Protypusia modesta Gibbs 2023, gen. et comb. nov.

Protypusia modesta (Loew, 1873) gen. et comb. nov. Fig. 51 Oligodranes modestus Loew, 1873: 200. Etymology From Latin ‘ modestus ’ = ‘sober’, ‘modest’, ‘unassuming’. Type material Lectotype (here designated) KAZAKHSTAN • ♀; “УЗуната [Uzun-Ata]/Kisilkum, Fedchenko/9641/ Typus / Oligodranes modestus Lw / Usia sp. Dr. E.O. Engel det/Zool. Mus. Berlin”; ZMHB. Paralectotype UZBEKISTAN • 1 ♀; “Kisilkum, Fedchenko/ Coll. H.Loew / Typus / modestus Lw / Usia sp. Dr. E.O. Engel det/[detached wing in paper fold]/Zool. Mus. Berlin”; ZMHB. Syntype UZBEKISTAN • 1 ♀; “Kisilkum, Fedchenko/ Coll. H.Loew / Typus / Oligodranes modestus cotypus Lw ♀ /КиЗилъкумъ [Kizilkum]/ Usia sp. Dr. E.O. Engel det/Zool. Mus. Berlin”; ZMHB. [This specimen belongs with Apolysis and could possibly be the female of A. turkmenicus Paramonov]. Redescription Male Not seen. Female MEASUREMENTS. Body length: 2.5 mm. Wing length: 2.2 mm. HEAD. Gena about as broad as the diameter of the pedicel, very pale matt yellow-white. Front half of the frons also yellow-white, slightly dusky centrally, contrasting with the grey-dusted dark ground colour of the posterior half of the frons. At its narrowest point, level with the hind ocelli, frons about 2.5 times the width of the distance between the hind ocelli. Pale hairs on ocellar tubercle very short, barely longer than the diameter of the front ocellus. Occiput dark in ground colour, densely coated with dove-grey dust, laterally with whitish hairs, those below a little longer than the upper ones. Antennae blackish with a rather grey cast, postpedicel a little longer than scape and pedicel together, a distinct sharp, triangular point dorsally immediately beyond the subapical sulcus (this could be mistaken for an articulating style as seen in Apolysis). Palps not visible in either of the types examined. Proboscis moderately long, a little shorter than the body length, hairless dorsally, the basoventral membrane dirty white to blackish. THORAX. Dark ground colour obscured by dove-grey dust, two very faint, narrow, slightly darker paramedian vittae extending back two thirds the length of the mesonotum, also even more faint, antehumeral vittae broken at thoracic suture. Hairs of mesonotum white, short and fine, generally scattered, not in obviously defined acrostichal or dorsocentral lines. Scutellum concolourous with mesonotum, white hairs longer than those on mesonotum, a longitudinal central area of scutellum bare. Pleura concolourous with mesonotum, posterior two-thirds of the anepisternum, with white hairs. WING. Membrane hyaline, the veins pale yellow. Crossvein r-m a little beyond basal third of the discal cell, clearly beyond m-cu. Anal lobe well developed with conspicuously convex margin, much broader than anal cell. HALTERE. Pale yellow, base of stem slightly infuscated. LEGS. Coxae concolourous with pleura. Femora, tibia and tarsi blackish-brown, grey dusted especially on femora, extreme tip of femora and narrow base of tibia yellow. Legs covered with white hairs, longer on the coxae. ABDOMEN. Tergite one yellow laterally, disc dark grey with paler dust and clear, narrow yellow margins dorsally, remaining tergites similar with apical yellow margins becoming progressively broader and paler. All tergites with the longest white hairs on reflexed lateral margins, dorsally hairs shorter and, on the three basal tergites, largely absent basally. Sternites similar to tergites although yellow margins less conspicuous. GENITALIA. No distinctive features externally, genital fork well sclerotised, the tip strongly recurved. Remarks A tiny, delicate species, superficially similar to species of Apolysis and indeed one of the syntypes proved to be Apolysis. Without examining the male genitalia it is not possible to know where the affinities of this species lie. The female genitalia are well within the range of variation seen for this genus but do not suggest any very close relationship with known species. Distribution Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan.Published as part of Gibbs, David, 2023, A world review of the bee fly tribe Usiini (Diptera, Bombyliidae) - Part 3: Parageron Paramonov s. lat., pp. 1-162 in European Journal of Taxonomy 863 (1) on pages 93-95, DOI: 10.5852/ejt.2023.863.2081, http://zenodo.org/record/776795