First Record of Verticia fasciventris from Mainland China and Its Mitogenome (Diptera: Calliphoridae, Bengaliinae)

Verticia fasciventris Malloch, 1927 is a biologically distinctive blow fly whose larvae develop as internal parasitoids of soldiers of fungus-growing termites. Previously recorded from Malaysia and Hong Kong, China, its occurrence in mainland China has not been formally documented. In this study, we report V. fasciventris from mainland China for the first time, based on a male specimen collected in Yunnan Province, provide a redescription of the male, and document the first complete mitogenome of Verticia. The circular mitogenome is 15,586 base pairs in length and contains the typical set of 37 insect mitochondrial genes, including 13 protein-coding genes, 22 transfer RNA (tRNA) genes, two ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes, and a control region. The gene arrangement of the mitogenome is consistent with the conventional pattern for Diptera. Phylogenetic analyses based on mitochondrial protein-coding and rRNA genes recovered Calliphoridae as monophyletic and supported Bengaliinae as sister to Rhiniinae. Within the limited sampling of Bengaliinae, V. fasciventris was recovered as sister to Tricyclea sp. These results expand the known distribution of V. fasciventris and provide new evidence for the phylogenetic placement of this termite-parasitoid genus.