Opius taramegillae Wharton

Wharton, Robert & Norrbom, Allen L., 2013, New species and host records of New World, mostly Neotropical, opiine Braconidae (Hymenoptera) reared from flower-infesting, stem-galling, and stem-mining Tephritidae (Diptera), ZooKeys 349, pp. 11-72 : 59-60

Opius taramegillae Wharton sp. n. Figs 30, 32, 83-86

Type locality.

Mexico, Morelos, Parque Lago de Zempoala.

Type material.

Holotype. Female (UNAM), first label, first line: MEXICO: Morelos, Parque second line: Lag. de Zempoala, clear- third line: ing at entrance, 9-11. fourth line: VIII.1989, A.L.Norrbom Second label, first line: reared ex. stems second line: Barkleyanthus salici- third line: folius (H.B.K.) H. third line: Robins. & Brett. (89M1) fourth line: prob. ex. Paroxyna sp. Third label, first line: ALN second line: 34A.

Description.

Female. Eyes in dorsal view not bulging beyond temples; eye about 1.1-1.2 × longer than temple in dorsal view; 1.7 × longer than temple in lateral view. Vertex and frons densely setose. Face and frons smooth, polished. Clypeus somewhat crescentic, ventral margin strongly protruding in lateral view, without horn or spine-like protrusions, sharp, truncate in anterior view; labrum broadly exposed. Malar space slightly shorter than basal width of mandible, malar sulcus complete, deeply incised throughout. Mandible with dorsal margin not deflected, with distinct basal lobe ventrally, apical teeth not twisted. Occipital carina completely absent. Antenna with 26 flagellomeres; first flagellomere about 2.1-2.2 × longer than wide, 0.9 × length of second. Maxillary palp nearly as long as height of head. Pronotum dorsally narrow, with large pronope; laterally without vertical carina adjacent median vertical groove, groove narrow, discrete over dorsal 0.2, otherwise, broad, shallow, weakly indicated. Mesoscutum with deep, nearly vertical anterior declivity; notaulus and supramarginal carina completely absent; mesoscutum completely, uniformly densely covered with short, white, mostly decumbent setae; midpit narrowly elliptical, long, extending anteriorly more than half length of disc from posterior margin. Precoxal sulcus absent. Metapleuron unsculptured medially; median pit adjacent anterior margin and dorsal pit at posterior margin both relatively small, largely obscured by setae. Propodeal spiracle closer to anterior than posterior margin; propodeum densely setose and weakly punctate throughout, with some weakly rugulose sculpture adjacent posterior margin, otherwise unsculptured. Hind tibia without basal carina. Fore wing stigma wedge-shaped, discrete distally, r arising from basal 0.35; 3RSa 1.5 × longer than 2RS, 2nd submarginal cell strongly narrowing distally, 2r-m equal in length to 2Ma; 3RSb extending nearly to apex of wing; m-cu distinctly postfurcal; 2CUb arising distinctly below middle of distal margin of 1st subdiscal cell, 1st subdiscal cell closed apically; 1cu-a interstitial; distance between anal vein and ventral wing margin equal to about 1.5 × width of anal vein. Hind wing RS largely absent; m-cu present, extending nearly to wing margin as a posteriorly weakening crease. S1 short, barely visible in lateral view; T1 with laterope but without dorsope; dorsal carinae distinct basally on either side of deep basal depression, difficult to distinguish from surrounding strigose sculpture over posterior 0.6; T1 1.15 × longer than apical width; apex 2.0 × wider than base. T2 and following terga unsculptured. Base of ovipositor well-concealed, ovipositor (total length) very approximately 1.5 × longer than mesosoma; ovipositor sheath 0.9 × length of mesosoma. Color: Brown, T2+3 and tegula yellow-brown; clypeus, lower face and malar space adjacent clypeus, and mandible (except apical teeth) yellow; palps white, legs pale yellow, almost white; wings hyaline. Body length 2.5 mm; wing length 2.7 mm; mesosoma length 1.05 mm.

Diagnosis.

This species can be recognized by the combination of the complete absence of a notaulus, complete absence of an occipital carina, presence of a densely setose mesoscutum with long, narrow midpit, and presence of a basal lobe or tooth ventrally on the mandible. Opius taramegillae is most similar to the equally densely setose Opius cosa (Fischer), comb. n., but the coxae are distinctly darker in Opius cosa and the venation is somewhat different, most notably with the 1st subdiscal cell open apically in Opius cosa .

Biology.

The holotype was reared from stems of the asteracean Barkleyanthus salicifolius , the same host plant and plant part that yielded one of the reared series of Opius nympha . The probable fly host is a species of Campiglossa since two flies belonging to this genus were reared from the same sample of stems that produced the wasp. As noted above, Campiglossa is currently treated as a senior synonym of Paroxyna .

Etymology.

This species is named for Tara Megill, daughter of the senior author.

Remarks.

This species keys to Bracanastrepha (Bracanastrepha) in Fischer (1977) due to the complete loss of the occipital carina in combination with the distinct midpit on the mesoscutum. Wharton (1988, 1997a) placed Bracanastrepha s.s. as a synonym of Utetes , but also noted that several species placed in Bracanastrepha by Fischer (1977) did not share the tibial carination characteristic of the type species of both Utetes and Bracanastrepha . These remaining species are currently included in Opius s.l., as explained most recently by Wharton et al. (2012). Hence, both taramegillae and cosa are placed in Opius until this portion of the Opiinae can be more thoroughly revised. The classification presented in the key by Li et al. (2013) does not cover these New World groups.

Opius taramegillae and Opius cosa represent another distinctive species group within Opius s.l., most easily differentiated from all the others treated here by the complete absence of the occipital carina and the long, deep midpit of the mesoscutum. As in Opius nympha and Opius yoderi , the distal abscissa of fore wing CU arises posteriorad the middle of the 1st subdiscal cell, a common feature of opiines in general, but unusual among those opiines attacking stem and flower-infesting tephritids in the New World.

Although Opius taramegillae is known only from the holotype, the description seems warranted to highlight yet another distinctive group of tephritid parasitoids within the Opiinae . It will be useful to obtain additional reared material to verify Campiglossa as the normal host for this species and to develop a better understanding of host plant relationships.