Suragina bezzii

Suragina bezzii (Curran, 1928) Figs 11, 12, 38, 57, 56, 60, 76 Atrichops bezzii Curran, 1928: 172. Suragina bezzii: Stuckenberg 1980: 312. Atrichops varicolor Brunetti, 1929: 2. syn. nov. Suragina varicolor: Stuckenberg 1980: 313. Synonymy of Suragina varicolor (Brunetti, 1929). Images of both the holotypes of S. bezzii and S. varicolor, as well as identified material from Uganda, Kenya and Burundi were examined and compared. There is no marked difference between the two species, apart from slight variation in colour intensity due to different preservation methods. Thus, S. varicolor is hereby designated as junior synonym of S. bezzii. Type material examined. [from digital photographs] Holotype: ♀; [Democratic Republic of Congo] • Bengamisa, Belgian Congo; [0°58.21'N, 25°12.64'E]; 29 Sep. 1914; (AMNH). Type photos accessible at: https://emu-prod.amnh.org/imulive/iz/iz.html#details=ecatalogue.10021491. Other type material examined. S. varicolor syn. nov. type [from digital photographs]: Holotype: Uganda • 1 ♀; Southern Region; Kampala; [0°18.8167'N, 32°34.8667'E]; 13 Aug. 1911; Presented by the Imperial Bureau of Entomology, British Museum 1929–48; (NHMUK 014064157). Other material examined. Burundi • 1 ♀; Ruvubu National Park, nr. Ruvubu River; [3°10.00'S, 30°20.00'E]; 1382 masl; 21 Feb. – 8 Mar. 2010; R. Copeland leg.; edge of forest; Malaise trap. Kenya • 1 ♀; Western Province; Kakamega Forest, nr. Rondo Guest House; 00°13.6602'N, 34°53.1198'E; 1630 masl; 22 Oct. – 5 Nov. 2006; R. Copeland leg.; across small permanent stream; Malaise trap; (ICIPE) • 1 ♀; Western Province; Kakamega Forest, nr. Rondo Guest House; 00°13.6602'N, 34°53.1198'E; 1630 masl; 24 Sep. – 8 Oct. 2006; R. Copeland leg.; across small permanent stream; Malaise trap; (ICIPE). Uganda • 1 ♂ 48 ♀; Kibale National Park, Kanyawara, Makerere University Biological Field Station; 00°33.823'N, 30°21.490'E; 1505 masl; 12–26 Oct. 2008; S van Noort leg.; UG 08 - KF 3 - M 13; Malaise trap; primary mid-altitude Rainforest (♂: SAM-DIP-A 018410; ♀: SAM-DIP-A 018378, A 018379, A 018380, A 018381, A 018383, A 018384, A 018386, A 018387, A 018388, A 018389, A 018391, A 018392, A 018393, A 018394, A 018395, A 018396, A 018397, A 018398, A 018399, A 018400, A 018401, A 018402, A 018403, A 018404, A 018405, A 018406, A 018407, A 018408, A 018409, A 018411, A 018412, A 018413, A 018414, A 018416, A 018417, A 018418, A 018419, A 018420, A 018421, A 018422, A 018423, A 018424, A 018425, A 018426, A 018427, A 018428, A 018429, A 018432). The female material from Kibale National Park agrees entirely with that of the original type description as well as with the publically available photos of the holotype female. Diagnosis. Suragina bezzii has an overall dark appearance (Figs 11, 12), with its entire thorax dark brown to blackish with varying levels of bluish-grey pruinosity throughout. The wings are light brown suffused with a dark brown stigma and a brown suffused substigmal marking (Fig. 38). The abdomen has tergite 2 with a fenestrated appearance and the tergites 4–6 orange, contrasting with the otherwise dark brown abdomen. The species is most similar to S. semiobscura Muller, sp. nov. but differs from it by having the postpronotal lobes dark brown as opposed to pale yellow. Suragina semiobscura Muller, sp. nov., most strikingly, has the upper half of the wing dark brown suffused, the lower half appearing lighter, creating a two-toned appearance (Fig. 53) compared to that of S. bezzii that has the wing uniformly brown suffused. Remarks. Curran (1928: 172) remarked that it was possible that the “ black undescribed ” specimen mentioned by Bezzi (1926: 304) is in fact S. bezzii. That is however just conjecture at this point in time as no further information is available regarding the whereabouts of the specimen mentioned by Bezzi, nor was it ever described. There are several dark species from west and central African countries. Bezzi’s comment: “ This last species, like A. disciclara Speiser, 1914, shows a deep longitudinal median furrow on the fore part of the frons. ” is not diagnostic, as all known Afrotropical Suragina have a longitudinal median groove or “ furrow ” running up from between the antennal bases, with varying degrees of depth. Description. Measurements (♂ n = 1, ♀ n = 5): Wing span: ♂ 7.4 mm; ♀ 8.6–9.1 mm (avg. 8.4 mm); body length: ♂ 9.3 mm; ♀ 9.0– 9.8 mm (avg. 9.5 mm); wing span to body length ratio (avg.): ♂ 0.80; ♀ 0.94. Male (Fig. 11). Head: Black ground colour, with bluish-grey pruinosity on majority of head; eye bare; holoptic; ommatidia of similar size; lateral edge of eye with slight indentation; ocellar tubercle barely visible in profile, black in colour (appears to be rubbed bare in both sexes due to degradation from preservation method); vertex with slight grey pruinosity, otherwise appearing black in colour and dark setulose; anterior ocellus similar in size to posterior pair; ocellar tubercle in front of dorsal margin of eye, not placed as deeply towards middle of head as in ♀; dorsal inner edge of eye abutting ocellar tubercle; occiput with same bluish-grey pruinosity as rest of head; paired large rectangular black markings with dark setulae on upper occiput widening towards lateral margin of head, abutting posterior margin of eyes, flanking vertex; upper occiput with similar dark setulae; lower occiput with long pale setulae medially, dark setulae laterally; genal area bluish-grey with dark setulae, these dark setulae continue ventrally on head to mouthparts that have similar dark ventral setulae; frons bluish-grey pruinose, velvety-black from ocellar tubercle to lower half of eye; frons widening from velvety-black patch towards antennal base; frons bare; face with pale setulae; clypeus black with bluish-grey pruinosity, bare; face separated anteriorly from clypeus by a deep transverse suture, similar to lateral sutures; face not appearing to bulge laterally when viewed in profile; clypeus visible in profile, face not; antennal bases separated ca 0.5 × width of scape, with slight longitudinal groove running between; scape, pedicel dark brown with whitish pruinosity; 1 st flagellomere orange, with some slight darker markings and with similar pruinosity as other segments, 2 nd flagellomere dark brown; scape and pedicel of similar size; 1 st flagellomere reniform, ca 1.5 × size of pedicel; 2 nd flagellomere arista-like; pedicel with dark dorsal and ventral setulae, similar in size, scape with only dark dorsal setulae; palpus black on majority of surface with scattered white pruinosity, orange-yellow on basal third, with dark setulae throughout; palpus ca 0.5 × length of proboscis; proboscis ca same length as head height; proboscis mostly brown, basally more orange-yellow, entire structure interspersed with some dark setulae and some shorter pale setulae. Thorax: Scutum rubbed bare due to degradation from preservation method (♀ with two feint dorsocentral bluish-grey pruinose vittae running from pronotum and joining before scutellum), otherwise dark brown with bluish-grey pruinosity; pronotum bluish-grey pruinose with long pale setulae; postpronotal lobe same dark brown as rest of scutum, slight bluish-grey pruinose, setation unknown, anterolateral margin of lobe lighter yellowish- to orange-brown (♀ colouring more apparent); notopleuron appearing slight bluish-grey pruinose when viewed in profile, however, when viewed dorsally pruinosity shifts into a silver-grey pruinose appearance, running up towards edge of mesonotum (notopleuron mostly rubbed bare except for anterior edge with long dark setulae); postalar wall and postalar callus dark brown with slight bluish-grey pruinosity, anterior of postalar callus orange-yellow; scutellum dark brown with bluish-grey pruinosity, entire margin orange-yellow from base to apex; supra-alar area, postalar wall and postalar callus with patches of dark setulae (less apparent and numerous than in ♀); majority of pleura bluish-grey pruinose, except for anterior of anepimeron and meron shiny blackish-brown; all pleura that are bluish-grey pruinose have pale setulae (only some remnant setulae remain due to damage from preservation method), except for katatergite that has long dark setulae; anatergite and meron bare; proepisternum and proepimeron with long pale setulae; anterior and posterior spiracles whitish-yellow and surroundings yellowish-brown, bare; postspiracular scale dark brown. Legs: All coxae entirely blackish-brown with only some scattered white pruinosity; fore coxa with mostly pale setulae except for some dark setulae apically; mid coxa with long dark setulae on anterior surface, posterior margin appearing bare; hind coxa with a mix of long pale and dark setulae on anterior edge surrounding well-developed anterior apical point, lateral apical edges with long dark setulae; all trochanters reddish dark brown, all trochanters with short pale setulae; fore femur almost entirely yellow, except for blackish-brown apex and base; mid femur missing; hind femur dark brown except for yellow basal and apical quarters; fore tibia and 1 st and 2 nd tarsal segments dark brown almost black, rest of for tarsi missing; mid tibia and tarsi missing; hind tibia and basitarsus blackish-brown, with base and apex of hind tibia yellowish-brown, rest of hind tarsi missing; fore and hind femora rubbed clean, setation unknown; fore tibia with short dark setulae; hind tibia with dark setulae that are at least as long as segment is wide; hind leg overall stouter than remaining legs; combined length of hind tarsal segments subequal to hind tibia; tibial spur formula 0: 2: 2; fore tibial spur weaker than that of hind tibia. Wing (Fig. 38): Light brown suffused on majority of surface except for cell cua and anal lobe; dark brown stigma over cell r 1; darker suffused substigmal marking running down from stigma over crossvein r – m, bases of discal cell, cell m 3 and apex of cell br; veins dark brown, with additional darker b

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