Meteorus mirandae Aguirre & Shaw, 2014

Aguirre, Helmuth & Shaw, Scott R., 2014, Neotropical species of Meteorus Haliday (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Meteorinae) parasitizing Arctiinae (Lepidoptera: Noctuoidea: Erebidae), Zootaxa 3779 (3), pp. 353-367 : 361-365

Meteorus mirandae Aguirre & Shaw n. sp.

( Figs. 19–22 )

Diagnosis. Mandibles twisted; occipital carina incomplete; notauli distinctive; propodeum aerolate-rugose; hind coxa punctate and polished; tarsal claw with large lobe; vein m-cu of forewing posfurcal; ventral borders of first tergite joined completely along ½ of segment.

Body color. Antenna dark brown; annulus absent; head orange except area between ocelli black and a couple of longitudinal dark brown patches on the frons behind each scape; propleuron yellow; pronotum orange; mesonotum black except both a patch between mesonotal lobes and scutellum yellow; mesopleuron black; metapleuron yellowwhite; propodeum black dorsally and white posteriorly; prothoracic legs yellow except telotarsus brown. Mesothoracic legs with coxa black dorsally and yellow ventrally; trochanter and trochantellus brown; femur yellow; tibia basally yellow-white, medially light brown and apically yellow; tarsus with tarsomeres 1–4 brown, telotarsus dark brown. Metathoracic legs with coxa black dorsally and yellow-white ventrally, on the posterior edge both colors touch to each other along a sinuated line; trochanter and trochantellus black; femur basally black, medially brown, close to the apex light brown and a small dark brown ring around the apical border; tibia apically white, brown the rest; tarsus brown; T1 basally and medially white, apically the white area narrows and becomes flanked laterally by black patches; T2–T8 black dorsally, white-cream laterally; sterna white; wings hyaline.

Body length. 4.1 mm.

Head. Antenna with 29 flagellomeres; flagellar length/width ratios as follows: F1 = 3; F2 = 3; F3 = 2.8; F27 = 2; F28 = 2; F29 = 2.7; head 1.2 wider than high; occipital carina incomplete; ocelli ocular distance 1.6 x ocellar diameter; head height 1.6 x eye height; temples length 0.7 x eyes length in dorsal view; vertex in dorsal view descending vertically behind the lateral ocelli; frons smooth and polished; maximum face width 1.2 x minimum face width; face strigulate; minimum face width 1.2 x clypeus width; clypeus rugulose-strigulate; malar space length equal to mandible width basally; mandibles twisted.

Mesosoma. Pronotum in lateral view carinate on the dorsal and posterior borders; propleuron smooth and polished; notauli distinctive and rugose; mesonotal lobes well defined; central lobe of mesoscutum puncticulate; scutellar furrow with three carinae; mesopleuron puncticulate; sternaulus short, narrow and foveate; metapleuron punctate dorsally and foveate ventrally; propodeum aerolate-rugose; longitudinal and transversal carinae on propodeum absent; median depression on propodeum slightly present.

Legs. Hind coxa punctate and polished; tarsal claw with large lobe.

Wings. Wing length 4 mm; second submarginal cell of forewing not strongly narrowed anteriorly; length of vein r 0.6 x length of 3Rsa; length of vein 3RSa 0.9 x length of rm; length of vein m-cu of forewing postfurcal; length of vein 1M equal to length of cu-a; length of vein 1M equal to length of 1r-m.

Metasoma. Dorsope and laterope absent; ventral borders of first tergite joined completely along 1/2 of segment; first tergite smooth basally and medially, with convergent costae apically; ovipositor 1.9 x longer than first tergite; ovipositor thickened basally and straight.

Cocoon ( Fig. 24 ). Length 3.9 mm; width 1.7 mm; honey translucent; length of thread attached at the cocoon’s anterior end 11–24 mm, cocoon loosely enveloped by thread, anterior end rounded, emergence hole border neat, cap missed.

Female variation. Body length 3.7–4.1 mm; head 1.1–1.2 wider than high; maximum face width 1.1–1.2 x minimum face width; minimum face width 1.2–1.3 x clypeus width; wing length 3.9–4 mm; length of vein r 0.6– 0.8 x length of 3Rsa; length of vein 1M 1–1.5 x length of cu-a; length of vein 1M 0.8–1 x length of 1r-m.

Male variation. Mesopleuron black to dark brown; antenna with 29–30 flagellomeres; temples length 0.6–0.8 x eyes length in dorsal view; malar space length 1–1.3 x mandible width basally; ocelli ocular distance 1.3–1.4 x ocellar diameter; notauli rugose or rugose and carinate; T1 smooth basally, with convergent costae medially and apically.

Comments. Following the key published by Jones and Shaw (2012) Meteorus mirandae matches M. caritatis Jones , but can be separated by the complete occipital carina, strigate face (smooth in M. caritatis ) and short, narrow and foveate sternaulus ( M. caritatis lacks of sternaulus). Meteorus mirandae shares with M. oreo an incomplete occipital carina, twisted mandibles, distinctive notauli, punctate and polished hind coxa, and similar ovipositor relative length. However, M. mirandae is easy to separate from M. oreo by the characters provided in the key.

Holotype. Female (point mounted) ECUADOR, Napo Province, Yanayacu Biological Station, San Isidro Forest, S 00°35.9' W 77°53.4', 2163 m, collected 17 July 2009 as 3 th instar larva parasitoid of Saurita mosca ( Arctiinae : Ctenuchinae ) on Diplazium costale var robustum (Dryopteridaceae) , parasitoid pupated 20 July 2009, parasitoid emerged 6 August 2009, YY 40047 (rearing code). Deposited at UWIM

Paratypes. One female, ECUADOR, Napo Province, Yanayacu Biological Station, Las Palmas parte alta, S 00°35.9' W 77°53.4', 2163 m, collected 1 November 2005 as cocoon hanging from leaf of Araceae , adult wasp emerged 6 November 2005, YY 54420 (rearing code); 1 male, ECUADOR, Napo Province, Yanayacu Biological Station, S 00°35.9' W 77°53.4', 2163 m, Sendero stream trail, collected 26 January 2011 as 3 th instar larva parasitoid of Arctiinae on Chusquea scandens (Poaceae) , parasitoid pupated 24 February 2011, parasitoid emerged 11 March 2011, YY 29866 (rearing code). 1 male, ECUADOR, Napo Province, Yanayacu Biological Station, S 00°35.9' W 77°53.4', 2163 m, collected 10 June 2009 as 3 th instar larva parasitoid of Saurita mosca Dognin ( Arctiinae : Ctenuchinae ) on Chusquea scandens (Poaceae) , parasitoid pupated 16 June 2009, parasitoid emerged 15 July 2009, YY 39076 (rearing code). 1 male, ECUADOR, Napo Province, Yanayacu Biological Station, S 00°35.9' W 77°53.4', 2163 m, collected 28 February 2008 as 3 th instar larva parasitoid of Saurita mosca Dognin ( Arctiinae : Ctenuchinae ) on Chusquea scandens (Poaceae) , parasitoid pupated 24 March 2008, parasitoid emerged 15 April 2008, YY 9158 (rearing code).

Distribution. ECUADOR, Napo Province, Yanayacu Biological Station, High Andean Cloud Forest, 2163 m.

Biology ( Figs. 23 and 25 ). Parasitoid of 3 th instar larva of Saurita mosca ( Arctiinae : Ctenuchinae ) feeding on Diplazium costale var robustum (Dryopteridaceae) and Chusquea scandens (Poaceae) . At Las Palmas location cocoons of M. mirandae were found hanging on a leaf of Araceae . Based on the collecting, pupation and emergence dates, the minimum average larval development time is 16 days and the average time inside the cocoon is 21 days.

Etymology. This species is named after our enthusiastic entomologist colleague, Miranda Bryant Talluto, who is currently working on the taxonomy and ecology of Braconidae at the Ecuadorian cloud forest of Yanayacu.

Figures

FIGURES 19–22. M. mirandae n. sp. 19) Female, habitus lateral view, 20) male, lateral view, 21) male, mesonotum dorsal view, 22) male, head frontal view.

FIGURES 23–25. 23 and 25) S. mosca 3th instar larva, 24) cocoon close up.