The New World ant parasitoid genus Orasema (Hymenoptera: Eucharitidae)
Author
Baker, Austin J.
Author
Heraty, John M.
text
Zootaxa
2020
2020-11-30
4888
1
1
84
journal article
9442
10.11646/zootaxa.4888.1.1
da69a4c8-2962-4d6d-9abf-627b77bb9116
1175-5326
4297699
574A35A5-A551-4A7E-B2BC-481D703B1BE7
Orasema polymyrmex
n. sp.
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:
70EBB361-3EF0-47A4-BCA8-E72003F53855
(
Fig. 15
)
Diagnosis.
Distinguished from other members of the
bakeri
group by the following combination of characters: male petiole short (PTL:PTW = 0.8–1.2), female mesoscutellum often with a medial depression that is differently colored (
Fig. 15F
), fore wing with marginal fringe, mesoscutal midlobe rarely with an indication of a depression (
Fig. 15F
), mesoscutal lateral lobes reticulate (
Fig. 15F
), and clypeal margin generally broadly rounded (
Fig. 15B
).
This species is most similar to
O. bakeri
and
O. dubitata
, but is distinguished by the short male petiole and scutellar depression.
Description. Female.
Length
2.3–3.4 mm
(
Fig. 15A
).
Color.
Head and mesosoma dark blue-green. Scape yellow; pedicel and anellus light brown. Maxilla and labium light brown. Tibiae yellow. Fore wing venation pale brown to white.
Head
(
Fig. 15B
). Head in frontal view subtriangular; HW:HH = 1.1–1.2; scrobal depression shallow, laterally rounded, reticulate; eyes bare, IOD:EH = 1.5–1.9; MS:EH = 0.7–1.0; supraclypeal area slightly broader than long, mostly reticulate, becoming smooth medially; epistomal sulcus narrow but shallow; anteclypeus distinct, broadly rounded. Palpal formula 3:2. Occiput with dorsal margin evenly rounded. Pedicel globose, as broad as F1. FL:HH = 0.9–1.1; F2L:F2W = 1.1–1.6, F2L:F3L = 1.1–1.6 (
Fig. 15D
).
Mesosoma
(
Fig. 15C, F
). ML:MH = 1.1– 1.3. Mesoscutal midlobe bare; lateral lobe reticulate; notauli shallow. Axilla reticulate, dorsally rounded, on roughly same plane as mesoscutellum; scutoscutellar sulcus broad, irregularly foveate, broadly separated from transscutal articulation; mesoscutellar disc as long as broad, reticulate, often with a median depression having a lighter color; frenal line present as a short smooth line; axillular sulcus indicated by a weak longitudinal carina; axillula reticulate to areolate-reticulate. Propodeal disc broadly rounded, without depression or carina, slightly rugose medially (
Fig. 15G
); callus reticulate, bare; callar nib absent. Propleuron convex. Postpectal carina weak. Upper and lower mesepimeron reticulate; transepimeral sulcus weakly impressed. Metepisternum laterally reticulate. HCL:HCW = 1.6–2.0; HFL:HFW = 4.2–5.3, evenly covered with short, dense setae. FWL:FWW = 2.3–2.8, FWL:ML = 2.0–2.3; fore wing with basal third bare, including speculum, wing disc with minute sparse setae; marginal fringe relatively long; submarginal vein and marginal vein with minute setae; stigmal vein about twice as long as broad, slightly angled toward wing apex; postmarginal vein longer than stigmal vein.
Metasoma.
Petiole broad, linear in profile, PTL:PTW = 0.6–1.5, PTL:HCL = 0.4–0.8, areolate-reticulate, lateral margin with longitudinal carina continuous with basal flange, ventral sulcus absent. Subapical carina present; second (dorsal) valvula with 8–10 annuli that are narrowly separated dorsally, the carinae coalescing.
Male.
Length 2.0–
2.5 mm
. HW:HH = 1.1–1.3; FL:HH = 1.1–1.4, F2L:F2W = 1.3–1.6 (
Fig. 15E
). Tibiae yellow. PTL:PTW = 0.8–2.7, PTL:HCL = 0.5–1.4.
Hosts.
Collected from a nest of
Pheidole
sp. in
Jalisco
and
Solenopsis
sp. in Neuvo Leon. In the
Jalisco
series of specimens, there is one damaged specimen of
Tetramorium
sp. pinned with
O. polymyrmex
(UCRCENT00416802); given that this would be the only instance of
Tetramorium
parasitism in
Orasema
, it seems unlikely that this is a true host and more likely that it was collected in the
Pheidole
nest as well.
Plant associates.
Swept from acacia-thorn scrub and oak-acacia grassland.
FIGURE 15
.
Orasema polymyrmex
. Holotype female (UCRCENT00311872):
A
, habitus, lateral;
B
, head, anterior;
C
, mesosoma, lateral;
D
, antenna;
F
, mesosoma, dorsal;
G
, propodeum, posterior. Paratype male (UCRCENT00416800):
E
, antenna.
Distribution
(
Fig. 11
).
El Salvador
: CU, LI;
Guatemala
: JA;
Honduras
: AT;
Mexico
: CM, CL, GR, HG, JA, MI, NL, OA, TM, VE. Collected April–August, November.
Material Examined.
Holotype
.
MEXICO
.
Oaxaca
:
5.0
Km NW Jct
135/195, 1783m,
17
°
19’8”N
,
96
°
55’39”W
,
20.vii.1987
, Heraty, oak-Acacia woodland [
♀
, deposited in UCRC: UCRCENT00311872]
.
Paratypes
.
MEXICO
.
Campeche
:
Cd. Del Carmen
,
18
°
39’11”N
,
91°
47’34”W
,
30.vii.1984
,
G. Gordh
[
1♀
, UCRC: UCRCENT00435193]
.
Colima
:
Manzanillo
,
19°05’18”N
,
104°18’31”W
,
31.vii.1965
,
H.E. Evans
[1?,
MCZ
: UCRCENT00322662].
4 mi.
W Chilpancingo
,
17
°
32’24”N
,
99
°
33’36”W
,
15.vii.1984
, J.B
Woolley
[
1♀
,
TAMU
: UCRCENT00243107].
4.5 mi
NW
El Ocotito
,
690m
,
17
°
17’7”N
,
99
°
34’1”W
,
7.vii.1987
,
Woolley
and
Zolnerowich
, 87/018 [
1♀
,
TAMU
: UCRCENT00243102]
.
Hidalgo
:
Guanajuato
,
2 mi
W Dolores
,
21
°
09’0”N
,
100
°
57’36”W
,
5.vii.1985
,
J. Woolley
and
G. Zolnerowich
, 85/026 [
1♀
,
TAMU
: UCRCENT00243105].
2mi.
W Dolores
,
21
°
09’0”N
,
100
°
57’36”W
,
5.vii.1985
,
J.Woolley
and
G. Zolnerowich
, 85/026 [
1♀
,
TAMU
: UCRCENT00243106].
Chapala
,
20°17’46”N
,
103°11’28”W
,
21.iv.1977
,
W.F. Barr
[
1♀
,
WFBM
: UCRCENT00403625]
.
Jalisco
:
Cocula
,
1348m
,
20
°
21’55”N
,
103
°
49’22”W
,
xi.1923
,
W.M.Mann
[8³
1♀
6?,
USNM
:UCRCENT00416796–810].
Plan de Barrancas
,
21°03’29”N
,
104°12’37”W
,
3.v.1953
,
R.C. Bechtel
&
E.I. Schlinger
[
1♀
,
EMEC
: UCRCENT00404885]
.
Michoacan
:
11 mi.
E Apatzingan
,
19
°
02’44”N
,
102
°
12’54”W
,
20.viii.1954
,
E.G. Linsley
,
J.W. MacSwain
&
R.F. Smith
[
2♀
, EMEC: UCRCENT00404877–78].
30 mi
S of
Neuva Italia
,
18
°
34’48”N
,
102
°
04’48”W
,
8.viii.1978
,
Plitt
&
Schaffner
[
1♀
, TAMU: UCRCENT00243222]
.
Nuevo Leon
:
Monterrey
,
540m
,
25
°
40’0”N
,
100
°
19’0”W
,
20.viii.1995
,
A. Gonzalez
,
Solenopsis
nest
[
2♀
,
UCRC
: UCRCENT00278213, UCRCENT00278215].
11 mi.
n.
Matias
Rome-ro,
17
°
01’48”N
,
95
°
01’48”W
,
6.vii.1971
,
Clark
,
Murray
,
Hart
,
Schaffner
[
1♀
, TAMU: UCRCENT00426201].
46.8 km
E Potchula
,
24m
,
15
°
49’12”N
,
96
°
03’45”W
,
13.vii.1987
, J.
Heraty
,
Acacia-thorn
scr. [
4♀
, UCRC: UCRCENT00311870, UCRCENT00311878–79, TAMU: UCRCENT00243103]
.
Oaxaca
:
Temascal
,
43m
,
18
°
14’28”N
,
96
°
24’9”W
,
30.vi.1964
, A.G.
Raske
[
6♀
, EMEC: UCRCENT00404876, UCRCENT00404879– 83]
.
Tamaulipas
:
Tampico
,
22
°
15’19”N
,
97
°
52’7”W
,
E. A. Shwarz
[
1♀
, USNM: UCRCENT00416811]
.
Veracruz
:
Coyame
,
Lake Catemaco
,
336m
,
18
°
23’45”N
,
95
°
04’13”W
,
14.vii.1971
,
Clark
,
Murray
,
Hart
,
Schaffner
[
2♀
, TAMU: UCRCENT00243098, UCRCENT00243045]. Nogales,
18
°
50’53”N
,
97
°
10’30”W
,
vii.1955
,
N.L.H. Kraus
[
1♀
, BPBM: UCRCENT00422379].
Paso de San Juan
,
19°12’8”N
,
96°19’26”W
,
24.iv.1953
,
R.C. Bechtel
&
E.I. Schlinger
[1?, EMEC: UCRCENT00404884].
Additional material examined.
EL SALVADOR
.
Cuscutlan
:
Colima
,
14
°
03’36”N
,
89
°
08’04”W
,
24.vi.1958
, L.J.
Bottimer
[
4♀
, USNM: UCRCENT00248629–32]
.
La Libertad
:
Quezaltpeque
,
13
°
49’53”N
,
89
°
16’49”W
,
21.vi.1961
, M.E.
Irwin
[
1♀
, UCDC: UCRCENT00243427];
500m
,
5.vii.1963
, D.Q.
Cavagnaro
& M.E.
Irwin
[
2♀
, 1³, CAS: UCRCENT00417321, UCRCENT00417329–30].
GUATEMALA
.
Jalapa
:
3 km
S.
Jalapa
,
1300m
,
14
°
36’00”N
,
89
°
58’48”W
,
12–13.ix.1987
,
Sharkey
[
1♀
, CNC: UCRCENT00505455].
HONDURAS
.
Atlántida
:
Lancetilla
,
Tela
,
15°43’00”N
,
87°27’00”W
,
31.viii.1995
, R.
Cave
,
MT
[
1♀
MZLU: UCRCENT00242600].
MEXICO
.
Guerrero
:
8 mi.
S.E.
Iguala
,
18°15’55”N
,
99°28’2”W
,
22.viii.1958
,
H.F. Howden
[
1♀
,
CNC
: UCRCENT00415449].
100 km
S. Zihuataneijo
,
17
°
10’12”N
,
100
°
43’48”W
,
6.viii.1984
, G.
Gordh
[2³,
UCRC
: UCRCENT00435201–02]
.
Etymology.
From Greek
poly
meaning “many” and
myrmex
meaning “ant” in reference to the multiple host ant genera implicated for this species.
Discussion.
There may be more cryptic species diversity within this taxon considering the range of host records. The males from
Guerrero
,
Mexico
(UCRCENT00435201–02) and
El Salvador
(UCRCENT00417321) have a significantly longer petiole (PTL:PTW = 2.6–2.7) than the males from
Jalisco
,
Mexico
(PTL:PTW = 0.8–1.2; UCRCENT00416799–800, UCRCENT00416804–07, UCRCENT00416809–10), which is a trait that tends not to vary this much in other species. Lacking molecular data for this clade, we feel that it is premature to recognize further species at this time.