Kikiki Huber & Beardsley, 2000

Huber, John T. & Noyes, John S., 2013, A new genus and species of fairyfly, Tinkerbella nana (Hymenoptera, Mymaridae), with comments on its sister genus Kikiki, and discussion on small size limits in arthropods, Journal of Hymenoptera Research 32, pp. 17-44 : 23-24

Kikiki Huber & Beardsley

Kikiki : Huber and Beardsley 2000b: 66 (original description); Huber 2009b: 235 (key); Luft Albarracin et al. 2009: 12 (key); Lin et al. 2007: 16 (key [male]), 37 (diagnosis).

Remarks.

Specimens of Kikiki from Costa Rica were collected and examined since the original generic description based on eight specimens from the Hawaiian Islands ( Huber and Beardsley 2000b). Additional features not seen clearly or at all on the slide-mounted type series can therefore be described. Based on the images and better slide mounts, several corrections to the original description are made: the axilla is distinctly advanced ( Figs 26 , 44 ), the lateral lobe of the mesoscutum has 1 seta ( Fig. 26 ), and the second phragma (mesophragma) does not project into the gaster. A cleared and slide mounted Costa Rica specimen has 3 mps on the apical claval segment but none elsewhere, and JTH checked one paratype (CNC) and found that it also lacks mps on fl4 and on the basal segment of the clava-the apparent mps ( Huber and Beardsley 2000b, fig. 3) are actually not mps but an artifact of lighting.

Description.

Female. Head.Face about 1.7 × as high as wide, slightly depressed medially ( Fig. 24 ), separated ventrally from oral cavity by distinct epistomal suture. Clypeus transverse, in same plane as face, narrowly oval and extending entire width of oral cavity, with anterior tentorial pits visible sublaterally ( Fig. 37 ). Mandible with lower tooth separated from remaining teeth by deeper notch than notches separating the teeth above it. Vertex ( Figs 30 , 40 ) laterally with well defined supraorbital trabecula divided medially; ocelli enclosed by a distinct, rectangular stemmaticum, the vertex thus divided into anterior (smooth) and posterior (faintly sculptured) areas by a transverse groove extending between eyes from just anterior to each supraorbital trabecula and along anterior margin of slightly triangular mid ocellus; lateral ocelli almost vertical, facing away from each other. Occiput separated from vertex by slightly curved groove extending between posterior apex of each supraorbital trabecula and almost touching lateral ocelli ( Figs 40 , 41), and occiput divided into dorsal and ventral areas by curved groove extending between lower margin of eyes and above foramen ( Figs 25 , 42 ). Head, except vertex anteriorly, with faint, reticulate sculpture. Mesosoma. Pronotum with a slightly crenulated dorsal margin ( Figs 40, 42 ). Mesoscutum ( Figs 26 , 42 , 44 ) with notauli narrow near anterior apex, distinctly widening (narrowly triangular) posteriorly to the medially deep and wide transscutal articulation. Scutellum with axilla strongly advanced anteriorly into lateral lobe of mesoscutum. Frenum apparently divided mediolongitudinally by a wide depression ( Figs 44, 45 ). Mesosoma except anterior scutellum with faint, reticulate sculpture. Legs. Fore leg with bifurcate strigil and calcar with 4 rounded teeth, separated from one another by almost their own diameter ( Fig. 34-male ). Metasoma. Petiole (Fig. 26) extremely short and distinctly narrower that gt1. Terga each with a median transverse fold extending across tergum medially or nearer posterior margin ( Figs 28 , 45, 46 ).

Male. Body 235 μm from transverse trabecula to gastral apex ( Fig. 30 ). Antenna with 9segmented funicle ( Fig. 33 ; Lin et al. 2007, fig. 154), with fl1 the shortest and fl9 the longest, and each segment with 2 mps. Eye large ( Fig. 30 ) with many ommatidia (about 40?); ocular apodeme long, narrow and parallel side for most of its length, slightly widened apically ( Fig. 32 ). Mandibles with 4 teeth. Occiput with strongly curved groove ( Fig. 31 ) different in shape from female, apparently extending from mouthparts, along posterior eye margin, and inwards to lateral margins of foramen. Petiole short but distinct, about 3.7 × as wide as long. Spiracle absent. Cerci with 4 setae. Genitalia encapsulated; aedeagus almost as long as aedeagal apodemes ( Fig. 35 ).

The male is described from a single slide-mounted specimen from Australia. No males have yet been collected in the New World. Whether the larger body and eyes of the Australian specimen are sex differences or indicative of a species different from Kikiki huna cannot be determined until females are obtained from the same locality in Western Australia and compared with the Hawaiian and Neotropical specimens.

Figures

Figures 23 - 26. Kikiki huna female, on slide (cleared, except Fig. 23). 23 habitus, dorsal 24 head + right antenna, anterior 25 head, posterior 26 mesosoma, dorsal + metasoma, dorsal but focus at lower plane to show ovipositor. Scale line = 100 μm.

Figures 43 - 48. Kikiki huna, female, micrographs except Fig. 47. 43 antenna, lateral 44 mesosoma, dorsal 45 frenum - anterior half of metasoma, dorsal 46 metasoma, dorsal 47 hind leg, uncleared lateral, showing muscles; 48, right metatarsus, dorsal. Scale line = 20 μm, except Fig. 47 = 50 μm and 48 = 10 μm.

Figures 36 - 42. Kikiki huna female, micrographs. 36 habitus, dorsal 37, head + antennae, anterior 38 habitus, lateral 39 head, lateral 40 head + anterior mesosoma, dorsolateral 41 head + base of antenna, dorsal 42 head, posterodorsal + anterior mesosoma, dorsal. Scale line = 20 μm, except 36, 38 = 100 μm.

Figures 30 - 35. Kikiki sp. male, cleared on slide. 30 head anterodorsal + mesosoma and metasoma, dorsal 31 head, posterior 32 head from anterior, focused at different plane to show internal skeleton and mandibles 33 antenna 34 protarsus 35 genitalia, dorsolateral. Scale line = 100 μm, except Figures 34 and 35 = 50 μm.

Figures 27 - 29. Kikiki huna female, cleared on slide. 27 wings 28 metasoma, dorsal surface 29 metasoma, ventral surface (seen dorsally through cleared metasoma). Scale line = 100 μm.