Aleiodes melanopterus (Erichson, 1848)

Shimbori, Eduardo Mitio & Penteado-Dias, Angelica Maria, 2011, Taxonomic contribution to the Aleiodes melanopterus (Erichson) species-group (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Rogadinae) from Brazil, ZooKeys 142, pp. 15-25 : 18-20

Aleiodes melanopterus (Erichson, 1848) Figs 3, 7

Rogas melanopterus Erichson 1848: 588

Macrostomion peruvianum Szépligeti 1904: 193

Rhogas rufithorax Cameron 1911: 313

Rhogas fortipalpus Cameron 1911: 314

Rhogas forticarinatus Cameron 1911: 314

Eucystomastax bicolor Brues 1912: 223

Material examined.

74 females and 108 males. Brazil. Acre (AC): Cruzeiro do Sul, Rio Branco; Amazonas (AM): Serra dos Porcos; Espírito Santo (ES): Fundão, Santa Teresa; Goiás (GO): Anápolis, Goiânia - “Campinas”, Jataí; Mato Grosso (MT): Aripuanã, Alta Floresta, Barra do Tapirapé, Chapada dos Guimarães, Itiquira, Jaçanã - P.N. Xingu, Rondonópolis; Mato Grosso do Sul (MS): Campo Grande, Dourados; Minas Gerais (MG): Araxá, Corinto, Passos; Pará (PA): Barreirinha, Belém, Canindé, Parauapebas - Serra Norte, Peixe-Boi, Redenção - Gorotire, São Félix do Xingu, Serra Norte; Paraná (PR): Curitiba, Maringá, Ponta Grossa, Rolândia, São José dos Pinhais; Rio de Janeiro (RJ): Santa Maria Madalena; Rio Grande do Sul (RS): Santa Maria, São Leopold o; Rondônia (RO): Ouro Preto d'oeste, Porto Velho, Vilhena; Santa Catarina (SC): Nova Teutônia; São Paulo (SP): Barueri, Cananéia - Ilha do Cardoso, Castilho, Caraguatatuba, Juquitiba, Luís Antônio, Monte Alegre, Nova Europa, Onda Verde, Rio Claro, Salesópolis, São Carlos, São Paulo, Tabatinga, Ubatuba, Vargem Grande Paulista.

Morphological notes on Brazilian specimens.

Head. Occipital carina of all examined specimens is absent ventrally, thus occipital and hypostomal carina do not meet (Fig. 7). This is probably a misinterpreted character in Shaw (1993) corrected by Fortier and Shaw (1999) (character 20, state 1 for melanopterus); face sculpture variable, smooth to rugose, rugosity concentrated near raised median area when present (Fig. 3).

Colour variation. The examined specimens present distinct colour pattern variation. Propodeum always orange; metasoma black in virtually all specimens (97%); hind coxa black (99% of specimens); mid coxa somewhat lighter than hind; fore coxa bright orange in 97% of the specimens, contrasting with remainder black leg; one of the examined specimens has dark pronotum and propleuron.

Distribution.

South America, from Suriname to Northern Argentina (North to South), and from South-eastern Brazil to Eastern Peru (East to West). Not recorded in the East of Andean Cordillera, Central America ( Shaw 1993), and Northeast Brazilian region. South American countries with records: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru and Suriname.