Eurytoma amicophaga Lotfalizadeh, 2020

Lotfalizadeh, Hossein, Rasplus, Jean-Yves, Cristofaro, Massimo & Marini, Francesca, 2020, Tetramesa amica and its parasitoid Eurytoma amicophaga (Hymenoptera, Eurytomidae): two new species associated with medusahead, Taeniatherum caput-medusae (Poaceae), ZooKeys 1005, pp. 133-149 : 133

Eurytoma amicophaga Lotfalizadeh sp. nov. Figures 3 , 4

Type material.

Holotype: female, ex Tetramesa amica Lotfalizadeh, sp. nov. on Taeniatherum caput-medusae , 28 May 2017, 27 July 2018, and 21 May 2019 (galls collection dates), F. Marini leg. (deposited in HMIM). Paratypes: same data as holotype, 1♀ & 5♂♂ (deposited in HMIM & CBGP).

Type locality.

Highway E90, between E0 Ardaniou Orestiadas and E0 Alexandroupoli Kipon, ca. 5 km west of the border of Greece-Turkey and 1.3 km northeast of Vrysoùla (40°56'58"N, 26°14'59"E), 40 m above sea level, Dimos Alexandroupoli, Greece.

Diagnosis.

All funiculars longer than broad, with F1 ca. 2.5 × as long as wide (Fig. 3A ). Pro- and mesonotum densely punctured (Fig. 4B ), and narrow interspaces coriaceous sculpture. Gaster long, as long as mesosoma + head. Gt4 longest tergum, ovipositor horizontal.

Description.

Holotype. Female. Body length 3.3 mm. Coloration: body black; following areas yellow to reddish brown: profemur apically and interiorly, protibia interiorly, mid femur and tibia basally and apically, metafemur apically and metatibia basally, three basal tarsomeres, distal spurs of tibiae; wing veins brown. Valvulae mostly dark brown.

Head 1.3 × as wide as long (164:125) (Fig. 4F ). Relative measurements: head width 158, head length 130, width of frontovertex 100, length of eye 62, length of temple 12, ocellar diameter 15, distance between lateral and median ocelli 18, POL 35, OOL 20, malar space 45, height of eye 72. Head relatively transverse in dorsal view (140:85) (Fig. 4E ). Anterior outline of frons slightly convex. Temple with straight lateral outline, hardly converging back-wards and strongly angulate with occiput. Clypeus hardly emarginated. Lower face mostly strigose laterally, ridges not reaching antennal toruli above, face punctured latero-dorsally (Fig. 3C ). Frons covered with piliferous punctures. Malar carina raised near oral fossa, curved, incomplete, not reaching lower margin of eye above (Fig. 3C ). Gena entirely punctured, inter-punctures finely reticulate, gena without area of fine sculpture behind malar carina. Genal carina raised; outline of carina forming blunt angle above oral fossa. Inter-torular space deeply sulcate, bearing one row of hairs. Inner margins of antennal toruli raised. Lateral margin of antennal scrobes carinate, forming a raised lobe above toruli. Postgenal laminae expanded, visible in lateral view as a small tooth (Fig. 3C ). Scape 55, slightly swelling ventrally, straight dorsally. Pedicel + flagellum as long as width of head (130). Pedicel short, 2 × as long as wide (20:10) with a basal bottleneck (Fig. 3C ). With five funiculars, all funiculars longer than wide, F4-5 as long as broad (Fig. 3C ). F1 longer than pedicel (25:20) (Fig. 3C ), 2.5 × as long as wide (25:10), following segments progressively decreasing in length (20, 17, 17, 15, 15). With three clavomeres (38), slightly tapering to apex, and narrowly rounded (Fig. 3C ).

Relative measurements of mesosoma: length 205, width 120, length of pronotal collar 105, mesoscutum as long as mesoscutellum70; width of mesoscutellum 75. Pro- and mesonotum densely punctured (Fig. 4B ), inter-punctures coriaceous. Notauli impressed but obliterated by sculpture of mesoscutum, especially in posterior part. Axillar grooves obliterated by sculpture anteriorly, not reaching transscutal line. Dorsal outline of mesoscutellum strongly convex. Frenal arms visible laterally. Propodeum slightly sloping, slightly inclined with main axis of mesonotum (Fig. 4D ), broadly concave in middle, with an areolate median groove, not delimited by submedian ridges and visible through change in sculpture only, generally reticulate-areolate. Adscrobal carina of mesopleuron distinctly raised ventrally (Fig. 4A ); femoral depression mostly reticulate, with some carinulae. Mesepimeron mostly reticulate ventrally, striolate dorsally, with usual longitudinal rugae originating from its posterior margin, finely reticulate ventrally. Procoxae with usual oblique groove and S-like basal ridge of Eurytoma . Mesocoxae with well-developed lamella distally, striolate on anterodorsal surface. Metacoxa entirely reticulate, bare dorsally at base. Fore wing ca. 2.3 × longer than wide (175:75) (Fig. 4D ), marginal vein 1.2 × as long as stigmal vein (80:65); postmarginal vein (75) slightly shorter than marginal vein (Fig. 3B ). Basal cell partly sparsely hairy; speculum reduced to a narrow stripe behind parastigma; dorsal surface of costal cell with three or four rows of setae.

Petiole. Gastral petiole transverse, bearing usual dorso-median and lateral teeth, which are acute. Gaster longer than mesosoma (105:90) (Fig. 4C ), height 48, respective lengths of Gt1-6 on median line as 26, 15, 12, 24, 18 and 28; syntergum 30; maximal lateral length of Gt4: 75. Gt1 with usual basal submedian pits. Posterior margins of Gt5 diverging ventrally, margin of Gt4 convex dorsally. Gt2 and Gt3 basally (in lateral view) and Gt4 ventrally with a well delimited area showing reticulate sculpture. Gt4 not completely overlapping Gt5 laterally and emarginate on posterior margin dorsally. Gt5 not punctulate dorsally. Gt6 not carinate dorsally. Valvulae not ascending backwards with main axis of gaster (Fig. 4C ).

Male (Fig. 5A ). Body length 1.6 mm. Characters distinctive from female: Scape distinctly swollen anteriorly and ventrally (Fig. 5B ). With 7 flagellomeres, basally wider and longer than distal, segments pedunculate with at least 2 rows of erect setae on F2-F5 and ca. 1.5-2 × as long as wide, last two flagellomeres definitely separated. Relative measurements of scape 75:25, of pedicel 28:27. Gastral petiole elongate, as long as metacoxa, evenly reticulate, cylindrical in lateral view, lateral length ca. 1.4 × as long as greatest width, with slight ventral carina (Fig. 5A ).

Variations.

Body length ranges from 2.5 to 3.6 mm. Pro and mesofemora, scape sometimes nearly entirely black. Marginal vein slightly to distinctly longer than stigmal vein.

Comparative notes.

Eurytoma amicophaga Lotfalizadeh, sp. nov. is distinct from other species of this species group. It is characterized by elongated funiculars, although E. steffani Claridge, 1959 and E. pollux Claridge, 1959 share similar funicular segments. However, E. steffani has all funicular segments longer than broad (F4-5 quadrate in E. amicophaga Lotfalizadeh, sp. nov.). Eurytoma pollux obviously differs from E. amicophaga in the longer head in frontal view, less than 1.2 × longer than broad (wider head, more than 1.3 × longer than broad in E. amicophaga Lotfalizadeh, sp. nov.) and marginal vein more than 1.5 × as long as stigmal vein (less than 1.5 × as long as stigmal vein in E. amicophaga Lotfalizadeh, sp. nov.). Eurytoma amicophaga Lotfalizadeh, sp. nov. is also closely related to E. festucae Zerova, 1977 and may be separated by characters summarized in Table 4 .

Etymology.

The specific name refers to the host species ( Tetramesa amica Lotfalizadeh, sp. nov.) with which holotype is associated.

Host.

Tetramesa amica Lotfalizadeh, sp. nov. ( Hymenoptera : Eurytomidae ). Larvae feed on T. amica larvae and adults emerge from the stem galls caused by T. amica larvae on medusahead plants.

Figures

Figure 3. Eurytoma amicophaga Lotfalizadeh, sp. nov., female A female habitus in lateral view B fore wing venation C head and antennae in lateral view.

Figure 4. Eurytoma amicophaga Lotfalizadeh, sp. nov., female A mesosoma in lateral view B mesosoma in dorsal view C metasoma in lateral view D fore wing E head in dorsal view F head in frontal view G propodeum in dorsal view.

Figure 5. Eurytoma amicophaga Lotfalizadeh, sp. nov., male A male in lateral habitus, B antenna.