Abstract
Previously, the wormlion genus Vermiophis Yang, 1979 comprises seven known species, and all of them are endemic to China. We herein describe a new species, Vermiophis cangshanensis sp. nov. from Dali, Yunnan, China. The new species is closely similar to V. tibetensis Yang & Chen, 1987 in the general appearance, but can be differentiated from the latter by the wing venation and genitalia. In addition, the immature stages and biology of V. cangshanensis sp. n are described and briefly discussed. Keys are provided to separate the two genera of Vermileonidae recorded from China, and eight known species of Vermiophis. A distributional map is also presented for Vermiophis spp.
References
- Bueno, G.M., Kehlmaier, C. & Santos, C.M.D. (2021) A worldwide catalog of the Vermileonidae (Diptera: Brachycera). Zootaxa, 5060 (4), 489–514. https://doi.org/10.11646/Zootaxa.5060.4.2
- Hennig, W. (1967) Die sogenannten ‘niederen Brachycera’ im baltischen Bernstein (Diptera: Fam. Xylophagidae, Xylomyidae, Rhagionidae, Tabanidae). Stuttgarter Beiträge zur Naturkunde, 174, 1–51.
- Ludwig, P., Melzer, R.R. & Ehrhardt, V. (2001) Larval morphology and classification of wormlions (Diptera, Vermileonidae). Mitteilungen der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Allgemeine und Angewandte Entomologie, 13, 89–94.
- Nagatomi, A. (1977) Classification of lower Brachycera (Diptera). Journal of Natural History, 11 (3), 321–335, 1977. https://doi.org/10.1080/00222937700770231
- Nagatomi, A., Yang, C.-K. & Yang, D. (1999) The Chinese species and the world genera of Vermileonidae (Diptera). Tropics, Monograph Series, 1, 1–154. https://doi.org/10.3759/tropics.MonographNo.1_1
- Ovtshinnikova, O.G., Wang, Z.-L., Ovchinnikov, A.N., Wang, X. & Krivokhatsky, V.A. (2014) Description of the larva and biological notes on Vermiophis taihangensis Yang & Chen, 1993 (Diptera: Vermileonidae) from China. Zootaxa, 3790 (3), 487–494. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3790.3.7
- Samocha, Y. & Scharf, I. (2020) Comparison of wormlion behavior under man-made and natural shelters: urban wormlions more strongly prefer shaded, fine-sand microhabitats, construct larger pits and respond faster to prey. Current Zoology, 66 (1), 91–98. https://doi.org/10.1093/cz/zoz006
- Santos, C.M.D. (2008) Geographical distribution of Tabanomorpha (Diptera, Brachycera): Athericidae, Rhagionidae, Vermileonidae, and small families. EntomoBrasilis, 1 (3), 43–50. https://doi.org/10.12741/ebrasilis.v1i3.25
- Wang, L., Ding, S.-M., Cameron, S.L., Li, X., Liu, Y., Yao, G. & Yang, D. (2021) Middle Jurassic origin in India: a new look at evolution of Vermileonidae and time-scaled relationships of lower brachyceran flies. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 194 (3), 938–959. https://doi.org/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlab042
- Wheeler, W.M. (1930) Demons of the Dust. W.W. Horton & Co., New York, New York, xviii + 378 pp.
- Williston, S.W. (1886) On two interesting new genera of Leptidae. Entomologica Americana, 2, 107.
- Woodley, N.E. & Swart, V.R. (2017) Vermileonidae (wormlions). In: Kirk-Spriggs, A.H. & Sinclair, B.J. (Eds.), Manual of Afrotropical Diptera. Volume 2. Nematocerous Diptera and Lower Brachycera. Suricata 5. South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria, pp. 865–875.
- Yang, C.-K. (1979a) A new genus and species of wormlion from China (Diptera: Rhagionidae). Entomotaxonomia, 1 (2), 83–89.
- Yang, C.-K. (1979b) Biological observations on Vermiophis ganquanensis Yang. Entomotaxonomia, 1 (2), 131–140.
- Yang, C.-K. (1988) A primary note of Chinese Vermitigris and a new species of Guangxi (Diptera: Vermileonidae). Entomotaxonomia, 10 (3–4), 178–182.
- Yang, C.-K. & Chen, H. (1986) A new species of the genus Vermiophis from the Wudang Mountains, China (Diptera: Vermileonidae). Journal of Huazhong Agricultural University, 5 (4), 321–325.
- Yang, C.-K. & Chen, H. (1987) Diptera: Vermileonidae. In: Zhang, S. (Ed.), Agricultural Insects, Spiders, Plant Diseases and Weeds of Xizang. Vol. 2. Xizang People’s Press, Lhasa, pp. 157–160.
- Yang, C.-K. & Chen, H. (1993) Notes on Vermileonidae and four new species of Vermiophis (Diptera: Brachycera) from China. Entomotaxonomia, 15 (2), 127–136.