Zele albiditarsus Curtis, 1832

Stigenberg, Julia & Ronquist, Fredrik, 2011, Revision of the Western Palearctic Meteorini (Hymenoptera, Braconidae), with a molecular characterization of hidden Fennoscandian species diversity 3084, Zootaxa 3084 (1), pp. 1-95 : 40-41

Zele albiditarsus Curtis, 1832

Fig. 10a, 16 , 134

Zele albiditarsus Curtis, 1832: 415 Holotype ♂ Great Britain: “ Regents Park , England ” (NMV, Melbourne).

Zele testaceator Curtis, 1832: 415 Lectotype ♀, (NMV, Melbourne). Synonymized by Van Achterberg 1979:376

Perilitus albitarsus Nees von Eisenbeck, 1834:34

Meteorus albitarsis Haliday, 1835:24

Perilitus dispar Wesmael, 1835: 22 Lectotype ♀, Belgium: Brussels, Wesmael coll. ( IRSNB, Brussels) .

Meteorus calcitrator Curtis, 1837:118 Synonymized by Van Achterberg 1979:376

Meteorus(Perilitus) wesmaeli Boie 1850: 214 Lectotype ♀ (ZM, Kiel).

Perilitus pallitarsis Cresson, 1872: 81 Holotype ♂, (ANSP, Philadelphia). Synonymized by Van Achterberg 1979:376

Meteorus testatrix Schulz 1906 : Spolia Hymenopterologica. Paderborn (Junfermann). 356pp.

Meteorus maximus Muesebeck 1923: 13 Holotype ♀, (USNM Smithsonian Institute, Washington). Synonymized by Van Achterberg 1979:376

Diagnosis: Most similar to Z. deceptor , from which some specimens may be hard to separate. The variability in size and colour is very large in Z. albiditarsus but the short and wide fore femur (5.0–6.0 times as long as wide) and the long fore tibia spur (0.4–0.5 times fore basitarsus) are good characters to distinguish this species from Z. deceptor , which has a more slender fore femur (6.5–9.0 times as long as wide) and a shorter fore tibia spur (0.2–0.4 times fore basitarsus).

Studied Material: ~ 200 specimens.

Description: Antennal articles 37–50. Ocelli large, OOL=1. Eyes large, protuberant and not convergent. Malar space about 0.25 times mandible base. Face 1.4 times wider than high. Clypeus wide as face and slightly protuberant. Mandibles stout and twisted. Precoxal sulcus broad. Propodeum with distinct lateral and median longitudinal carinae. Length of petiolar tergum 2.5 times basal width; with dorsope. Laterope deep and joined dorsally with dorsope. Ventral borders of petiolar tergum not touching, widely separated by sternite. Ovipositor short and stout, 1.6 times as long as petiolar tergum. Hind coxa smooth punctate, tarsal claws lobed. Vein cu–a of fore wing postfurcal or interstitial, exceptionally antefurcal. Colour testaceous.

Distribution: Occurs throughout the Palearctic. Country records: Armenia; Austria; Azerbaijan; Belgium; Bulgaria; Canada; China; Croatia; Czechoslovakia; Denmark; Finland; France; Georgia; Germany; Greece; Hungary; India; Ireland; Israel; Italy; Japan; Kazakhstan; Korea; Latvia; Lithuania; Mexico; Moldova; Mongolia; Nepal; Netherlands; Norway; Poland; Romania; Russia; Slovakia; Sweden; Switzerland; Turkey; USA; Ukraine; United Kingdom; Yugoslavia.

Biology: Zele albiditarsus is known to emerge from both the larval and pupal stage of the host. It is a solitary parasitoid that has been record as parasitizing on several Lepidoptera families: Geometridae , Noctuidae , Nymphalidae , Pyralidae , Saturnidae , Tortricidae and the Hymenoptera families Diprionidae and Ichneumonidae ( Yu et al. 2005) . We found 64 specimens in the SMTP material caught during the period June to October. Of these, 49 were caught in the same trap placed in a Hornbeam forest in the southern parts of Sweden.

Figures

FIGURES 10–17. Characters used in key to species. 10a) hind wing of Z. albiditarsus, 10b) hind wing of M. colon, 11) metaoma of Z. deceptor, 12) metasoma of M. pendulus, 13a) fore wing of Z. chlorophthalmus, 13b) fore wing of Z. albiditarsus, 14) mesosoma of Z. caligatus, 15) mesosoma of Z. deceptor, 16) fore femur and tibial spur of Z. albiditarsus, 17) fore femur and tibial spur of Z. deceptor.

FIGURES 134–138. Anterior view of the head of Zele species.