Genus Acraspisa Kröber, 1912

Museums

Regional Maps

• Acraspisa Kröber, O. 1912. Die Thereviden der indoaustralischen Region. (Dipt). Entomologische Mitteilungen. Berlin-Dahlem 1: 282-287 [286].

  Type species:

   Acraspisa trifasciata Kröber, 1912 by monotypy.
• Pseudoloxocera Kröber, O. 1912. Die Thereviden der indoaustralischen Region. (Dipt). Entomologische Mitteilungen. Berlin-Dahlem 1: 282-287 [286].

  Type species:

   Pseudoloxocera pallipes Kröber, 1912 by monotypy.
• Stratiobelonalys Frey, R. 1934. Diptera Brachycera von den Sunda-Inseln und Nord-Australien. Revue Suisse de Zoologie 41: 299-339 [309].

  Type species:

   Stratiobelonalys handschini Frey, 1934 by monotypy.

Taxonomic Decision for Synonymy

• Irwin, M.E. & Lyneborg, L. 1989. Family Therevidae. pp. 353-358 in Evenhuis, N.L. (ed.). Catalog of the Diptera of the Australasian and Oceanian Regions. Honolulu and Leiden : Bishop Museum Press and E.J. Brill 1155 pp. [354]

Introduction

Members of Acraspisa are typically small species (body length < 8.0 mm) that often resemble ants in coloration and behaviour. This genus is being revised by Winterton and currently contains seven described species and at least 60 undescribed species presently represented in collections. Some Acraspisa can be readily distinguished by their long, dorsally directed, acuminate scutellum, but the character is absent in many species. The male frontal shape and genitalic characters readily separate this genus from all other genera of Agapophytinae (Winterton et al. 2001).
Acraspisa appears superficially similar to Acraspisoides in general body shape and the shape of the male gonocoxites and aedeagus but are much smaller and lack the globose ventral lobe on the aedeagus found in Acraspisoides. Acraspisa has a closed wing cell m3, a character shared with all genera in the subfamily Agapophytinae except Belonalys and Laxotela (Winterton et al. 2001).

The pleural stripe of silver velutum on the thorax in Acraspisa is shared with Parapsilocephala and Acraspisoides. Female Acraspisa, Parapsilocephala and Patanothrix are very similar in appearance. The hind femur is slightly longer than the fore and mid femora in Acraspisa, a character also shared with Acraspisoides and Acatopygia. All femora are approximately equal length in Parapsilocephala and Patanothrix (Winterton et al. 2001). The genus Acraspisa sometimes demonstrates sexual dimorphism, with the female body highly contrasting orange and black and the male black. Acraspisa is a common genus throughout Australia sometimes collected on hill tops and at flowers but are most frequently collected in large numbers in Malaise traps, across dry or drying creek beds in semi-arid areas.

Distribution

States

Queensland, Victoria

IBRA and IMCRA regions

IBRA

Qld: Brigalow Belt North (BBN), Brigalow Belt South (BBS) ; Qld, Vic: Murray Darling Depression (MDD), South Eastern Queensland (SEQ)

Diagnosis

Frons flat or rounded; antennae shorter than head length, scape length equal to or slightly longer than pedicel length, flagellum short, conical-shaped; male frons greatly narrowed to narrow stripe between eyes; occiput concave, single row of postocular setae in male; female occiput convex, 2 or 3 poorly defined rows of postocular setae; palp spatulate; labellum short, spatulate; scutum with reduced number of scutal bristles; scutellum rounded or dorsally acuminate; pleuron often with silver velutum stripe across proepimeron, katepisternum and meron; hind femur longer than fore and mid femur; wing cell m3 closed; modified setae on abdominal tergite 2 absent; male tergite 8 greatly emarginate; sternite 8 quadrangular; ventral lobe of gonocoxite shorter than gonostylus, not medially directed; gonocoxal velutum patch greatly reduced, present on narrow membrane between gonocoxites; hypandrium present, triangular; gonocoxites without medial atrium; dorsal apodeme of parameral sheath strongly sclerotised, T-shaped, ventral apodeme length much shorter than ejaculatory apodeme; lateral ejaculatory apodeme short with elongate, perpendicular process; ejaculatory apodeme narrow, trumpet-shaped, longer than distiphallus; female with 3 spermathecae; spermathecal sac simple, elongate or spherical (Winterton et al. 2001).

Diagnosis References

Winterton, S.L. in Winterton, S.L., Yang, L., Wiegmann, B.M. & Yeates, D.K. 2001. Phylogenetic revision of Agapophytinae subf. n. (Diptera: Therevidae) based on molecular and morphological evidence. Systematic Entomology 26: 173-211

General References

Winterton, S.L. in Winterton, S.L., Yang, L., Wiegmann, B.M. & Yeates, D.K. 2001. Phylogenetic revision of Agapophytinae subf. n. (Diptera: Therevidae) based on molecular and morphological evidence. Systematic Entomology 26: 173-211

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