Distribution

Morocco, Spain, Greece.

Etymology

The species is named for Dr. John Richard Vockeroth, and the epithet “richardi” is a noun in the genitive case.

Diagnosis

This new species will run to the genus Mydaea in the standard keys (Hennig Reference Hennig1964; Gregor et al. Reference Gregor, Rozkošný, Barták and Vaňhara2002) and can be distinguished from all known Mydaea species by the presence of paired spots on abdominal tergites 3 and 4, or by the presence of soft fine hairs on the ventral surface of scutellum. The abdominal pattern will clearly indicate the genus Helina, and it can be distinguished from all other known Helina species by the presence of short setulae at the base of vein R₄₊₅ on upper as well as lower wing surface.

Description

Male. Length of body, 7.0–8.5 mm. Length of wing, 6.5–8.0 mm.

Head. Ground-colour black. Holoptic. Eye virtually bare, with a few tiny scattered hairs. Fronto-orbital plate, parafacial, face, gena, and lower part of occiput silvery-white pruinose, occiput otherwise light grey. Frons at narrowest point two to three times as wide as diameter of anterior ocellus, usually wider in Spanish males, and fronto-orbital plates almost or quite contiguous on upper third of frons. Ocellar setae strong. Four to five pairs of frontal setae with a few fine interstitials, confined to lower half of frons. Scape and pedicel orange-yellow, postpedicel black except sometimes at extreme base; postpedicel 2.6 times as long as broad. Arista short-plumose, the longest combined plumosity slightly longer than width of postpedicel. Parafacial as wide as width of postpedicel. In lateral view, facial edge in line with level of profrons. Gena broad, depth below lowest eye-margin 1.6 times width of postpedicel. Palpus yellow, usually brown at tip. Mentum of proboscis dusted.

Thorax. Ground-colour black, postpronotal lobe and margin and apical part of scutellum yellow beneath the dust. Scutum densely yellowish-grey dusted, with dark dots at the bases of the setae; with a pair of narrow undusted black vittae (rarely dark brown) inside the dorsocentral rows, running from neck to level of second postsutural dorsocentral, a pair of broad presutural patches between intraalar and supraalar, and a pair of short postsutural vittae between dorsocentrals and intraalars, running from suture almost to third dorsocentral. Acrostichals 0 + 1, the presutural setulae at suture in five to six irregular rows, dorsocentrals 2 + 4, intraalars 1 + 2, supraalars 1 + 2, the posterior one short; usually three postpronotals; prealar developed, half as long as second notopleural. Pleura yellowish-grey dusted. Spiracles creamy yellow. Prosternum bare, notopleuron without setulae, proepisternal depression bare. Katepisternals 1 + 2. Meron and katepimeron bare. Scutellum yellowish-grey dusted, thinly so on the pale area, with one strong preapical, one strong lateral and one weak basal lateral seta; lateral margins bare, but ventral surface with soft pale hairs along sides and below apex.

Legs. Yellow, including most of coxae, tarsi black. Fore femur with rows of posterodorsal, posterior and dense posteroventral setae. Fore tibia with one to two submedian posterior setae, rarely absent. Fore tarsomeres 1–4 with a few fine hairs on posteroventral and anteroventral surfaces, mostly longer than tarsal depth. Mid femur without anteroventral setae, with about six strong posteroventral setae in basal half; one anterior, one anterodorsal, and three dorsal to posterior preapical setae. Mid tibia with three posterior setae. Hind femur with a complete anterodorsal row, and five preapical setae forming a dorsal “ring” on posterior to anterior surfaces; posteroventral surface bare; four to six anteroventrals in apical half, several of which are longer than femoral depth. Hind tibia without a posterodorsal, on median third with several short posterior setulae that are distinct from the ground-setulae; two anterodorsals and three to four anteroventrals; dorsal and anterodorsal preapicals strong; one anteroventral but no posteroventral apical.

Wing. Clear except for some clouding over crossveins r-m and dm-cu. Basicosta yellow, tegula orange. Vein M straight, diverging slightly from vein R_{4 + 5} towards wing-tip. Crossvein dm-cu oblique, weakly sinuous. Stem-vein bare. Base of vein R_{4 + 5} with a few setulae on both upper and lower wing surfaces, on lower surface these setulae often extending in a loose row almost or quite as far as crossvein r-m, bare on upper surface in one male. Calypters creamy white. Knob of halter white to yellow.

Abdomen. Ground-colour black. Densely yellowish-grey dusted, with black dots at the bases of the strong setae. Tergites 3 and 4 each with a pair of paramedian rounded-triangular spots, those on tergite 3 occupying over half or most of tergal length, those on tergite 4 about half or less of tergal length. Syntergite 1 + 2 and tergite 3 with some lateral marginals; tergites 4 and 5 each with a complete row of discal and marginal setae. Sternite 1 bare. Sternite 5 as in Figure 1. Terminalia as in Figures 2–3.

Female. Length of body, 7.0–8.0 mm. Length of wing, 6.5–7.5 mm. Differs from the male as follows.

Head. Dichoptic. Frons at middle 0.43 of head-width at this point. Fronto-orbital plate more grey pruinose, at middle of frons each plate 0.25 of width of frontal vitta. Frontal triangle weak but distinct, almost reaching lunule. Three to four pairs of strong inclinate frontal setae, with a few interstitials, and two pairs of strong reclinate orbital setae; fronto-orbital plate with short setulae along most of length outside the setae. Postpedicel 2.5 times as long as wide. Parafacial broader than width of postpedicel. Gena broad, depth below lowest eye-margin just over twice width of postpedicel.

Thorax. Vittae on scutum usually less distinct, brown rather than black.

Legs. Fore femur with the posteroventral setae less dense and in a single well-spaced row. Fore tibia with one to two posterior setae. Mid femur with four strong posteroventral setae. Hind femur with only two to three anteroventrals, confined to apical third, longer than femoral depth. Hind tibia with no trace of stronger setulae on posterior surface.

Wing. Crossveins often more strongly clouded. Vein R_{4 + 5} bare on upper surface in a few females.

Abdomen. Tergites 3 and 4 with the dark spots reduced in size and rather faint. Tergite 4 with the discal row broadly interrupted at middle; tergite 5 without marginal setae.

Ovipositor. Elongate, almost five times length of tergite 5 when measured in dorsal view. Tergites 6–8 each represented by a pair of rods, those on tergite 6 short, those on tergites 7 and 8 long; epiproct boomerang-shaped. Sternites 6 and 7 present each as a single narrow rod, sternite 8 reduced to two small posterior plates. Cerci free-lying and projecting beyond tip of ovipositor.

Habitat

In the High Atlas Mountains of Morocco the species was collected in “cedar forest”. In high summer, the area is extremely dry and the landscape is largely barren with occasional stands of cedars (Cupressaceae) and (or) evergreen oaks (Fagaceae). However, on the north slope of the Jebel Ayachi there are a number of permanent streams that issue from springs fed by snow-melt. These streams are like small oases, running through a ribbon of trees, shrubs, and ground vegetation that provide shade and a more equable temperature. These are almost the only biotopes where Muscidae can be found, and Helina richardi was rather widespread throughout this area. A general account of the area and of the entomological work carried out in 1963 can be found in a small privately printed report (Pont and Singh Reference Pont and Singh1965).