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Anastrepha serpentina (Wiedemann)

Recognition
Anastrepha serpentina is one of the species of the serpentina group with a hyaline area in cell br posterior to the pterostigma that is not extended to vein R4+5. It differs from the other species with this character in having the abdomen mostly brown with a T-shaped medial yellow area and the distal section of the S-band slender, at apex of vein R2+3 less than 0.45 times width of cell r2+3. Within the serpentina group, a similar abdominal pattern occurs only in A. pulchra Stone, and elsewhere Anastrepha, only in A. shannoni of the grandis group and some species of the daciformis group, particularly A. macrura Hendel and A. zucchii Norrbom. Other useful diagnostic characters include: orbital plate sometimes with triangular brown mark; thorax mostly dark brown; wing bands mostly dark brown; C- and S-bands connected; distal arm of V-band absent; and aculeus tip 0.37-0.46 mm long, 0.14-0.17 mm wide, finely serrate on more than distal half.

The third stage larva was included in the key of Steck et al. (1990).

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

Head: Mostly yellow. Ocellar tubercle brown. Orbital plate often (on approx. ¾ of nonteneral specimens sampled) with paired triangular brown area; frons rarely red or redbrown between these areas forming single large mark. Frons occasionally orange to pale redbrown anteromedially. Occiput usually with paired, triangular or comma-shaped, brown mark near or covering suture of median occipital sclerite. Facial carina, in profile, concave. 3-6 frontal setae; 1-2 orbital setae (absent on both sides in 9, and on one side in 7, of 40 specimens sampled), posterior seta usually well developed if present. Ocellar seta weak, small to minute. Antenna extended 0.75-0.85 distance to lower facial margin.

Thorax: Mostly orangebrown to 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 almost to posterior margin, including intra-alar seta; scutellum except extreme base (brown area usually well separated from basal seta, but sometimes narrowly separated); dorsal margin and anteroventral corner of anepisternum; dorsal halt to all of greater ampulla; dorsal margin of katepisternum; katepimeron; and most of anatergite and katatergite. Mesonotal darker areas mostly red brown to dark brown, often with narrow orange area bordering medial vitta, and less commonly with small sublateral presutural orange area; without orange vitta on dorsocentral line. Most of darker areas of anepisternum, anepimeron, meron, and katatergite dark brown. Katepisternum usually orange anteriorly and ventrally, brown posteriorly. Subscutellum and mediotergite redbrown to dark brown, sometimes narrowly orange medially. Mesonotum 2.76-3.91 mm long. Scutum microtrichose except for broad medial anterior area extended 1/2-3/4 distance to transverse suture; setulae mostly yellow to pale brown, but darker brown on some brown areas. Katepisternal seta weak, at most as long as postocellar seta, yellowish.

Wing: Length 6.00-8.56 mm. Vein M strongly curved apically; section between BM-Cu and R-M 1.93-2.55 times as long as section between R-M and DM-Cu; section between R-M and DM-Cu 0.68-0.82 times as long as DM-Cu. Crossvein DM-Cu distinctly oblique, with anterior end more distal than posterior end. Pattern mostly dark brown. C-band and S-band broadly connected in cells r2+3 and br, but separated basally by hyaline area in posterior half of br aligned with pterostigma, hyaline basal fourth to third of cell dm, and hyaline to yellowish area covering all of cell bm. C-band yellowish to subhyaline in cell bc and cell c except anterior margin; with large yellowish area in base of cell sc and cells r1 and r2+3 posterior to pterostigma, extending distally to or almost to level of apex of vein R1. S-band with large yellow area in cell dm often extending into cell br and sometimes nearly touching crossvein R-M; rest of band dark brown, including areas distal to and anterior to R-M; distal section slender, at apex of vein R2+3 0.32-0.43 times width of cell r2+3; closely following vein R2+3 so that basal marginal hyaline spot in cell r1 usually elongate along costa; rarely extended to apex of vein M. Hyaline marginal spot in cell r1 usually extended beyond vein R2+3 but not extended to vein R4+5; its apex aligned with R-M or slightly basal to it. V-band with distal arm absent, very rarely with 1-2 faint spots in cells r4+5 or m; proximal arm slender, usually extended to vein R4+5 but often fainter in anterior half to 2/3 of cell r4+5, separated from S-band; extended basally along posterior wing margin almost to vein A1+Cu2 but not connected to extension from base of S-band.

Wings: Peru: Huerta Palmare, Malambo, 15 Mar 1932, Kisliuk & Cooley, USNM00053098; Trinidad: Teteron, 13 Oct 1931, Kisliuk & Cooley.

Abdomen: Predominantly brown with yellow and orange areas forming T-shaped pattern. Syntergite 1+2 mostly brown, often orange basally, with narrow transverse medial area and posterior margin broadly yellow but not reaching lateral margin. Tergites 3 and 4 mostly brown, with narrow, parallel-sided or trapezoidal medial yellow area. Tergite 5 mostly brown, with yellow to orange medial area larger than on tergite 4. Female tergite 6 orange

Male terminalia: Dorsal posterior margin of epandrium evenly convex. Lateral surstylus moderately long; in lateral view slightly curved; in posterior view usually with small basolateral lobe, main part triangular, acute apically. Proctiger with lateral fold separating sclerotized areas. Phallus 3.71-4.84 mm long; 1.15-1.40 times as long as mesonotum. Glans 0.55-0.60 mm long; acrophallus relatively stout.

Epandrium, surstyli and proctiger, lateral view, and epandrium and surstyli, posterior view.

Female terminalia: Oviscape 2.58-3.91 mm long, 0.79-1.02 times as long as mesonotum. Eversible membrane with 55-65 large, hooklike dorsobasal scales in triangular pattern. Aculeus 2.58-3.83 mm long; base expanded; tip 0.37-0.46 mm long, 0.14-0.17 mm wide, gradually tapered, apical 0.55-0.65 finely serrate. Spermathecae globose to ovoid.

Aculeus tip, ventral view, scanning electron micrograph, female (USNM00053099), Panama: Balboa.

Aculeus tip, ventral view, from Stone 1942a, Fig. 2C.