Parapanteles sicpolus 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 : 38-40

publication ID	https://doi.org/ 10.11646/zootaxa.2084.1.1
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03BA4913-7145-FF8B-BDD1-F9D0FD44FCB4
treatment provided by	Felipe
scientific name	Parapanteles sicpolus Valerio and Whitfield
status	sp. nov.

Treatment

Parapanteles sicpolus Valerio and Whitfield , n. sp.

Figs. 4C View FIGURE 4 , 5B View FIGURE 5 , 10C View FIGURE 10 , 11A View FIGURE 11 , 13B View FIGURE 13

Female. Body length = 2.95–3.00 mm.

Body color: Palpi, fore and mid leg yellow as ovipositor, pleura and sterna of basal 1/3 of metasoma, trochantellus, hind femur basal tip, hind tibia basal 2/3; mandible light brownish yellow; hind trochanter brownish yellow as ovipositor sheaths, antennal flagellomeres, distal 1/3 of hind tibia, remainder of hind femur, remainder of metasoma (except basal 1/3 and first and second terga), fore and mid coxae, hind tarsomeres, tarsal claws; ocelli whitish yellow; compound eyes silver; remainder of body dark brown. Wings hyaline, forewing venation with light brown color except pterostigma and C+SC+R contrastingly darker than remainder of veins; hind wing with R1 and distal 1/3 of SC+R light brown, remainder of tubular veins transparent.

Head. Head height/width = 1.16–1.21; compound eye height/width = 1.55–1.60; intertentorial pit distance = 0.2 mm; tentorial pit distance/distance tentorial pit to compound eye = 2.28–2.67; width of face at dorsal clypeal edge = 0.35–0.38 mm; clypeus width/height = 2.57; vertex width/distance between anterior ocelli and edge of torulus = 2.43–2.53; length of first flagellomere = 0.25–0.27 mm; first flagellomere length/width = 3.33; length of first flagellomere/length of second flagellomere = 1.00–1.11; length of first flagellomere/ length of third flagellomere = 1.11–1.18; terminal flagellomere length = 0.14–0.15 mm; terminal flagellomere length/penultimate flagellomere length = 1.20–1.10; terminal flagellomere length/width = 2.00–2.20; malar space height/basal width of mandible = 1.25–1.67; ocell-ocular distance/lateral ocelli distance = 1.33–1.44. Clypeus and face with dense punctate sculpture except longitudinal mid area of face with less dense and triangular shaped elevated area, punctate sculpture becoming denser towards upper edge of face but becoming less defined and smaller; frons with nitid scrobal areas which are deeply impressed, becoming slightly narrow toward distal area but less deeply impressed also, lateral areas with confused fine punctate sculpture and distal and anterior vertex; remainder of vertex with dense punctate sculpture as gena and postgena at junction area with gena; remainder of postgena nitid as ocular ring.

Mesosoma. Mesosoma length = 1.13–1.18 mm; mesosoma length/width = 1.28–1.52; mesosoma height = 0.80–0.95 mm. Propleuron with punctate sculpture throughout, sculpture scattered distributed at anterior 1/2 and dense and less defined at distal 1/3; pronotum lateral area with anterior 1/2 with smooth and spaced scrobiculate sculpture, dorsal groove deeply impressed and essentially nitid, ventral groove with anterior 2/3 with confused shallow scrobiculate sculpture but remainder of ventral groove with smooth scrobiculate sculpture, dorsal edge distal 1/5 and upper 1/3 of distal edge with confused shallow fine punctate sculpture, remainder nitid; dorsal edge 1/5 and ventral edge 1/3 of distal edge height; mesonotum with dense punctate sculpture which became more bigger and less dense at area next to scutellar groove; scutellar groove with 6 to 8 costula, ranging in size and definition; scutellum with smooth punctate sculpture throughout, lateral area with narrow costulate sculpture which is more confused and less cristate at anterior area, distal area with smaller and wider costulate sculpture present; axilla through mesonotum with thick and well defined transversal ridges which reach mid length of axilla width, around anterior edge of lunulae with weak confused rugulose sculpture, remainder of axilla nitid; metanotum rectangular in shape and nitid, middistal area with a big costula divided in two by a weakly present ridge, distal edge nitid; axilla through metanotum with 2 to 4 transversal ridges; propodeum with posterior lateral areas with confused rugulose sculpture, areolar and anterior area covered by confused fine rugulose sculpture mixed with confused colliculate sculpture, the costulae posterior 1/2 is the only cristate and well defined carinae of the propodeum, remainder of carinae covered by sculpture; mesopleuron with anterior edge as ventral area punctate, sternaulus as a nitid longitudinal depression, dorsal anterior area with few confused and smooth scrobiculate sculpture but remainder of edge with small dense well defined scrobiculate sculpture, distal edge mainly nitid, remainder of mesopleuron nitid; metapleuron with anterior 2/3 nitid, medial pit present, distal 1/3 with confused rugose sculpture at around distal edge and punctate sculpture next to dorsal edge, dorsal edge with well defined scrobiculate sculpture, distal edge with few big thick and spaced transversal ridges.

Legs. Hind femur length = 0.82 mm; hind femur length/width = 3.30–4.20; hind tibia length/hind femur length = 0.82–0.84. Fore telotarsus with a set of four setae at ventral area and without any hooklike setae at externolateral area, not modified; fore telotarsus shorter than basitarsus in length; hind telotarsus normal and not modified.

Wings. Forewing length = 2.90–3.05 mm; 1RS length = 0.10 mm; 1CUa length/1CUb length =0.72–0.76; length RS+Ma = 0.45 mm; length M+CU = 0.95 mm; 1M length/ m-cu length = 2.25–2.40; pterostigma length/height = 1.18–1.25. Hind wing: 1M length = 0.48–0.49 mm; 1M length/2M length = 1.72–1.77; 1M length/M+CU length = 1.45–1.62; length r-m/length cu-a = 0.82–0.88; 1RSa length/2r-m = 4.33–4.75; 1A length = 0.22–0.28 mm.

Metasoma. First tergum basal width = 0.26–0.29 mm; first tergum length/distal width = 3.30; second tergum length/distal width = 1.00–1.11; third tergum length/distal width = 1.11–1.18; hypopygium length = 0.95–1.02 mm. First metasomal segment with areolate rugulose sculpture; second metasomal tergum with longitudinal lineate sculpture mixed with foveate sculpture, remainder of metasomal terga nitid; third to sixth terga with middistal area desclerotized and looking roughly semi-circular in shape in dorsal view; ovipositor almost as big as hind tibia length; ovipositor sheaths elongated in lateral view.

Variation. Some specimens with edge of scrobal area with fine punctate sculpture present.

Material examined. Holotype, female, “ Costa Rica, Guanacaste, ACG, Sector Pailas, Rincon , 20/I/1996, Col. R. Moraga; 96-SRNP-373.2” . Paratypes: seven females, (2) Costa Rica, Guanacaste, ACG, Sector Cacao, Sendero Arenales , 1080 m, 322861N 375817E, 22/viii/1997, Col. M. Pereira. Costa Rica, Guanacaste, ACG, Sector pailas, Rincón , 20/i/1996 , Col. R. Moraga; (3) Costa Rica, Guanacaste, ACG, Sector Cacao , Sendero Nayo , 1090 m, 322834N 375582E, 22/ii/2003, Col. F. Quesada ; Guanacaste, ACG, Sector Cacao, Estación Cacao , 1150 m, 323104N 375725E, 8/ix/2003, Col. P. Ramírez. Holotype and paratypes deposited at INBio .

Male. Similar to female.

Comments. This species shares with P. polus the unique feature of an elongate and thin ovipositor in combination with a long hypopygium; to sort out the species from P. polus see P. polus description.

Rearing records. Lonomia electra (Saturniidae) feeding on Hasseltia floribunda (Salicaceae) , Mosquitoxylum jamaicense (Anacardiaceae) and Billia hippocastatum (Sapindaceae) . Voucher numbers: 96- SRNP-373.1, 96-SRNP-373.2, 99-SRNP-1416, 99-SRNP-1418, 03-SRNP-3418, 03-SRNP-3416, 03-SRNP- 22531, and 03-3417. The following sex ratios were observed: 9/2 and 3/12.

Etymology. Gender, neutral. This species is named after its elongated ovipositor similar to that of P.polus n. sp.; “sic” in Greek means similar: sicpolus.