Brasema orthopterae Risbec, 1951

Fusu, Lucian, Ebrahimi, Ebrahim, Siebold, Cedric & Villemant, Claire, 2015, Revision of the Eupelmidae Walker, 1833 described by Jean Risbec. Part 1: the slide mounted specimens housed at the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle in Paris, Zoosystema 37 (3), pp. 457-480 : 467

Brasema orthopterae Risbec, 1951

Brasema orthopterae Risbec, 1951a: 214-217 . Original description, ♀ ♂, Senegal, Bambey; 1949: 602 (nomen nudum); 1950a: 451 (nomen nudum); 1956b: 129 (keyed). — Hedqvist 1970: 433 (catalogued). — Herting 1971: 66-67 (catalogued).

Holceupelmus bifasciatus Cameron, 1905: 316-317 (secondary homonym of Eupelmus bifasciatus Giraud, 1871 ). — Smith 1969: 73-75 (figured).

Eupelmus orthopterae – Bouček 1976b: 352-353 (change of combination, synonym of Holceupelmus bifasciatus Cameron ).— Hawkes 1989: 65 (biology).

CURRENT TAXONOMIC STATUS. — Eupelmus (Eupelmus) orthopterae (Risbec, 1951) n. stat. [new subgeneric status].

TYPE MATERIAL. — MNHN.14.48. Lectotype ♀ (here designated), encircled with black ink and marked with an arrow. The slide also contains nine ♀ and four ♂ paralectotypes under two coverslips of which six ♀ and one ♂ dry mounted under the first coverslip, some badly crushed, and four ♀ and three ♂ dry and balsam mounted under the second coverslip, also partly crushed, labeled in Risbec’s handwriting: “ Eupelmus sp. / ex ω Miomantis / pellucida / Brasema / orthopterae Risbec / II 92 93” and ” Lectotype [red label]; LECTO- TYPE/ Brasema orthopterae Risb / Det. Fusu L. 2011”.

MNHN.14.47. Seven ♀ and four ♂ paralectotypes under two coverslips of which three♀ and two ♂ mounted in balsam under the first coverslip and partly crushed, and four ♀ and two ♂ dry mounted under the second coverslip, also partly crushed, labeled in Risbec’s handwriting: “ Brasema / orthopterae / Risbec/ ex Miomantis / pellucida ”.

MNHN.14.49. Two ♀ paralectotypes, not conspecific with the lectotype, dry mounted and partly damaged, labeled in Risbec’s handwriting: “aff Macreupelmus / 13.VIII.24/ Brasema / orthopterae / Risbec”.

MNHN, ex. coll. ORSTOM.2.22. Two ♀ and one ♂ paralectotypes of which one ♀ and one ♂ dry mounted under the first coverslip are conspecific with the lectotype, while the female under the second coverslip belongs to another Eupelmus species , labeled in Risbec’s handwriting: “ Brasema / orthopterae / Risbec/ 6.4.44 ex ω/ Blepharodes / soudanensis [sic]”.

REMARKS

Bouček (1976b) transferred this species to Eupelmus and he also established the synonymy with Holceupelmus bifasciatus Cameron, 1905 . Specimens on slide MNHN.14.49 are probably the two females without host data mentioned in the original description and are clearly different from the lectotype and from paralectotypes on slides MNHN.14.47 and MNHN.14.48. Slide ORSTOM.2.22 contains two ♀ and one ♂, of which one ♀ and one ♂ under the first coverslip are conspecific with the lectotype, while the female under the second coverslip belongs to another Eupelmus species , different from that on slide MNHN 14.49. Because the type series of B. orthopterae involves three species (only one fitting the original description and Risbec’s fig. 127) a female on slide MNHN.14.48 is here designated as lectotype. It is entire, with all relevant characters visible, but the head is slightly detached and the tip of one wing and ovipositor apex are trapped in Canada balsam. Because of the fragility of the specimens it was decided not to remount them.