Notogaster toddae Fernandez-Triana & Ward, 2020

Fernández-Triana, Jose L. & Ward, Darren F., 2020, Notogaster, a new genus of Microgastrinae (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) from New Zealand, Zootaxa 4801 (2), pp. 251-279 : 271-273

Notogaster toddae Fernandez-Triana & Ward , sp. nov.

( Figs 18 A–H)

Holotype. Female ( NZAC), NEW ZEALAND, MC, Arthur’s Pass National Park, Crow Valley track, 645m, - 42.9879 171.5103, sweeping in meadow with ferns, 3/iii/2009, H. Goulet. Voucher code: NZAC04195881 .

Paratypes. 10 Females, 4 Males ( CNC, NHM, NZAC) . 1 Female, BR , St Arnaud , 650m, 12/12/1980, JS Noyes, EW Valentine, AK Walker , NHM ; 1 Female, CL , Kauaeranga Valley , 14/11/1980, JS Noyes, NZAC04049886 ; 1 Female, HB , Puketitiri , Little Bush, 20/12/1988, TH Davies, Malaise trap, cyanide, NZAC04049374 ; 1 Female, MC , Banks Peninsula , Prices Valley, Mar 1981, RP Macfarlane, Malaise trap, edge of native bush, NZAC04198779 ; 1 Male, MC , Craigeburn Forest Park, 829m, 4/3/2009, H Goulet, Yellow Pan, meadow, tussock, WMIC0100 ; 1 Female, 1 Male, NC , Arthur’s Pass National Park , 3/3/2009, H Goulet, Sweeping, subalpine shrubland, WMIC0099 , WMIC0098 ; 1 Female, 2 Male, NC , Arthur’s Pass National Park , Kellys Creek, Otira River, 350m, 3/3/2009, H Goulet, Sweeping, ferns and lowland, WMIC0103 , WMIC0104 , WMIC0105 ; 1 Female, NN , Cobb reservoir, Jan 1981, AR Curtis, Malaise trap, Nothofagus forest, NZAC04049524 ; 1 Female, NN , Cobb Valley , Lake Sylvester, 1310m, 31/3/1969, JC Watt, Sifting, Litter 69/122, NZAC04048802 ; 1 Female, OL , Glenorchy State Forest , Dart River, 21/1/1981, JS Noyes & EW Valentine, Sweeping, CNC280794 ; 1 Female, WD , Wanaka , Mt Alpha, 1524m, 15/1/1971, JS Dugdale, NZAC04049922 .

Diagnostic description. Mesosoma entirely to mostly dark (dark brown or black), lighter areas very small and localized; metasoma dorsally entirely dark (brown or black); gena with relatively large and clear pale spot; tegula pale; first two pairs of legs entirely pale (yellow, orange or light yellow-brown), rarely with coxae darker; metacoxa dark, rarely pale; metafemur mostly pale (yellow, orange or light yellow-brown); metatibia mostly dark brown or mostly yellow; T 2 mostly sculptured. See Table 1 for additional morphological measurements. Notogaster toddae is morphologically similar to N. martini , both species can be distinguished from all other Notogaster species based on the combination of mesosoma and metasoma being mostly to entirely dark brown to black while legs are entirely to mostly yellow, and the gena having a relatively large pale spot at base ( N. walkeri shares those features but it has longer flagellomeres distally, smaller OOL, thinner T 1 and more trapezoidal T 2; see key for more details). Notogaster toddae has the metacoxa dark brown to black (usually yellow in N. martini ); clypeus coloration similar to the rest of the face (lighter than rest of face in N. martini ); propodeum with clearly defined median carina (with irregular pattern of carinae, including partially defined median carina and areola in N. martini ); and fore wing vein r comparatively shorter (0.3 × length of vein 2RS, whereas in N. martini it is usually 0.5–0.6 × as long as vein 2 RS). In addition to the morphological differences mentioned above, N. toddae and N. martini have very different DNA barcode sequences (more than 4 % see also Fig 10 ).

Molecular data. The species has six DNA barcode compliant sequences in BOLD, corresponding to four different BINs: one specimen in BOLD:AAH1149 (which is 1.68% different to the closest BIN in BOLD), two specimens in BOLD:AAH1150 (3.53% different to the closest BIN), one specimen in BOLD:AAH1151 (2.63% different to the closest BIN) and two specimens in BOLD:ABZ8728 (1.68% different to the closest BIN). These four BINS are closest to each other than to any other BIN in BOLD, but the differences (1.68–3.53 %) suggest that this species may represent a complex. However, at present we prefer to keep them all as one species, as we have not been able to find morphological or geographical differences to justify splitting the “barcode species” and study of more specimens and sequences will be needed to conclude.

Distribution. BR, CL, HB, MC, NC, NN, OL, WD ( Fig. 7 ).

Etymology. Named after Jacqui Todd for her contribution to entomology in New Zealand.

Figures

FIGURE 10. Maximum Likelihood tree with the highest log likelihood (-9454.41) for 72 DNA barcode sequences of 62 Microgastrinae species within 17 genera (including five Notogaster species). Tree drawn to scale, with branch lengths measured in the number of substitutions per site. Only bootstrap support over 75% is shown. Details of every specimen (including voucher code) and sequences used in the analysis are shown in Table 3.

FIGURE 18. Notogaster toddae sp. nov., holotype, female: A—habitus, lateral; B—head, frontal; C—fore wing; D—head, dorsal; E—head and mesosoma, lateral; F—metasoma, dorsal; G—metasoma and ovipositor, lateral; H—mesosoma, dorsal.

FIGURES 1−9. Distribution maps of Notogaster spp.: 1—N. avilai sp. nov.; 2—N. charlesi sp. nov.; 3—N. macdonaldae sp. nov.; 4—N. martini sp. nov.; 5—N. poultonae sp. nov.; 6—N. sucklingi sp. nov.; 7—N. toddae sp. nov.; 8—N. walkeri sp. nov.; 9—N. withersae sp. nov. (star), N. wornerae sp. nov. (circle).