Digonocryptus zopheros Santos et Aguiar

Aguiar, Alexandre P. & Santos, Bernardo F., 2012, Additions to the revision of Digonocryptus Viereck (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae, Cryptinae), with nine new taxa, new males, and distribution maps for all known species, Zootaxa 3282, pp. 1-41 : 31-33

Digonocryptus zopheros Santos et Aguiar , sp. nov.

( Figs 45–47 , 99 )

Description. Holotype FEMALE. Fore wing 8.40 mm.

Head ( Figs 45, 47 ). Ventral tooth of mandible longer than dorsal tooth. Clypeus apical area delimited by smooth border, medially almost indistinct; clypeal margin medially with two teeth. Antenna with 24 flagellomeres, without white band.

Mesosoma ( Figs 45–47 ). Pronotum, mesopleuron and metapleuron densely covered with short white hairs; pronotum mostly scarcely and finely punctate, faintly strigate along collar and posterior margin; mesopleuron with distinct, oblique strigation. Subalar prominence narrow, elongate, keeled. Sternaulus weakly impressed, slightly crenulate. Sulcus between sternaulus and scrobe very weak. Posterior transverse carina of mesosternum absent. Lower metapleuron weakly rugulose. Propodeum: moderately pilose; area in front of anterior transverse carina mostly smooth, medially with two weak longitudinal ridges, sublaterally very weakly strigate; area between anterior transverse carina and petiolar foramen distinctly rugulose. Posterior transverse carina sublaterally forming scale-like apophyses, medially faint. Fore wing distinctly infuscated, light brown; hind wing basally hyaline, apically weakly infuscated; fore wing cell 1+2Rs about as wide as high, pentagonal, 2r-m and 3r-m distinctly convergent, with about the same length, 3r-m mostly spectral; 2-M distinctly longer than 3-M; vein 3-Cu 1.36 length of 4-Cu; hind wing vein Cub apically slightly convex.

Metasoma ( Figs 45, 47 ). Postpetiole dorsally with weak subcircular concavity at spiracle level; ventrolateral carina present but indistinct at midlength; dorsolateral and median dorsal carinae absent; petiolar spiracles in dorsal view not prominent. Ovipositor 1.52 length of hind tibia. Apex of lower valve apex with 13 teeth.

Color. Head and mesosoma reddish-orange, metasoma black and whitish. Head: reddish-orange; mandible apex and ventral margin black; orbital band whitish, interrupted on malar space and on 11–12h. Mesosoma: reddish-orange; tegula whitish; legs somewhat fuscous towards apex. Metasoma: T1 and S1 basally reddishorange, postpetiole anteriorly dark brown, posteriorly whitish; T2–8 black, with posterior whitish stripes, on T8 medially interrupted; S2–6 basolaterally brown, apically whitish.

MALE. Very similar to the female except by the following: small, fore wing 4.80–6.10 mm long; antenna with 29 flagellomeres (n=3, including smallest and largest specimens); surface sculpturing on mesosoma weak; propodeum between posterior transverse carina and petiolar foramen with longitudinal wrinkles; petiolar spiracle distinctly prominent; fore and mid coxae mesal face whitish, lateral face with large dark brown spot; fore trochanter whitish, mid trochanter whitish and brown; all femora with sparse dark brown marks; fore and mid tibiae and tarsi light brown to whitish; hind tibia and tarsus mostly blackish; T1 blackish with posterior whitish stripe; S1 dark brown.

Morphological variation. Paratype female with fore wing 7.25 mm long; ovipositor 1.49 length of hind tibia; posterior transverse carina of propodeum medially stout; wings more distinctly infuscate. Color: fore and mid legs more bright orange than rest of mesosoma. Wings less distinctly infuscated in small males.

Comments. A characteristic species, easily recognizable by the unique absence of white stripe on the antenna, but also, more immediately, by the striking contrast between the ferrugineous mesosoma (including legs) vs. black metasoma with distinct whitish stripes vs. notably infuscated wings ( Fig. 47 ). Most similar to D. iageus sp. nov., but also similar to all species of the D. inflatus species complex. It runs to dichotomy 27 of the key by Aguiar and Ramos (2011), from where it can forcibly be keyed out as D. yunus , D. inflatus , or D. iageus . Digonocryptus zopheros sp. nov. is however quite characteristic by its generally small size (fore wing length 7.2–8.4 mm vs. 9.0–18.0 mm), distinctly infuscated wings (vs. hyaline; at most with narrow stripe of infuscation at apical margin in D. iageus ), and the evident pilosity on the mesopleuron (vs. glabrous or at most delicately pilose on all other species referred above). The complete yellow stripes on T2–4 and T7, while narrowed and briefly interrupted centrally on T5–6, isolates it from D. yunus , for which they are complete on T5–6; D. inflatus and D. iageus (widely interrupted on T4–7); and D. pulchripes (widely interrupted on T4–6). Further isolated from D. pulchripes by having low propodeal apophyses (vs. large, thorn-shaped), and from D. iageus by having clypeus with two apical teeth (vs. one). There are also large dark marks on S2–5, which are absent or small on all other species referred above.

Etymology. From the Greek zopheros , meaning “dusky, gloomy,” in reference to the fully infuscated wings.

Material examined. 2 females, 13 males. Holotype Ƥ from JAMAICA, Hardwar[e] Gap, 4000’ [1219 m], 6.VII.1966, Howden & Becker ( CNCI). Pinned; complete, in good condition. Paratypes: 3 33, same data as holotype (2 CNCI, 1 UFES); 1 Ƥ ( UFES) 10 33 (9 CNCI, 1 UFES), same data except 13.VII.1966. Female glued to pin, complete, in good condition; 5 males in triangle mount, 8 males glued to pin, all in good condition.

Distribution. Jamaica ( Fig. 99 ).

Figures

FIGURES 45 – 47. Digonocryptus zopheros Santos et Aguiar, sp. nov. 45, Holotype female, habitus. 46, paratype female, propodeum, dorsal. 47, Holotype female, habitus.

FIGURES 96 – 100. Distribution maps for species of Digonocryptus. 96, D. yacamus Aguiar et Ramos. 97, D. yunus Aguiar et Ramos. 98, D. zatheos Santos et Aguiar. 99, D. zopheros Santos et Aguiar. 100, Digonocryptus Viereck, all records.