Citrogramma variscutatum (Curran)  

Adapted from original description (Curran 1928).

MALE.

Head: Face and gena sulphur-yellow, shining, the former somewhat "bloated" in appearance, in profile, almost straight to the apex of the long, low, slightly differentiated tubercle, the tip of the oral margin a little prominent but much receding from the tip of the tubercle, the concavity between them short. Gena not wide, the oral margin almost straight, just slightly convex below the eyes, the oral angles not prominent. Most of the pile of the face is black, fine, sparse, but below and on the gena it is whitish and less evident. Opposite the tubercle the face occupies half the width of the head, the sides being convergent above, but even at the antennae it is two-fifths as wide as the head. The frontal triangle is almost as long as the distance from its upper point to the vertex and also gives somewhat the impression of being bloated, although actually rather flattened, there being a gentle concavity in the middle. A large triangle above the antennae and a slender median line reaching to the upper angle is rather orange-coloured and quite dull, the remainder of the front dull sulphur yellow; the black pile is long and rather abundant but leaves a bare space above the antennae. Vertical triangle brownish-black, not wide, nearly twice as long as its width, the anterior ocellus remote and situated at the very front of the triangle, the short pile black. Occiput opaque black, yellow behind the mouth, the broad orbits greyish-white pollinose where exposed and silvery white pilose, but the pile above is black. Scape yellow to reddish,pedicel brownish-red to shining brown, basoflagellomere red below, brownish above, not twice as long as wide, oval, the apex obtuse; arista black, moderately robust, tapering.

Abdomen: Sides of the scutum broadly, a broad vitta below the postpronotum, more than the posterior half of the anpisternum, (except narrowly below) a broad, transverse vitta on the dorsal part of the katepisternum running over the middle of the meron and covering the katatergum, opaque pale yellow. Disc of mesonotum of a peculiar dull metallic grey-blue or grey-green colour, with a pair of median, somewhat darker, broad vittae; a broad opaque blackish vitta separates the metallic colour on the disc from the pale yellow lateral margins and also extends across in front of the scutellum, but even this region is sometimes covered with the greyish colour, rarely with a slight brownish tinge. The pleurae, except as mentioned, are metallic blue but arc covered with greyish-white pollen. The black pile of the mesonotum is fairly long, moderately abundant, but there is a narrow anterior fascia and the sides before the suture and the pleura wholly, are yellow pilose. Scutellum opaque sulphur yellow, with a subtriangular blackish to bronzed basal triangle which may have its apical sides more or less concave and varies somewhat in size, rarely being almost wanting; scutellar pile black, the ventral fringe yellow; and there is a rather conspicuous downwardly-directed tuft of black hairs at the basal angles. Legs: Anterior four femora and tibiae yellow, the metalegs and all the tarsi brownish-black, the bases of the metafemora broadly, more or less distinctly, reddish; in other specimens there is a broad, brown basal ring on the anterior four femora and no indication of pale bases to the metafemora. Pile practically all black, somewhat long an the femora. Legs slender. Wings somewhat blackish-brawn or strongly cinereaus tinged, the whole subcostal cell deep brawn. Vein R4+5 moderately curved forward beyond the middle of the cell R4+5 and ending a little before the apex of the wing; veins brown.

Abdomen opaque black, only the broad apex of the fourth segment sometimes subopaque; in rubbed specimens there is a metallic blue reflection showing through; adorned with four reddish or sulphur yellow fasciae, the first band interrupted, the others entire. The maculae comprising the first fascia are broadly separated in the middle and reach forward on their outer end to the base of the second segment, this anterior production being narrow: posteriorly they are very slightly convex, very gently so in front, their inner ends mare or less rounded, but mare painted posteriorly, their outer end cut off obliquely by the forward projection of the black area to the basal fifth of the segment. The first fascia is sulphur yellow, the following three usually mare reddish-yellow. The first segment has usually a transverse yellow macula in front. The fascia on the second segment is from two-fifths to a half as wide as the length of the segment. The fascia on the third segment is broadly separated from the anterior margin and is biconvex behind, gently biconcave in front, as the middle and lateral portions are nearer the base of the segment, especially so laterally, where the bands extend aver the side margins in about half their width; pale fascia almost or quite one third as wide as the length of the segment. The fascia on the fourth segment is similar but slightly narrower and a little closer to the base of the segment. The fascia on the fifth segment is very narrowly separated from the base and is wider laterally and it may be so extensive as to leave only a transverse, oval apical fascia of black. All the fasciae are opaque. The pile is yellow and fine on the first segment and first fascia, elsewhere rather coarse, black.

FEMALE.

A single specimen shows the following differences: face reddish-yellow, the front of the same colour except on the upper fourth where it is black, wholly shining; in the middle of the yellow portion is a long, shining black triangle, its narrow base resting just above the antennae, its apex not reaching the black of the upper part. From lateral view the front is gently convex, swollen immediately above the antennae, strongly narrowed above; black pilose; face with fine white pile. Occiput above, and the vertex, bright yellow pollinose; occipital pile on upper third and the cilia, yellowish, elsewhere white, rather silvery. Basoflagellomere slightly wider. Scutum with shorter pile, the pale hairs whitish and a little more extensive. MEtacoxae (as in ♂) situated on yellow ground. Metafemora yellow on basal half; anterior four tarsi much paler; wings paler. All abdominal fasciae slightly narrower, reaching the side margins a little more widely, the pile shorter.