Apanteles impiger Muesebeck, 1958

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 : 158-159

Apanteles impiger Muesebeck, 1958 Fig. 75

Apanteles impiger Muesebeck, 1958: 437.

Type locality.

PUERTO RICO, Mayaguez.

Holotype.

♀, NMNH (examined).

Description.

Female. Body color: body mostly dark except for some sternites which may be pale. Antenna color: scape, pedicel, and flagellum dark. Coxae color (pro-, meso-, metacoxa): pale, pale, partially pale/partially dark. Femora color (pro-, meso-, metafemur): pale, pale, pale. Tibiae color (pro-, meso-, metatibia): pale, pale, mostly pale but with posterior 0.2 or less dark. Tegula and humeral complex color: both pale. Pterostigma color: entirely pale or transparent, translucent. Fore wing veins color: partially pigmented (a few veins may be dark but most are pale). 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. Fore wing length: 2.5-2.6 mm. Ocular–ocellar line/posterior ocellus diameter: 2.0-2.2. Interocellar distance/posterior ocellus diameter: 2.0-2.2. Antennal flagellomerus 2 length/width: 2.9-3.1. Antennal flagellomerus 14 length/width: 1.1-1.3. Length of flagellomerus 2/length of flagellomerus 14: 2.6-2.8. Tarsal claws: with single basal spine–like seta. Metafemur length/width: 3.2-3.3. Metatibia inner spur length/metabasitarsus length: 0.4-0.5. Anteromesoscutum: mostly with shallow, sparse punctures (separated by more than 2.0 × its maximum diameter). Mesoscutellar disc: mostly smooth. Number of pits in scutoscutellar sulcus: 11 or 12. 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: mostly sculptured. Mediotergite 1 length/width at posterior margin: 2.9-3.1. 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: mostly sculptured, excavated area centrally with transverse striation inside and/or a polished knob centrally on posterior margin of mediotergite. Mediotergite 2 width at posterior margin/length: 3.6-3.9. Mediotergite 2 sculpture: with some sculpture, mostly near posterior margin. Outer margin of hypopygium: with a wide, medially folded, transparent, semi–desclerotized area; usually with 4 or more pleats. Ovipositor thickness: about same width throughout its length. Ovipositor sheaths length/metatibial length: 0.8-0.9. Length of fore wing veins r/2RS: 2.0-2.2 or 2.3 or more. 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.

Molecular data.

No molecular data available for this species.

Biology/ecology.

Solitary, white cocoons ( Muesebeck 1921 and 1958). Hosts: Crambidae , Diaphania hyalinata .

Distribution.

Cuba, Puerto Rico; there is no suggestion that this wasp occurs in ACG, though there are numerous species of Diaphania that breed in ACG.