Nesolinoceras ornatipennis ( Cresson, 1865 )

Santos, Bernardo F., 2016, Generic redefinition and a new species of Nesolinoceras Ashmead (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae, Cryptinae), American Museum Novitates 2016 (3858), pp. 1-16 : 6-9

Nesolinoceras ornatipennis ( Cresson, 1865)

Figures 1–6 , 14

Cryptus ornatipennis Cresson, 1865: 21–22 . Description, figure. Holotype ♀ (ANSP, examined). Nesolinoceras espini Ashmead, 1906: 294–295 . Description. Holotype 3 (USNM, examined). Nesolinoceras ornatipennis: Townes, 1946: 42 . Generic transfer.

DIAGNOSIS: Mesopleuron mostly ferruginous, with three whitish marks and without blackish marks (fig. 2); propodeum entirely ferruginous (fig. 3); metasoma mostly ferruginous, each tergite with posterior whitish stripe, with sparse brownish marks (figs. 2, 5). Central ocellus larger than lateral ones. Areolet crossveins 2r-m and 3r-m distinctly convergent, almost meeting anteriorly (fig. 4).

FEMALE HOLOTYPE (figs. 2–5): Forewing 9.5 mm long. Head. Ventral tooth of mandible apically uniformly tapered, somewhat pointy; MLW 1.6; MWW 0.6. Malar space coriaceus; MSM 0.7. Clypeus wide, CWH 2.1, in front view somewhat semicircular, apex much wider than base, CWW 2.0, apically without distinct striae (fig. 3). Antenna with 23 flagellomeres. Central ocellus distinctly larger than lateral ones. Occipital carina fading out just before meeting hypostomal carina.

Thorax. Densely covered with short yellowish hairs, pilosity sparser on scutellum, postscutellum, mesopleuron, and anterior 0.6 of propodeum. Pronotum dorsally punctate, ventrally distinctly striate. Mesoscutum subcircular, 1.0× as long as wide, anteriorly covered with shallow, closely spaced punctures, posteriorly somewhat rugulose; notaulus reaching 0.6× length of mesoscutum, distinctly convergent, notauli almost meeting on posterior apex. Scutellum anteriorly with shallow punctures; scutellar carina absent. Subalar ridge wide, somewhat ovoid, not keeled. Epicnemial carina almost reaching subalar ridge but much weaker, almost indistinct, on dorsal 0.3. Mesopleuron dorsally rugulose to striate, ventrally mostly smooth; sternaulus moderately impressed, surface over sternaulus distinctly wrinkled. Central portion of postpectal carina short but distinct, straight. Metapleuron rugulose.

Propodeum (fig. 5). In dorsal view, 1.1× as long as wide. SWL 1.9. Anterior area of the propodeum mostly smooth; posterior area anteriorly somewhat alveolate, posteriorly with transverse irregular wrinkles.

Wings (fig. 4). Forewing crossvein 1M+Rs weakly and uniformly arched; crossvein 1cu-a arising basad of vein 1M+Cu by 0.3 of its length; vein 2Cua 1.2× as long as crossvein 2cu-a; areolet large, APH 1.9, much longer than wide, AWH 0.7; 2r-m and 3r-m strongly convergent, almost meeting on anterior apex of areolet; 3r-m entirely spectral; 2-M slightly longer than 3-M; 4-Rs gently curved until slightly curved anteriorly on apical 0.2; H1WC 0.9.

Metasoma. T1 short and triangular, T1LW 1.4; T1WW 2.2; polished; dorsolateral carina only faintly suggested on anterior apex of T1; ventrolateral carina distinct and complete; spiracle not prominent. T2 short, trapezoidal, T2LW 0.8, T2WW 1.5. T2–3 partially covered with shallow punctures, otherwise polished. T7–8 much longer than T5–6. Ovipositor long, OST 1.2 (fig. 2); ventral valve with eight teeth, the apical two very weak.

Color. Ferruginous with whitish and blackish marks. Head ferruginous (173,082,034); basal 0.25 of mandible, most of clypeus, and orbital band whitish (252,208,130); orbital band widest on lower gena and narrowest on supraantennal area, interrupted on malar space and at the level of ocelli; apical 0.3 of mandible, narrow longitudinal stripe on supraclypeal and supraantennal areas, blackish (fig. 3); pedicel and flagellum brownish. Thorax ferruginous; pronotal collar and most of dorsal margin, most of propleuron, subcircular spot on center of mesoscutum, median 0.5 of scutellum, basal stripe on tegula, subalar ridge, hypoepimeron, and large spots on ventral mesopleuron and metapleuron whitish. Legs ferruginous; fore- and mid coxae with large whitish marks on anterior face; hind coxa with small whitish mark on posterior face (fig. 2). Forewing with three extensive fuscous bands extending from midlength to apex, with central hyaline areas in between; basalmost band distinctly separated, apical ones connected on posterior end. (fig. 4); hind wing entirely hyaline. Metasoma mostly ferruginous; T1–7 and S2–6 with posterior whitish stripes, on T1–2 very narrow, T2–7 anteriorly sparsely marked with brownish. Ovipositor reddish ferruginous, its sheaths dark brown.

VARIATION: Forewing 7.8–10.8 mm long. Antenna with 22–23 flagellomeres. Whitish tones in the body varying from cream or pale yellow (252,208,130) to ivory (234,223,204). Specimens from the Bahamas differ from the observed specimens from Cuba (i.e., the holotype and the specimen in fig. 1) by lacking the posterior whitish stripes on the metasomal tergites; they also have a considerably shorter ovipositor (OST 1.00), and the clypeus with distinct transverse striae. Other measurement ranges include: MWW 0.5–0.6; CWH 2.0–2.1; CWW 1.8–2.0; mesoscutum 1.0–1.1 as long as wide; SWL 1.9–2.0; crossvein 1cu-a arising basad of vein 1M+Cu by 0.2–0.3 of its length; APH 1.9–2.0; H1WC 0.9–1.0; T1WW 1.9–2.2; T2LW 0.7–0.8.

MALE (fig. 6): Very similar to the female, except for the following: forewing 5.0–8.0 mm; antenna with 28–31 flagellomeres; supraclypeal area mostly whitish, sometimes with only a faint ferruginous central mark; fore- and mid coxae more extensively white; metasomal tergites without distinct posterior whitish stripe. Male from the Cayman Islands with fuscous bands on forewing less extensive, apical bands not connected posteriorly.

COMMENTS: The description of Alayo and Tzankov (1974) has a few inconsistencies as compared to the type specimen: ovipositor without a “very large tooth in its dorsal part”; abdomen mostly ferruginous, not “blackish” as stated in the first paragraph of the description, though some specimens may have sparse blackish marks in the metasoma (see fig. 1); further down in the description the authors describe the metasoma as being “dark red.” Surface posterior to anterior transverse carina of propodeum rugulose, not “transversely striate”; surface near apex of T1 without a “dorsal black spot.” 2

The considerable variation observed in the specimens from the Bahamas could be evidence that that population may be evolving in isolation as compared to the Cuban lineage. The two groups may be on the way to become distinct species or may be already be distinct entities. However, larger series of specimens and/or analyses of molecular data are needed for an indepth investigation of the limits of N. ornatipennis .

BIOLOGY: N. ornatipennis is a common parasitoid of Elaphidion cayamae ( Coleoptera , Cerambycidae ), a citrus borer ( Domínguez and Domínguez, 1990; Vázquez et al., 2008). According to Alayo and Tzankov (1974), it is also reported to attack larvae of Lagocheirus procerus Casey (= Lagochirus [sic] obsoletus ; Coleoptera , Cerambycidae ). Since most cryptines attack pupae or prepupae, it is unclear whether this record is accurate. The female drills into wood with the ovipositor to reach the xylophagous immature beetles inside (fig. 1). N. ornatipennis seems to be a very common species in Cuba, present in various habitats from degraded agricultural areas to undisturbed rainforests, usually in low vegetation, perching on leaves or branches (J. Fernández-Triana, personal commun.). Alayo and Tzankov (1974) also reported a male-to-female sex ratio of 1:1.15, and recorded the species through most of the year (months of March-April and June-December).

DISTRIBUTION: Cuba (records from Alayo and Tzankov, 1974; Domínguez and Domínguez, 1990; Portuondo-Ferrer and Fernández-Triana, 2005; Fernández-Triana et al., 2005; Vázquez et al., 2008), Bahamas (new record), and Cayman Islands (new record) (fig. 14).

MATERIAL EXAMINED: 26 females, 34 males. Holotype ♀ ( N. ornatipennis ): CUBA, “Type No. 896,” “ Echthrus ornatipennis Cress. ” Pinned; complete. Holotype 3 ( N. espini ): CUBA, “ Nesolinoceras Ashm. n.g., 3 Espini Ashm ,” “ Nesolinocera espini Ashm. ,” “Type No. 9957, USNM.” Pinned; apical segments of right antenna, right mid leg, right hind tarsus and left hind t2–5 missing; left forewing partially ripped anteriorly; abdomen detached from specimen and glued to paper card. Other specimens: BAHAMAS: 1♀ 13 “Man-o-War Cay, VIII.23.71 Bahama, H.and A. Howden.” 13 “New Providence Is., Brit. W.I. // Martin Dickinson coll, III- 61 // “ Nesolinoceras ornatipenis Cr., Tow. 1966 ” ( AEIC). 4♀ 13 “ BAHAMAS: Eleuthera Rainbow Bay, 11-XI-19.XII.1986, D.B. and R.W. Wiley, malaise trap” ( AEIC). 3♀ 33, same data ( FSCA). 14♀ 243, same data except “I-VII.1987” ( FSCA). 2♀ 23 “ BAHAMAS: Great Inagua North Road, N21.10813, W73.60196, 14-VII-2007, Thomas Turnbow, Smith, Blacklight trap in Mangrove forest” ( FSCA). CUBA: 1♀ “Juraguá, Ote., B-1948, P. Alayo col. // “ Nesolinoceras ornatipennis Cr., Alayo ’67” // “Generic drawing” ( AEIC). CAYMAN ISLANDS: 1 3 “CAY- MAN ISLANDS, Grand Cayman, George Town, 15-30.III.1965, J.R. McLintock” // Nesolinoceras ornatipennis, Aguiar and Santos det. 2008” ( CNCI).

2 Translated by the author. Original fragments, respectively, from Alayo and Tzankov, 1974: 11: “Ovipositor en su ápice con un diente muy alargado en su parte dorsal, otro corto en la parte ventral”; “abdomen negrusco”; “el resto de los segmentos de color rojo-oscuro”; “Primera carina transversal bien marcada…; la superficie después de ella estriada transversalmente”; “Pecíolo abdominal (…) ensanchándose hacia el ápice, y exhibiendo una mancha negra dorsal cercana a éste.”

Figures

FIGURE 1. Nesolinoceras ornatipennis. A female drilling a tree branch in Varahicacos Ecological Reserve, Cuba. Photo by Max Padt, used with permission; first published online (https://www.flickr.com/photos/ maxman2402).

FIGURES 2–6. Nesolinoceras ornatipennis. 2–5, Female holotype. 2, Lateral view. 3, Head in frontal view. 4, Wings. 5, Dorsal view. 6, Male holotype of N. espini.

FIGURE 14. Diagram showing distributions for species of Nesolinoceras. Circles represent N. ornatipennis; the triangle represents N. laluzbrillante, sp. nov.