Cremnops Foerster, 1862

Stevens, Nicholas B., Austin, Andrew D. & Jennings, John T., 2010, Synopsis of Australian agathidine wasps (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Agathidinae), Zootaxa 2480, pp. 1-26 : 14

Cremnops Foerster, 1862

( Figs 2 C, 7A, 9C)

Cremnops Foerster, 1862: 246 . Type species: Agathis deflagrator Nees von Esenbeck, 1834 (= Ichneumon desertor Linnaeus, 1758 ), by monotypy; Turner, 1918b: 221 [key, description]; Shenefelt, 1970b: 382 [catalogue]; Bhat & Gupta, 1977: 266 [description, catalogue]; Nixon, 1986: 191 [key, description]; Chou & Sharkey, 1989: 182 [key, description]; Sharkey, 1992: 439 [in tribe Cremnoptini]; Sharkey, 1996: 13 [key, description]; Yu et al., 2005 [catalogue]; Sharkey et al. 2006: 558 [notes, phylogeny, in tribe Cremnoptini]; Sharkey et al., 2009: 38 [key, description].

Diagnosis. Length: 5–10 mm; colour: yellow and dark brown or black; head often elongate ( Fig. 7 A); inter– antennal region with medial elevated mound that may be broadly rounded (e.g., Fig. 6 A) to carinate, paired carinae or protuberances not present; frons sometimes with lateral carinae but usually without; notauli present, complete and scrobiculate (e.g., Fig. 3 B); tarsal claws cleft, base pectinate ( Fig. 2 C); mid tibial preapical spines absent; fore tibial spur not elongate (e.g., Fig. 2 F); pair of longitudinal carinae not present on ventral surface of hind trochantellus; fore wing cell 1–RS always present and sessile, vein 2–RS2 either absent or basal sector present; ovipositor long, length exceeding 0.5 metasoma length ( Fig. 9 C).

Comments. Cremnops is closely related to Biroia ( Sharkey et al. 2006) but can be distinguished from this genus, indeed all agathidine genera, by the presence of comb-like (pectinate) spines on the base of the fore and mid tarsal claws. All Australian species display variations in the yellow and dark brown colour pattern thought to be associated with a putative mimicry complex.

Species richness and distribution. Cremnops is well represented in Australia with over 20 species, only four of which are described. The genus appears to be restricted to the northern parts of the continent in the Timorian, Torresian and northern Kosciuskan biogeographic regions.

Figures

FIGURE 2. Agathidinae leg characters: A, Biroia sp., fore tarsal claw cleft (arrowed), base non – pectinate; B, Braunsia sp., fore tarsal claw simple, non – cleft, basal lobe quadrate, non – pectinate; C, Cremnops sp., fore tarsal claw cleft, base pectinate (arrowed); D, Braunsia sp., mid tibial preapical spines (circled); E, Coccygidium sp., fore tibial spur long, sinuate and aristate (arrowed); F, Amputostypos sp., fore tibial spur short, non – sinuate and non – aristate (arrowed); G, Disophrys sp., posterior view of metasoma, showing paired longitudinal carinae on ventral surface of hind trochantellus (arrowed). Scale lines, A, B and C = 0.05 mm; D, E and F = 0.1 mm; G = 1 mm.

FIGURE 3. Agathidinae, dorsal mesoscutum and head: A, Therophilus sp., notauli absent; B, Disophrys sp., notauli present and scrobiculate (small arrow), lateral carinae of frons present (large arrow). Agathidinae lateral metasoma: C, Lytopylus rufipes; D, Therophilus sp. Scale lines = 0.5 mm.

FIGURE 6. Agathidinae anterior head view: A, Baeognatha sp.; B, Biroia sp., paired carinae present on inter – antennal region. Scale lines = 0.5 mm.

FIGURE 7. Agathidinae anterior and lateral views of elongate heads: A, Cremnops commutator Turner; B, Disophrys sp., paired carinae present on inter – antennal region. Scale lines = 0.5 mm.

FIGURE 9. Lateral habitus of Agathidinae spp.: A, Biroia sp.; B, Braunsia sp., exhibiting tropical mimicry complex colour pattern; C, Cremnops sp., exhibiting tropical mimicry complex colour pattern; D, Coccygidium sp. Scale lines = 1 mm.