Diagnosis
Yellowish species with black banded tergites (Pl. I, Fig. 4). Vertical triangle almost equal to length of sutura of eyes. Antennal postpedicel brownish black. orange-yellow only slightly basoventrally; arista black, only slightly longer than antenna. Pleura black, with more than half the sclerites yellow pollinose. Scutellar hairs dominantly black. Coxa and trochanter dark coloured; femur 1 yellow with some black pile on extreme apex; tibia 3 brownish black except extreme base; all tarsi dark coloured. Abdomen of normal shape, not spatulate; sternites yellow, with feeble black fasciae on sternites 3 and 4.
Male
As in A. gressitti except with following differences—Head (Text-Fig. 2): Vertical triangle longer, almost equal to sutura of eyes, supra-antennal prominence (lunule) all yellow not black; gena of same yellow colour as is the face; antenna black, scape orange-yellow, pedicel also brownish-orange ventrally, postpedicel all brownish black; arista black and only slightly longer than antennae.
Thorax: Pleuron black, except yellow pollinose posterior anepisternum (except black anteriorly), extreme ventral margin of anepisternum, katepisternum (except the large yellow dorsal “spot” ), anepimeron and meron. Wing : Uniformly hyaline, but seems a little darker, being wholly microtrichose.
Legs: Tarsi 1 and 2 all brownish black.
Abdomen: Golden yellow; tergite 1 with black pile also posteromedially; tergite 2 with posterior black fascia extending almost to anterolateral corners, with a broad black distinct vitta medially (tergite 2 therefore appearing black with two large yellow spots anteriorly on each side); pile long and yellow all over except some black hairs on posterior black fascia on tergites; tergite 3 with anterior black fascia wider, posterior fascia with black in centre extending little anteriorly for more than one-half length of lateral margin, with all black pile and lateral hairs all black except on anterior corners; tergite 5 with black sub-posterior fascia not reaching lateral margins, pile all black. Lateral abdominal margin with hairs all black except yellow on tergite 1, posterior corner of tergite 2 and anterior corner of tergite 3. Male terminalia : Will be figured in a forthcoming supplementary paper.
Female
As in male except as follows, with the following portions being diagnostic:
Head: Antennal colour, vitta on tergite 2, colour of coxa and trochanter, pleural colour and hairing, wing microtrichia, colour of lunule, and having black hairs also on tergite 1; eye facets almost uniform in size all over and not enlarged dorsally as in male. Frons more than one-third as wide at vertex as at antennal bases, yellow pollinose, except around ocellar triangle where black; a relatively bare narrow broken blackish brown vitta from antennal prominence (lunule) to ocellar triangle. Frons all black pilose, also beside antennal prominence.
Thorax: Anterior half of posterior mesopleuron also black, bare; coxae and trochanters may be black or brownish black partially, especially coxae 2 and 3. Metatarsi 1 and 2 almost wholly brownish black.
Abdomen: Tergite 2 with black median vitta broader and complete; tergite 6 yellow with anteromedian black spot, black fascia not reaching lateral margins.
Specimens examined
2 ♂ 2 ♀.
Holotype ♂, labelled “ASSAM: Mishmi Hills, Delai Valley, Cha Che, 22.xi.1936.”, “Alt. ft., M. Steele., B.M. 1937-324.”, “HOLOTYPE, Agnisyrphus brunettii Ghorpade 2005” (red label); with terminalia in microvial on pin [BMNH].
Paratypes 1 ♂ 2 ♀, labelled “ASSAM: Mishmi Hills, Delai Valley, Cha Che, 22.xi.1936.”, “Alt. ft., M. Steele., B.M. 1937-324.” , “PARATYPE, Agnisyrphus brunettii Ghorpade 2005” (yellow label), 1 ♂ [BMNH]; “INDIA: West Bengal, Tiger Hill, 2285- 2660m, 24.x.1981, K.D. Ghorpade A931” , “GHORPADE COLLECTION, Bangalore” , “PARATYPE, Agnisyrphus brunettii Ghorpade 2005” (yellow label), 1 ♀ [KGC]; “INDIA: N.E., Darjeeling-Tiger Hill, 2250m, VIII-3-1958”, “J.L. Gressitt Collector”, “PARATYPE, Agnisyrphus brunettii Ghorpade 2005” (yellow label), 1 ♀ [BPBM].
Flight period
Only collected in the months of August, October and November.
Geographical range
India, in West Bengal and Arunachal Pradesh States. The Mishmi Hills are located in the north-eastern area of Arunachal Pradesh (formerly N.E.F.A., in the earlier larger “Assam” area) and east of the Brahmaputra River, which otherwise is a major geographical barrier. Biogeographically, this species is apparently restricted and peculiar to the East Himalayan sub-area, and what is now recognized as a biogeographical track.
Etymology
The species name brunettii is in honour of Mr Enrico Brunetti, who was perhaps the most industrious describer of Indian Diptera, including Syrphidae. In a paper dealing with Oriental Paragus and Pandasyopthalmus species, Thompson and Ghorpadé (1992: 10) had mentioned about Brunetti and listed his obituaries, which give more information on his life’s work, mainly on the Oriental, but also on Afrotropical and other Diptera.
Remarks
Agnisyrphus brunettii sp. nov. is a predominantly yellow species with black tergal fasciae, like
A. gressitti, from which it is differentiated by the diagnostic characters mentioned above and in the Table below (pp. 12-13). In the key to Agnisyrphus in Ghorpadé (1994: 6) all data for gressitti pertaining to areas other than in Thailand are in error and must be deleted. At that time the identity of
A. brunettii sp. nov. was not recognized as distinct and these specimens of this new species from India wrongly assigned then to
A. gressitti Ghorpadé.
unless otherwise stated