Spaniopus monospilus ( Thomson, 1878 )

Tselikh, Ekaterina, 2015, Review of the world species of Spaniopus Walker, 1833 (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae), with description of a new species from the Russian Far East, Zootaxa 4058 (1), pp. 41-65 : 55-57

Spaniopus monospilus ( Thomson, 1878)

( Figs 43–45 )

Polycelis monospila Thomson, 1878: 145 ; lectotype ♂ (LUZN, examined). Type locality: [ Sweden] “Kinekülle”.

Spaniopus monospilus: Graham, 1956: 251 .

Polyscelis websteri Ashmead, 1895: 52 –53; holotype ♀ (USNM, not examined). Type locality: [ U.S.A.] “Indiana”. Synonymy by Bouček (1972: 310).

Neopolycelis websteri: Peck, 1951: 557 .

Spaniopus websteri: Peck, 1963: 696 .

Description. Male. Body length about 2.8 mm; fore wing length 2.3 mm. Colour: head, mesosoma and metasoma metallic green with diffuse coppery lustre, metasoma basally with yellowish-brown spot; scape and pedicel yellowish-brown, F1, F3 and F5 yellow, F2, F4 and F6 basally yellow and apically brown, first segment of clava yellow, second and third brown; legs yellowish-brown, external lobe of mid tibia brown; fore wing hyaline.

Head in dorsal view 2.1× as broad as long and 1.2× as broad as mesoscutum; in frontal view 1.15× broader than high. POL 1.6× OOL. Eye height 1.4× eye length and 2.0× as long as malar space. Distance between antennal toruli and lower margin of clypeus 1.25× as long as distance between antennal toruli and median ocellus. Clypeus radially striate, its lower margin weakly emarginate. Gena with long white hairs. Antenna with scape as long as eye height, 1.1× as long as eye length; pedicel 2.0× as long as broad and as long as F1; combined length of pedicel and flagellum 1.2× breadth of head; F1, F3 and F5 short, F2, F4 and F6 long; each funicular segment with one row of dense sensilla; clava 2.2× as long as broad.

Scutellum finely reticulate, with noticeable but shallow frenal line. Propodeum medially 0.9× as long as scutellum; with median carina complete and irregular; nucha reticulate, occupying 0.35× length of propodeum. Mid tibia with one broad external lobe. Basal cell of fore wing with several hairs, basal fold with hairs entirely; speculum open; M 1.1× as long as P and 1.66× as long as S; P 1.6× as long as S.

Metasoma 1.4× as long as broad and 0.65× as long as mesosoma.

Female. Body length 2.5 mm. Colour: scape yellowish-brown, pedicel and flagellum brown. Antenna with F5 subquadrate, F6 subtransverse; combined length of pedicel and flagellum as long as width of head. Fore wing with M 1.5× as long as P and 1.75× as long as S; fore wing with broad cloud under M and S ( Ashmead 1895; Bouček 1972).

Material examined. SWEDEN: 1 ♂ (lectotype), “K K”, “1962 269”, “ Lectotypus ♂ Polycelis monospila Thoms., Bouček det. 1965”, “♂ Spaniopus monospilus (Th.) , Zd. Bouček det. 1970”, “Zool. Mus. Lund, Sweden, Type No. 278: 1 Pteromalidae ”, “ MZLU 2014 355” ( LUZN).

Distribution. Sweden, United States of America ( Noyes 2015).

Biology. Primary parasitoid of (?) Aulacidea harringtoni (Ashmead, 1887) ( Hymenoptera , Cynipidae ) ( Peck 1963; Noyes 2015); (?) secondary parasitoid of hymenopteran Eurytoma sp. ( Eurytomidae ) and Opius sp. ( Braconidae ) ( Peck 1963; Noyes 2015).

Comparative diagnosis. Females of this species are very similar to those of S. fulvicornis ; the differences between them given in the key to females. Males of S. monospilus belong to a group of species having a distinctly broadened, flattened, and partly infuscate mid tibia, but they are very distinct from other males by their different colour and shape of the antennal segments, and the gena having long white hairs.

Figures

FIGURES 40 – 45. Spaniopus spp. 40 – 42. Spaniopus dissimilis Walker (♂ lectotype). 40, habitus, dorsal view; 41, head and antenna, dorsal view; 42, mid tibia, lateral view. 43 – 45. Spaniopus monospilus (Thomson) (♂ lectotype). 43, antenna; 44, mid tibia, lateral view; 45, head, frontal view.