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Anastrepha pulchella Norrbom

Recognition
Anastrepha pulchella differs from all other species of Anastrepha in having a second hyaline area in cell r1, between the S-band and vein R2+3. It is one of three species of the serpentina group with the C- and S-bands broadly fused so that there is no hyaline area in the middle of cell br. It differs from the other two species, A. pulchra Stone and A. anomoiae Norrbom, in having the aculeus tip shorter (less than 0.30 mm long) and more than half serrate, the scutum with narrow orange dorsocentral vittae that are broad and fan-shaped anteriorly, the S-band meeting costa in cell r1 at a sharp angle, so that the basal marginal hyaline spot in cell r1 is triangular, and the apex of the basal hyaline spot in cell r1 is aligned proximal to crossvein R-M. See diagnoses of A. pulchra and A. anomoiae for additional differences.

Description
Body largely dark orange to dark red-brown with yellow markings. Setae dark brown.

Head: Mostly yellow. Ocellar tubercle brown. Occiput with small paired dorsal brown spot in one female. Facial carina, in profile, concave. 4-5 frontal setae; 2 orbital setae, posterior seta well developed. Ocellar seta weak, small to minute. Antenna extended 0.75-0.85 distance to lower facial margin.

Dorsal habitus, female.

Thorax: Mostly orangebrown to red-brown with following areas yellow and distinctly contrasting: postpronotal lobe; single medial and paired sublateral vittae on scutum, the slender medial vitta extended nearly full length of scutum, broadened posteriorly, but extended laterally only slightly beyond level of acrostichal seta (at most half distance to level of dorsocentral seta); sublateral vitta extended from transverse suture to or almost to posterior margin, including intra-alar seta; scutellum except extreme base (brown area well separated from basal seta); dorsal margin of anepisternum; greater ampulla; dorsal margin of katepisternum; katepimeron; and most of anatergite and katatergite. Mesonotal darker areas mostly red brown to dark brown, sometimes with narrow area bordering medial vitta, shorter narrow area bordering mesal margin of sublateral vitta, or small sublateral presutural area orange; with narrow orange vitta on dorsocentral line, its anterior end expanded laterally, somewhat fan-shaped. Most of darker areas of anepisternum, anepimeron, meron, and katatergite dark brown. Katepisternum mostly orange or partly brown. Subscutellum and mediotergite dark brown, usually narrowly orange medially. Mesonotum 3.33-3.74 mm long. Scutum microtrichose except for broad medial anterior area extended 3/4 distance to transverse suture; setulae mostly yellow, but brown on parts of dark areas. Katepisternal seta weak, shorter than postocellar seta, yellowish to red-brown.

Wing: Length 7.24-8.07 mm. Vein M strongly curved apically; section between BM-Cu and R-M 3.58-4.22 times as long as section between R-M and DM-Cu; section between R-M and DM-Cu 0.49-0.58 times as long as DM-Cu. Crossvein DM-Cu slightly oblique, with anterior end more distal than posterior end. Pattern mostly dark brown. Basally with large infuscated area formed by fusion of C-band and base of S-band, which are separated only by hyaline to yellowish area covering cell bm and basal seventh or less of cell dm; basal area mostly brown, but cell bc and cell c except anterior margin yellowish to subhyaline, cell sc yellow including base or sometimes most of pterostigma, and cell r1 with small yellow area extending no more than 1/3 length of pterostigma; most of cell bcu except lobe, and small basal area in cell cu1 also yellow; cell r2+3 basal to level of apex of vein R1 and all of cell br infuscated, brown except br often partially yellow basal to BM-Cu. Remainder of S-band brown except sometimes partially orange in cell r1; distal section slender, at apex of vein R2+3 0.31-0.43 times width of cell r2+3; not closely following vein R2+3 so that basal marginal hyaline spot in cell r1 at most slightly elongate along costa, nearly triangular, and second hyaline spot present in r1 between band and vein R2+3; not extended to apex of vein M. Hyaline marginal spot in cell r1 sometimes interrupted at vein R2+3, sometimes extended almost to vein R4+5; its apex aligned slightly basal to R-M. V-band with distal arm absent; proximal arm slender, extended to vein R4+5, usually separated from S-band, narrowly connected to S-band along R4+5 in one female; extended basally along posterior wing margin to or almost to vein A1+Cu2 where sometimes connected to extension from base of S-band.

Wing.

Abdomen: Banded with yellow, orange and dark brown. Syntergite 1+2 and tergites 3 and 4 each with brown band only slightly and very gradually narrower medially; posterior margin yellow, narrowing laterally. Tergite 5 and female tergite 6 orange.

Male terminalia: Dorsal posterior margin of epandrium evenly convex. Lateral surstylus moderately long; in lateral view very slightly curved; in posterior view, with small to moderate basolateral lobe, main part triangular, acute apically. Proctiger with lateral fold separating sclerotized areas. Phallus 5.62-5.70 mm long; 1.65-1.69 times as long as mesonotum. Glans 0.55-0.60 mm long; acrophallus relatively stout.

Female terminalia: Oviscape 4.58-4.91 mm long, 1.29-1.31 times as long as mesonotum. Eversible membrane not everted in the dissected specimens, with perhaps 35 large, hook-like dorsobasal scales in triangular pattern. Aculeus 4.60-4.91 mm long; base expanded; tip 0.24-0.26 mm long, 0.15-0.16 mm wide, distal 0.62-0.65 serrate. Spermathecae pear shaped.

Aculeus tip, ventral.