Apanteles marianopereirai Fernandez-Triana

Fernandez-Triana, Jose L., Whitfield, James B., Rodriguez, Josephine J., Smith, M. Alex, Janzen, Daniel H., Hallwachs, Winnie D., Hajibabaei, Mehrdad, Burns, John M., Solis, M. Alma, Brown, John, Cardinal, Sophie, Goulet, Henri & Hebert, Paul D. N., 2014, Review of Apantelessensu stricto (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Microgastrinae) from Area de Conservacion Guanacaste, northwestern Costa Rica, with keys to all described species from Mesoamerica, ZooKeys 383, pp. 1-565 : 231-232

Apanteles marianopereirai Fernandez-Triana sp. n. Fig. 62

Apanteles Rodriguez30 ( Smith et al. 2006). Interim name provided by the authors.

Type locality.

COSTA RICA, Alajuela, ACG, Sector San Cristobal, Melina Bufalo, 560m, 10.88400, -85.38600.

Holotype.

♀ in CNC. Specimen labels: 1. COSTA RICA, Alajuela, ACG, Sector San Cristobal, Melina Bufalo, 01.iv.1998, 560m, 10.88400, -85.38600, DHJPAR0001565.

Paratypes.

20 ♀, 4 ♂ (BMNH, CNC, INBIO, INHS, NMNH). COSTA RICA: Alajuela, ACG database codes: 98-SRNP-6602.

Description.

Female. Body color: body mostly dark except for some sternites which may be pale. Antenna color: scape, pedicel, and flagellum dark or scape, pedicel, and flagellum pale. Coxae color (pro-, meso-, metacoxa): dark, dark, dark, rarely pale, dark, dark. Femora color (pro-, meso-, metafemur): anteriorly dark/posteriorly pale, dark, dark. Tibiae color (pro-, meso-, metatibia): pale, anteriorly pale/posteriorly dark, anteriorly pale/posteriorly dark. Tegula and humeral complex color: tegula pale, humeral complex half pale/half dark. Pterostigma color: mostly pale and/or transparent, with thin dark borders. Fore wing veins color: mostly white or entirely transparent. Antenna length/body length: antenna about as long as body (head to apex of metasoma); if slightly shorter, at least extending beyond anterior 0.7 metasoma length. Body in lateral view: not distinctly flattened dorso–ventrally. Body length (head to apex of metasoma): 2.3-2.4 mm, rarely 2.1-2.2 mm. Fore wing length: 2.3-2.4 mm or 2.5-2.6 mm. Ocular–ocellar line/posterior ocellus diameter: 2.6 or more. Interocellar distance/posterior ocellus diameter: 2.0-2.2. Antennal flagellomerus 2 length/width: 2.9-3.1. Antennal flagellomerus 14 length/width: 1.7-1.9. Length of flagellomerus 2/length of flagellomerus 14: 1.7-1.9. Tarsal claws: with single basal spine–like seta. Metafemur length/width: 3.4-3.5. Metatibia inner spur length/metabasitarsus length: 0.6-0.7. Anteromesoscutum: mostly with deep, dense punctures (separated by less than 2.0 × its maximum diameter). Mesoscutellar disc: with punctures near margins, central part mostly smooth. Number of pits in scutoscutellar sulcus: 5 or 6 or 7 or 8. Maximum height of mesoscutellum lunules/maximum height of lateral face of mesoscutellum: 0.4-0.5. Propodeum areola: completely defined by carinae, including transverse carina extending to spiracle. Propodeum background sculpture: partly sculptured, especially on anterior 0.5. Mediotergite 1 length/width at posterior margin: 3.2-3.4. Mediotergite 1 shape: mostly parallel–sided for 0.5-0.7 of its length, then narrowing posteriorly so mediotergite anterior width>1.1 × posterior width. Mediotergite 1 sculpture: with some sculpture near lateral margins and/or posterior 0.2-0.4 of mediotergite. Mediotergite 2 width at posterior margin/length: 3.6-3.9. Mediotergite 2 sculpture: mostly smooth. Outer margin of hypopygium: inflexible (without a folded, transparent, semi–desclerotized area); with no pleats visible. Ovipositor thickness: anterior width at most 2.0 × posterior width (beyond ovipositor constriction) or anterior width 3.0-5.0 × posterior width (beyond ovipositor constriction) (?). Ovipositor sheaths length/metatibial length: 0.6-0.7 or 0.8-0.9. Length of fore wing veins r/2RS: 1.7-1.9. Length of fore wing veins 2RS/2M: 1.1-1.3. Length of fore wing veins 2M/(RS+M)b: 0.7-0.8. Pterostigma length/width: 3.6 or more. Point of insertion of vein r in pterostigma: about half way point length of pterostigma. Angle of vein r with fore wing anterior margin: more or less perpendicular to fore wing margin. Shape of junction of veins r and 2RS in fore wing: distinctly but not strongly angled.

Male. Similar to female.

Molecular data.

Sequences in BOLD: 1, barcode compliant sequences: 0 (the only available sequence is 419 bp).

Biology/ecology.

Gregarious. Host: Hesperiidae , Polythrix kanshul .

Distribution.

Costa Rica, ACG.

Comments.

Despite the single lot of specimens available (98-SRNP-6601 was parasitized by the same species but rearing maltreatment killed the wasps in their cocoons), the distinctive wasp morphology, distinctive host, and distinctive, though short, barcode make it clear that this is a species different from all others considered here.

Etymology.

We dedicate this species to Mariano Pereira recognition of his diligent efforts for the ACG Programa de Parataxónomos and Estación Biológica La Perla of Sector Mundo Nuevo.