Aulacus anici Jennings & Austin, 2018

Jennings, John T., Parslow, Ben A. & Austin, Andrew D., 2018, Systematics of the parasitoid wasp genus Aulacus Jurine (Hymenoptera: Evanioidea: Aulacidae) from Australia, Zootaxa 4538 (1), pp. 1-113 : 12-14

Aulacus anici Jennings & Austin , sp. nov.

Figs 3 , 55 .

Material examined. Holotype. ♀, “ Canberra ACT, 22 Dec 1963, E.F. Riek ( ANIC). Right ovipositor sheath missing . Paratypes. ACT: 8♀, same data as holotype ( ANIC) ; 1♂, same data, XI-XII.1964 ( ANIC) . NSW: ♀, Mandalong, 33.11’ S 151.23 ’E, 11.XI.1990, Tom Gush, on epiphytic plant ( ANIC) .

Description. FEMALE. Length. 10.8 (10.4–11.3) mm, excluding ovipositor.

Colour. Body black ( Figs 3A, B ), scape brown, propleuron dark brown, coxae and trochanters dark brown, fore and mid femora and tibiae orange, fore and mid tarsomeres 1–4 cream, tarsomere 5 brown, hind femora orange, lighter medially, hind tibiae dark brown and first two-thirds basitarsus and fifth tarsomere dark brown, apical onethird basitarsus and tarsomeres 2–4 cream, T1 black, T2 orange, T3–T8 dark brown, ovipositor sheaths dark brown, cream band between about 60–90% of way along sheaths, ovipositor orange. Wings hyaline except for brown infuscation apically on the marginal and third submarginal cells of fore wings.

Head. 1.03 (1.0–1.1)× wider than long when viewed dorsally; face punctate-rugose, pubescence generally short, longer ventrally; sub-antennal groove present; frons without lateral medial carina above toruli, rugose, pubescence short; vertex and gena rugose, a few scattered punctures, pubescence short, denser ventrally on gena; posterior margin of head slightly concave in dorsal view; occipital carina absent; malar space 0.2× height eye; clypeus 3.35 (3.2–3.5)× as wide as high, margin sinuate, distinct medial process; distance from lateral ocellus to eye margin 0.8 (0.7–1.0)× distance between lateral ocelli; scape 2.1 (1.6–3.0)× length pedicel; first flagellomere 1.23 (1.1–1.3)× as long as scape, 0.55 (0.5–0.6)× as long as second flagellomere.

Mesosoma. Propleuron rugose tending to imbricate dorsally, scattered short setae dorsally, pubescence long laterally, ventro-lateral carina present; pronotum rugose; mesoscutum rounded antero-dorsally in lateral view ( Fig. 3C ), medial and lateral lobes strigate-rugose, with scattered short setae, admedial lines present; notauli distinct, carinate, broad and deep; scutellum and axillae strigate-rugose, with two depressions on anterior margin; metapostnotum broad, carinate, posterior margin convex; mesopleuron, rugose, becoming coarser ventrally, pubescence long; mesepimeron broad, carinate; metapleuron rugose, long scattered setae, patch in front of spiracle largely smooth,; propodeum areolate, posterior margin smooth; hind coxa strigate ( Fig. 3D ), scattered long setae, denser laterally, ovipositor guide somewhat medial, oblique; hind trochanter imbricate, pubescence short; prefemur on hind leg present; hind femur imbricate, with scattered short setae; hind tibia imbricate, pubescence short, with scattered stout emergent setae; hind femur 0.74 (0.73–0.75)× length hind tibia; hind tibia with ventro-apical pecten of short robust spines; hind tarsomeres 1–4 with ventro-apical pecten of short robust spines, tarsomere 1, 2.6 (2.3– 2.8)× length tarsomere 2; tarsomere 2, 1.5 (1.4–1.6)× length tarsomere 3; tarsomere 3, 2.6 (2.5–2.7)× length tarsomere 4; tarsomere 4, 0.46 (0.4–0.5)× length tarsomere 5; hind tarsal claw 0.36× length tarsomere 5; first half of fore wing vein 2r-m tubular, remainder largely spectral, 3r-m largely spectral; hind wing venation complete, M+Cu, Cu, r-m and 2-M spectral, with 3 hamuli.

Metasoma. Ovate, 1.6 (1.5–1.7)× length of mesosoma; T1 and T2 narrow; T1 glabrous, smooth with a few small scattered punctures; T2 glabrous dorsally, scattered short setae laterally; T3–T8 imbricate, dense short pubescence; ovipositor 11.0 (10.5–11.5) mm ( Fig. 3B ).

MALE. Similar colouration and sculpturing patterns to female.

Etymology. This species is named after the acronym for the Australian National Insect Collection (ANIC).

Distribution. The type specimens have only been collected from Canberra, ACT ( Fig. 55 ). However, a specimen has also been collected from Mandalong, NSW, about 400 km northwest of Canberra.

Biology. The host(s) of this species is unknown.

Comments. Aulacus anici keys out with A. aroueti . Both species have a medial, oblique ovipositor guide but differ in a number of characters: in A. anici the metasoma is 1.6 (1.5–1.7)× length of mesosoma (metasoma 1.3× length of mesosoma in A. aroueti ); ovipositor long, 11.0 (10.5–11.5) mm (ovipositor 9.4 mm in A. aroueti ); and metasomal T1 black, T2 orange, and T3–T8 dark brown (metasoma dark brown except T2 generally paler in A. aroueti ).

Figures

FIGURE 3. Aulacus anici sp. nov., holotype female, (A) dorsal habitus; (B) lateral habitus; (C) lateral head and mesosoma; (D) dorsal hind coxa.

FIGURE 55. Distribution of Aulacus albimanus (Kieffer), A. anici sp. nov., A. aquilus sp. nov., and A. aroueti (Girault).