Sathon oreo Fagan-Jeffries & Austin, 2019

Fagan-Jeffries, Erinn P., Cooper, Steven J. B. & Austin, Andrew D., 2019, New species of Australian microgastrine parasitoid wasps (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Microgastrinae) documented through the ‘ Bush Blitz’ surveys of national reserves, Zootaxa 4560 (3), pp. 401-440 : 428-437

Sathon oreo Fagan-Jeffries & Austin sp. nov.

( Fig. 16 )

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:C1A04487-C16E-4C93-912B-8E8CFF6713FA

Material examined (including Genbank numbers of DNA barcodes). Holotype: South Australia: ♀ Mt Billy Con. Pk. Fleurieu Peninsula, 25/x/2000, C. Stephens, Malaise trap in bridal creeper invaded eucalypt woodland (SAMA: 32-036135; Genbank COI: MH138935 ). Paratypes: Australian Capital Territory: ♀ Black Mountain CSIRO land, Malaise trap, 9–14/xi/1991, Austin & Dangerfield ( WINC) . ♀ Canberra, Black Mtn, Behind CSIRO, 35°16'S 149°06'E, 23/ix/2002 – 31/x/2002, C. Lambkin ( ANIC: 32 130223; Genbank COI: MH 138874 ) . ♀ Canberra, Black Mtn, Behind CSIRO, 35°16'S 149°06'E, 23/ix/2002 – 31/x/2002, C. Lambkin ( ANIC: 32 130224; Genbank COI: MH 138875 ) . ♀ Canberra, Black Mtn, Behind CSIRO, 35°16'S 149°06'E, 23/ix/2002 – 31/x/2002, C. Lambkin ( ANIC: 32 130225; Genbank COI: MH 138877 in ethanol) . South Australia: ♀ Ferries Macdonald Cons .

Pk., 1–14/i/1996, Malaise trap. J. Jennings (WINC). ♀ Mt Billy Con. Pk. Fleurieu Peninsula, 12/x/2000, C. Stephens, Malaise trap in bridal creeper invaded eucalypt woodland ( SAMA: 32-036137; Genbank COI: MH 138932 ) . ♀ Mt Billy Con. Pk. Fleurieu Peninsula, 25/x/2000, C. Stephens, Malaise trap in bridal creeper invaded eucalypt woodland ( SAMA: 32-036136; Genbank COI: MH 138944 ; in ethanol) . ♀ Mt Billy Con. Pk. Fleurieu Peninsula, 25/x/2000, C. Stephens, Malaise trap in bridal creeper invaded eucalypt woodland ( SAMA: 32- 036138; Genbank COI: MH 138937 ) . ♀ Mt Billy Con. Pk. Fleurieu Peninsula, 25/x/2000, C. Stephens, Malaise trap in native plot within bridal creeper invaded eucalypt woodland ( SAMA: 32-036141; Genbank COI: MH 138843 ) . ♀ Mt Billy Con. Pk. Fleurieu Peninsula, 25/x/2000, C. Stephens, Malaise trap in native plot within bridal creeper invaded eucalypt woodland ( SAMA: 32-036142; Genbank COI: MH 138842 ) . ♀ Mt Billy Con. Pk. Fleurieu Peninsula, 25/x/2000, C. Stephens, Malaise trap in native plot within bridal creeper invaded eucalypt woodland ( SAMA: 32-036143; Genbank COI: MH 138915 ; in ethanol) . ♀ Mt Billy Con. Pk. Fleurieu Peninsula, 25/x/2000, C. Stephens, Malaise trap in native plot within bridal creeper invaded eucalypt woodland ( SAMA 32-036144 ; Genbank COI: MH 138914 in ethanol) . ♀ Mt Billy Con. Pk. Fleurieu Peninsula, 35°27'13"S 138°36'22"E, 20/x/ 2016 – 05/xi/2016, E. Fagan-Jeffries, Malaise trap ( SAMA: 32-036139; Genbank COI: MH 138799 ) . ♀ Mt Billy Con. Pk. Fleurieu Peninsula, 35°27'13"S 138°36'22"E, 05/xi/2016 – 20/xi/2016, E. Fagan-Jeffries, Malaise trap ( SAMA: 32-036140; Genbank COI: MH 138798 ; in ethanol). Victoria : ♀ Otway Ranges, Melba Gully , 4/ii/90, R. Wharton . ♀ Fleurieu Peninsula, Deep Creek Cons. Pk. , 7–21/ii/90, Malaise trap, J. Bracken & R. Wharton ( WINC) . ♀ Grampians Bioscan site 406, 37°03'41"S 142°22'50"E, 19/xi/2012, J. Grubb, M. Mackenzie, P. Lillywhite, K. Pawley, Malaise trap, Cooinda Burrong Scout Camp, basecamp and surrounds ( MV: HYM-61362; Genbank COI: MH 138852 ; in ethanol) . ♀ Grampians Bioscan site 407, Mount Difficult Road, between two intersections with Longpoint Track , 37°02’02”S, 142°28’02”E, 19–23/xi/2012, M. Mackenzie, P. Lillywhite, J. Grubb, K. Pawley, Malaise trap GRB407 ( MV: HYM-61361; Genbank COI: MH 138845 WG: MH 139294 ) . ♀ Grampians Bioscan site 426, Strachans Camp Ground near intersection Sawmill Track , Glenelg River Road, and Jensens Road , 37°22’32”S, 142°16’57”E, 24/xi/2012, P. Lillywhite & B. Patullo Malaise trap GRB426 ( MV: HYM-61363; Genbank COI: MH 138844 ) .

Diagnosis. The conspicuous white stripe on the antenna of the female easily separates this species from the other species of Sathon described from Australasia.

Description. FEMALE. Colour: dark except for non-sclerotised areas around T–3 and sternites which are often a striking white; antenna dark other than flagellomeres 6–7 which are white; coxae (pro-, meso-, metacoxa) pale, pale, dark; femora (pro-, meso-, metafemur) dark with paler area posteriorly, dark, dark; tibiae (pro-, meso-, metatibia) dark, dark, dark; tegula and humeral complex light brown; pterostigma dark; fore wing veins dark. Head: antenna slightly longer than body length; body length (head to apex of metasoma) 2.4–2.9 mm; ocularocellar line/posterior ocellus diameter 2.3–2.5; interocellar distance/posterior ocellus diameter 1–1.4. Mesosoma : anteromesoscutum evenly and densely punctate; mesoscutellar disc with numerous shallow punctures associated with setae; number of pits in scutoscutellar sulcus 8–14; maximum height of mesoscutellum lunules/maximum height of lateral face of mesoscutellum 0.2–0.3. Wings: fore wing length 2.5–3.0 mm; length of veins r/2RS 0.5– 0.7; length of veins 2RS/2M 1.0; length of veins 2M/(RS+M)b 0.9–1.2; pterostigma length/width 2.5–2.8, areolet large, enclosed, vein r-m unpigmented. Legs: metatibia inner spur length/metabasitarsus length 0.3–0.4. Propodeum: reticulate rugose, with very short medial longitudinal carina at anterior end, often diverging carinae from this medial carina that appear to form the anterior half of an areola, and diverging carinae from posterior centre also give the impression of an areola, but these carinae often indistinguishable from other sculpturing, often smooth sections at anterior corners. Metasoma: T1 length/width at posterior margin 2.7–3.3; T1 clearly narrowing posteriorly, mostly smooth but often with faint longitudinal branching carinae; T2 width at posterior margin/length 2–2.6, T2 with no clear sculpturing, but not completely smooth; T3 sculpture smooth and shiny; hypopygium with completely membranous area mid-ventrally; ovipositor sheaths length/metatibial length 0.5–0.6.

MALE. Known only from photograph on BOLD, antennal segments all dark.

Etymology. This species is named for the brown antenna with a thick white stripe caused by the white flagellomeres 6–7 resembling the brown-white-brown colouration pattern of the Oreo cream-centred chocolate biscuits. The species name is a noun in apposition.

Distribution. This species appears to occur in large numbers in specific areas of the country, including in South Australia, Victoria, and at Black Mountain, Canberra. There is also an associated BOLD sequence (see below) that extends the distribution to Tasmania ( Fig. 15 ).

Remarks. In this species we also tentatively place the following seven specimens, which have been sequenced for the COI barcoding region by the Biodiversity Institute of Ontario, are stored in the Centre for Biodiversity Genomics, and are publicly available on the BOLD. The COI barcoding region is less than 1.2% divergent between these specimens and the others detailed above, and available images of these specimens agree in general morphology and possess the distinctive white band on the antenna. BOLD process identifiers: ASQAS157-11 ( Australia), MCCAA2641-12 (ACT), HYAT465-11 (Tas), MCCAA1444-12 (ACT), ASQAS156-11 ( Australia), CNBAN190-13 (ACT), MCCAA1052-12 (ACT). The BOLD BIN for this species is BOLD:AAV2186.

White or yellowish bands on the antenna of females are not extremely common in Microgastrinae, but have been reported for numerous species in the genera Apanteles (e.g. A. taeniaticornis Wilkinson (1928)) , Diolcogaster (e.g. D. duocolor Gupta and Fernández-Triana (2015)) , Exulonyx (e.g. E. camma (Nixon, 1965)) , Glyptapanteles sensu lato (Fernández-Triana pers. comm.), Prasmodon (e.g. P. bobpoolei Fernández-Triana and Whitfield (2014d)) Promicrogaster (e.g. P. leilycastilloae Fernández-Triana and Boudreault (2016)) , Pseudoapanteles (e.g. P. alfiopivai Fernández-Triana and Whitfield (2014b)) , and Rhygolplitis (Fernández-Triana, pers. comm.). The only described species from Australia with white antennal bands is Diolcogaster robertsi Saeed et al. (1999) with flagellomeres 5–8 white. White bands also occur in many species of Ichneumonidae , and in a few other groups of braconids (Quicke 2015). The function of these white bands is not known, although suggestions include possible involvement in providing visual feedback of antennal separation (Quicke 2015).

Figures

FIGURE 15. Known distribution of Sathon oreo.

FIGURE 16. Sathon oreo A–C: holotype; D: paratype. A. dorsal habitus; B. anterior head. C. metanotum, propodeum and T1– 3; D. lateral habitus.