Baeoneurella mirabilis (Kozlov and Kononova)

Popovici, Ovidiu Alin, Masner, Lubomir & Polaszek, Andrew, 2019, A revision of the European species of Baeoneurella Dodd (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae), Journal of Natural History (J. Nat. Hist.) 52 (43 - 44), pp. 2745-2794 : 2773-2775

Baeoneurella mirabilis (Kozlov and Kononova)

Eumicrosoma mirabilis Kozlov and Kononova, 1977: 1891 . Original description; Eumicrosoma mirabilis: Kozlov and Kononova, 1983: 315 ; Eumicrosoma mirabile: Johnson, 1992: 561 . Catalogued, type information; Eumicrosoma mirabilis: Kononova, 1995: 121 . Keyed.

Female

Size: 1.0 mm.

Colour ( Figure 8a–c ). Head black; A8 – A11 slightly darker than rest of antenna ( Figure 8d ); mesosoma black; legs, including coxae, yellow; metasoma dark brown, except T3 – T4 light brown medially; T5 – T7 brown.

Head. Transverse in dorsal view, almost rectangular in lateral view; clypeus wider than long; distal margin of clypeus: convex ( Figure 9a ); setation of clypeus: 4 or more setae; antennal rim well developed prominent ventrally laterad of interantennal process ( Figure 9a ); sculpture of antennal scrobe: absent; sculpture of frons medially: absent; ratio OOL/OD: OOL<OD; OOL/POL/LOL: 1:23:11; sculpture of interocellar area: absent; postgenal pit: closer to oral foramen than to occipital foramen ( Figure 9d ); shape of postgenal pit: elongated hole; sculpture of temple: imbricate-coriaceous; sculpture of occiput: absent; sculpture of posterior vertex: imbricate-coriaceous; preoccipital furrow: a narrow longitudinal cleft, with sides slightly diverging medially and converging at the ends ( Figure 9b – d ); odontoid process: atrophied, barely visible ( Figure 9d ).

Mesosoma (dorsal). Pronotum almost vertical, hardly visible in dorsal view ( Figure 9e ); dorsal pronotal area: hardly visible (width of dorsal pronotal area at most 0.7 times width of tegula); mesoscutal suprahumeral sulcus: not visible, obscured by sculpture; mesoscutal humeral sulcus: a simple line; anterior declivity of mesoscutum: almost vertical, distinct; mesoscutum (except the anterior declivity of mesoscutum): slightly convex; extent of sculpture on mesoscutum: sculptured on anterior third along pronoto-mesoscutal suture, remainder smooth and lustrous except for a pair of paramedian bands of sculpture protruding in the smooth area ( Figure 9e ); parascutal carina: broad, distinct; scutoscutellar sulcus: short, present only on the lateral sides of the transscutal articulation; axillar crescent: present; axillular carina: slightly pointed posteriorly; posterior mesoscutellar sulcus: distinct, crenulate; mesoscutellum flattened; pilosity of mesoscutellum: few sparse setae; shape of mesoscutellum: strongly transverse; ratio width mesoscutellum/length mesoscutellum: at most 3.5 times as wide as long; width of mesoscutellum/width of metascutellum: at most 1.4; width of metascutellum/length of metascutellum: 5 times as wide as long.

Mesosoma (lateral). Pronotal cervical sulcus ( Figure 9f ): wide, relatively deep and crenulate; sculpture of lateral pronotal area: coriaceous to imbricate-coriaceous in the upper half, smooth to lustrous in the lower half; pronotal suprahumeral sulcus: distinct; posterior pronotal sulcus: large, distinct; sculpture of speculum: some transverse striae; sculpture of upper mesepisternum below femoral depression: coriaceous; mesepimeral sulcus: incomplete; mesopleural carina: visible as an abrupt change on sculpture; metapleural carina: present; metapleural sulcus: present, complete; anteroventral extension of metapleuron: well developed, touching middle of mesocoxa.

Wings ( Figure 8e ). Fore wings: lanceolate; colour of fore wings: hyaline throughout; colour of hind wings ( Figure 8e ): hyaline throughout; fore wing length: at most 6.3 times as long as wide; length of marginal fringe of fore wing: about 1.2 times as long as fore wing width; fore wing width: at most 2.3 times as wide as hind wing width; length of marginal fringe of hind wing: about 2.5 times as long as hind wing width.

Metasoma. At least 3 times as long as wide; longitudinal striae on T1: present on the anterior ¾; T1: 2.5 times as long as wide; sculpture on T2: present on anterior 1/5; type of T2 sculpture: longitudinal striae; T2: 6.5 times as long as T1 and 1.7 times as long as wide; T1 with 2 pairs of setae; T2 – T4 with 3 pairs of setae (1 paramedian and 2 lateral – placed at the limit between tergite and laterotergite) ( Figure 12b ).

Male

Unknown.

Material examined

Romania. 1♀ Tulcea, Enisala , 44.88513°N, 28.84112°E, 3 m alt ., 4 July 2016, leg . Popovici O . (screen sweep, OPPC); 2♀ Tulcea, Enisala , 44.88513°N, 28.84112°E, 3 m alt ., 13 July 2018, leg . Popovici O . (screen sweep, OPPC).

Greece. 2♀ Kerkini lake , Nat . Park , Kerkini Pumping Station site, 6 – 12 June 2007, 41.212396°N, 23.094961°E, leg . Ramel G . ( MT, OPPC, one female was used for SEM) .

Distribution

Previous to this study, this species was known only from Altai (Kolbinskogo), from one female. Our specimens are new records for Romania and Greece. In Romania, this species was found until now only in Dobrogea, a locality that shares some climatic characteristics with the northen part of Greece, the second place in Europe where this species was found.

Biology

Unknown, but the few available data indicate that this species prefers the same habitat as B. phaeax and B. maceki , but is a little more thermophilic than these.

Figures

Figure 8. Baeoneurella mirabilis: (a) female, dorsal; (b) female, lateral; (c) female, head and mesosoma, detail; (d) female, antenna; (e) female, fore and hind wings.

Figure 9. Baeoneurella mirabilis (female, SEM): (a) head, frontoventral; (b) head, frontodorsal; (c) head, posterodorsal; (d) back of head; (e) mesosoma, dorsal; (f) mesosoma, lateral.

Figure 12. Chaetotaxy of T1–T4 in: (a) Baeoneurella benefica; (b) Baeoneurella mirabilis; (c) Baeoneurella phaeax; (d) Baeoneurella maceki.