Alphomelon petronariosae Fernandez-Triana & Shimbori, 2023

Fernandez-Triana, Jose L., Shimbori, Eduardo M., Whitfield, James B., Penteado-Dias, Angelica M., Shaw, Scott R., Boudreault, Caroline, Sones, Jayme, Perez, Kate, Brown, Allison, Manjunath, Ramya, Burns, John M., Hebert, P. D. N., Smith, M. Alex, Hallwachs, Winnifred & Janzen, Daniel H., 2023, A revision of the parasitoid wasp genus Alphomelon Mason with the description of 30 new species (Hymenoptera, Braconidae), ZooKeys 1175, pp. 5-162 : 5

Alphomelon petronariosae Fernandez-Triana & Shimbori sp. nov.

Figs 66A-E , 101B

Type material.

Holotype. Costa Rica • Female, CNC; Guanacaste, Area de Conservación Guanacaste, Sector Pitilla, Pasmompa, 11°01'09.34"N, 85°24'35.89"W, 440m; 17.IX.2011; ex. Lerema liris ; coll. Freddy Quesada; Voucher code: DHJPAR0048219; Host voucher code: 11-SRNP-32632.

Distribution.

Costa Rica (ACG).

Biology.

Solitary, reared from Anthoptus epictetus , Conga chydaea , Lerema liris , Morys lyde , M. micythus , Vehilius vetula , and Vehilius Janzen03.

DNA barcoding.

BIN BOLD:ADA7564

Etymology.

Named in honor of Sra. Petrona Ríos in honor of her decades of teamwork in the ACG parataxonomist team.

Diagnostic description.

White patch on gena: extending to occiput and onto clypeus. Tegula/humeral complex color: white/yellow. Mesonotum color: mostly dark brown to black. Metasoma color: mostly black or dark brown. Tarsal claws spines: 1. Pterostigma shape: comparatively less elongate, its length ≤ 2.8 × its central height and usually more rounded with at least one of its lower margins curved. T1 sculpture: entirely to mostly smooth.

T1 central ridge: clearly marked by two raised carinae. T2 sculpture: entirely to mostly smooth. Ovipositor sheaths length: longer than first segment of metatarsus. Body length: 4.4 mm. Fore wing length: 4.2 mm.

Notes.

The barcodes available for this species are comparatively very similar to those of A. calixtomoragai (only 1.28% bp different) but the two species have morphological differences (see key) as well as different hosts.

Figures

Figure 66. Alphomelon petronariosae Fernandez-Triana & Shimbori holotype female DHJPAR 0048219 A habitus, lateral B head, frontal C wings D metasoma, dorsal E mesosoma, dorsal.

Figure 101. Parasite cocoons A Alphomelon osvaldoespinozai 08 - SRNP- 72533 - DHJ 447339 B Alphomelon petronariosae 15 - SRNP- 71861 - DHJ 727939.