Leinendera achaeta sp. n., a new species of robber fly from Brazil (Diptera, Asilidae, Asilinae)

Abstract The third species of the Neotropical genus Leinendera Carrera, 1945, Leinendera achaeta sp. n., is described from Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil. The habitus, wing and male terminalia are described and illustrated, and a key to the three Brazilian species is provided.


had distinguished his newly proposed genus
Leinendera through the presence of apical scutellar setae, wing with spots (of dense microtrichia) in apical third, and tergites with lateral marginal macrosetae.
In this work, the third species of Leinendera, from Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, is described and illustrated, and a key to Brazilian species is provided.

Material and methods
This study is based on the examination of specimens housed in the following institutions: CESC-Coleção Entomológica de Santa Cruz do Sul, Santa Cruz do Sul, Brazil and INPA-Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Manaus, Brazil. Morphological terminology follows Cumming and Wood (2009), and antennal terminology follows Stuckenberg (1999).
The wing was detached from the body, placed in xylene for 30 minutes and then mounted in Canada balsam between coverslips. After drying, the cover slips were glued to the edge of a piece of thick paper, which was then pinned with the specimen. The techniques of Vieira (2012b) were used to examine the terminalia. After examination and illustration, the detached parts of the terminalia were placed in microvials with glycerin and pinned with their respective specimen.
The label data are cited in full, with the original spellings, punctuation, and dates. Information presented within square brackets are complementary data not included on the labels. Data from the same specimen, but from different labels, are separated by slashes (/). The map was generated with SimpleMappr. Carrera, 1945 Diagnosis. Brown oblique stripe extending from the base of the wing to the base of the fore and mid coxae (Figs 2,4,16,24); wing with spots (of dense microtrichia) in apical third (Figs 6,7,18,26); tergites with lateral marginal macrosetae (Figs 2,16,24). Diagnosis. Apical scutellar macrosetae absent; epandrium elongate, apical 1/3 triangular in lateral view ; gonocoxite with an indentation on apical third of the inner margin (Figs 9, 10); hypandrium with distal margin straight, basal margin rounded (Fig. 12).
Wing (Figs 6, 7). Hyaline basal 2/3, apical 1/3 extending to anal margin reaching anal cell with dense brown microtrichiae; dark brown veins; R 2+3 slightly sinuous at the level of the R 4 and R 5 bifurcation; cell r4 narrower basally; without costal dilatation; R 4 and R 5 bifurcation beyond level of the discal cell apex; crossvein r-m before level of discal cell middle (Obs. the additional r-m on figure 6 is an anomaly); microtrichia on posterior margin arranged in two divergent planes; pale-yellow halter.
Female: Unknown. Etymology. From the greek achaeta, a = absent and chaeta = bristles, referring to the absence of apical scutellar macrosetae.
Biology. All specimens of L. achaeta sp. n. were collected with Malaise traps placed in tobacco, Nicotiana tabacum L., plantations. The vegetation surrounding the tobacco plantations was composed mainly by grasslands and shrubs of small to medium size. No information about the prey is known.
Discussion. Differs from the other two species of Leinendera by the absence of apical scutellar macrosetae and characters of the terminalia (Figs 2-15). When describing Leinendera, Carrera (1945) mentioned that the genus was distinct from Glaphyropyga by the presence of apical scutellar setae. However, that author described the taxon based on a single species and, with the inclusion of L. achaeta sp. n., this character can no longer be used in the diagnosis of the genus. Regardless, L. achaeta sp. n., L. nigra Vieira, 2012 andL. rubra Carrera, 1945 have a brown oblique stripe extending from the base of the wing to the base of the fore and mid coxae (Figs 16, 24), which could be used as a new diagnostic character for the genus, since it does not occur in any other closely related genus of Asilinae. Lower facial margin with black projection (Fig. 17); base of r4 narrow (Fig.  18); epandrium with apex backward directed (Fig. 19); gonocoxite subquadrangular with a projection on the external margin (Fig. 20); subepandrial sclerite with a basal plate (Fig. 20); hypandrium with a tuft of short yellow setae on the middle (Fig. 22); aedeagus strongly downcurved (Fig. 23)  -Lower facial margin without a black projection (Fig. 25); base of r4 slightly narrow (Fig. 26); epandrium with apex inward curved (Fig. 27); gonocoxite subquadrangular with a median keel backward directed (Fig. 28); subepandrial sclerite simple, without projections (Fig. 29); hypandrium with setae arranged along entire posterior margin (Fig. 30); aedeagus upcurved (Fig. 31)