Meteorus imaginatus Jones, new species

(Figs 18–22)

Holotype Female. Body length 4.5 mm; fore wing length 5.0 mm.

Body color: Cream face; ocellar patch dark brown; mandibles cream with brown teeth; palpi cream; fore- and mid-coxae cream, all tibia light brown, hind coxae brown except for cream lateral anterior patch; wings transparent light brown with brown venation; mesonotal lobes defined through coloration, medial lobe is brownish-orange, lateral lobes are dark brown; metasoma medially gold, laterally dark brown; propodeum dark brown; first tergite anteriorly cream and posteriorly dark brown (Fig. 20); tergum two medially cream, laterally dark brown; posterior tergites cream; ovipositor and sheath light brown.

Head: Antenna with 29 flagellomeres; flagellar length/width ratios as follows: F1 = 4.0, F2 = 2.0, F3 = 3.7, F27 = 2.3, F28 = 2.0, F29 = 3.5; OCOD /OCD ratio 0.8, ocelli large; eyes nearly parallel and large, face maximum to minimum width ratio 1.3, head height 1.2 X eye height; minimum face width same as clypeus width; mandibles strongly twisted; clypeus transversely ridged; face and frons smooth; occipital carina complete.

Mesosoma: Mesonotal lobes slightly defined by foveolate notauli; pronotum, mesopleuron lightly rugose with slightly foveate sternaulus; metapleuron lightly rugose; propodeum areolate-rugose.

Legs: Rugose hind coxae; tarsal claws simple.

Wings: 3 RSa vein twice as long as r vein; lacking (RS + M)b vein at 2RS insertion point.

Metasoma: Ovipositor long, 2 times longer than tergite one; tergite one longitudinally costate.

Cocoon (Fig. 21). Dark brown; ovoid; missing cap that was evenly chewed away; corpus 6.0 mm long; moderately baled in silk, with apical end of corpus much smoother and middle to posterior portion more densely baled; short suspension thread attached.

Material examined.

Holotype female: Ecuador: Napo Province, reared at Yanayacu Biological Station with database number YY #15210, S 00°35.9’ W 77°53.4’, 2163 m, collected 2 June 2006, Yanayacu Road, parasitoid pupated 10 July 2006, adult wasp emerged 21 July 2006, host caterpillar Hypena valkeralis (Noctuidae), associated plant Boehmeria bullata (Urticaceae) . Deposited in UWIM.

Distribution. Known only from the holotype locality in Napo Province, Ecuador.

Biology. Meteorus imaginatus is a solitary species, reared from Hypena valkeralis Schaus Miller (Noctuidae) larvae (Fig. 22). The host caterpillar was found feeding on Boehmeria bullata (Urticaceae) .

Etymology. The name is derived from Latin for an image or something imaginary; chosen due to the obscure image formed dorsally on the metasoma.

Comments. This particular group of host caterpillars, Hypena spp ., has also been recorded as a host for another parasitoid wasp: Aleiodes atripileatus Townsend (2009) . The rearing record also indicates that the aforementioned Hypena spp . were found feeding on Boehmeria caudata . Morphologically, there are a few Meteorus species with distinct patterns on tergite 2: M. oviedoi, M. rugonasus and M. horologium . These three had a variable “hourglassesque” color variation, but M. imaginatus has a unique shape shown in Fig. 20.