Aldabromyia plagiochaeta
Male. Body length: 4.9-5.4 mm; wing length: 2.9-3.2 mm.
Head. Vertex and frons shining metallic green. Face very narrow, metallic green, with a greyish white dusting; epistoma with nearly parallel side margins; clypeus slightly wider than epistoma, ending above level of lower eye margins. Palpus small, brownish black, with a pair of small black bristles. Rostrum short, yellow. A pair of strong, black ocellar bristles. 2 short, thin, black postocellars. At either side 1 black postvertical bristle. Lateral and lower postocular cilia yellowish white. Occiput shining metallic green.
Antenna short; basal segments dark brown, third segment brownish yellow. Second segment dorsally and ventrally with rather short and weak black bristlets. Third segment small, a little longer than deep, more or less triangular, with a rounded tip. Arista dorsal, relatively short (hardly as long as face), thin, black.
Thorax. Thorax and scutellum shining dark metallic green, with coppery reflections. acr biseriate, very short. 5 pairs of strong, black dc. Scutellum with long laterals (about two thirds as long as the marginals). Propleura bare.
Legs. Fore coxa yellow (coxa narrowly browned at base). Mid and hind coxae dark brown, apically narrowly yellow. Trochanters, femora and tibiae yellow, but hind femur apically, and hind tibia entirely feebly browned. Tarsi strongly darkened, but first segment of fore tarsus yellow, and first segment of mid tarsus basally yellowish. Fore leg. Coxa anteriorly with pale yellow hairs, and 3 strong, black bristles on apical third. Femur without bristles; ventrally some very short yellow hairs. Tibia a little longer than femur, without bristles, apart from a ventral bristle at apex. First segment of tarsus soon after its base strongly broadened and flattened, ovaloid, with rows of very short, black bristlets. Length of tibia and tarsal segments (in mm): 1.2 : 0.8 : 0.3 : 0.2 : 0.15 : 0.1. Mid leg. Coxa anteriorly and exteriorly with yellow hairs. Femur ventrally without bristles. Tibia longer than femur; anteroventrally on apical half a row of bristles (very short at middle of tibia, growing longer towards its tip). Length of tibia and tarsal segments (in mm): 2.0 : 1.25 : 0.4 : 0.25 : 0.15 : 0.1. Hind leg. Coxa exteriorly with a thin yellow bristle and some short, yellow bristly hairs. Femur without bristles. Tibia much longer than femur (about 4:3); no bristles; some of the dorsal and ventral hairs are slightly lengthened. First tarsal segment ventrally shortly spinulose; all tarsal segments somewhat broadened and flattened. Length of tibia and tarsal segments (in mm): 2.15 : 1.2 : 0.45 : 0.25 : 0.15 : 0.1.
Wing hyaline, very feebly clouded on apical half towards costa and around m1; veins dark brown. Tp straight, oblique, longer than apical part of m3+4 (about 3:2). No anal vein. Halter yellow. Squama yellow, with yellow cilia.
Abdomen very long and slender, shining metallic green; terga 2-4 with broad dull black anterior and narrow dull black posterior borders; terga 5 and 6 mostly dull black. Hairs and bristles on terga short, black. Segment 7 very short, blackish brown. Hypopygium small, dark brown, with dark appendages. Cercus more or less triangular, blade-like.
Aldabra (Picard 1974-6) [? Aldabra (Picard 27/4/1974 - 21/1/1976, collected by R.Prys-Jones]