Alphomelon paranigriceps Fernandez-Triana & Shimbori, 2023

Fernandez-Triana, Jose L., Shimbori, Eduardo M., Whitfield, James B., Penteado-Dias, Angelica M., Shaw, Scott R., Boudreault, Caroline, Sones, Jayme, Perez, Kate, Brown, Allison, Manjunath, Ramya, Burns, John M., Hebert, P. D. N., Smith, M. Alex, Hallwachs, Winnifred & Janzen, Daniel H., 2023, A revision of the parasitoid wasp genus Alphomelon Mason with the description of 30 new species (Hymenoptera, Braconidae), ZooKeys 1175, pp. 5-162 : 5

Alphomelon paranigriceps Fernandez-Triana & Shimbori sp. nov.

Fig. 64A-H

Type material.

Holotype. United States • Female, CNC; Georgia, McIntosh county, Sapelo Island, Shrub Sand Dunes; 18.vii-22.viii.1987; Malaise Trap; BRC Hymenoptera Team; Voucher code: CNC280520.

Other specimens examined.

United States • 2 females, USNM, Florida (Key Largo); North Carolina (Moore County, Southern Pines ) ; 1 female, TAMU, Texas (Hunt county, Clymer Prairie ); unspecified specimen from South Carolina ( Deans et al. 2003) .

Distribution.

United States.

Biology.

No data.

DNA barcoding.

Not available.

Etymology.

Named after Alphomelon nigriceps , a species it resembles. Some specimens of A. paranigriceps were considered as part of A. nigriceps by previous authors (e.g., Deans et al. 2003; Fernandez-Triana et al. 2020).

Diagnostic description.

White patch on gena: extending to occiput but not to clypeus. Tegula/humeral complex color: yellow/yellow. Mesonotum color: mostly orange-yellow. Metasoma color: mostly orange-yellow. Tarsal claws spines: 1. Pterostigma shape: comparatively less elongate, its length ≤ 2.5 × its central height and usually more rounded with at least one of its lower margins curved. T1 sculpture: strongly sculptured on at least apical half or more. T1 central ridge: strongly marked by two raised carinae. T2 sculpture: entirely to mostly strongly sculptured. Ovipositor sheaths length: as long as first segment of metatarsus. Body length: 5.0 mm. Fore wing length: 5.2 mm.

Notes.

We consider as belonging to this species all specimens from the USA (FL, NC, SC, and TX) previously reported by Marsh (1965) and Deans et al. (2003) as A. nigriceps . This would agree with the comments made by Deans et al. (2003: 28) about the USA specimens having different (darker) colouration than tropical specimens. Because we could not examine that material we cannot include those specimens as paratypes of the new species, but we assume in this paper that the “true” A. nigriceps is limited to the Caribbean islands and South America, whereas A. paranigriceps includes all specimens from continental USA.

Figures

Figure 64. Alphomelon paranigriceps Fernandez-Triana & Shimbori holotype female CNC 280520 A habitus, lateral B head, frontal C head, dorsal D wings E antenna, ventral F mid leg, lateral G propodeum and metasoma, dorsal H mesosoma, dorsal.