Conostigmus rufoniger (Provancher, 1888)

Trietsch, Carolyn, Mikó, István, Ezray, Briana & Deans, Andrew R., 2020, A Taxonomic Revision of Nearctic Conostigmus (Hymenoptera: Ceraphronoidea: Megaspilidae), Zootaxa 4792 (1), pp. 1-155 : 83-84

Conostigmus rufoniger (Provancher, 1888)

Fig. 45

Species Comments and History. Provancher (1888) described this species from a single male specimen collected in Cap-Rouge, Quebec, Canada. The type is present at the ULQC, but is in poor condition. The female remains unknown .

Dessart (1997a) examined the type specimen and compared it to C. pulchellus and C. nigrorufus . This species is not synonymous with C. pulchellus because it lacks the facial sulcus (present in C. pulchellus ), and it is not synonymous with C. nigrorufus because it has a sternaulus (absent in C. nigrorufus ).

We examined the type specimen and found that it had the following combination of characters: preoccipital furrow present and ending inside the ocellar triangle, but ending posterior to the anterior ocellus; facial pit present; sternaulus present; and axillular carinae absent. The specimen also has unique coloration, with the propleuron and other portions of the mesosoma lighter in coloration than the rest of the mesosoma, though the specimen is in such poor condition it is difficult to say whether this is due to specimen age and damage over the years.

Dessart (1997a) did not receive permission to dissect the male genitalia of the specimen. We did not receive permission either, but we were able to measure and score the specimen, and we include these characters in a partial redescription below. Until the male genitalia can be dissected and studied, or more specimens can be found, we follow Dessart (1997a) and conclude that this is an uncertain species in need of more study. We regard Conostigmus rufoniger as a species inquirenda.

Description. Body length: 1.725 mm. Color hue pattern in male: cranium brown; propleuron yellow; mesosoma except propleuron yellow to brown; antennae ochre to light brown; metasoma ochre to brown. Color intensity pattern in male: cranium darker than mesosoma, flagellomeres darker than legs; cranium darker than mesosoma; propleuron lighter than the rest of the mesosoma; flagellomeres and pedicel darker than scape; mandible lighter than cranium. Color intensity dorsal and ventral to the site of the sternaulus: concolorous. Color intensity pattern of syntergite: petiole neck and anterior region of syntergite lighter in coloration than the posterior region of the syntergite. Foveolate sculpture on body count: absent. Rugose sculpturing count: absent. Rugose region on upper face count: absent.

Antennae: Male scape length vs. pedicel length: 4.14. Male scape length vs. F1 length: 1.53. Male F1 length vs. pedicel length: 2.71. Male F1 length vs. male F2 length: 1.12. Longest male flagellomere: F1. Length of setae on male flagellomere vs. male flagellomere width: setae shorter than width of flagellomeres. Sensillar patch of the male flagellomere pattern: F5–F9.

Head: Head width, dorsal view: equal to or only slightly wider than mesosoma (less than 1.3× wider than mesosoma). Head height (HH, lateral view) vs. eye height (EHf, anterior view): HH:EHf=1.36. Head height (HH) vs. head length (HL): HH:HL=1.17. Head width (HW) vs. interorbital space (IOS): HW:IOS=1.68. Head width (HW) vs. head height (HH): HW:HH=1.38. Cephalic size (csb): Mean: 405 μm. Maximum eye diameter vs. minimum eye diameter: 1.3. POL:OOL: POL equal to or shorter than OOL and ocellar triangle with short base. Male ocular ocellar line (OOL) vs. lateral ocellar line (LOL): OOL:LOL=2.0. Male ocular ocellar line (OOL) vs. posterior ocellar line (POL): OOL:POL=1.14. Male ocular ocellar line (OOL): posterior ocellar line (POL): lateral ocellar line (LOL): 2.0:1.75:1.0. Head shape (anterior view): circular or triangular. Preoccipital lunula count: present. Preoccipital carina count: absent. Occipital carina structure: occipital carina complete. Occipital carina sculpture: crenulate. Preoccipital furrow count: present. Preoccipital furrow anterior end: preoccipital furrow ends inside ocellar triangle, but ends posterior to the anterior ocellus. Preoccipital furrow sculpture: crenulate. Postocellar carina count: present. Dorsal margin of occipital carina vs. dorsal margin of lateral ocellus in lateral view: occipital carina ventral to lateral ocellus in lateral view. Transverse scutes on upper face count: absent. Transverse frontal carina count: absent. Randomly sized areolae around setal pits on upper face count: absent. Setal pit on vertex size: smaller than diameter of scutes. Ventromedian setiferous patch and ventrolateral setiferous patch count: absent. White, thick setae on upper face count: absent. Antennal scrobe count: absent. Facial structure count: facial pit present. Facial pit count: present. Facial sulcus count: absent. Median facial keel count: absent. Supraclypeal depression count: present. Supraclypeal depression structure: present medially, inverted U-shaped. Intertorular area count: present. Intertorular carina count: present. Median process on intertorular carina count: present. Median process on intertorular carina shape: blunt. Median process of intertorular carina structure: process does not extend across intertorular area to dorsal margin of clypeus. Median region of intertorular area shape: convex. Ventral margin of antennal rim vs. dorsal margin of clypeus: not adjacent. Torulo–clypeal carina count: present. Subtorular carina count: absent. Mandibular tooth count: 2. Mandibular lancea count: absent.

Mesosoma: Weber length: WL=550 μm. Anterior mesoscutal width (AscW) vs. posterior mesoscutal width (PscW): AscW/PscW=0.7. Mesoscutal length (MscL) vs. anterior mesoscutal width (AscW): MscL/AscW=1.44. Mesoscutal length (MscL) vs. mesoscutellar length (MscIL): MscL:MscIL= 0.96. Wing count: present. Fore wing size: wings present and macropterous with apex extending past petiole. Pronotum median length: less than longest median anatomical line of the mesoscutum. Notaulus count: present. Crenulae of notaulus width: width of the crenulae does not increase more than 2× anteriorly. Notaulus posterior end location: adjacent to transscutal articulation. Median mesoscutal sulcus count: present. Median mesoscutal sulcus posterior end: adjacent to transscutal articulation. Scutoscutellar sulcus vs. transscutal articulation location: adjacent. Axillular carinae count: absent. Speculum ventral limit: not extending ventrally of pleural pit line. Metapleural sulcus shape: straight. Mesometapleural sulcus count: present. Ventrolateral invagination of the pronotum count: present. Sternaulus count: present. Sternaulus length: short and not reaching 3/4 of mesopleuron length at level of sternaulus. Sternaulus sculpture: smooth. Epicnemial carina count: complete. Epicnemium posterior margin shape: anterior discrimenal pit present; epicnemial carina curved. Transverse striations on the ventral metapleural area count: absent. Scutes on posterior region of mesoscutum and dorsal region of mesoscutellum convexity: flat. Ventral projection of the metapleural carina count: absent. Lateral propodeal carina count: present. Lateral propodeal carina shape: inverted “V” (left and right lateral propodeal carinae are adjacent medially at their intersection with antecostal sulcus of the first abdominal tergum). Mesopostscutellum count: absent (scutellum flat). Anteromedian projection of the metanoto–propodeo–metapec-to–mesopectal complex count: absent. Paired blue iridescent ovoid patches on the syntergite count: absent. Shortest width of petiole neck vs. syntergal translucent patch maximum width: 0.67. Syntergal translucent patch maximum width vs. minimum width: 2.25. Syntergal translucent patch maximum width orientation: anterolaterally.

Distribution. Nearctic.

Material Examined. Lectotype male: CANADA: PSUC _ FEM 148467 ( ULQC).

Figures

FIGURE 45. Conostigmus rufoniger (Provancher, 1888) male holotype (PSUC_FEM 148467). A. Lateral view. B. Dorsal view.