Apanteles monicachavarriae Fernandez-Triana

Fernandez-Triana, Jose L., Whitfield, James B., Rodriguez, Josephine J., Smith, M. Alex, Janzen, Daniel H., Hallwachs, Winnie D., Hajibabaei, Mehrdad, Burns, John M., Solis, M. Alma, Brown, John, Cardinal, Sophie, Goulet, Henri & Hebert, Paul D. N., 2014, Review of Apantelessensu stricto (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Microgastrinae) from Area de Conservacion Guanacaste, northwestern Costa Rica, with keys to all described species from Mesoamerica, ZooKeys 383, pp. 1-565 : 245-246

Apanteles monicachavarriae Fernandez-Triana sp. n. Figs 148, 299

Type locality.

COSTA RICA, Alajuela, ACG, Sector Rincon Rain Forest, San Lucas, 320m, 10.91847, -85.30338.

Holotype.

♀ in CNC. Specimen labels: 1. DHJPAR0039017. 2. Voucher: D.H.Janzen & W.Hallwachs, DB: http://janzen.sas.upenn.edu, Area de Conservación Guanacaste, COSTA RICA, 10-SRNP-40550.

Paratypes.

1 ♀, 1 ♂ (CNC). COSTA RICA, ACG database codes: DHJPAR0039023, DHJPAR0043032.

Description.

Female. Body color: body mostly dark except for some sternites which may be pale. Antenna color: scape, pedicel, and flagellum pale. Coxae color (pro-, meso-, metacoxa): pale, dark, dark. Femora color (pro-, meso-, metafemur): pale, dark, dark. Tibiae color (pro-, meso-, metatibia): pale, pale, mostly pale but with posterior 0.2 or less dark. Tegula and humeral complex color: both pale. Pterostigma color: mostly pale and/or transparent, with thin dark borders. Fore wing veins color: mostly white or entirely transparent. Antenna length/body length: antenna about as long as body (head to apex of metasoma); if slightly shorter, at least extending beyond anterior 0.7 metasoma length. Body in lateral view: not distinctly flattened dorso–ventrally. Body length (head to apex of metasoma): 3.1-3.2 mm. Fore wing length: 3.7-3.8 mm. Ocular–ocellar line/posterior ocellus diameter: 2.0-2.2. Interocellar distance/posterior ocellus diameter: 1.7-1.9. Antennal flagellomerus 2 length/width: 2.3-2.5. Antennal flagellomerus 14 length/width: 1.4-1.6. Length of flagellomerus 2/length of flagellomerus 14: 2.3-2.5. Tarsal claws: with single basal spine–like seta. Metafemur length/width: 2.8-2.9. Metatibia inner spur length/metabasitarsus length: 0.6-0.7. Anteromesoscutum: mostly with deep, dense punctures (separated by less than 2.0 × its maximum diameter). Mesoscutellar disc: with punctures near margins, central part mostly smooth. Number of pits in scutoscutellar sulcus: 11 or 12. Maximum height of mesoscutellum lunules/maximum height of lateral face of mesoscutellum: 0.6-0.7. Propodeum areola: completely defined by carinae, including transverse carina extending to spiracle. Propodeum background sculpture: partly sculptured, especially on anterior 0.5. Mediotergite 1 length/width at posterior margin: 1.4-1.6. Mediotergite 1 shape: more or less parallel–sided. Mediotergite 1 sculpture: mostly sculptured, excavated area centrally with transverse striation inside and/or a polished knob centrally on posterior margin of mediotergite. Mediotergite 2 width at posterior margin/length: 4.4-4.7. Mediotergite 2 sculpture: mostly smooth. Outer margin of hypopygium: with a wide, medially folded, transparent, semi–desclerotized area; usually with 4 or more pleats. Ovipositor thickness: about same width throughout its length (?). Ovipositor sheaths length/metatibial length: 1.0-1.1. Length of fore wing veins r/2RS: 1.7-1.9. Length of fore wing veins 2RS/2M: 1.1-1.3. Length of fore wing veins 2M/(RS+M)b: 0.9-1.0. Pterostigma length/width: 3.1-3.5. Point of insertion of vein r in pterostigma: clearly beyond half way point length of pterostigma. Angle of vein r with fore wing anterior margin: clearly outwards, inclined towards fore wing apex. Shape of junction of veins r and 2RS in fore wing: distinctly but not strongly angled.

Male. Like female but mediotergite 1 is comparatively narrower.

Molecular data.

Sequences in BOLD: 6, barcode compliant sequences: 6.

Biology/ecology.

Solitary (Fig. 299). Hosts: Pyralidae , chryBioLep01 BioLep803, chryBioLep01 BioLep506, chryJanzen01 Janzen165.

Distribution.

Costa Rica, ACG.

Comments.

This species is characterized by pterostigma fully transparent or mostly transparent with only thin brown borders, tegula and humeral complex yellow, all coxae dark brown to black, mediotergite 2 mostly smooth, and mediotergite 1 relatively wide (its length 1.5 × its width at posterior margin). It is supported by the Bayesian molecular analysis as divergent from other species, although the data suggests it might be related to the glenriverai group (Fig. 1). However, we have not placed Apanteles monicachavarriae within the glenriverai group because of the morphological differences, although future studies may change this situation.

Etymology.

We dedicate this species to Mónica Chavarría in recognition of her diligent efforts for the ACG Liberia office.