Acgorium felipechavarriai Sharkey, 2020

Quicke, Donald L. J., Sharkey, Michael J., Janzen, Daniel, Hallwachs, Winnie, Hebert, Paul D. N. & Butcher, Buntika A., 2020, A new genus and species of Neotropical gregarious braconine parasitoid (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) of a caterpillar (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae), Zootaxa 4816 (3), pp. 370-376 : 373

Acgorium felipechavarriai Sharkey sp. nov.

Diagnostic BIN: BOLD:AAW2207. Genbank JQ575483 .

Holotype ♀: Guanacaste, Sector Pitilla, Sendero Memos, 740 meters, Latitude :10.98171, Longitude : -85.42785, caterpillar collection date: 05/16/2016, wasp eclosion date: 05/28/2016, 43 wasps eclosed from 43 cocoons.

Host data: Gregarious parasitoid of Dyscophellus phraxanor (Hesperiidae) feeding externally on mature leaves of Virola sebifera (Myristicaceae) ( Fig. 2 ).

Caterpillar and holotype voucher codes: 16-SRNP-30739, DHJPAR0059752.

Paratypes: Host = Dyscophellus phraxanor : 42 specimens same data as holotype and four others reared from this same species of caterpillar and with the same biology: DHJPAR0034233, DHJPAR0041706, DHJPAR0051918, DHJPAR0054658 .

Etymology: Acgorium felipechavarriai is named in honor of Felipe Chavarria in recognition of his thousands of hours managing the detailed field accounting for ACG GDFCF projects and specifically for the parataxonomists program, while creating generously public and magnificent drone images of landscapes and camera images of ACG biota. The holotype and paratypes will be deposited in the Canadian National Collection along with others of this same ACG rearing/inventory programme.

Figures

FIGURE 2. Last instar Dyscophellus phraxanor (Hesperiidae) caterpillar 09-SRNP-561 being exsanguinated and therefore killed by a brood of at least 29 presumed sibs of Acgorium felipechavarriai sp. nov. (09-SRNP-561-DHJ452257.jpg). These last instar wasp larvae continue to be attached and feed externally within the silked leaf shelter made by the caterpillar (non-infected caterpillars forage out on the leaf surfaces to feed at night). They are wet from exuded blood and perhaps other fluids.