Parapanteles echeriae Gupta, Pereira & Churi

Gupta, Ankita, Pereira, Blaise & Churi, Paresh V., 2013, A new species of Parapanteles Ashmead (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) from India reared from Abisara echeria Stoll (Lepidoptera: Riodinidae) with key to the Indian Parapanteles species, Zootaxa 3709 (4), pp. 363-370 : 364-369

Parapanteles echeriae Gupta, Pereira & Churi , sp. nov.

Plates. I, II & III.

Female. Holotype (Fig. 1). Body length = 1.93 mm.

Quick diagnosis. Propodeum with areola about 1.2 × as long as wide; anterior diagonal carina of propodeum meeting anterior margin of propodeum in one half. Legs yellow; hind tibia slightly longer than ovipositor. Ovipositor sheaths short, curved and hairy throughout; gently decurved, not projecting beyond apex of gaster. First metasomal tergal plate longer than wide with coarse sculpture at apical half merging with longitudinal carinae; basal 1/4th smooth; almost parallel sided; slightly wider pre-apically; 2nd tergum wider than long; shorter than 3rd tergum; 3rd tergum second largest after first tergum. Mesopleuron smooth and nitid (except at extreme anterior end), posteriorly largely smooth and nitid (Fig. 2); posterior-apical margin yellowish brown. Metapleuron generally smooth except for very shallow punctures posteriorly, anterior pit deep. Hind coxae laterally with shallow punctures.

Body colour. Black. Head black; scape brownish black, apically and ventrally yellowish brown; pedicel yellow brown; flagellar segments brownish black, basal 4 segments yellowish brown ventrally; ocelli yellow brown; palpi testaceous. Legs yellow (except coxae; fore and mid coxae reddish brown; hind coxae black). Hind femur yellow with brown infuscation at apical tip; hind tibia yellow; hind tibial spur pale white; hind tarsi with brown infuscation. Areola about 1.2 as long as wide; anterior diagonal carina of propodeum meeting anterior margin of propodeum in one half. Tarsal claws blackish brown. Veins C+SC+R and metacarpus (R1) dark brown; pterostigma brown. Mesosoma black. Wings hyaline, fore wing veins translucent except pterostigma brown; vein RS+Ma and M+Cu testaceous; veins r, 2RS and 2M brown and concolorous with pterostigma; hind wing veins translucent. Tegulae brownish black.

Head. Head width = 0.59 mm; compound eye height = 0.34 mm; intertentorial pit distance = 0.15 mm; width of face at dorsal clypeal edge = 0.26 mm; clypeus width = 0.13 mm; vertex width (0.36)/distance between anterior ocelli and edge of torulus (0.12) = 3.0; length of first flagellomere = 0.16 mm; width of first flagellomere = 0.06 mm; length of second flagellomere = 0.176 mm; width of second flagellomere = 0.061 mm; length of third flagellomere = 0.17 mm; width of third flagellomere = 0.058 mm; terminal flagellomere length = 0.104 mm; terminal flagellomere width = 0.046 mm; penultimate flagellomere length = 0.084 mm; penultimate flagellomere width = 0.054 mm; terminal flagellomere length/width = 2.26; malar space height (0.065)/basal width of mandible (0.036) = 1.8; ocello-ocular distance (0.11)/lateral ocelli distance (0.09) =1.2.

Eyes densely setose with pale testaceous palps. Face and clypeus shagreen, with fine shallow punctuations; vertex dull with dense pilosity.

Mesosoma (Figs. 3&4). Mesosoma length = 0.89 mm; mesosoma length/width (0.67) = 1.33. Mesonotum with coarse punctate sculpture that fades near the scutellar groove; scuto-scutellar groove distinctly crenulate with 8 deep costulae; scutellum medial area nitid with shallow punctuations confined near the edges, scutellum laterally with costulate sculpture which become narrower and elongated towards posterior edge; posterior band of scutellum polished; metanotum subrectangular; propodeum with clearly defined wide, strong and shiny areola; open near the anterior edge; costulae complete and prominent; propodeum with confused shallow rugulose sculpture including areola; spiracles large and oval. Hind tibia length = 0.61 mm; ovipositor sheath = 0.29 mm.

Wings. Pterostigma length (0.263)/height (0.146) = 1.80. 1RS length = 0.047 mm; 1CUa length (0.084)/1CUb length (0.167) = 0.50; RS+Ma length = 0.367 mm; M+CU length = 0.742 mm; hindwing: 1M length = 0.334 mm; 1M length/M+CU length (0.281) = 1.18; length r-m (0.09)/length cu-a (0.169) = 0.53; 1A length = 0.239 mm.

Metasoma (Fig. 5). First tergum length = 0.354 mm; first tergum basal width = 0.288 mm; first tergum apical width = 0.262 mm; first tergum median width = 0.313 mm; first tergum length /distal width = 1.21 mm; second tergum basal width = 0.425 mm; second tergum median length = 0.097; third tergum median length = 0.135 mm; third tergum basal width = 0.513 mm.

First metasomal tergal plate longer than wide, widest medially; with basal median depression. 3/4th apical with coarse rugulose sculpture merging into longitudinal carinae on the apical half; 2nd tergum wider than long; 3rd tergum much wider than 2nd. 2nd tergite with coarse sculpture and longitudinal striations. Ovipositor sheaths not projecting beyond the apex of gaster. Hind tibia little longer than ovipositor. Ovipositor sheaths short, curved and hairy throughout; gently decurved (Fig. 6).

Male. Similar to female.

Host. Abisara echeria Stoll ( Lepidoptera : Riodinidae ) (Figs. 9-12) on host plant Embelia sp. ( Myrsinaceae ). This is first record of a parasitic wasp in association with Abisara . Other than this, Parapanteles is reported in association with Geometridae from India.

Type material. Holotype, one female on card, INDIA, Maharashtra, Mumbai, August 2012, ex. larvae of Abisara echeria Stoll ( Lepidoptera : Riodinidae ) (Plate IV), leg. Blaise Pereira & Paresh V. Churi. Paratypes, two females and two males on card, with same data as holotype. Four females, INDIA, Maharashtra, Satara, September 2012, ex. larvae of Abisara echeria Stoll ( Lepidoptera : Riodinidae ), leg. Paresh V. Churi.

Repository. All types & specimens deposited in NBAII, Bangalore, India. Code. NBAII /Bra/Mic/Para/0812- A(Holotype), NBAII /Bra/Mic/Para/0812-B (Paratype). The types of P. sireeshaae are present in the National Pusa Collection, New Delhi, India, but the types of P. shivranginii are missing from Department of Zoology, Shivaji University, Kolhapur, and the Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata.

Etymology. Gender, neutral. This species is named after the host Abisara echeria Stoll.

Remarks. Parapanteles echeriae sp. nov. is similar to P. sireeshaae Ahmad & Akhtar (Plate III-Figs. 7&8) (examined types of P. sireeshaae ). Hind femur yellow with brown infuscation at apical tip; hind tibia yellow (vs. hind femur dark brown; hind tibia dark brown, yellow on 1/4th basal in P. sireeshaae ); areola 1.2 × as long as wide; anterior diagonal carina of propodeum meeting anterior margin of propodeum (vs. areola about 1.5 × as long as wide; anterior diagonal carina of propodeum not meeting anterior margin of propodeum in P. sireeshaae ); veins r and 2RS of fore wing meeting in a smooth curve (vs. veins r and 2RS meet at an angle in P. sireeshaae ); tegulae brownish black (vs. yellow in P. sireeshaae ).

Compared with the original description of P. shivranginii , the new species differs in following characters: metasoma black; first metasomal tergal plate longer than wide, widest medially; apical width only a little shorter than basal width; 3/4th apical with coarse rugulose sculpture merging into longitudinal carinae on the apical half (vs. first two metasomal segments yellow; T1 tapering at apex and smooth in P. shivranginii ).

PLATE I. 1–2. Parapanteles echeriae sp. nov. (1) Dorsal view, female. (2) lateral view, female.

PLATE II. 3–6. Parapanteles echeriae sp. nov. (3) Mesosoma , female (untreated). (4) Mesosoma with T1 (KOH treated), female. (5) Propodeum & metasoma in dorsal view, female. (6) Genitalia, female (lateral view).

PLATE III. 7–8. Parapanteles sireeshaae Ahmad & Akhtar. (7) Dorsal view, female (Holotype). (8) Genitalia, female (Paratype).

PLATE IV. 9–12. Abisara echeria Stoll (9) Unparasitized larva. (10) P. echeriae larvae spinning cocoons. (11) Cocoons of P. echeriae . (12) Adult butterfly.