Oreiscelio cultrarius Talamas, 2009

Talamas, Elijah, Johnson, Norman, van Noort, Simon, Masner, Lubomir & Polaszek, Andrew, 2009, Revision of world species of the genus Oreiscelio Kieffer (Hymenoptera, Platygastroidea, Platygastridae), ZooKeys 6 (6), pp. 1-68 : 26-28

Oreiscelio cultrarius Talamas , sp. n.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:4B9BC738-A61B-4362-9864-C7CFEA57A185

urn:lsid:biosci.ohio-state.edu:osuc_concepts:225543

Figures 7 , 49-54 ; Morphbank 24

Description. General: Body length of female: 3-3.2 mm (n=5). Body color: head and mesosoma black; metasoma dark brown to black.

Antenna: Color of antennae in female: dark brown to black throughout, A1–A6 yellow; A7–A12 dark brown to black. Seta on pedicel of antenna in female: present, reaching past apex of A3.

Head: Color of setae on the head: white. Sculpture of dorsal frons between frontal carina and median ocellus: coarsely foveate. Preocellar pit in females: indicated by a small round depression, present as a distinct pit. Transverse rugae at vertex: present. Sculpture of posterior vertex: coarsely foveate. Sculpture of occipital rim: areolate. Interantennal process: with semiparallel carinae dorsally that do not extend laterally onto frons. Number of anteriorly projecting setae on anteclypeus: 6. Color of mandibles in female: yellow throughout with teeth brown, dark brown throughout. Mandibular teeth in female: teeth of equal size, ventral tooth larger, but less than 2 times as long as dorsal tooth. Sculpture of ventral gena anterior to genal carina: row of shallow areolae with reduced ridges between cells. Sculpture of ventral gena posterior to genal carina: coarsely and irregularly punctate. Shape of anteclypeus: striplike, straight to slightly convex.

Legs: Color of legs: coxae brown, legs otherwise yellow, coxae dark brown, femora light brown, tibiae and tarsi yellow.

Mesosoma: Sculpture of dorsal pronotum: areolate. Color of setae on the dorsal mesosoma: white. Sculpture of medial mesoscutum: areolate. Sculpture of lateral mesoscutum: same as medial mesoscutum with a subtle confusion of sculptural elements. Notaulus in female: absent. Parapsidal line: delimited. Sculpture of scutellum: areolate. Median furrow on scutellum: absent, present as a weak indentation. Posterior margin of scutellum: emarginate. Outer projection of the propodeum: present as distinct corner or posteriorly projecting spine. Posterior margin of propodeal shelf between inner and outer propodeal projections in female: concave. Sculpture of ventral pronotum: foveate reticulate, becoming smooth at anterolateral corner. Anterior pronotal pit: large. Pronotal cervical sulcus: well defined by contiguous punctures. Mesepimeral sulcus: indicated by dorsoventral line of foveae. Sculpture of femoral depression in female: smooth throughout, finely foveate throughout. Mesopleural carina: present as one or two carinae, weakly defined by fine ridges. Sculpture of ventral mesepisternum: foveate. Pilosity of metapleural triangle in female: present as many short fine white se-tae. Sculpture of ventral area of metapleuron: foveate reticulate, with slightly appressed ridges. Sculpture of dorsal propodeum (removed from use): with large cells medially.

Metasoma: Submarginal ridge on T1: percurrent, well-defined. Sublateral carina on T2: absent, present in anterior half. Sculpture of T2–T3: reticulate rugose. Sculpture of T4: longitudinally strigose. Sculpure of T5: longitudinally strigose. Shape of subapical T 6 in female in dorsal view: short, width along anterior margin at least three times the length. Longitudinal medial keel on S1: absent. Sculpture of medial S 2 in female: punctate reticulate. Sculpture of medial S 3 in female: effaced to smooth. Sculpture of medial S 4 in female: effaced to smooth. Sculpture of medial S 5 in female: effaced to smooth. Sculpture of lateral S 3 in female: foveolate, punctate crenulate. Sculpture of lateral S 4 in female: longitudinally strigose, punctate crenulate. Sculpture of lateral S 5 in female: reticulate rugose, longitudinally strigose. Sculpture of marginal depression of S 2 in female: mostly smooth, with scattered punctures or shallow rugulae. Sculpture of marginal depression of S 3 in female: mostly smooth, with scattered punctures or shallow rugulae. Sculpture of marginal depression of S 4 in female: mostly smooth with scattered punctures or shallow rugulae, rugulose. Sculpture of marginal depression of S 5 in female: rugulose, mostly smooth with scattered punctures. Apical spine on S 6 in female: extending beyond apex of T6 and visible in dorsal view.

Diagnosis. Oreiscelio cultrarius is similar to O. gryphus , O. majikununuensis , and O. coracinus , and it is likely to be one of the more diffi cult species to identify. The grooved pronotol cervical sulcus ( Fig. 7 ), large anterior pit of the pronotum ( Fig. 7 ), and lack of laterally divergent carinae above the interantennal process ( Fig. 53 ) serve well to separate this species from the others. Oreiscelio cultrarius has somewhat large spines on the metascutellum that are clearly separated from each other. This character is useful to confirm the identity of this species, but caution is urged given the variability present in this structure among other species of Oreiscelio .

Etymology. The epithet cultrarius meaning, “slayer of the sacrificial victim”, is a dramatic interpretation of the parasitoid life history.

Link to distribution map. 25

Material examined. Holotype female: TANZANIA: Dar es Salaam, University of Dar es Salaam, X–XI.1984, J. Middleton, OSUC 233760 (deposited in CNCI) 26 . Paratypes: TANZANIA: 17 females, OSUC 207757, 207764-207775, 233758, 234308-234310 ( CNCI).

Figures

Figures 7-Ι2.87 7, Oreiscelio cultrarius sp. n., pronotum, ventrolateral view, female (OSUC 234309). 8, Oreiscelio badius sp. n., pronotum, ventrolateral view, female (OSUC 171165); 9, Oreiscelio alluaudi (Risbec), pronotum, ventrolateral view, female (CASENT 2042983); 10, Oreiscelio naevus sp. n., pronotum, ventrolateral view, female (CASENT 2133408); 11, Oreiscelio coracinus sp. n., mandibles, ventral view, female (OSUC 234362); 12, Oreiscelio rostratus sp. n., mandibles, ventral view, female (CASENT 2043322). Scale bars in millimeters.

Figures 49-54.94 Oreiscelio cultrarius, sp. n. 49, Lateral habitus, female holotype (OSUC 233760); 50, Dorsal habitus, female (OSUC 233758); 51, Head and mesosoma, lateral view, female (OSUC 233758); 52, Head and mesosoma, dorsal view, female (OSUC 233758); 53, Head, anterior view, female (OSUC 234309); 54, T1, ventrolateral view, female (OSUC 234309). Scale bars in millimeters.