Dasiops rugicavus

Description- Length 4.0 mm. Color black, with metallic blue frons. A hairyeyed
species with a deep, coarsely rugose, transverse depression in frons immediately
below orbital bristles; face parafacials and lunule intensely silvery pollinose; calyptrae
and fringes white; proximal two segments of all tarsi yellow.
Male.—-Head slightly wider than high (11.0:9.5). Compound eye shortly and
rather sparsely pubescent; longest hairs about as long as diameter of anterior ocellus.
Frons slightly narrower anteriorly; with a strong, transverse, coarsely wrinkled
pit or depression in front of anterior ocellus and orbital bristles; steel-blue with
bronzy reflections; hairs rather widely spaced, each arising from a poorly defined,
but conspicuous, puncture; with ten inferior orbital setulae on each side, none
arising above orbital bristle. Postocular setulae projecting above eye in front view.
Vertical bristles fine; outer vertical bristle not longer than inferior orbital setulae.
Ocellar and orbital bristles strong. Lunule, parafacial and face equally very heavily
and densely silvery pollinose. Lunule almost as high as wide; with two hair-like
setulae on each side above. Parafacial rather broader; slightly broader than distance
between bases of antennae. Face gently convex below; almost flat at oral margin.
Cheek in lateral view narrower than width of third antennal segment; from below
approximately as wide from oral margin to compound eye as length of third antennal
segment; one outstanding vibrissa-like bristle present, with three or four progres¬
sively weaker setulae in a single row below it, and a very small setula above it.
Thorax black, with dark metallic-blue reflections. Mesonotum lightly brownish
dusted; pollen visible when viewed from front under lighting directed from an oblique posterodorsal angle; hairs neither dense nor sparse; bristles easily distinguished.
Scutellum with -usual four bristles; without other hairs or setulae, Mesopleuron
with two strong median posterior bristles, with a single weaker one below them;
with two or three anterodorsal bristles. Stigmatal and poststigmatal bristles single.
Prosternum bare. Sternopleuron with one strong bristle and numerous long, erect
hairs. Pteropleuron bare.
Wings pale, brownish-yellow hyaline; base paler yellow. Distance between apex
of Sc and Rj greater than length of anterior crossvein and slightly shorter than length
of humeral crossvein. Calyptrae, including margins and fringes, pale yellowish-white.
Legs brownish-black; proximal two segments of all tarsi yellow; anterior femur with
filiate row of 10-12 posteroventral bristles.
Abdomen elongate; slightly more than one and one-half times as long as wide;
shining, but with a light coating of brown pollen; last apparent tergum almost one
and one-half times as long as either of the two preceding terga. Sterna large; broader
than long. . ''
Genitalia (Figs. 25, 27). Epandrium considerably narrower dorsally than ventrally;
anterior and posterior margins gently convex. Surstylus with relatively small
posterior lobe, with six or seven strong teeth. Aedeagus simple; apex similar in
shape to end of a shoe-horn. Hypandrial apodeme large; extending far forward.
Female.—A single female from S. Rhodesia is provisionally assigned to this
species. It differs from the holotype as follows: Frons almost twice as wide as in
male; transverse depression crescentic (concave above) and without any rugosity
or wrinkles. Lunule, face and parafacials much less intensely silvery pollinose.
Posterior mesopleural bristles stronger; four, instead of three, distinguishable.
Abdomen more shining.
Ovipositor (Fig. 32) very broad; somewhat spatulate subapically; apical segment
jre elongate than usual and extremely sharply pointed.