Parapanteles polus Valerio and Whitfield

Valerio, A. A., Whitfield, J. B. & Janzen, D. H., 2009, Review of world Parapanteles Ashmead (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Microgastrinae), with description of fourteen new Neotropical species and the first description of the final instar larvae, Zootaxa 2084 (1), pp. 1-49 : 33-35

Parapanteles polus Valerio and Whitfield , n. sp.

Figs. 7B , 8F , 10D , 12A

Female. Body length = 2.10–2.40 mm.

Body color: Fore leg with trochantellus yellow as fore femur and tibia; mid leg with trochantellus yellow as femur tips and tarsomeres (except telotarsus); hind leg with tarsomeres yellow as basal 2/3 of tibia and tibial spurs; remainder of tarsomeres fuscous in color; compound eyes silver; ocelli light orange to yellow; metasoma basal pleurites light brownish yellow with interpleural membrane whitish; palpi brownish yellow to yellow; remainder of body dark brown. Wings mainly hyaline with a very light dark tone on them; forewing with veins light brown and pterostigma plus C+SC+R darker than remainder of veins; hind wing with veins M+CU, cu-a and 1A transparent, remainder of tubular veins light brown.

Head. Head height/width = 1.30–1.33; compound eye height/width = 1.52–1.61; intertentorial pit distance = 0.15–0.18 mm; tentorial pit distance/distance tentorial pit to compound eye = 3.30–3.50; width of face at dorsal clypeal edge = 0.28–0.29 mm; clypeus width/height = 2.50–2.80; vertex width/distance between anterior ocelli and edge of torulus = 2.13–2.54; length of first flagellomere = 0.18–0.20 mm; first flagellomere length/width = 2.67–2.80; length of first flagellomere/length of second flagellomere = 0.93–1.00; length of first flagellomere/length of third flagellomere = 1.00; terminal flagellomere length = 0.11–0.14 mm; terminal flagellomere length/penultimate flagellomere length = 1.13–1.22; terminal flagellomere length/width = 2.25–2.30; malar space height/basal width of mandible = 0.71–0.88; ocell-ocular distance/lateral ocelli distance = 1.14–1.25. Face with clypeus, lower face and most of lateral areas of face elevated in comparison with remainder of face; elevated facial area and clypeal upper half with fine and dense punctate sculpture, remainder of clypeus nitid; remainder of face with medial keel well defined and cristate, remainder of areas with confused and dense punctate sculpture; frons with scrobal areas nitid and shallow, lateral areas and posterior area with dense punctate sculpture and vertex, gena (except ocular ring nitid) and basal 2/3 of postgena; remainder of postgena nitid; punctate sculpture at gena, postgena and temple more conspicuously present than remainder of facial punctate sculpture.

Mesosoma. Mesosoma length = 0.8–0.86 mm; mesosoma length/width = 1.29–1.39; mesosoma height = 1.29–1.39 mm. Propleuron with dense punctate sculpture present throughout its length, distal area with punctate sculpture smaller and denser than remainder of propleuron; pronotum lateral areas with basal 1/3 nitid and upper lateral groove, ventral lateral groove with minute and confused punctate sculpture present, area between lateral grooves nitid, upper posterior corner sometimes with confused punctate sculpture, ventral edge 1/4 and upper edge 1/5 of posterior edge height; mesonotum with dense punctate sculpture which becomes slightly less defined towards scutellar groove; scutellar groove with well defined costulae, between 6 and 8 of which the middle one is 3 times as big as the more lateral ones; scutellum with fine punctate sculpture which is denser and better defined at lateral areas of it, lateral areas with narrow and fine scrobiculate sculpture which is smaller and less conspicuous towards posterior area; axilla through mesonotum with a series of well defined transversal ridges which cross its width almost from edge to edge from lunulae edge, lunulae edge well defined; metanotum almost rectangular in shape and nitid, mid posterior area with one big costula present and nitid; axilla through metanotum well depressed and essentially nitid except for a thin transversal ridge over most of its width; posterior lateral areas with smooth lineate sculpture around areolar and posterior carinae, remainder of posterior lateral area nitid, midlongitudinal carina short, thick and only present for 1/4 of propodeum length, costula very thin and moderately cristate and remainder of areolar and transversal carinae, anterior 1/2 of costula less conspicuously present, areola with rectangular shape at base and rhomboid-like shape elsewhere, areola with few transversal carina through basal and sinuate ones at remainder of areola, areola with fine and confused colliculate like sculpture throughout its area, anterolateral areas with a series of transversal short ridges and areas between ridges nitid; mesopleuron with anterior 1/4 punctate, sternaulus nitid with a broad short depression, dorsal edge with small and dense scrobiculate sculpture, posterior edge with one or two short bridges, remainder nitid, anterior portion of dorsal edge with big and smooth costulae, remainder of mesopleuron nitid; metapleuron with medial pit present, dorsal and distal edge with big and thick scrobiculate sculpture, basicoxal suture with a series of punctate sculpture next to medial pit, remainder of metapleuron nitid.

Legs. Hind femur length = 0.63–0.69 mm; hind femur length/width = 3.43–3.57; hind tibia length/hind femur length = 1.24–1.27. Telotarsus with long, thin and straight basal seta at internolateral area, and shorter than basitarsus at its length, but not modified; hind telotarsus normal in shape and without elongated setae at internal lateral area of it.

Wings. Forewing length = 2.30–2.60 mm; 1RS length = 0.05–0.06 mm; 1CUa length/1CUb length = 0.66–0.94; length RS+Ma = 0.32–0.40 mm; length M+CU = 0.73–0.8 mm; 1M length/ m-cu length = 1.77–1.93; pterostigma length/height = 1.42–1.44. Hind wing: 1M length = 0.38–0.43 mm; 1M length/2M length = 1.62–1.66; 1M length/M+CU length = 1.66–1.79; length r-m/length cu-a = 0.90–1.00; 1Rsa length/ 2r-m = 1.50–1.83; 1A length = 0.20–0.23 mm.

Metasoma. First tergum basal width = 0.15–0.18 mm; first tergum length/distal width = 1.33–1.36; second tergum length/distal width = 0.36–0.41; third tergum length/distal width = 0.55–0.62; hypopygium length = 0.68–0.75 mm. First metasomal tergum with basal 1/2 nitid, distal 1/2 with medial area depressed, remainder of area of posterior 1/2 with confused foveate sculpture; second metasomal tergum with aciculo-rugose sculpture present and with two depressed areas laterally forming an elevated triangular shaped area, sometimes aciculo-rugose sculpture absent in most of medial area; remainder of terga nitid; ovipositor thin in lateral view and almost as long as hind tibia length; ovipositor sheaths thin in lateral view and with a set of long and sparse setae at distal 1/3 of its length.

Variation. Sometimes the ventral lateral groove of pronotum is nitid and not as well depressed as describe previously; axilla through metanotum with two or more short ridges at lateral areas and with few confused rugulose-like sculpture present; lateral posterior areas of pronotum with denser confused rugulose sculpture on most of its area; clypeus color can vary from black to brownish red.

Material examined. Holotype, female, “ Costa Rica, Guanacaste, Sector Cacao, Sendero Derrumbe , 1220 m, 323354N 376160 E, 10/ix/2002, F. Quesada, 02-SRNP-23668” Paratypes 6 females and one male with same data as holotype; (15 females and 10 males) Costa Rica, Guanacaste, Sector Cacao, Estación Cacao , 1550 m, 323104N 375725 E, 19/xi/2002, F. Quesada .

Material deposited at INBio.

Male. Similar to female.

Comments. This species is very similar morphologically to P. sicpolus , but is distinguished from it by the characteristic propodeal pattern of sculpture. P. polus and P. sicpolus are the only two species with a relatively thin and elongate ovipositor in combination with ovipositor sheaths setose over their distal 1/3.

Rearing records. Cyanopepla arrogans (Arctiidae) larva feeding on Cynodon nlemfuensis (Poaceae) ; Napata lelex (Arctiidae) feeding on grass plants ( Poaceae ).

Voucher numbers: 01-SRNP-7990, 02-SRNP-24496, 02-SRNP-23668, 02-SRNP-23669, and 03-SRNP- 3183. The following sex ratios were observed: 10/15, 17/18, 1/7.

Etymology. Gender, masculine. This species is named in reference to its conspicuously large ovipositor; “polus” in Greek means large.

Figures

FIGURE 7. Propodeum of Parapanteles lincolnii n. sp. (A), P. polus n. sp. (B), P. noae n. sp. (C), P.thrix n. sp. (D), P. paradoxus (Muesebeck) (E) and P. rarus n. sp. (F).

FIGURES 8. First metasomal tergum in dorsal view for Parapanteles thrix n. sp. (A), P. rarus n. sp. (B), P. scotti n. sp. (C), P. noae n. sp. (D), P.tessares n. sp. (E), and P.polus n. sp. (F).

FIGURE 10. Female genitalia of Parapanteles tlinea n. sp. (A), P. scotti n. sp. (B), P. sicpolus n. sp. (C), P.polus n. sp. (D), P.mariae n. sp. (E), and P. lincolnii n. sp. (F).

FIGURE 12. Wing venation of Parapanteles polus n. sp. (A), P. mariae n. sp. (B), P.thrix n. sp. (C), P. continua n. sp. (D), P. paradoxus (Muesebeck) (E), and P. noae n. sp. (F).