Baeoneurella maceki Popovici, Masner and Polaszek

Popovici, Ovidiu Alin, Masner, Lubomir & Polaszek, Andrew, 2019, A revision of the European species of Baeoneurella Dodd (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae), Journal of Natural History (J. Nat. Hist.) 52 (43 - 44), pp. 2745-2794 : 2775-2777

Baeoneurella maceki Popovici, Masner and Polaszek

Female

Size: 0.75 – 0.90 mm.

Colour ( Figures 10a,c ). Head and mesosoma dark brown to black; clava (A8 – A11) the same colour as rest of antenna ( Figure 10d ); legs brown; metasoma brown, slightly lighter than rest of body.

Head. Transverse in dorsal view, almost rectangular in lateral view; clypeus as long as wide; distal margin of clypeus: convex ( Figure 11b ); setation of clypeus: 4 or more setae; antennal rim not developed, not prominent ventrally laterad of interantennal process ( Figure 11b ); sculpture of antennal scrobe: absent; sculpture of frons medially: absent; ratio OOL/OD: OOL = OD; OOL/POL/LOL: 1:20:10; sculpture in interocellar area: absent; postgenal pit: closer to oral foramen than to occipital foramen ( Figure 11d ); shape of postgenal pit: elongated hole ( Figure 11d ); sculpture of temple: imbricate-coriaceous; sculpture of occiput: absent; sculpture of posterior vertex: imbricate-coriaceous; preoccipital furrow: a narrow longitudinal cleft, with sides slightly diverging medially and converging at the ends ( Figure 11c ); odontoid process: distinct.

Mesosoma (dorsal). Pronotum almost vertical, hardly visible in dorsal view ( Figure 11e ); dorsal pronotal area: distinct (width of dorsal pronotal area at least 0.8 times width of tegula); mesoscutal suprahumeral sulcus: not visible, obscured by sculpture; mesoscutal humeral sulcus: a simple line; anterior declivity of mesoscutum: almost vertical, distinct; mesoscutum (except the anterior declivity of mesoscutum): slightly convex; extent of sculpture on mesoscutum: entirely sculptured except for a small smooth and lustrous area along scutoscutellar sulcus; parascutal carina: narrow, slightly visible; scutoscutellar sulcus: short, present only on the lateral sides of transscutal articulation; axillar crescent: present; axillular carina: slightly pointed posteriorly; posterior mesoscutellar sulcus: distinct, crenulate; mesoscutellum flattened; pilosity of mesoscutellum: few, sparse setae; shape of mesoscutellum: strongly transverse; ratio width mesoscutellum/length mesoscutellum: more than 5.5 times as wide as long; width of mesoscutellum/width of metascutellum: at most 1.4; width of metascutellum/length of metascutellum: at least 8 times as wide as long.

Mesosoma (lateral). Pronotal cervical sulcus ( Figure 11f ): wide, superficial and not crenulate; sculpture of lateral pronotal area: coriaceous to imbricate-coriaceous in the upper half, smooth to lustrous in the lower half; pronotal suprahumeral sulcus: hardly visible; posterior pronotal sulcus: hardly visible, narrow; sculpture of speculum: some transverse striae; sculpture of upper mesepisternum below femoral depression: coriaceous; mesepimeral sulcus: incomplete; mesopleural carina: visible as an abrupt change in sculpture; metapleural carina: present; metapleural sulcus: present only posterior to metapleural pit; anteroventral extension of metapleuron: small, touching the mesocoxa.

Wings ( Figure 10f ). Fore wings: Lanceolate; colour of fore wings: slightly infuscated; colour of hind wings ( Figure 10f ): hyaline throughout; fore wing length: at least 7 times as long as wide; length of marginal fringe of fore wing/fore wing width: at least 1.6 times as long as fore wing width; fore wing width/hind wing width: at most 2.4 times as wide as hind wing width; length of marginal fringes of hind wing/hind wing width: at least 2.8 times as long as hind wing width.

Metasoma. About 2.5 times as long as wide; longitudinal striae on T1: present on the anterior ¾. T1: 2.6 times as long as wide; sculpture on T2: present only on the anterior half; type of T2 sculpture: longitudinal striae; T2: 6.2 times as long as T1 and 1.5 times as long as wide; T1 with 2 pairs of setae; T2 – T4 with 3 pairs of setae (1 paramedian and 2 lateral – placed at the limit between tergite and laterotergite) ( Figure 12d ).

Male ( Figure 10b )

Size: 0.7 – 0.9 mm; relatively similar to the female, differing from it mainly by the structure of the antenna: with 12 antennomere, without clava ( Figure 10e ).

Material examined

HOLOTYPE: 1♀ Bohemia, Celákovice , Lipovka Res. 8 – 16 June 1993, leg. Macek J. ( CNC) (with red label, stored in CNC).

PARATYPES (with yellow labels):

Czech Republic. 2♀, Bohemia, Celákovice, Lipovka Res . 2 – 6 June 1993, leg . Macek J . ( MT; CNC); 8♀ and 1♂, Bohemia, Celákovice, Lipovka Res . 8 – 16 June 1993, leg . Macek J . ( PT; CNC); 10♀, Bohemia, Celákovice, Lipovka Res . 16 – 24 June 1993, leg . Macek J . ( MT; CNC); 7♀, Bohemia, Celákovice, Lipovka Res ., 1 – 13 July 1993, leg . Macek J . ( MT; CNC); 1♀, Bohemia, Celákovice, Lipovka Res . 12 August – 7 September 1993, leg . Macek J . ( MT; CNC).

France. 1♀, Lorraine, Meuse, Woinville 55,300, edge of deciduous forest, 14 May – 3 June 2010, leg . Tripotin P . ( MT, OPPC); 1♀, Gers , 9 June 2010, leg . Elias de Bree ( NHML); 1♂, Saint-Pé-Saint-Simon, 12 June 2015, leg . Elias de Bree ( NHML) .

Hungary. 1♀, Fertő- Hanság , Nemzeti Park, 47.7002°N, 17.2005°E, 120 m alt ., 24 June 2010, leg . Noyes J . (screen sweeping; OPPC).

Romania. 4♀ and 5♂, Iaşi, ‘ Valea lui David ’ Natural Reservation , 47.18794°N, 27.46699°E, 22 June 2016, swamp, leg . Popovici O . (screen sweeping, OPPC); 3♀ and 1♂, Tulcea, Enisala , 44.88513°N, 28.84112°E, 3 m alt ., 4 July 2016, swamp, leg . Popovici O . (screen sweeping, OPPC); 1♀ and 3♂, Iaşi, Mirceşti , 47.08664°N, 26.88123°E, 191 m alt ., 25 July 2013, swamp near Siret River , leg . Popovici O . (screen sweeping, OPPC); 1♂, Constanţa, Agigea , 44.08656°N, 28.64157°E, 8 – 9 June 2008, 9 m alt . leg. Popovici O . ( YPT, OPPC); 1♀, Constanţa, Canaraua Fetei , 44.080229°N, 27.642727°E, 9 June 2008, 24 m alt ., leg. Popovici O. and Moglan I. (aspirator, OPPC).

Ukraine. 1♀, Mochary , 5km NE of Bogorodchany, 48.8475°N, 24.5908°E, 16 June – 4 July 2014, mixed forest, leg . Varga O . ( MT; OPPC).

Differential diagnosis

Size and habitus very close to B. phaeax , differing from it by the colour of the metasoma and pattern of mesoscutal sculpture. The sculpture of the mesoscutum and the colour of the body suggest the Australian species Baeoneurella cf. nigra , but the shape of the fore wings (lanceolate vs rounded apically), the development of the postmarginal vein, the structure of the antenna and the sculpture of T2 clearly separate these two species. The colour of the body in B. maceki suggests B. mirabilis , but the pattern of mesoscutal sculpture clearly separates these two species.

Distribution

Palaearctic species ( Figure 17d ).

Biology

Unknown, but seems to be close to B. phaeax , both of them being present in the same samples and being relatively close in size and habitus. The maximum flight period is June – July, but specimens can be found in samples even to the end of August. Specimens from France (Gers, and Lot-et-Garonne) were aspirated in fields infested with Ischnodemus sabuleti (Fallen) (Blissidae) (Elias de Bree pers. comm.).

Etymology

Named in honour of Czech hymenopterist Dr Jan Macek.

Figures

Figure 10. Baeoneurella maceki: (a) female, habitus; (b) male, habitus; (c) female, head and mesosoma, detail; (d) female, antenna; (e) male, antenna; (f) female, fore and hind wings.

Figure 11. Baeoneurella maceki (female, SEM): (a) head, ventrolaterally; (b) head, frontal view; (c) head, dorsal; (d) back of the head; (e) mesosoma, dorsal; (f) mesosoma, lateral.

Figure 12. Chaetotaxy of T1–T4 in: (a) Baeoneurella benefica; (b) Baeoneurella mirabilis; (c) Baeoneurella phaeax; (d) Baeoneurella maceki.

Figure 17. Distribution map: (a) Baeoneurella benefica; (b) Baeoneurella phaeax; (c) Baeoneurella mirabilis; (d) Baeoneurella maceki.