Trichorhachus — Life in a Southern Forest

body length 4.7mm

antennae; 3 segmented, simple

whole thorax, abdomen bright metallic blue

all segments of all legs bright metallic blue laterally and dorsally, except joints between femora and tibiae orange

hind basitarsus longer than next 2 tarsal segments together

genae and face yellow-orange

tongue longer than head, dorsal side blackish

lateral side of head, thorax and abdomen unpunctured

tegula yellow

clypeus, labrum, inner orbits, orange

antennal flagellum shorter than closest distance between eyes

face, ventral side of thorax and abdomen unpunctured

ventral side of thorax and abdomen metallic blue, except for orange apical segment of abdomen

ventral and anterior side of all segments of all legs black, except for ventral side of fore tibiae which are orange

ventral side of tongue grey

pre-apical spur on mid and hind tibiae

flagellum of antenna shorter than distance between eyes, approx. same width as scape

antenna; scape black, pedicel and flagellum orange; flagellum single segment, approx. same thickness as scape

mandibles yellow with black tip

labrum and clypeus yellow

inner orbits and genae yellow

glossa (tongue) grey ventrally, black dorsally; almost as long as eye

pronotum, mesonotum and scutellum bright metallic blue, unpunctured

distance between hind ocelli greater than distance between an ocellus and back of head

antennal flagellum about same thickness as scape, shorter than distance between eyes

vertex black, genae orange

prosternum and mesosternum bright metallic blue, without punctures

genae, mandibles, labrum orange

abdomen viewed ventrally

abdomen shining with coarse transverse wrinkles

apical segment of abdomen yellow-orange

abdomen viewed dorsally after removal of wings

all terga bright metallic blue, except posterior tergum 1 pale orange, unpunctured

apical abdominal segment with ovipositor sheath viewed dorsally

lateral view of rear of abdomen, showing ovipositor sheath (third valvula) and protruding tip of saw (lancet or first valvula)

posterior view of end of abdomen showing ovipositor structures

apical tip of ovipositor sheath (third valvula) after removal from body, densely covered in stiff bristles

sawsheath and apex of abdomen in T. nitidus (9) and T. australis (10) - from Benson (1938), figs. 9, 10

portion of saw in T. nitidus (11), including teeth 8-12 of total 14 widely spaced teeth and T. australis (12), including teeth 8-16 of total of about 27 teeth, each bearing smaller denticulations - from Benson (1938), figs. 11, 12

saw (lancet or first valvula) dissected from female - with hair bands and 16 teeth, each bearing smaller denticulations (serrulae).

different number of teeth to T. australis and different to T. nitidus in possessing serrulae

enlarged view of end of saw (lancet or first valvula) showing teeth 1-6, each with 3 small serrulae (denticulations)

Malagon-Aldana et al (2021) state that in the Trichorhachus sp. ovipositor examined (Fig. 27A,B) serrulae were absent.

distal 2/3rd of saw (lancet)

saw is similar to T. australis but has fewer teeth (16 vs. 27)

lance (second valvula) dissected from body

forewing RHS

hyaline; stigma and venation black; basal vein joins subcosta at a distance from the cubitus almost as great as the length of the 1st transverse cubital vein

hind wing RHS

hyaline, stigma and venation black

forewing LHS

hyaline; stigma and venation black; basal vein joins subcosta at a distance from the cubitus almost as great as the length of the 1st transverse cubital vein

hind leg - all segments black

mid leg - all segments black, tibia with preapical spur

fore leg - tibia orange on ventral surface, all other segments black

body length 5.0mm

antennae: 3 segmented, simple; scape black, pedicel and flagellum orange

antennal flagellum longer than closest distance between eyes

flagellum slightly narrower than scape

ventral side of thorax and abdomen bright metallic blue

genae, labrum, mandibles orange (latter with black tips)

legs: all coxae and femora black, all tibiae and tarsi orange-blackish

genae orange, vertex black

proboscis shorter than head, galea relatively short

lateral side of thorax, mesonotum, scutellum and abdomen metallic blue; tegula blackish-orange

legs: all coxae and femora black, except hind femora black basal half, orange apical half dorsally; all tibiae and tarsi orange

antenna black scape, orange pedicel and flagellum (with apex blackened), thinner than scape

genae orange, black vertex

pronotum black medially, orange laterally

mesoscutum, scutellum bright metallic blue, unpunctured

stigma brown, venation dark brown

parts of proboscis shown:

- glossa (tongue), labial palps and prementum parts of labium; glossa shorter than prementum, much shorter than length of eye

- galea and maxillary palps parts of maxilla

antennal flagellum slightly narrower than scape at greatest width

parts of proboscis shown:

- glossa (tongue), labial palps and prementum parts of labium; glossa shorter than prementum, much shorter than eye length

- galea and maxillary palps parts of maxilla

genae, vertex orange; post-ocellar area black

frons black

genae, vertex orange; post-ocellar area black

pronotum orange with black dorsal patch

tegula brownish-orange

mesopleura, mesoscutum and scutellum black

genae, inner orbits, clypeus, labrum, mandibles orange (tips of latter black)

frons black

pronotum orange with black dorsal patch

genae, inner orbits, clypeus, labrum, mandibles orange (tips of latter black)

frons black

pronotum orange with black dorsal patch

tegula orange

mesopleura shiny metallic blue, unpunctured

genae, vertex orange; post-ocellar area black

distance between ocelli greater than distance between ocellus and back of head

mesoscutum shiny metallic blue, unpunctured

genae, inner orbits, clypeus, mandibles orange (latter with black tips)

forelegs - coxa, femur black; distal femur, tibia and tarsomeres orange; distal tarsomeres black

frons, post-ocellar area black; inner orbits, clypeus, labrum, vertex orange

ocelli mounted on elevated platform

abdomen shiny metallic blue laterally

venation brown

abdomen viewed laterally

shiny metallic blue, unpunctured

cerci, 10th abdominal segment orange

sawsheath (3rd valvula) black, laterally flattened, not bifid cf. fig. 9 from Benson (1938)

tip of projecting saw visible - orange

lateral view of apex of abdomen

sawsheath laterally flattened, black; not bifid at apex, cf. fig. 9 from Benson (1938)

projecting saw visible, orange

apex of abdomen viewed dorso-laterally

cerci, 10th abdominal segment orange

sawsheath (3rd valvula) black, laterally flattened, not bifid cf. fig. 9 from Benson (1938)

tip of projecting saw visible - orange

sawsheath and apex of abdomen in T. nitidus (9) and T. australis (10) - from Benson (1938), figs. 9, 10

abdomen viewed from rear after removal from female and treatment with KOH to separate sclerites

saw, sawsheath, 10th tergum with attached cerci, 9th and 8th terga visible

different from photograph of T. nitidus ovipositor in Fig. 24F, Malagon-Aldana et al (2021) - see Reference images below.

sawsheath, lance and lancet are shorter than in that photo of the T. nitidus ovipositor

sawsheath viewed laterally after dissection from body

lancet (saw) dissected from female; with ~16 teeth, cf. fig. 11 from Benson (1938) which shows teeth 8-12

very similar to 1st valvula (lancet) in Fig. 27A of Malagon-Aldana et al (2021) which shows ~16 teeth - see Reference figures below

lancet (saw) dissected from female; with 16 teeth (#15, 16 faint), cf. fig. 11 from Benson (1938) which shows teeth 8-12

very similar to 1st valvula (lancet) in Fig. 27A of Malagon-Aldana et al (2021) which shows ~16 teeth - see Reference figures below

serrulae (denticles) absent on teeth - listed by Malagon-Aldana as a character state of ovipositor of Trichorhachus sp.

portion of saw in T. nitidus (11), including teeth 8-12 of total 14 widely spaced teeth and T. australis (12), including teeth 8-16 of total of about 27 teeth, each bearing smaller denticulations - from Benson (1938), figs. 11, 12

saw (lancet) dissected from female, separated from lance

lance dissected from female, lancet separated

dorsal view of wings: hyaline, stigma and venation brown

left forewing: hyaline, stigma and venation brown

identical venation to Trichorhachus sp. wing in Fig. 17A, Malagon-Aldana (2021) - see Reference images below

left hind wing; hyaline, venation brown

identical venation to Trichorhachus sp. wing in Fig. 17A, Malagon-Aldana (2021) - see Reference images below

ventral view of body

mesopleura, mesosternum and venter shiny metallic blue, unpunctured

coxae and femora of all legs shiny metallic blue, distal tip of fore femur orange; tibiae and tarsi of all legs orange with distal tips of tarsal segments black

hind basitarsus long than following two tarsal segments; preapical spines on mid and hind tibiae

hind legs dissected from female (left tibia and tarsus missing); coxae and femora black; apical femur, tibia and tarsi orange; apex of tarsomeres blackish

forelegs (LHS) and mid legs (RHS) removed from female (tarsi missing from mid legs)

- all femora black with apical tip orange, all tibiae and tarsi orange