Parapanteles nephos Valerio & Whitfield, 2009

Valerio, A. A., Whitfield, J. B. & Janzen, D. H., 2009, Review of world Parapanteles Ashmead (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Microgastrinae), with description of fourteen new Neotropical species and the first description of the final instar larvae, Zootaxa 2084 (1), pp. 1-49 : 30-32

Parapanteles nephos Valerio & Whitfield , n. sp.

Figs. 3B , 6C, 6F

Female. Body length = 2.00– 2.07 mm.

Body color: Legs yellow (except for mid and hind tarsomeres, fore telotarsus, hind femur distal 1/5, hind tibia distal 3/4, hind coxae), ovipositor, hypopygium, scape and pedicel, palpi; eyes silver; ocellus light yellow; antenna light brown yellow as remainder of tarsomeres, tarsal claws, remainder of hind tibia and femur, and ovipositor sheaths; remainder of body reddish brown. Wings slightly infuscate; forewing with veins yellowish with pterostigma and C+SC+R slightly brighter in color; hind wing with veins yellowish.

Head. Head height/width = 1.18–1.23; compound eye height/width = 1.50–1.56; intertentorial pit distance = 0.15–0.16 mm; tentorial pit distance/distance tentorial pit to compound eye = 3.00–3.25; width of face at dorsal clypeal edge = 2.75–2.90 mm; clypeus width/height = 2; vertex width/distance between anterior ocelli and edge of torulus = 2.00–2.08; length of first flagellomere = 0.40 mm; first flagellomere length/width = 1.43–1.50; length of first flagellomere/length of second flagellomere = 1.00; length of first flagellomere/ length of third flagellomere = 1.00–1.07; terminal flagellomere length = 0.11–0.13 mm; terminal flagellomere length/penultimate flagellomere length = 1.43–1.50; terminal flagellomere length/width = 2.30–2.50; malar space height/basal width of mandible = 0.75–0.86; ocell-ocular distance/lateral ocelli distance = 1.25–1.28. Clypeus with fine punctulate sculpture, dorsal and ventral edge very flat; face with fine punctate sculpture but areas next to composed eyes with bigger and confused punctate sculpture, face medially with conspicuously raised triangular area; frons and vertex essentially nitid except for frons lateral area with few punctulate sculpture; temple posterior 1/2 with few big and confused punctate sculpture, remainder of gena with denser and smaller punctate sculpture and junction area with postgena except for ocular ring nitid as remainder of postgena.

Mesosoma. Mesosoma length = 0.80–0.84 mm; mesosoma length/width = 1.28; mesosoma height = 0.45–0.48 mm. Propleuron with few punctulate sculpture; pronotum lateral areas with anterior 1/3 nitid but well impressed and lateral grooves specially at union of dorsal and ventral groove, ventral groove with very fine and small confused punctate sculpture at posterior 1/4 of its length, remainder of propodeum nitid except for posterior edge of dorsal edge which is punctate, dorsal edge 1/5 and ventral edge 1/3 of posterior edge height; mesonotum with dense and small punctate sculpture which become bigger, less dense and more impressed towards scutellar groove, posterior 1/5 nitid; scutellar groove with 7 to 9 small and poorly defined costulae, medial costulae approximately 2 times as big as lateral ones; scutellum essentially nitid except for lateral edges with some fine punctate sculpture, lateral edges with 2 to 3 large and well defined costula of approximately same shape and size; axilla through mesonotum mainly nitid except for one long ridge across upper 1/3, remainder of anterior edge of lunulae with few short and smooth ridges; metanotum sub-triangular in shape, and nitid as middistal costula; axilla through metanotum mainly nitid, except anterior edge of lunulae with few short and smooth ridges; propodeum with transversal, anterior midlongitudinal and posterior part of spiracular area and areolar carina present and cristate, anterolateral areas with fine punctate sculpture at external 1/2 of it, remainder of propodeum nitid; mesopleuron with anterior edge punctate, dorsal edge with dense, small and well defined scrobiculate sculpture which becomes slightly bigger and less defined towards posterior edge, posterior edge nitid, sternaulus as an elongated impression, remainder of mesopleuron nitid; metapleuron with posterior edge with few big and spaced narrow ridges, dorsal edge with more dense and smaller transversal ridges, medial pit present and pleural suture, remainder nitid.

Legs. Hind femur length = 0.56–0.6 mm; hind femur length/width = 3.43–3.54; hind tibia length/hind femur length = 1.16–1.18. Fore telotarsus with one big and elongated hooklike setae at internolateral area of it, area below hooklike setae slightly concave, shorter in length than basitarsus; hind telotarsus with a set of elongated and conspicuous setae at internal lateral area of it.

Wings. Forewing length = 2.35–2.50 mm; 1RS length = 0.09–0.10 mm; 1CUa length/1CUb length = 0.68–0.75; length RS+Ma = 0.34–0.35 mm; length M+CU = 0.78–0.80 mm; 1M length/ m-cu length = 1.86–2.17; pterostigma length/height = 1.28–1.30. Hind wing: 1M length = 0.40–0.41 mm; 1M length/2M length = 1.65–1.77; 1M length/M+CU length = 2.00–2.06; length r-m/length cu-a = 0.92–1.00; 1RSa length/ 2r-m = 1.71; 1A length = 0.18 mm.

Metasoma. First tergum basal width = 0.23–0.45 mm; first tergum length/distal width = 2.00–2.17; second tergum length/distal width = 0.40–0.45; third tergum length/distal width = 0.48–0.52; hypopygium length = 0.41–0.44 mm. First metasomal tergum with lateral edges carinate for at least 1/2 of its length, tergum medial 1/3 of it and lateral areas of posterior 1/3 and distal 1/2 of anterior 1/3 with confused lineate as well a colliculate like sculpture, remainder of tergum nitid; second metasomal tergum nitid and remainder of terga, anterior edge slightly raised over remainder of tergum; ovipositor exposed and elongated in lateral shape, almost as long as hind tibial length; ovipositor sheaths with setose area for at least 1/2 of its length, setae long and scattered.

Material examined. Holotype, female, “ Perú, Pasco, San Juan de Cascazu, 31 km N.E. from Villa Rica , 10°35’S 75°07’W, j87-79, (Col.) N.L. Jacobson. ” Paratypes: one female and one male with same data as holotype. Material deposited at USNM .

Male. Similar to female.

Comments. According to N.L. Jacobson, 16 specimens were deposited at the USNM; however, the present description was based on only two females, one male and one cocoon mass because further material was not found at the USNM. Jacobson (1991) illustrated the cocoons mass and the wasp larvae spinning their cocoons on top of the host larvae. Jacobson also mentions that the specimens were collected during August and September of 1987 .

Rearing records. This species was reared by N. L. Jacobson from Carales astur (Cramer) ( Arctiidae : Arctiinae: Phaegopterini) feeding on Citrus sp. (Rutaceae) , voucher number j87-79 deposited at the USNM.

Etymology. Gender: neutral. This species is named after the peculiar shape of the cocoon aggregation, which looks like a cloud; the term “nephos” in Greek means cloud.

Figures

FIGURE 3. Propodeum of Parapanteles rooibos Valerio et al. (A); P. nephos n. sp. first metasomal tergum in dorsal view (B), and P. tlinea n. sp. transversal lineate sculpture on mesopleuron (arrow points at it) (C).

FIGURE 6. Parapanteles scotti n. sp. propodeum (A); P.aletiae (Riley) female genitalia (B) and first metasomal tergum in dorsal view (D); P. nephos n. sp. propodeum (C) and wings (F), and P. rooibos Valerioet al. female genitalia (E).