Brachymeria podagrica (Fabricius, 1787)

Material examined. MALTA, Salina, 11. vii. 2002, 1 ♀, leg. D. Mifsud.

Hosts and biology. Table 1 lists the known hosts of the species and the authorships of the observations. Dubious host records are not included in the table, especially those for the hyperparasitoids of locusts which, as already mentioned by Steffan (1959), result from past confusion with B. parvula. We also omitted the hosts quoted for B. amenocles, which until now was wrongly mixed with B. podagrica following Bouček (1972) (see below).

Brachymeria podagrica (FabriciUS): BoUček 1972: 241. = Chalcis femorata NeeS 1834: 412. Original deScription. Germany. Synonymy by Dalla Torre 1898: 391. Type apparently deStroyed.

Calliphora grahami Aldrich, 1930 Calliphoridae HabU 1960: Japan Cochliomyia macellaria (FabriciUS, 1775) Calliphoridae RobertS 1933: USA

Chalcis transvaalensis. Lectotype, a ♀ in several pieces, remounted on a rectangular card, the designation of which by Bouček (1971) is validated here (Fig. 34) (BMNH). Chalcis spilopus. Lectotype, a ♂ on a minutien pin, the designation of which by Bouček (1971) is validated here (BMNH, Hym. type 5.155). Chalcis ferox. Lectotype, a ♂ on a minutien pin, the designation of which by Rasplus is validated here; it is labelled ' Bourbon [manuscript] / Chalcis ferox Sauss. type ♂ ' [manuscript, in Kieffer's handwriting] (Fig. 35) (MNHN). The ♀ quoted by Kieffer (1905) from Nossi Bé could not be retrieved. Chalcis ferox var. coxalis. Lectotype, a pinned ♂ labelled ' Madag. ' [manuscript] / ' Ch. ferox Sss. ' [manuscript] / ' Chalcis ferox Ss. var. ' [manuscript, in Kieffer's handwriting] (Fig. 36) (MNHN).

Chalcis vulcani. Holotype ♂, by original designation (MRAC, n ° 567).

Kellymyia impar (Aldrich, 1916) Sarcophagidae RobertS 1933: USA Kellymyia plinthopyga (Wiedemann, 1830) Sarcophagidae RobertS 1933: USA

Phaenicia mexicana (MacqUart, 1843) Calliphoridae RobertS 1933: USA

RobineaU-DeSVoidy, 1830 Sarcophagidae HabU 1960: Japan

Sarcophaga argyrostoma (RobineaU-DeSVoidy, 1830) Sarcophagidae UrSU & TUdor 1975; AndrieScU 1988: Romania; OliVa 2008: Argentina

Diagnosis. Apex of scape reaching base of median ocellus. Antennal flagellum mostly linear, hardly fusiform or clavate and bearing short erect setae only (Fig. 21). Mesonotum with moderately dense puncturation, the interspaces between punctures narrower that the points themselves (Fig. 22). Propodeum without spiracular callosity. Metacoxa and metafemur reddish, the latter with a small ivory spot apically. Metafemur slender 1.85 – 1.95 × as long as broad, with an acute inner tooth basally; its outer surface with relatively dense puncturation, the basal piliferous points hardly more distant from each other than their own diameter (Fig. 24). Metatibia reddish, respectively with a subbasal and dorsoapical ivory spots. Gaster acuminate, 1.8 – 2.0 × as long as broad (Fig. 23).

Comment. Steffan (1959) previously synonymised C. ferox Kieffer and its variety C. ferox coxalis with B. fonscolombei, as well as C. neglecta Masi. Brachymeria fonscolombei was itself synonymised later with B. podagrica by Bouček (1972). The name podagrica was known from Dufour (1841) but because the type was described from India he thought that the European specimens belonged to another species, which he named Chalcis Fonscolombei in honour of Boyer de Fonscolombe. This name was adopted by subsequent authors until Bouček (1972) synonymised it with B. podagrica. Brachymeria. podagrica was sometimes mixed with B. parvula (Walker) under its junior synonym Chalcis Dalmanni Thomson, especially by Stefani (1889) because the females of both species have the metafemur mostly reddish. It is nevertheless evident that Stefani dealt with B. podagrica because he reared his specimens from flies emerging from carrion while B. parvula is a secondary parasitoid of locusts.

Material examinated. Type material. Chalcis Fonscolombei. Lectotype, a pinned ♀ from the Dufour collection, identified by Steffan (MNHN) (Figs 29, 30). Chalcis capensis. Lectotype, a ♀ on a minutien pin, the designation of which by Bouček (1971) is validated here (Fig. 33) (BMNH).

Other material. PERU. Trujillo, Huaca de la Luna, 08 ° 08 ′ 06 ″ S 78 ° 59 ′ 29 ″ W, 56 m, 06. v / 01. vi. 2009, in fly trap, J. - B. Huchet and A. Chauchet leg. (1 ♀ GDPC). FRANCE. Bouches-du-Rhône, Istres, 01. vii. 2003, P. Ponel leg. (1 ♂ GDPC); Gard, Le-Grau-du-Roi, l'Espiguette beach, 24. v. 1997, G. Delvare leg. (1 ♀ GDPC); Hérault, Agde, Rochelongue, 29. vii. 1979, J. - M. Maldès leg. (1 ♀ GDPC); Montpellier, campus ENSA, on mackerel corpse, 15. ix. 2000, M. Martinez leg. (3 ♀ GDPC); same locality and collector, ex Sarcophaga proxima Rondani [Sarcophagidae] on a snake carcass, adult emergence 10 / 13. vi. 2003 (2 ♀, 11 ♂ GDPC); Lot-et-Garonne, Buzetsur-Baïsse, 30. v. 1995, Malaise trap, J. - P. Sarthou leg. (1 ♀ GDPC). SPAIN. Tarragona, Cambrils-de-Mar, 30. v. 1990, H. Tussac leg. (2 ♂ GDPC).

Description. ♀, length of body 5 - 7 mm. Colour. Black with following parts as follows: mandibles brown or dark brown with base and apex often reddish brown; antenna black or blackish brown or reddish sometimes partially or wholly; funicle sometimes faintly reddish; tegulae almost white or pale yellow; fore and mid coxae almost shiny black; hind coxa black or reddish brown; trochanters black or brown or reddish; fore and mid femora black or brownish red with tips pale yellow or creamy white; hind femur brownish red with apex white or yellow, white colour usually not extending to inner side; fore and mid tibiae reddish brown with pale yellow or white at base and apex; hind tibia reddish brown or black with yellow or white subbasally and apically. Head. Head with pre- and post-orbital carinae present; post-orbital carina reaching geno-temporal margin; scrobe reaching anterior ocellus; area below interantennal projection smooth medially; POL a little over twice OOL; AOL 0.3 x POL; minimum interocular distance at vertex 2.7 x POL. Malar ridge present, height of eye in profile 2.4 - 3.3 x height of malar space in lateral view; anterior and posterior genal angles rectangular or subrectangular. Antenna: scape not exceeding anterior ocellus, as long as combined length of F 1 to F 4 or a little shorter; pedicel almost as long as wide; F 1 almost as long as wide; F 2 to F 7 slightly increasing in width and decreasing in length; clava more than twice as long as F 7. Mesosoma. Mesosoma distinctly pitted dorsally; pits generally becoming somewhat larger and sparse posteriorly; interstices rather carinate on pronotum but almost flat and smooth on other parts; scutellum rather gently declined posteriorly, apex somewhat widely explanate and reflexed, distinctly emarginate and bi-lobed; propodeum with postspiracular tooth on either side present. Wings. Fore wing 2.6 - 2.7 x as long as wide. MV 0.5 - 0.6 x as long as SMV; PMV one-fourth as long as MV, twice as long as STV or somewhat less. Legs. Hind coxa with distinct dense punctures and pubescence on ventral side, without an inner ventro-mesal tooth; hind femur 1.8 - 2.1 x as long as wide; with one inner basal tooth or protuberance; outer ventral margin with a row of 9 - 11 differently sized teeth. Metasoma. Metasoma slightly longer than pronotum, mesoscutum and scutellum combined, widest at middle; T 1 smooth; T 2 with sparse minute setigerous punctures on baso-dorsal part except narrow part at middle, punctures extending posteriorly at latero-dorsal parts, on dorsal half of lateral parts punctures denser and larger, micro-sculpture distinct; T 3 and T 4 with transverse line of several setae dorsally with rather dense punctures and setae dorsally of sides, micro-sculpture distinct dorsally and on dorsal half of lateral part; T 6 shallowly pitted, micro-sculpture distinct; ovipositor sheath visible in dorsal view. Male. Length of body 3.5 - 5.0 mm. Legs somewhat darker in colour than in female; funicle with trichoid sensillae on ventral side.

Diagnosis. This species is very close to Brachymeria minuta considering the head and the mesosoma and the colour pattern of the hind tibia. However, it differs from Brachymeria minuta in having: 1) hind femur 1.8 - 2.1 x as long as wide (in Brachymeria minuta hind femur less than 1.7 x as long as wide); 2) dorsal side of hind femur in lateral view dilated straightly from base to widest part, hence also straightly contracted towards apex so that the dorsal side is weakly angulate (in Brachymeria minuta the dorsal side of hind femur in lateral view not dilated but rounded from base to apex); and 3) the apical whitish patch on hind femur is generally limited on outer dorsal side, not extending on to inner side (in Brachymeria minuta apical yellow patch extend also to inner side).

Material. 2 ♀ (RMNH, IEBR), " S. Vietnam: Ninh Thuan, Nui Chua N. P., northeast part, 90 - 150 m, 23 - 30. v. 2007, Malaise trap, C. v. Achterberg & R. de Vries, RMNH' 07 "; 1 ♀ (RMNH), " S. Vietnam: Dong Nai, Cat Tien N. P., Dong trail, Mal. traps, c. 100 m, 1 - 8. iv. 2007, Mai Phu Quy & Nguyen Tanh Manh, RMNH' 07 "; 15 ♀ (BPBM), " Vietnam, [locality unknown], 8 - 26. xi. 1960 & 11. xii. 1960, C. M. Yoshimoto "; 2 ♀ (BPBM) " Vietnam, [locality unknown], 13. v. 1960, S. Quate "; 1 ♀ (BPBM), " Vietnam, [locality unknown], 6. vii. 1961, N. R. Spencer ".