Agapophytus

Agapophytus pallidicornis, photographed by Shaun Winterton.
Belongs within: Agapophytinae.

Agapophytus is a genus of stilletto flies found throughout Australia, with undescribed species present in New Guinea (Winterton et al. 2001).

Characters (from Winterton et al. 2001): Antennae located middle to upper frons close to ocellar tubercle; scape longer than head, rarely shorter; scape and flagellum greatly elongate, narrow, covered most of length of scape and flagellum with small, uniformly sized setae; antennae usually raised on small tubercle; frons often much wider than ocellar tubercle in both sexes; width only slightly narrower in male than female; occiput usually convex, concave around occipital foramen, male with either a single row or multiple, poorly defined rows of postocular setae, sometimes with very small setae along leading edge; lower gena sometimes dilated ventrally; palp narrow or spatulate, never thickened basally; labellum length variable, spatulate; scutal vestiture with numerous fine setae, sometimes admixed with white, scalelike setae; pleuron often with vertical banding of silver pruinescence; fore tibia and basitarsus often inflated and brightly coloured; wing cell m₃ closed; wing infuscation variable or hyaline; modified setae on abdominal tergite 2 absent; epandrium short, narrowed posteriorly; cerci short; gonocoxites quadrangular in profile; medial atrium absent; outer gonocoxal process up to half length of inner gonocoxal process; inner gonocoxal process narrow, shorter than gonostylus; ventral lobe reduced; velutum patch often raised, globose; hypandrium present, triangular, fused to gonocoxites laterally; tergite 8 greatly emarginate medially; sternite 8 quadrangular with round corners; distiphallus usually narrow, often straight, sometimes dorsally recurved and tapered; dorsal apodeme of parameral sheath well sclerotized, T-shaped; ventral apodeme much shorter than ejaculatory apodeme; lateral ejaculatory apodeme narrow, bandlike, often with thin anterior flange; ejaculatory apodeme short, broad; female sternite 8 sometimes with strong setae ornately arranged; furca narrow, ringlike; spermathecal sac simple, complex outer reticulated lobes usually present; spermathecal ducts usually very long.

<==Agapophytus Guérin-Méneville 1831 WY01
    |  i. s.: A. albopunctatus Röder 1885 WY01
    |         A. dioctriaeformis Schiner 1868 WY01
    |         A. quatiens White 1915 WY01
    |         A. ruficaudus Mann 1929 WY01
    |         A. squamosus Mann 1929 WY01
    |--A. bicolor (Kröber 1928) [=Parapsilocephala bicolor] WY01
    `--+--+--*A. australasiae Guérin-Méneville 1831 WY01
       |  `--A. pallidicornis Kröber 1912 [incl. A. flavicornis Mann 1929] WY01
       `--+--A. queenslandi Kröber 1929 [incl. A. varipennis Mann 1929] WY01
          `--+--A. albobasalis Mann 1929 WY01
             `--A. aterrimus Mann 1929 WY01

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[WY01] Winterton, S. L., L. Yang, B. M. Wiegmann & D. K. Yeates. 2001. Phylogenetic revision of Agapophytinae subf. n. (Diptera: Therevidae) based on molecular and morphological evidence. Systematic Entomology 26: 173-211.