On the distribution and habitat use of the sub-Antarctic fly Hyadesimyia clausa Bigot (Diptera, Tachinidae) according to citizen science.

Hyadesimyia clausa Bigot is a morphologically striking tachinid that inhabits the Sub-Antarctic Ecoregion of the Magallanes Region in Chile and Tierra del Fuego province in Argentina. Much of the distributional information about this species is restricted to the Cape Horn islands, which have extreme environmental conditions, but the species' natural history, range limits, and habitat use have never been described or confirmed. Our goals were to describe the distributional limits of this sub-Antarctic fly with the help of citizen science and use this information type to describe this tachinid's habitat use and potential biological interactions with nonvascular and vascular flora. We found that citizen science significantly increased our understanding of the extent of occurrence, expanding the known distributional range by 195 km to the north and 153 km to the west. On the contrary, the values for the area of occupancy were not significant, but the occupancy overlap between different records was very low. We confirmed that H. clausa's habitat uses peatlands and although we have not provided evidence of pollination or movement of spores, we hypothesized, that the walking activity of H. clausa could help move sperm from mosses and pollen from the flowers of vascular plants, so they could act as potential pollinators. Citizen science can reduce and eliminate some scientific knowledge shortfalls and propose new ecological questions that could increase our knowledge of extreme ecosystems.

Natural infection of Chiromyzinae larvae (Diptera: Stratiomyidae) in southern Chile by Tolypocladium valdiviae sp. nov.

A new species from the fungal genus Tolypocladium (Hypocreales: Ophiocordycipitaceae) that infects Stratiomyidae larva from the genus Hylorops is described: Tolypocladium valdiviae Gallardo-Pillancari, Montalva & González. The description is based on both genomic data and morphological characteristics. The sexual stage of T. valdiviae presents fleshy and visible stromata; unlike Tolypocladium ophioglossoides, it is smaller and emerges directly from its host and resembles Tolypocladium longisegmentis and Tolypocladium capitatum, both of which are parasites of deer truffle fungi of the genus Elaphomyces (Ascomycota: Eurotiales). In the anamorphic state, T. valdiviae presents conidiogenous cells similar in shape and arrangement to those of Tolypocladium inflatum, however T. valdiviae produces larger conidiogenous cells and, occasionally, produces chlamydospores. Phylogenetic evidence suggested that T. valdiviae is in a clade close to T. longisegmentis, T. inflatum and T. ophioglossoides, species also recognized to be parasites of fungi of the genus Elaphomyces. The new species is known so far only from Valdivia, southern Chile.

Citizen Science Meet South American Tachinids: New Records of Feather-Legged Fly Trichopoda (Galactomyia) pictipennis Bigot (Diptera: Tachinidae) from Chile.

The species of Gymnosomatini (Diptera: Tachinidae) are specialized to attack stink bugs (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae). Some of these flies, such as those in the genus Trichopoda Berthold, are conspicuous and represent target species to study with citizen science. Here we report for the first time the distribution range of T. (Galactomyia) pictipennis Bigot, a newly introduced biological control species of tachinid for use against stink bugs in Chile using data obtained through the citizen science method. Additionally, we update the distribution of T. arcuata (Bigot), a native biological control species of tachinid, and assess the grade of overlap between the flies and their main stink bug hosts. We obtained data regarding the occurrence of flies and stink bugs from the citizen science program "Moscas Florícolas de Chile," from Facebook groups, and from iNaturalist. We standardized our data to avoid temporal, spatial, and geographic biases. We report the extent of occurrence (EOO) and area of occupancy (AOO) for each fly and stink bug species. The EOOs for T. pictipennis and T. arcuata are 85,474 km2 and 20,647 km2 through central Chile ecosystems, respectively. The EOO of T. arcuata is overlapped by 53% with the introduced species. Trichopoda pictipennis has a high percentage of overlap with the EOO of Nezara viridula Linnaeus (61%), whereas T. arcuata has low percentages of overlap with different native Acledra species and with N. viridula. We discuss the potential of citizen science to detect (1) areas with higher diversity or gaps of occurrences, (2) new biological control agents, (3) prey records, (4) negative impacts on non-target species, (5) changes in composition at long-term, and (6) areas to promote conservation biological control in agricultural landscapes.

A catalog of Nemestrinidae (Diptera: Brachycera: Nemestrinoidea) from Chile.

A catalog of the Nemestrinidae from Chile is provided. Included are all valid names and synonyms for the 37 species and four genera from Chile, including information about the name, author, year of publication, page number, type species, type locality, and references. Trichophthalma Westwood is the most species-rich genus in Chile, with eighteen species, followed by Hyrmophlaeba Rondani, with twelve species. The geographical distribution of species was recorded from the examination of bibliographic data, label data on specimens in collections, and records of citizen science. Biological interactions are provided for each species when possible.

Review of Chilean Cyrtinae (Diptera: Acroceridae) with the Description of Three New Species and the First Record of Villalus inanis from Argentina.

Acrocerid flies are endoparasitoids of spiders that are distributed in all ecosystems except deserts and the poles. This group was historically classified into three subfamilies. However, molecular analyses have indicated two new subfamilies. One of these is Cyrtinae Newman, which is made up of two clades: the north, with Palearctic species, and the south, with Chilean species (except for the fossil genus Villalites Hennig). In the southern clade, endemic genera Holops Philippi and Villalus Cole have been poorly described over time by different authors. The aim of this study is to re-describe the known species of Holops and Villalus and describe three new Holops species based on collected material: Holops grezi sp. nov., Holops anarayae sp. nov., and Holops pullomen sp. nov. In addition, an identification species key with updated distributions for all species and the first record of Villalus inanis from Argentina is also provided. New species are mainly characterized by the length of flagellum; colors of the postocellar lobe and thoracic segments, pilosity and legs; wing cells and veins, and shape of the abdomen. Holops and Villalus do not share morphological traits with any other known extant genus of Acroceridae in the southern hemisphere. The real biodiversity of this group must be evaluated with a molecular phylogeny in the future. In addition, the new species in the Pehuén and Valdivian forest provinces, areas considered to have been sheltered during the last glacial period, promoting speciation in several taxa. New and cryptic Holops species open the doors to disentangling the real biodiversity of spider flies in Chile.

Updating the knowledge of the flower flies (Diptera: Syrphidae) from Chile: Illustrated catalog, extinction risk and biological notes.

Syrphidae, more commonly known as flower flies, are considered one of the most important Diptera families worldwide because of their critical role in pollination, biological control and decomposition of organic matter. The study of these flies in Chile has stagnated due to a lack of local experts as well as the absence of an updated catalog of species. This study is an attempt to remedy the latter of these issues by providing an illustrated and updated catalog to the Syrphidae of Chile. Species are presented under currently accepted names, with synonyms and previous combinations listed and original references. Type localities, world and Chilean distribution by geopolitical Chilean regions, taxonomic and biological notes, a complete record of bibliographic references and extinction risk under IUCN Red List criteria are provided. This catalog recognizes 132 species of Syrphidae, belonging to four subfamilies (Eristalinae, Microdontinae, Pipizinae and Syrphinae), 13 tribes and 47 genera. A total of 46 species (34.84 %) is restricted to the geopolitical territory of Chile. Eight species are considered exotic, one is considered incertae sedis and three are based on doubtful records. Seventeen species of 10 different genera (Copestylum Macquart, 1846; Dolichogyna Macquart, 1842; Eosalpingogaster Hull, 1949b; Eupeodes Osten Sacken, 1877; Meromacrus Rondani, 1848; Palpada Macquart, 1834; Paragus Latreille, 1804; Sphiximorpha Rondani, 1850; Sterphus Philippi, 1865 and Toxomerus Macquart, 1855) are reported from Chile for the first time. A total of 44 species (33.33 %) reported from Chile are directly threatened by human activities such as agriculture, forestry, mining and/or urbanization and indirectly by climate change. The gaps found in the geographic distribution of Chilean flower fly species and what it means for its use by disciplines such as ecology, floral biology and agronomy, are discussed. In addition, the use of this illustrated catalog for biological conservation, the potential definition of priority areas and ecosystem management plans based on this group of Diptera are also discussed.

Myopa nebulosa sp. nov. and Myopa bozinovici sp. nov. (Diptera: Conopidae): New thick-headed flies from a threatened biodiversity hotspot in central Chile.

Diptera is one of the most speciose groups within Insecta, but there are deep gaps in knowledge of the South American faunas. Conopidae, also known as thick-headed flies, inhabit many habitats around the world, and are particularly diverse in the Neotropical region. Despite this, southern South American species of this group are poorly known and many genera are under-represented in museum collections. Only four Neotropical species of Myopa are known, three from Mexico and one from Chile. In this study we describe two new species: Myopa nebulosa sp. nov. distributed from northern Chile to the Maule region of central Chile, and Myopa bozinovici sp. nov. from Mediterranean ecosystems of central Chile. We also re-describe the conspicuous species Myopa metallica Camras and provide an updated key to all Neotropical species of this genus. The natural history of these species is unknown. Myopa species are not abundant and their habitats may be threatened by land change use.

A new spider fly (Diptera: Acroceridae: Ogcodinae: Ogcodes Latreille) from Chiloé Island's evergreen forest and new distributional records for other spider flies in Chile.

Ogcodes Latreille is the largest genus of Acroceridae. They exhibit a cosmopolitan distribution and parasitize several spider families. Eleven Neotropical species are currently recognized in the genus, with five of them occurring in Chile, though distribution data is limited in this group of rarely collected flies. In this work, we describe a new species, Ogcodes kunkunche sp. nov. Barahona-Segovia from the evergreen forest of Chiloé Island, provide an identification key to the Chilean species of Ogcodes, and include novel distributional data for other species of spider flies (Acrocerinae and Ogcodinae). Based in our results, we suggest that O. kunkunche sp. nov. must be incorporated in the porteri group, due to wing vein reduction. Morphological aspects within Ogcodes, and their evolutionary implications are discussed.

New records of the giant planarian Polycladus gayi Blanchard, 1845 (Platyhelminthes: Geoplanidae) with notes on its conservation biology.

Land planarians (Tricladida:Geoplanidae) comprise about 910 species distributed in four subfamilies and can be found on all continents except Antarctica (Sluys Riutort 2018; Sluys 2019). The Neotropical region possesses nearly 31% of all the described terrestrial planarian species, most of them belonging to the subfamily Geoplaninae (Sluys 1999; Grau Carbayo 2010). Land planarians are mostly habitat-specialists, living in the humid soils of native forest, and predating on invertebrates like earthworms, isopods, mollusks and harvestmen, among others (Ogren 1995; Carbayo Leal-Zanchet 2003; Boll Leal-Zanchet 2016). Although most planarian species seem to be physiologically sensitive, for example to environmental moisture, a few land planarian genera like Bipalium Stimpson and Obama Carbayo et al., have successfully invaded many habitats, even in highly perturbed areas (Kawaguti 1932; Sluys 2019). Therefore, some of these invertebrate species appear to be good candidates as habitat quality bioindicators according to some authors (Sluys 1998; Gerlach et al., 2013; Negrete et al., 2014).

New record of the endemic jewel beetle Pygicera scripta krahmeri (Coleoptera, Buprestidae, Nacionini) from a coastal forest of Hualpén, Biobío Region, Chile.

Pygicera Kerremans, 1903 is an endemic genus of jewel beetle of Chile distributed in the central Chile hotspot, which is distributed from the Atacama Desert in the north to the Valdivian Forest in the south (Myers et al., 2000). Currently, Pygicera is composed of one species and two subspecies: Pygicera scripta scripta Laporte Gory, 1837 and the Valdivian rainforest subspecies Pygicera scripta krahmeri Moore 1981 (Figs 2-6). The first subspecies is distributed from Limarí in the Coquimbo Region to Curicó in the Maule Region, both in the coast as well as Andean foothills. This is considered the common subspecies (Moore, 1981; Moore Vidal, 2015). The southern subspecies is distributed from Victoria in the Araucanía Region to La Unión in Los Ríos Region (Moore, 1981; Moore Vidal, 2015) and is the rarest and less abundant subspecies. The larvae of both subspecies have been recorded in the "maitén" (Maytenus boaria) Molina, from which they have been reared (Moore, 1981, 1987; Moore Vidal, 2015).

A new flower fly species of Cepa Thompson amp; Vockeroth (Diptera: Syrphidae) from the Valdivian evergreen forest hotspot, Chile.

The Neotropical region has a high species richness of flower flies. However, there are many known species awaiting proper description. Cepa Thompson Vockeroth is a Neotropical genus with scattered records and few individuals collected of its three species. In the present study, a female of a new species of Cepa is described, C. simonettii Barahona-Segovia sp. nov., from the Valdivian evergreen forest representing the first record of this genus in Chile. In addition, an identification key to all known species of Cepa is provided. Morphological and biogeographic aspects of this new Cepa species are discussed, as well as the potential phylogenetic relationship with other members of Merodontini.

Taxonomic and systematic implications of the revision of the phylogenetic relations in the genus Ectinogonia Spinola 1837 (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) of Central Chile.

Ectinogonia Spinola 1837 is composed of 22 species to date, but its taxonomic history has been complex and is still unresolved. The species of the Santiagan Province of Central Chile are particularly complex because they show important morphological variability and overlapping traits, making species identification and delimitation difficult. The main goal of the present study is to show the phylogenetic relationships among species of Ectinogonia of the Santiagan province and discuss the taxonomic and systematic implications of our findings. Phylogeny reconstructions as well as a haplotype network disclosed four groups, partially inconsistent with the traditional taxonomy. Actually, the two Ectinogonia speciosa subspecies (E. speciosa speciosa (Germain 1856) and E. speciosa oscuripennis Cobos 1954) belong to two distinct clades, which are not reciprocally monophyletic, meaning that Ectinogonia speciosa is polyphyletic. On the other hand, the two other clades each contain, two nominal species (E. buquetii (Spinola 1837) and E. vidali Moore Guerrero 2017, and E. isamarae Moore 1994 and E. speciosa oscuripennis Cobos 1954) without reciprocal haplotype sorting. These results suggest that: (1) E. speciosa oscuripennis should be raised to species level and (2) the following new synonymies are proposed: E. isamarae Moore 1994 is synonymised with E. oscuripennis Cobos 1954 and E. vidali Moore Guerrero 2017 is synonymised with E. buquetii (Spinola 1837).