Parapanteles rarus Valerio and Whitfield

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 : 35-36

Parapanteles rarus Valerio and Whitfield , n. sp.

Figs 4I , 7F , 8B , 9B

Female. Body length = 1.83–2.65 mm.

Body color: Mandibles slightly yellowish brown and ventral edge of clypeus, fore and mid coxae, ovipositor; tegula yellow and palpi, fore leg (except tarsal claws), distal 1/3 of mid femur and remainder of leg, hind tibia anterior 1/2 and tibial spurs; remainder of body dark brown. Wings hyaline, forewing with pterostigma, C+SC+R, r, 2RS, (RS+M)b and m-cu light brown, remainder of veins yellowish in color; hind wing with veins whitish yellow.

Head. Head height/width = 1.16–1.22; compound eye height/width = 1.62–1.71; intertentorial pit distance = 0.15–0.18 mm; tentorial pit distance/distance tentorial pit to compound eye = 3.00–3.50; width of face at dorsal clypeal edge = 0.30–0.35 mm; clypeus width/height = 2.80–2.83; vertex width/distance between anterior ocelli and edge of torulus = 2.08–2.26; length of first flagellomere = 0.16–0.18 mm; first flagellomere length/width = 2.50–2.60; length of first flagellomere/length of second flagellomere = 0.93–1.08; length of first flagellomere/length of third flagellomere = 1.00–1.08; terminal flagellomere length = 0.11–0.12 mm; terminal flagellomere length/penultimate flagellomere length = 1.42–1.50; terminal flagellomere length/width = 2.00–2.25; malar space height/basal width of mandible = 0.75–0.86; ocell-ocular distance/lateral ocelli distance = 1.20–1.25. Clypeus with very sparse and inconspicuous punctate sculpture; face with very shallow and very poorly defined punctate sculpture throughout its length, areas around the compound eyes are more defined and cleaner, face keel present, well defined and short, face medial area with a protruding triangular area, area between tentorial pits almost projected forward; frons with scrobal areas nitid, lateral areas almost nitid anteriorly but posterior areas of it and frons distal area with few shallow and confused punctate sculpture, vertex almost completely nitid except for very fine punctate sculpture; temple with large, shallow and confused punctate sculpture as much of postgena at ventral 2/3 of face and gena; gena with ocular ring nitid and with malar space with contrastingly fewer and less defined and smaller punctate sculpture; remainder of postgena nitid.

Mesosoma. Mesosoma length = 0.8–1.05 mm; mesosoma length/width = 1.29–1.30; mesosoma height = 0.58–0.78 mm. Propleuron with scattered fine punctate sculpture throughout its length, posterior upper corner almost nitid; pronotum lateral area with 2/3 of its length with few, large and well defined costulate sculpture, lateral grooves short in length and with few well defined transversal ridges across its width, area between lateral grooves nitid, dorsal edge 1/4 and ventral edge 1/2 of posterior edge height, dorsal edge with distal area next to posterior edge with punctate sculpture; mesonotum with dense shallow punctate sculpture which becomes less dense but bigger and less defined towards the scutellar groove, reaching it; scutellar groove with seven to nine costulae which are not well defined, scutellar groove deeply impressed, mid costula up to 6 times as big as lateral ones; scutellum with confused punctate sculpture throughout its length, lateral areas with a dense set of narrow and well defined bridges except distal area with one big and nitid costula; axilla through mesonotum with narrow and dense transversal ridges across its width very densely present next to anterior edge of lunulae, but very few present at anterior 1/2 of its length, anterior lunulae edge well defined; metanotum subrectangular in shape and nitid, middistal area with one big costulae with two longitudinal and one transversal ridges; axilla thorough metanotum almost nitid except for two short and narrow transversal ridges at lateroexternal areas of it; propodeum with areola, midlongitudinal and areola present but very sinuate, area inside areola with sinuate longitudinal carinae, costula completely present and not sinuate, spiracular area essentially nitid except for very few carinae, anterolateral area with punctate sculpture except next to areolar carinae with few sinuate carinae, posterior lateral area with few smooth rugose sculpture mainly present next to anterior edge; mesopleuron with very poorly defined punctate sculpture at anterior 1/4 coriose, sternaulus as a nitid transversal depression, epicnemial furrow with well defined and big transversal ridges which are also present throughout anterior 1/2 of dorsal edge, remainder of dorsal edge with much smaller and less defined transversal ridges, posterior edge essentially nitid as remainder of mesopleuron; metapleuron with medial pit present and a nitid pleural suture, dorsal and posterior edge with few thick and short transversal ridges, area next to dorsal edge with confused punctate sculpture.

Legs. Hind femur length = 0.48–0.60 mm; hind femur length/width = 2.67–3.16; hind tibia length/hind femur length = 1.29–1.39. Fore telotarsus shorter than fore basitarsus; fore telotarsus normal in shape, not modified and with a set of thick setae at ventrodistal edge close to posterior edge; tarsal claws with a thick basal tooth; hind telotarsus normal in shape but with two thick setae at internolateral edge.

Wings. Forewing length = 2.2–2.75 mm; 1RS length = 0.1–0.12 mm; 1CUa length/1CUb length = 0.83–1.00; length RS+Ma = 0.32–0.38 mm; length M+CU = 0.66–0.88 mm; 1M length/ m-cu length = 2; pterostigma length/height = 1.22–1.50. Hind wing: 1M length = 0.35–0.40 mm; 1M length/2M length = 2.29–2.54; 1M length/M+CU length = 1.65–1.68; length r-m/length cu-a = 0.50–0.63; 1RSa length/2r-m = 1.14–1.6; 1A length = 0.20–0.40 mm.

Metasoma. First tergum basal width = 0.18–0.22 mm; first tergum length/distal width = 2.50–2.54; second tergum length/distal width = 0.35–0.54; third tergum length/distal width = 0.45–0.52; hypopygium length = 0.54–0.73 mm. First metasomal tergum very narrow posteriorly compared with anterior edge, anterior basal 1/ 5 with confused rugulose sculpture medially and at lateral area with few poorly defined lineate sculpture, distal 1/5 with few well defined punctate sculpture at lateral areas next to lateral edges, remainder of tergum nitid; second metasomal tergum with subtriangular in shape and nitid; remainder of tergum nitid; hypopygium not divided at posterior edge, without longitudinal pleas; ovipositor slightly curved, elongated and narrow, as long as 1.4 times the length of hind tibial length, distal section very narrow and acute distally; ovipositor sheaths very narrow and elongated with setation very sparse between them and present at posterior 1/3.

Variation. The following morphological and color variation was observed: face with mid area with more defined and bigger punctate sculpture than remainder of face, sometimes the punctate sculpture on the mesonotum becomes extremely shallow and almost absent next to the scutellar groove; sometimes fore femur with brownish yellow spot on basal half, antenna slightly more yellowish than mesosoma.

Material examined. Holotype, female, “ Costa Rica, Alajuela, San Carlos , 22/ix/1995, [Col.] M. Lourdes. ” Paratypes: 13 females and one male with same data as holotype .

Holotype and 11 paratypes deposited at INHS, remainder of material deposited at INBIo.

Comments. This is the only known species with the first metasomal tergumstrongly narrowing posteriorly, and a subtriangular shaped second metasomal tergum, resembling species of Glyptapanteles .

Rearing records. All material reared from an unidentified larvae feeding on Pseudobombax septenatum (Jack.) Dugand (Bombacaeae) .

Etymology. Gender, neutral. The present species is named after the rare morphological character set exhibited relative to the remainder of known Parapanteles species ; “rarus” is the Latinized version of the Spanish word “raro” which means scarce or odd.

Figures

FIGURE 4. Parapanteles masoni Austin & Dangerfield fore telotarsus (A) and pronotum in dorsal view (F); fore telotarsus structure of P. tessares n. sp. (B), P. sicpolus n. sp. (C), P. mariae n. sp. (D), P. scotti n. sp. (E), P. aletiae (Riley) (G), P. paradoxus (Muesebeck) (H), and P.rarus n. sp. (I). The arrows in these figures point to the different setae on the fore telotarsus.

FIGURE 7. Propodeum of Parapanteles lincolnii n. sp. (A), P. polus n. sp. (B), P. noae n. sp. (C), P.thrix n. sp. (D), P. paradoxus (Muesebeck) (E) and P. rarus n. sp. (F).

FIGURES 8. First metasomal tergum in dorsal view for Parapanteles thrix n. sp. (A), P. rarus n. sp. (B), P. scotti n. sp. (C), P. noae n. sp. (D), P.tessares n. sp. (E), and P.polus n. sp. (F).

FIGURE 9. Female genitalia of Parapanteles thrix n. sp. (A), P. rarus n. sp. (B), P. em n. sp. (C), P. paradoxus (Muesebeck) (D), P. continua n. sp. (E), and P. tessares n. sp. (F).