Aleiodes shakirae, Shimbori, Eduardo Mitio & Shaw, Scott Richard, 2014

Shimbori, Eduardo Mitio & Shaw, Scott Richard, 2014, Twenty-four new species of Aleiodes Wesmael from the eastern Andes of Ecuador with associated biological information (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Rogadinae), ZooKeys 405, pp. 1-81 : 60-62

Aleiodes shakirae sp. n. Figures 96-100, 120

Description of holotype.

Female (holotype). Body length 6.0 mm; antenna length 7.4 mm; fore wing length 5.7 mm.

Color. Head yellow, ocellar triangle dark brown; antenna dark brown–black, scapus lighter dorsally; mesosoma yellow, anterior corner of mesopleuron, metanotum and part of lunules, propodeum and metapleuron dark brown–black, mesopleuron light yellow–whitish at broader with metapeluron but blackish in immediate border; fore and mid legs whitish at coxa, trochanter and trochantellus, darkening toward apex from light yellow to honey brown; hind leg: 1/2 basal coxa white, 1/2 apical black, trochanter white, trochantellus black with ventral white stripe, femur and tibia whitish with infuscate stains mid laterally and at apex, tibial spurs and telotarsi honey brown, remaining tarsi brown. Metasomal terga black, but T4-T7 white laterally; metasoma ventrally white; ovipositor sheaths dark brown on apical half, basal half whitish. Wings hyaline; stigma brown with central area lighter; most veins dark brown; vein C+SC+R black (extreme base whitish) connecting to a black parastigma with whitish central spot.

Head. Antenna with 47 antennomeres, flagellomeres roughly 2.0 × as long as wide, apical flagellomere with long “bottle-nipple” -shaped apex; malar space as long as basal width of mandible, and approximately 1/4 eye height; in dorsal view eyes 3.4 × temples; occipital carina incomplete dorsally, curving toward lateral ocelli, laterally complete and meeting hypostomal carina; oral space small and circular, maximum width slightly equal to basal width of mandible; clypeus not swollen; ocellus moderate, ocell–ocular distance short, about 0.45 × diameter of lateral ocellus; maxillary palp not swollen; head surface sculpturing finely granulate, occiput smooth and shining; higher face with some wrinkles just bellow toruli.

Mesosoma. Sculpturing finely granulate; propodeum with mid-longitudinal carina complete; notauli weak, shallow and smooth; posterior margin of mesoscutum with complete carina; scutellar sulcus with median carina plus two pairs of lateral carina.

Wings. Fore wing: stigma 4.5 × longer than high; vein r 1.27 × vein 2RS, 1.2 × vein RS+Mb, and as long as vein m-cu; vein 3RSa about 0.44 × vein 3RSb, and 0.8 × vein 2M; vein 1CUa 1.6 × vein 1cu-a; vein 1CUb 2.2 × vein 1CUa; vein 1M strongly curved at basal portion. Hind wing: m-cu virtually absent; vein M+CU 1.4 × vein 1M; vein 1M 1.2 × vein r-m; RS smoothly curved at middle; vein M dark brown, well pigmented; vein 2-1A absent.

Legs. Hind tibia without comb of modified setae; tarsal claws pectinate basally, with several very short and tight bristles, longer and sparser apically, wide gap between apical bristles and claw; hind basitarsus 3 × longer than inner apical spur on hind tibia.

Metasoma. T1-T3 granular–rugose; remainder terga granular; mid longitudinal carina complete from T1 throughout T3; ovipositor sheaths about as long as hind tarsomere II; T1 long and narrow, T1 length 1.7 × its apical width.

Paratypes variation. Body length 4.5-6.2 mm; antenna with 47-50 segments; legs color somewhat darker in few paratypes, and/or mid trochantellus laterally infuscate; scutellar sulcus with 3 to 5 carina; other color and proportions with only minimal variation.

Male. Antenna with 44 or 46 segments; ocelli larger, ocell– cular distance 1/3 diameter of lateral ocellus; tergite 1 narrower, about 2 × longer than apical width.

Mummy. Length 14.0-18.7 mm, dark reddish brown medially, light brown anteriorly and posteriorly, thorax narrow and wrinkled, mummy withered posteriorly be hind exit hole, general long and narrow aspect, curved down- or sideward “V-shaped” to almost straight, exit hole irregular, located postero-dorsally, anterior to prolegs, but one specimen with ventral exit hole.

Type material.

Type-locality: ECUADOR, Napo Province, Yanayacu Biological Station, canopy Malaise trap on bamboo, S00°35.9', W77°53.4', 2163 m, cloud forest, July 10-16, 2010, S.R: Shaw col.

Type-specimen: Holotype female, point mounted. Top label: "ECUADOR: Napo Province / Yanayacu Biological Station / S00°35.9', W77°53.4' 2163m / 10-16 June 2010, Scott R. Shaw / canopy Malaise trap, bamboo / NSF-BSI-07-17458 expedition". (UWIM)

Paratypes 5 females and 6 males (UWIM), same data as holotype, except: 1♀, June 1-8, 2007, Malaise trap, SRS-00047; 3♀ and 6 males, reared from Geometridae larvae on Chusquea scandens ( Poaceae ): 1♂ June 2, 2006, YY-14220; 1♂ March 25, 2008, YY-29593; 1♂ August 26, 2009, YY-40478; 1♀ January 30, 2010, YY-44297; 1♂ July 29, 2010, YY-48878; 1♂ September 9, 2010, YY-50943; 1♂ November 16, 2010, YY-52497; 1♀, January 7, 2011, YY-52852; 1♀ March 10, 2011, YY-54224; 1♀ September 3, 2013, YY-78769.

Biology.

Reared from Geometridae caterpillar feeding on Chusquea scandens ( Poaceae ). Most host caterpillars were commonly named "palito café chusquea." Considering associated caterpillar pictures, rearing information, and similar mummy morphology, it is likely that all the hosts were conspecific. Host caterpillars were collected in 2nd and 3rd instars. Time span, from pupation until adult emergence, varied from 2.5 up to 6 weeks. As the mummy dries, the middle section bends and dries in different ways, resulting in different but distinctive bent mummies.

Discussion.

Aleiodes shakirae sp. n. belongs to circumscriptus/gastritor species group. The “V-shaped” mummies from Geometridae and some color features resemble Aleiodes townsendi sp. n.; however, Aleiodes shakirae sp. n. differs from Aleiodes townsendi sp. n. in the ocell–ocular distance, which is about half the diameter of the lateral ocellus, but is nearly the same length as the lateral ocellus in Aleiodes townsendi sp. n. In Aleiodes shakirae sp. n. the metapeluron and metasoma are dorsally black (in Aleiodes townsendi sp. n. the metapleuron and T1 are mostly white with black markings), the hind coxa basally white and apically black (colors inverted in Aleiodes townsendi sp. n.), and hind tibia and tarsi are lighter in Aleiodes shakirae sp. n., the hind tibial spurs are yellowish to honey yellow (as compared with black in Aleiodes townsendi ). The sculpturing of metasomal terga 1-3 in Aleiodes shakirae sp. n. is granular–rugose ( rugose–striate in Aleiodes townsendi sp. n.), the metasoma is much slender in Aleiodes shakirae sp. n., petiole is 1.7-2.0 times longer than apical width (as compared with 1.2 times in Aleiodes townsendi sp. n.), and the hind wing m-cu is absent in Aleiodes shakirae sp. n. (present as a short pigmented stub in Aleiodes townsendi sp. n.). The host species "palito café chusquea" ( Geometridae ) is the same species attacked by Aleiodes nubicola sp. n. and Aleiodes mirandae sp. n.

Etymology.

This species is named after the famous Colombian singer Shakira. Since parasitism by this species causes the host caterpillar to bend and twist its abdomen in various ways, and Shakira is also famous for her belly-dancing, the name seems particulary appropriate for this species.