Tamarixia aguacatensis Yefremova

Yefremova, Zoya, Gonzalez-Santarosa, Graciela, Lomeli-Flores, J. Refugio & Bautista-Martinez, Nestor, 2014, A new species of Tamarixia Mercet (Hymenoptera, Eulophidae), parasitoid of Trioza aguacate Hollis & Martin (Hemiptera, Triozidae) in Mexico, ZooKeys 368, pp. 23-35 : 26-32

Tamarixia aguacatensis Yefremova sp. n. Figs 2-13

Holotype

(female): MEXICO, Michoacán, Salvador Escalante, Ejido El Tarascon, 19°26' 29.81N, 101°49' 53.03W, 1,910 m, 2.iv.2012, G. González-Santarosa (deposited in TAUI). PARATYPES (same data): 3 ♀, 3 ♂ (CNIN); 1 ♀, 1 ♂ (USNM); 2 ♀, 4 ♂ (TAUI).

Description.

FEMALE (Fig. 2). Body length: 0.85-1.04 mm; fore wing length: 2.07-2.94 mm. Body shiny black, eye pink; antenna yellow, scape black except yellow ventrally and apically; pedicel dark dorsally and basally, yellow-brown on ventral surface; flagellar segments and clava sandy yellow; tegula yellow; legs brown dark, coxae brown, trochanters brown, trochantelli yellow, basal and distal apices of pro- and meso- femora and tibiae yellow, and metafemur and tibia brown; tarsi yellow except apical segment brown. Metanotum yellow. Gaster brown. Wings hyaline, venation brownish.

Head 2.2 times as wide as long (Fig. 4). POL 2.0-2.2 times OOL. Face smooth; vertex, frons, areas near orbits and lower face setose. Malar sulcus present. Toruli slightly above lower level of eyes. Mandible with upper long tooth and several lower short teeth. Scrobes depressed and sutured (inverted V-shaped). Eye bare. Antenna (Fig. 6) with scape 2.3 times as long as pedicel, 1 discoid anellus, pedicel as long as F1 and F2 combined, F1 2.2 times as long as broad and equal to F2, F2 2.0 times as long as broad and 1.3 times as long as F3, clava 3-segmented, 2.3-2.4 times as long as broad and 2.4-2.6 times as long as F3.

Mesosoma. Pronotum short, with 8 marginal setae (Fig. 5). Mesoscutum 1.5 times as long as broad with an incomplete median line (0.63 length of mesocutum) and with 2 pairs of long adnotaular setae (Fig. 7). Mesoscutum with additional 2 pairs of short setae in the upper part in a horizontal row and 1 seta near notauli (Figs 5, 7). Mesocutum, scutellum and dorsellum finely reticulate. Scutellum with two submedian lines closer to each other than to sublateral lines, with 2 pairs of setae; first pair of setae in the middle of scutellum. Mesosoma in lateral view higher than the plane of propodeum and inclined at an angle less than 45 degrees from the longitudinal axis of the body (Fig. 5). Propodeum (Fig. 9) strongly reticulate, with a complete simple median carina; spiracle with a rim. Callus with 2 long setae in one row (Fig. 7).

Fore wing (Fig. 10) 2.6 times as long as broad. SMV with 1 seta. Speculum extending along half length of MV and closed. SMV 1.2 times as long as MV. MV with 8 setae (Fig. 11). STV 3.4 times shorter than MV. PMV absent. Hind wing acute at apex.

Gaster 1.16-1.27 times as long as broad. Ovipositor sheaths slightly visible (Fig. 2).

MALE (Figs 3, 12, 13). Body length 0.8-1.00 mm. Colour of body very similar to that of female except gaster with tergite 1 completely yellow. Antennal scape dorsally dark brown; pedicel, and funicle sandy yellow. Coxae of all legs brown, trochanters brown, trochantelli yellow, pro- and meso- femora brown except yellow at apex, metafemur and tibia brown, tarsi yellow except apical segment dark brown. Tegula yellow. Eyes pink. Ocelli white.

Head. POL 1.6-1.8 times OOL. Antenna (Fig. 8). Scape with ventral plaque about 0.2 length in the basal half. Pedicel 1.0-1.2 times as long as F1, F2 1.1 times as long as F1, F3 1.18 times as long as F2 and equal to F4, C1 equal to C2 and C3 1.2 times as short as C2. Four funicle segments with whorled setae; whorls of F1 reaching middle of F3, whorls of F2 reaching base of F4, whorls of F3 reaching tip of C3, whorls of F4 reaching middle of C2, whorls of C1 reaching base of C3, whorls of C2 reaching middle of C3, whorls of C3 reaching apical placoid sensillum. Scutellum smooth between submedian lines, and submedian and sublateral lines. Fore wing 2.1 times as long as broad (Fig. 12). Speculum slightly larger than that in female and MV with 9 setae (Fig. 13). Metasoma. Gaster 1.65-1.8 times as long as broad. Genitalia with two long longitudinal digital sclerites. Aedeagus very long, 2.3 times as long as gaster (Fig. 3). Parameres triangular with one long parameral seta.

Diagnosis.

Tamarixia aguacatensis resembles Tamarixia leucaenae (examined were two female paratypes (FSCA) with the following data: Trinidad and Tobago, Trinidad Island, "UWJ Field, stn. (Lab)", on Leucaena sp., det. by Z. Bouček, 1988) from which it differs by the colour of the female: legs dark brown except coxae and trochanters brown, trochantelli yellow (coxae yellowin Tamarixia leucaenae ); in addition, the female of Tamarixia aguacatensis differs from that of Tamarixia leucaenae in having F1-F3 2.0-2.2 times as broad as long and clava 2.4 times as broad as long (F1 1.7 times as long as broad, F2 1.4 times as broad as long, F3 subquadrate and clava 2.0 times as broad as long in Tamarixia leucaenae ).

The female antenna of Tamarixia aguacatensis differs from that of Tamarixia schina (Fig. 14) as follows: F1-F3 2.0-2.2 times as broad as long and clava 2.3-2.4 times as broad as long (F1 1.8 times as broad as long, F2 1.2 times as broad as long, F3 transverse, and clava 1.8 times as broad as long in Tamarixia schina ). The male antenna of Tamarixia aguacatensis differs from that of Tamarixia schina (Fig. 15, illustrated here for the first time) as follows: pedicel equal in length to F1 (1.5 times as long as F1 in Tamarixia schina ), F1 and F2 equal, F2 1.2 times as long asF3 (F1, F2 and F3 equal in Tamarixia schina ), clava 2.5 as long as F3 (2.0 times as long as F3 in Tamarixia schina ), clava 2.0 times as long as broad (1.5 times as long as broad in Tamarixia schina ). Additionally, the metanotum and propodeum are inclined much less in Tamarixia aguacatensis than in Tamarixia schina .

Female of Tamarixia aguacatensis differs from that of Tamarixia triozae (Fig. 16) by in having F1-F3 2.0-2.2 times as broad as long and clava 2.3-2.4 times as broad as long (F1 2.0 times as broad as long, F2 1.7 times as broad as long, F3 subquadrate, and clava 1.6-1.7 times as broad as long in Tamarixia triozae ). The male antenna of Tamarixia aguacatensis differs from that of Tamarixia triozae (Fig. 17) as follows: pedicel equal to length F1 (1.6 times as long as F1 in Tamarixia triozae ), F1 and F2 equal to each other, F2 1.2 times longer than F3 (F1 subquadrate, F2 1.17 times shorter than F3 in Tamarixia triozae ), clava 2.5 as long as F3 (2.2 times as long as F3 in Tamarixia triozae ).

Female of Tamarixia aguacatensis differs from that of Tamarixia radiata (Fig. 19) in having F1-F3 2.0-2.2 times as broad as long, clava 2.4 times as broad as long (F1 1.6 times as broad as long, F2 1.5 times as broad as long, F3 subquadrate, and clava 2.0 times as broad as long in Tamarixia radiata ). The male antenna of Tamarixia aguacatensis differs from that of Tamarixia radiata (Fig. 20) as follows: F1 and F2 equal to each other (pedicel equal in length to F1 in both species), F2 1.2 times longer than F3 (F1 1.4 times as short as F2, F2 equal to F3 in Tamarixia radiata ), clava 2.5 as long as F3 (5.0 times as long as F3 in Tamarixia radiata ), whorled setae of F1 reaching middle of F3 (reaching top of F4 in Tamarixia radiata ), whorls of F2 reaching base of F4 (Fig. 8) (reaching middle of C2 (Fig. 22) in Tamarixia radiata ).

The male antenna of Tamarixia aguacatensis resembles that of Tamarixia psyllae Yefremova & Yegorenkova from Yemen that was reared from Trioza erytrea (Del Guercio) ( Yefremova and Yegorenkova 2009). In the former the whorled setae of F1 reaching middle of F3 (reaching base of F2 in Tamarixia psyllae ), whorls of F2 reaching base of F4 (reaching base of F3 in Tamarixia psyllae ), whorls of F3 reaching top of C3 (reaching base of F4 in Tamarixia psyllae ), whorls of F4 reaching middle of C3 (reaching C1 in Tamarixia psyllae ).

The male antenna of Tamarixia aguacatensis resembles that of Tamarixia dryi (Waterston), reared from Trioza citri Laing in Kenya ( Waterston 1922), from which it differs as follows: whorls of F4 reaching middle of C3 (not reaching C1 in Tamarixia dryi ), whorls of C1 reaching base of C3 (whorls of C1 reaching 0.8 length of clava in Tamarixia dryi ).

Tamarixia aguacatensis also resembles Tamarixia flavigaster (Brothers & Moran), described from South Africa from Psyllidae on Calodendrum capense (L.) ( Brothers and Moran 1969), from which it differs as follows: mesoscutum with incomplete median carina, coxae brown (complete median carina and pale coxae in Tamarixia flavigaster ), male antennal plaque about 0.2 length of scape (0.1 in Tamarixia flavigaster ), whorled setae of F1 reaching middle of F3, whorls of F2 reaching base of F4, whorls of F3 reaching top of C3 (whorls of F1 reaching clava, whorls of F2 and F3 reaching base of C3 in Tamarixia flavigaster ). Also, the species has a brown gaster (the gaster is almost yellow in Tamarixia flavigaster ).

Distribution.

Mexico.

Host.

Known from Trioza aguacate , as a nymphal parasitoid.

Etymology.

The species name is derived from its host, Trioza aguacate .

Tamarixia aguacatensis is the fifth known species of Tamarixia in Mexico. It can be distinguished from other congeneric species in the country by having two pairs of short setae in the horizontal row on mesoscutum (Fig. 7).