Opius danielsae Wharton

Wharton, Robert & Norrbom, Allen L., 2013, New species and host records of New World, mostly Neotropical, opiine Braconidae (Hymenoptera) reared from flower-infesting, stem-galling, and stem-mining Tephritidae (Diptera), ZooKeys 349, pp. 11-72 : 35-38

Opius danielsae Wharton sp. n. Figs 10, 21, 47-50

Type locality.

Mexico, Morelos, Lago de Zempoala.

Type material.

Holotype. Female (UNAM), first label, first line: MEXICO: Morelos second line: Lago de Zempoala third line: 23-25.ix.1991 fourth line: A. L. Norrbom Second label, first line: reared ex capitulum second line: of Dahlia imperialis third line: Roezl (91M16) Third label, first line: reared ex puparium second line: Laksyetsa trinotata third line: ( Tephritidae ) emer. fourth line: viii.1992.

Paratypes: 1 male, same data as holotype (USNM). 2 females, 1 male, 1? (still within host puparium), same data as holotype but without emergence date (TAMU, USNM). 1 male, same data as holotype but emerged 21.v.1992 (USNM). 1 female, same data as holotype but emerged vi.1992 (TAMU).

Description.

Temples in dorsal view bulging beyond eyes, not receding. Clypeus 1.65-1.75 × wider than high, distinctly punctate throughout; completely concealing labrum when mandible closed, ventral margin of clypeus evenly convex, slightly overlapping dorsal margin of mandible when mandible closed. Antenna with 39-42 (male) and 37-41 (female) flagellomeres. Malar sulcus narrow, shallow, distinct throughout. Mesosoma 1.25-1.3 × longer than high. Pronotum laterally with vertical groove usually weakly crenulate dorsally, distinctly crenulate ventrally, varying from smooth to weakly wrinkled medially, not margined anteriorly by carina. Propodeum mostly unsculptured, with small weakly rugulose patch posterior-medially. Fore wing 3RSa 1.7-1.9 × longer than sinuate 2RS; (RS+M)a very weakly sinuate, nearly straight. T1 2.0-2.15 (male) and 2.2-2.35 (female) × wider at apex than at base, 0.9-1.15 × as long as apical width; smooth, unsculptured basally, variously striate to strigose over apical 0.7: often weaker medially, sometimes mostly smooth; dorsal carina low, not distinctly elevated basally, weakening to absent or nearly so over apical 0.6. Ovipositor (total length) 3.1-3.2 × longer than mesosoma; ovipositor sheath 2.4-2.6 × longer than mesosoma. Head mostly black above, including at least dorsal 0.5 of occiput, dark color extending between and below antennae to cover middle of face with median dark brown spot, the spot slightly larger in female than male, usually extending narrowly to epistomal sulcus; remainder of face, orbit dorsally, lower occiput, and almost entire gena yellow fading to white on lower gena and malar region; orbital ring interrupted above antennal torulus by narrow black band extending laterally from frons; clypeus, mandible except dark apical teeth, and remaining mouthparts white to very pale yellow. Mesosoma black to dark red-brown except as follows: propleuron dark brown to variously infumate dorsally, white to pale yellow ventrally in female, pale throughout in male; tegula and basal wing sclerite pale white; axilla and most of mesoscutum orange with broad, median black band over anterior 0.6-0.7, band faded to dark orange in one specimen, anterior part of black band sometimes absent on anterior declivity, small black spot also present along lateral margin between posterior end of tegula and axilla; metanotum usually with margins at least partly yellow-brown; pleuron on each side between fore and mesocoxal cavities variably marked with orange. T1 black, T2 and anterior portion of T3 usually reddish brown with narrow yellow lateral margins, two specimens with T2 and T3 mostly or entirely yellow; T4-T7 and T3 posteriorly yellow with narrow hyaline margin posteriorly, rarely with narrow, dark brown transverse bands. Fore and mid tibiae and all femora pale yellow; hind tibia varying from almost completely brown to mostly yellow with at least basal 0.2 and apical 0.4 posteriorly brown, usually darker posteriorly than anteriorly. Body length 3.4-4.2 mm; wing length 4.5-4.8 mm (male), 4.25-4.45 mm (female); mesosoma length 1.55-1.6 mm (male), 1.3-1.5 mm (female). Otherwise having all the characteristics described above for the baderae species group.

Diagnosis.

This species is very similar to the distinctly darker Opius zacapuensis from Michoacan and the smaller-bodied Opius gabriellae described below. In all three of these species, the head is distinctively patterned, with frons, vertex, and upper occiput dark, face with a median infumate spot, remainder pale, including a pale orbital ring interrupted by a dark bar extending from mid frons to eye. Females and most males of Opius danielsae lack dark transverse bars on the metasomal segments, unlike individuals of the other two species. The lateral mesoscutal lobes are dark brown to black in Opius zacapuensis but orange in Opius danielsae and Opius gabriellae .

Biology.

Data on the host fly and host plant (including images of the latter) are published in Norrbom et al. (2010), where Laksyetsa Foote is treated as a junior subjective synonym of Paracantha Coquillett. The host for Opius danielsae is therefore Paracantha trinotata (Foote). Parasitism of Paracantha trinotata by Opius danielsae was 17.9% for this sample. Several of the Paracantha puparia from which these wasps emerged are card mounted on separate pins. The host plant, Dahlia imperialis , is a member of the Asteraceae .

Two distinctly different opiines were reared from this sample of Dahlia imperialis flower heads, with Doryctobracon anneae reared only from Gymnocarena mexicana and Opius danielsae reared only from Paracantha trinotata . The puparia of the two tephritids are distinctly different in color and texture, allowing reliable segregation prior to emergence of flies and wasps. One sample of the same plant species from the same general locality but two years earlier yielded three specimens of a third species of Opiinae , but without specific host associations. This wasp is described below as Opius yoderi .

Etymology.

This species is named for Sophia Daniels, without whose inspiration this work could not have been completed.

Remarks.

The seven specimens reared from this sample were fairly similar in color pattern, providing a basis for assessing inter- vs intraspecific patterns for the opiines described here. Females from this sample were slightly smaller than males, with T1 also broader apically than in males. The middle of the face was noticeably bulging in some specimens and barely so in others, independent of sex.