Cotesia anthelae (Wilkinson, 1928)

Fagan-Jeffries, Erinn P. & Austin, Andrew D., 2020, Synopsis of the parasitoid wasp genus Cotesia Cameron, 1891 (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Microgastrinae) in Australia, with the description of seven new species, European Journal of Taxonomy 667 (667), pp. 1-70 : 12-16

Cotesia anthelae (Wilkinson, 1928)

Figs 10A , 13

Apanteles anthelae Wilkinson, 1928a: 102 (holotype, ♀, NHMUK).

Cotesia anthelae – Austin & Dangerfield 1992: 21 (transfer from Apanteles s.l.).

Diagnosis

Cotesia anthelae can be separated from all other species of Cotesia currently described from Australia and Papua New Guinea by the following combination of characters: T2 ovoid shaped with very strong, distinct crenulate margins; scutoscutellar sulcus with 6–8 pits; scutellar disk mostly smooth with some shallow punctures; T1 mostly parallel sided.

Material examined

Holotype

AUSTRALIA • ♀; Victoria ; “ Apanteles dardalae Cam. type ”; on moth Darala ocellata ; NHMUK 3 .c.002. Card contains the type marked with a x and an additional ♀ specimen, here referred to as the paratype.

Paratype

AUSTRALIA • 1 ♀; same collection data as for holotype; NHMUK 3.c.002 .

Redescription

Female

From holotype; propodeum, T1 and metatibal spur/metabasitarsus ratio measured and imaged on paratype due to position of wings and legs in holotype.

COLOUR. Head, antenna and mesosoma dark, T1–2 dark, rest of metasoma pale at anterior end, darkening towards hypopygium, (fore-, mid-, hind coxa) dark, dark, dark; femora (fore-, mid-, hind femur) pale, pale, pale darkening distally; tibiae (fore-, mid-, hind tibia) light brown, light brown, light brown (paler at proximal end); tegula and humeral complex light brown; pterostigma light brown; fore wing veins light brown.

BODY LENGTH. Head to apex of metasoma: 2.6 mm.

HEAD. Antenna slightly longer than body length; OOL/posterior ocellus diameter 2.1; IOD/posterior ocellus diameter 2.1; antennal flagellomere 2 length/width 4.4; antennal flagellomere 14 length/width 3.1.

MESOSOMA. Anteromesoscutum irregularly punctate, punctures not perfectly round, some areas tending towards reticulate rugose; number of pits in scutoscutellar sulcus 7 or 8; scutellar disc mostly smooth with some shallow punctures; maximum height of mesoscutellum lunules/maximum height of lateral face of mesoscutellum (unable to measure due to wing placement).

WINGS. Fore wing length 3.0 mm; length of veins r/2RS 1.0; length of veins 2RS/2M 1.5; length of veins 2M/(RS+M)b 0.9; pterostigma length/width 3.3.

LEGS. Hind tibia inner spur length/metabasitarsus length 0.6.

PROPODEUM. Medial carina present, propodeum smooth and shiny at anterior corners, posterior to this propodeum with irregular rugose sculpturing, posterior corner thirds with shiny area amongst sculpturing carinae.

METASOMA. T1 length / T1 width at posterior margin 1.7; T1 generally parallel sided, very slightly narrowing at centre, and more significantly curving inwards (narrowing) at posterior corners, smooth in anterior half, with large shallow punctures in posterior half; T2 width at posterior margin / T2 length 1.6, the sclerotised area of T2 very rounded, sculpturing irregular in anterior half, smoother in posterior half, with clear short crenulate furrow at posterior boundary and lateral edges; T2 length / T3 length 0.7; T3 sculpture smooth and shiny; ovipositor sheaths length/hind tibial length 0.2.

Male

Unknown.

Distribution

Vic (type specimens), NSW (record from Austin & Dangerfield 1992).

Host

Anthela ocellata (Walker, 1855) (record from type specimens) ( Anthelidae ), cocoons white. Opodiphthera eucalypti (Scott, 1864) (from Austin & Dangerfield 1992, this record remains unconfirmed as no corresponding specimens were located in collections, and is possibly erroneous).

Remarks

Wilkinson (1928a) notes in the description of this species that the manuscript name “ Apanteles dardalae ” given by Cameron on the holotype label appears to have not been published.

Figures

Fig. 10. A. Cotesia anthelae (Wilkinson, 1928), T2 (paratype, NHMUK 3.c.002). B. C. wonboynensis sp. nov., T2 (holotype ANIC 32 130294). C. C. medusae sp. nov., T2 (paratype, QM T246705). D. C. scripta sp. nov., T2 (paratype, MV T22495).

Fig. 13. Cotesia anthelae (Wilkinson, 1928). A. Paratype (NHMUK 3.c.002). B–E. Holotype (NHMUK 3.c.002). A. Propodeum and T1–2. B. Anteromesoscutum. C. Fore wing. D. Habitus in lateral view. E. Head in anterior view.