Tubiformopius Fischer

Wharton, Robert, Ward, Lauren & Miko, Istvan, 2012, New neotropical species of Opiinae (Hymenoptera, Braconidae) reared from fruit-infesting and leaf-mining Tephritidae (Diptera) with comments on the Diachasmimorpha mexicana species group and the genera Lorenzopius and Tubiformopius, ZooKeys 243, pp. 27-82 : 69

Tubiformopius Fischer stat. rev.

Tubiformopius Fischer, 1998: 26. Type species: Opius tubigaster Fischer, 1968. Original designation.

Diagnosis.

Mandible very weakly narrowing, nearly parallel-sided over distal 0.5, more abruptly widening basally, with weak to distinct basal lobe. Labrum narrowly exposed to concealed. Clypeus relatively weakly but distinctly protruding in profile; ventral margin truncate. Malar sulcus absent or represented only by a short, weak indentation adjacent eye; malar space distinct, at least as long as basal width of mandible. Occipital carina broadly absent dorsally, present laterally, distinctly separate from hypostomal carina ventrally. First flagellomere much longer than second. Propleuron ventral-laterally without oblique carina. Notauli short, shallow, narrow, confined to anterior declivity, not extending onto disc posteriorly; distinct midpit absent. Precoxal sulcus broad, very weakly impressed, unsculptured. Propodeum granular rugose, without areola. Fore wing stigma long, narrow, curled in holotypes of both species treated below, but not as discrete distally as in Lorenzopius and Stigmatopoea ; r1 arising distinctly basad midpoint of stigma but not from extreme base; m-cu entering first submarginal cell, widely separated from second submarginal cell; second submarginal cell with 2RS much shorter than 3RSb; 2CUb arising near middle of hind margin of first subdiscal cell, the posterior-distal corner of the latter broadly open. Dorsope and laterope of T1 absent; S1 about 0.5-0.6 × length of T1, apparently fused to T1; T1 long and narrow throughout; T2 and following terga unsculptured. Ovipositor not tapering evenly to a fine point.

Remarks. The diagnosis above is based on the holotypes of Tubiformopius tubigaster (Fischer) and Tubiformopius tubibasis (Fischer), new combination.

Fischer’s (1998) original description of Tubiformopius was very brief since it was only included in a key to the eight genera he treated in the Opius genus group. Although two species are indicated in the relevant couplet, only one, designated as the type species, is specifically named. As noted above under the general discussion of genus-group characters, Fischer (1999), without discussion, treated Tubiformopius as a synonym of Lorenzopius . Aside from the original descriptions and Fischer’s (1999) subsequent synonymy, neither Tubiformopius nor Lorenzopius has been further treated until now. We retain Tubiformopius as a valid genus distinct from Lorenzopius primarily on the basis of strong differences in the shape of the mandible (Fig. 85), fore wing venation (Figs 63, 65), and the notauli (Figs 86, 87). Fischer (1978) originally placed Tubiformopius tubibasis in Opius s.s. Differences in venation and the first metasomal segment (especially the long and apparently fused S1) separate Tubiformopius from Opius s.s. Fischer (1977) placed Opius tubigaster in the subgenus Allophlebus Fischer, 1972 but the type species of Allophlebus has T1 distinctly broadening apically with a very short, clearly separated S1, a distinct laterope, and the fore wing m-cu is postfurcal.

There is as yet no host data for either of the species currently included in Tubiformopius .