Enicospilus signativentris (Tosquinet, 1903)

Shimizu, So, Broad, Gavin R. & Maeto, Kaoru, 2020, Integrative taxonomy and analysis of species richness patterns of nocturnal Darwin wasps of the genus Enicospilus Stephens (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae, Ophioninae) in Japan, ZooKeys 990, pp. 1-144 : 1

Enicospilus signativentris (Tosquinet, 1903) Figure 46

Ophion (Enicospilus) signativentris Tosquinet, 1903: 37; LCT ♀ from Java, designated by Townes et al. (1961: 289), IRSNB, not examined.

Henicospilus incompletus Szépligeti, 1906: 143; HT ♀ from Sulawesi, TM, not examined; synonymised by Gauld and Mitchell (1981: 411).

Henicospilus nigrosignatus Enderlein, 1921: 22; HT ♀ from Java, IZPAN, not examined; synonymised by Townes et al. (1961: 289).

Henicospilus tristrigatus Enderlein, 1921: 23; HT ♀ from Taiwan, IZPAN, not examined; synonymised by Gauld and Mitchell (1981: 411).

Henicospilus formosanus Enderlein, 1921: 25; HT ♀ from Taiwan, IZPAN, not examined; synonymised by Gauld and Mitchell (1981: 411).

Henicospilus emacescens Enderlein, 1921: 25; HT ♂ from Taiwan, IZPAN, not examined; synonymised by Gauld and Mitchell (1981: 411).

Henicospilus taiwanus Uchida, 1928: 226; SYT ♀ from Taiwan, SEHU, examined; synonymised by Gauld and Mitchell (1981: 411).

Enicospilus frater Cushman, 1937: 311; HT ♂ from Taiwan, DEI, not examined; synonymised by Gauld and Mitchell (1981: 411).

Enicospilus pectiniclavae Rao and Nikam, 1969: 14; HT ♀ from India, MUC, not examined; synonymised by Gauld and Mitchell (1981: 411).

Specimens examined.

Total of 208 specimens (154♀♀46♂♂ and 8 unsexed): India (39♀♀17♂♂), Indonesia (7♀♀5♂♂ and 3 unsexed), Japan (95♀♀23♂♂), Sri Lanka (1♀), Taiwan (12♀♀1♂ and 5 unsexed).

Type series: SYT ♀ of Henicospilus taiwanus Uchida, 1928, Kyuhabon, TAIWAN, 6.VIII.1915, K. Kikuchi leg. (SEHU).

Distribution.

Australasian, Eastern Palaearctic, Oceanic, and Oriental regions ( Yu et al. 2016); this is a predominantly Oriental species.

JAPAN: [ Kantô-Kôshin] Tôkyô ( Konishi and Maeto 2000; Konishi et al. 2014; present study) and Kanagawa ( Watanabe et al. 2016; present study); [ Tôkai] Shizuoka ( Watanabe and Makanai 2011; present study), Gifu ( Chiu 1954), and Mie*; [Kinki] Ōsaka *, Hyôgo ( Iwata 1960; present study), Nara ( Iwata 1958, 1960), and Wakayama*; [ Chûgoku] Shimane* and Hiroshima ( Konishi and Nakamura 2000, 2010; Maeto and Shimizu 2019; present study); [Shikoku] Ehime ( Konishi and Yamamoto 2000; present study) and Kôchi *; [ Kyûshû] Fukuoka*, Ōita *, Kumamoto* and Kagoshima ( Yasumatsu 1934; Chiu 1954; Fukuda and Kusigemati 1986; present study); [ Ryûkyûs] Kagoshima ( Uchida 1956; present study) and Okinawa ( Chiu 1954; Townes 1958; present study); [Ogasawara] Tôkyô ( Townes 1958; Takahashi and Shimizu 2006; present study). *New records. This is one of the most common Enicospilus species in Japan and peripheral areas.

Bionomics.

Japanese host records are from several species of plusiine Noctuidae and Erebidae : Anadevidia peponis (Fabricius, 1775) ( Kusigemati and Tanaka 1992), Autographa nigrisigna (Walker, 1857) ( Kusigemati 1976), Trichoplusia intermixta (Warren, 1913) ( Kusigemati 1981) (all Noctuidae ), and Ericeia inangulata ( Guenée, 1852) ( Erebidae ) ( Sonan 1944).

Differential diagnosis.

This species is morphologically close to E. abdominalis but can easily be distinguished from it, and also from all other Japanese species, by the strong posterior transverse carina of the propodeum (Fig. 46E ) and characteristic colour pattern (T4 is usually conspicuously brighter than adjacent segments) (Fig. 46A ).

Remarks.

Enicospilus signativentris is more or less morphologically stable, although it exhibits a very wide range of colour variation (i.e., from entirely orange to entirely dark brown). DNA barcoding analysis supports the conclusion that variable body colour represents intraspecific variation. There was no difference of p-distance between the entirely testaceous (SEN97 from Ōsaka) and the entirely dark brown individuals (SEN98 from Wakayama).

Figures

Figure 46. Enicospilus signativentris (Tosquinet, 1903) ♀ from Japan A habitus B head, frontal view C head, dorsal view D head, lateral view E mesosoma, lateral view F central part of fore wing.