Cotesia trabalae Gupta

Gupta, Ankita, Shaw, Mark, Cardinal, Sophie & Fernandez-Triana, Jose, 2016, A review of unusual species of Cotesia (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Microgastrinae) with the first tergite narrowing at midlength, ZooKeys 580, pp. 29-44 : 33-37

Taxon classification Animalia Hymenoptera Braconidae

Cotesia trabalae Gupta sp. n. Figs 4, 5, 6

Type material.

Holotype ♀ (NBAIR), INDIA, Kerala, Kasaragod, 12.5013°N; 74.9900°E, 10.xii.2013, ex: caterpillar of Trabala vishnou ( Lefèbvre), NBAIR, Code 101213, DNA Voucher−BR-2014 (NBAIR).

Specimens examined.

Paratypes: 5 ♀ (NBAIR) [part of the same brood as holotype]; 5 ♀ (NBAIR), INDIA: Himachal Pradesh, Shimla, 30.viii.2014, ex: caterpillar of Trabala vishnou ( Lefèbvre) on Rubus sp.; 3 ♀ (NBAIR), INDIA: Meghalaya, Barapani, 25.x.2014, ex: caterpillar of Trabala vishnou ( Lefèbvre) on Ricinis communis L.

Description.

Female (Figs 5A, 6A). Body in lateral view: not distinctly flattened dorso–ventrally. Body length (head to apex of metasoma): 2.43-2.66 mm to 2.73 mm. Fore wing: length: 2.42 (for body length 2.59 mm), 2.23 (for body length 2.51 mm).

Color. Body mostly black except for yellowish brown sternites in anterior half. Antenna color: scape, pedicel, and flagellum dark. Pro- and meso- coxae color: brown. Meta- coxa color: black. Pro- and meso- femur color: yellow. Meta- femur color: yellow, except for dark brown coloration on extreme apical tip. Metatibia and metatarsus color: yellowish brown. Tegula and humeral complex color: dark brown. Pterostig ma color: mostly brown. Fore wing veins color: partially pigmented (r, RS, 2M and (RS+M)b dark; remaining pale).

Head. Antenna length/body length: antenna 0.96−0.98 × as long as body (head to apex of metasoma). Ocular–ocellar line/posterior ocellus diameter: 1.5-2.03. Interocellar distance/posterior ocellus diameter: 1.82-2.23. Antennal flagellomere 2 length/width: 2.36-3.5. Antennal flagellomere 14 length/width: 1.83−1.91. Length of flagellomere 2/length of flagellomere 14: 1.59-1.9. Tarsal claws: simple. Metafemur length/width: 3.3−4.2. Metatibia inner spur length/metabasitarsus length: 0.57-0.66.

Mesosoma. Anteromesoscutum: mostly with deep, dense punctures (separated by less than 2.0 × their maximum diameter). Mesoscutellar disc: with shallow punctures scattered all over. Number of pits in scutoscutellar sulcus: 9. Maximum height of mesoscutellum lunules/maximum height of lateral face of mesoscutellum: 0.3-0.45. Propodeum: with prominent median carina, including transverse carina extending to spiracle; as well as two partial lateral carinae on the posterior half of the propodeum (which seem to define a partial areola). Sculpture: anterior 0.3 strongly rugose (carinae mostly radiating from strong longitudinal median carina), smooth and shiny, costula present.

Wings. Length of fore wing veins r/2RS: 0.75−1.22. Length of fore wing veins 2RS/2M: 1.44-1.78. Length of fore wing veins 2M/(RS+M)b: 1.25-1.38. Pterostigma length/width: 2.52−3.0. Point of insertion of vein r in pterostigma: clearly beyond half length of pterostigma. Angle of vein r with fore wing anterior margin: clearly outwards, inclined towards fore wing apex. Shape of junction of veins r and 2RS in fore wing: distinctly angled.

Metasoma. Mediotergite 1 shape: parallel–sided anteriorly, narrowing at midlength, slightly widened posteriorly. Mediotergite 1 width at anterior margin/width at posterior margin: 0.77−0.88. Mediotergite 1 sculpture: smooth and shiny, except for widely scattered puncture at lateral margin and more so in the posterior half. Mediotergite 2 width at posterior margin/length: 2.26-2.94. Mediotergite 2 sculpture: mostly smooth. Outer margin of hypopygium: wide, semi-transparent. Ovipositor thickness: slightly tapering apically. Ovipositor sheaths length/metatibial length: 0.16-0.17, rarely 0.21.

Male. As female.

Molecular data.

GenBank Accession numbers: KM875666, KT308157 and KT308158.

Distribution.

India: Himachal Pradesh (Shimla), Kerala (Kasaragod), and Meghalaya (Barapani).

Biology/ecology.

Host (Fig. 7): Trabala vishnou ( Lefèbvre) ( Lasiocampidae ) on Ricinis communis L. (in Meghalaya), Rubus sp. (in Shimla), and one indeterminate wild plant in southern India (in Kerala).

Etymology.

The name refers to the host species.

Comments.

General body coloration remains the same for all the populations, however minor variations were noticed: (i) south Indian population (from Kasaragod) has comparatively lesser ratio of ocular-ocellar line/posterior ocellus diameter: 1.50 vs 1.89−2.03 in both north Indian populations; (ii) ratio of mediotergite 1 width at anterior margin/width at posterior margin:>1 vs <1 in both northern populations; (iii) ratio of length of fore wing veins r/2RS: 1.22 vs 0.75−1.06 in both northern populations; (iv) T3 coloration remains the same as other tergites vs T3 yellowish brown in northern populations (more yellowish in Shimla population); (v) on an average ~70 white colored cocoons laid upright on a single host vs ~125 brown colored cocoons in both northern populations.

The reasons for the colour differences in the cocoons seen is not clear, but it might relate to different conditions (e.g. of humidity) pertaining at the time of their construction. The caterpillar with brown cocoons was collected from Shimla (northern India) which is humid in August while the caterpillar with white colored cocoons was collected in December from southern India (during the dry period).