Pseudodoros nigricollis Becker, 1903:92

Pseudodoros is a genus of Syrphini with three species. P. nigricollis has eye bare; metasternum bare; thorax without yellow maculae except on scutellum; postmetacoxal bridge incomplete; vein M1 slightly sinuate; vein R4+5 straight or nearly so.

Following Kassebeer (2000), the subgenus Pseudodoros has abdominal tergum 2 with a median pair of small yellowish maculae; scutellum dark brown; scutum with long, stand-off pile; pro- and mesotibiae yellow with medial narrow brownish ring; medial black facial vitta narrower than the basoflagellomere's width; mouth edge yellow. This subgenus is only found in Western Mediterranean and Afrotropics.

Pseudodoros (Pseudodoros) nigricollis Becker, 1903.

Becker, T. (1903) Agyptische Dipteren. Mitteilungen aus dem Zoologischen Museum in Berlin 2, 67-195.

New description:

MALE.

Head: Face with median, small facial tubercle, not produced forward (oral margin less prominent than antennal bases), yellow, oral margin yellow, with medial narrow black vitta, yellow pilose; gena yellow anteriorly, brownish posteriorly, pale pilose; lunule dark, dark area connected with facial vitta between antennal bases not surrounding them; frontal triangle yellow, pale pilose; holoptic, eye bare; vertical triangle black, black pilose; antenna dark brown, basoflagellomere slightly elongate, orangish ventrally; occiput black, silver pollinose, whitish pilose.

Thorax: Scutum shiny black, with erected, long yellow pile, white pollinose anteriorly; postpronotum bare; scutellum black, yellow pilose, subscutellar fringe complete with yellow pile. Pleuron black, whitish pilose; metasternum bare; calypter yellow; plumula yellow; halter yellow; spiracular fringes yellow. Wing: Wing membrane hyaline, stigma yellow to dark yellow; extensively microtrichose, bare basally before vein h, costal cell bare on basal 1/6, cell CuP bare very basally, and cell BM bare on basal half. Alula broad, as broad as cell BM, with few microtrichia apically. Legs: Coxae and trochanter black. profemur black on basal 2/5, yellow apically; mesofemur black, yellow on apical 1/4; pro- and meso tibiae yellow with medial dark ring; pro- and mesotarsi brown except basitarsomeres yellow; metafemur black, yellow on apical 1/8; metatibia black, yellow on basal half; metatarsi brown.

Abdomen: Petiolate, unmargined. Dorsum mainly black except tergum 2 black with two medial small rounded yellow maculae in the lateral margins; tergum 3 black with two lateromedial small yellow maculae; tergum 4 black with two lateral larger yellow maculae close to anterior margin.

FEMALE.

Similar to male, with frons shiny black, yellow laterally; yellow maculae of tergum 4 a bit larger.

Séguy (1953: 47) described a new species of Pseudodoros, P. psyllidivora from Ivory Coast. Kassebeer (2000) synonymised it under Allobaccha sapphirina (Wiedemann, 1830), but Thompson (2010) recognises it as a valid species.

Pseudodoros was described by Becker (1903) for his new species, nigricollis, from Egypt. Syrphus clavatus was described by Fabricius (1794) and placed under Pseudodoros by Thompson et al. (1976).

In 1949, Hull (1949a, b) designated a new subgenus for Baccha, Baccha (Dioprosopa), and designated clavatus Fabricius as the subgenotype species. Dioprosopa was created for the single species with epistoma and whole face producedforward beyond the antennal base, according to Hull.

Kassebeer (2000) described a new species from Southamerican Andes and recognized two different genera: Dioprosopa, for the species found in Neotropics, and Pseudodoros, for Afrotropical species. Mengual et al. (2008) recognised Dioprosopa as subgenus again after Thompson et al. (1976) synonymized it under Pseudodoros, but Thompson (2010) does not recognise any subgenera for Pseudodoros.

Synonyms:

Baccha extranea Bezzi, 1915: 47.

Length: body, 11.0-11.4 mm; wing, 7.1-7.5 mm (male); body, 9.3-10.0 mm; wing, 6.6-7.2 mm (female) (Kassebeer 2000).

Afrotropical species with a wide distribution: Egypt, Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, Madagascar, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, South Africa. Kassebeer (2000) cited this species from Israel.