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

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