somewhat similar to Argyra (Argyra) skufjini Negrobov, 1965 from Russia in having the rather large and elongated first flagellomere, but may be separated from the latter by having a sub dorsal arista and male cercus with long bristles on ventral margin.In skufjini, the arista is subapical, and the male cercus has no long bristles (Negrobov, 1965).It can be easily separated from Argyra (Argyra) arrogans Takagi and its related species from Asia by its long first flagellomere with subdorsal arista, yellow palpus and abdomen without yellow spots (Takagi, 1960;Hollis, 1964).
Head metallic green with pale grey powder; frons and face with dense silvery white powder, face rather narrow (distinctly narrower than first flagellomere).Hairs and bristles on head black; middle and lower postocular bris tles (including ventral hairs) yellow.Ocellar tubercle dis tinct, with 2 long strong oc and 2 very short posterior hairs.Antenna (Fig. 4) black; scape with black dorsal hairs; first flagellomere distinctly elongated (2.5-3.0 times longer than wide), somewhat acute apically; arista subdorsal, black, with basal segment 0.3 times as long as apical segment.Proboscis black with black hairs; palpus yellow, white powdery, with 2 long black hairs and 1 black apical bristle.
Etymology.The specific name refers to the pale hairs and bristles on coxae.
Remarks.The three new species of the subgenus Argyra (Argyra) described in the present paper are more closely related to Argyra (Argyra) skufjini Negrobov in having an elongated first flagellomere, but differ from the latter in having subdorsal arista.Among them, Argyra (Argyra) pallipilosa is a sister species of Argyra (Argyra) nigripilosa as it has a modified fore tarsus and cercus, but is easily separated from the latter by the yellow hairs and bristles on the coxae, hind femur with dark brown tip, and the first flagellomere long (2.5-3.0 times longer than wide).
Head metallic green with pale grey powder; frons and face with dense silvery white powder, face rather narrow (distinctly narrower than first flagellomere).Hairs and bristles on head black; middle and lower postocular bris tles (including ventral hairs) yellow.Ocellar tubercle weakly raised, with 2 long strong oc and 2 very short pos terior hairs.Antenna (Fig. 7) black; scape with black dorsal hairs; first flagellomere distinctly elongated (2.1 times longer than wide), somewhat acute apically; arista subdorsal, black, with basal segment 0.3 times as long as apical segment.Proboscis black with black hairs; palpus yellow, white pollinose, with 1 black distinct hair and 1 black apical bristle.
Thorax metallic green with pale grey powder; pleuron with dense powder, mesonotum and scutellum slightly brilliant metallic green with grey powder.Hairs and bris tles on thorax black; 6 strong dc, 3-4 irregularly paired acr (two rows somewhat close); 1 long h and 1 distinct humeral hair, 1long ph, 1 long ih, 1 short su, 2 long npl, 2 sa (anterior sa short), 1 long psa; scutellum with 2 pairs of normal bristles (outer pair short and as long as 1/3 of inner pair) and 1 pair of short apical hairs between them.Propleuron with 1 yellow bristle on upper portion, 1 short yellow hair and 1 black bristle on lower portion.Legs yellow; fore coxa yellow, mid and hind coxae (except narrow apex) blackish to black; tarsi from tip of tarso mere 1 onward brown to dark brown.Hairs and bristles on legs black; all coxae with black hairs and bristles, fore coxa with 2 anterior bristles near apex and 4-5 thick or thin apical bristles, mid coxa with 2 anterior bristles, hind coxa with 1 long and 1 slightly short outer bristles.Femora without yellow ventral hairs.Fore tibia with 1 ad and 2 pd, apically with 2 bristles; mid tibia with 3 ad, 2 pd and 1 av, apically with 3-4 bristles; hind tibia with 2 ad, 5 pd and 2-3 av, apically with 3 bristles.Fore tarsomeres 2-4 distinctly shortened and thickened; tarsomere 2 with distinct ventral hairs, tarsomeres 3-4 with very short thin pubescence.Relative lengths of tibia and 5 tarso meres LI 2.5 : 1.5 : 0. Remarks.This species is very similar to Argyra (Argyra) pallipilosa sp.n., but may be separated from the latter by the black hairs and bristles on all coxae, hind femur wholly yellow, and first flagellomere short (2.1 times longer than wide).
Distribution.China (Yunnan); India, Nepal.Remarks.This species is recorded from China for the first time.It was originally described by Hollis (1964) on the basis of 2 females, its male is still unknown.It can be easily identified and distinguished from other species of the genus by the following features: 4-seriate acr, mesonotum and scutellum with supplementary hairs on disc, scutellum with two pairs of strong bristles subequal in length, and Ml with a strong Z-bend.