Prasmodon eminens Nixon, 1965

Valerio, Alejandro A., Rodriguez, Josephine J., Whitfield, James B. & Janzen, Daniel H., 2005, Prasmodon zlotnicki, a new Neotropical species of the genus Prasmodon Nixon (Braconidae: Microgastrinae) from Costa Rica, with the first host records for the genus, Zootaxa 1016 (1), pp. 29-38 : 35

Prasmodon eminens Nixon ( Figs. 1C, 1D, 1G , 2D, 2H , 3 )

Rearing records. Specimens were reared from the following leaf­rolling and webbing caterpillars: Anarmodia nebulosalis ( Crambidae : Spilomelinae) feeding on Dendropanax arboreus (Araliaceae) ; Omiodes humeralis ( Pyraustinae : Crambidae ) feeding on Inga oerstediana (Fabaceae) ; Portentomorpha xanthialis ( Crambidae : Spilomelinae) feeding on Margaritaria nobilis (Euphorbiaceae) and Parastenia retractalis (Hampson) ( Crambidae : Spilomelinae) feeding on an unidentified plant.

Related voucher codes: 02­SRNP­21137, 02­SRNP­6643, 02­SRNP­6645, 03­SRNP­ 8915, 03­SRNP­10289, 03­SRNP­10965, 04­SRNP­541, 02­SRNP­29656, 04­SRNP­ 25140, 04­SRNP­25148, 04­SRNP­25149, 04­SRNP­25159, 04­SRNP­25160, 04­SRNP­ 25165, 04­SRNP­25164, 04­SRNP­25166 and 04­SRNP­25167. These specimens are preserved in ethanol and refrigerated in the laboratory of J.B. Whitfield, or pinned dry at the Illinois Natural History Survey.

Collection localities in Costa Rica. i) Guanacaste: Area de Conservación Guanacaste: Del Oro, Quebrada Romero, Lat. 11.00519, Long. —85.47398, 490 m , Col. R. Moraga ; Sector El Hacha, Finca Arraya, Lat. 11.01541, Long. —85.51125, 295 m, Col. D. Garcia. ii) Alajuela, Area de Conservación Guanacaste, Rincón Rain forest : Sendero Anonas, Lat. 10.90528, Long. —85.27882, 405 m, Col. J. Pérez ; San Lucas, Lat. 10.91847, Long. — 85.30338, 320 m, Col. J. Perez ; Rincón Rainforest, Sendero Juntas, Lat. 10.90661, Long. —85.28784, 400 m, Col. M. Carmona ; Sector San Cristóbal, Sendero Soterrey, Lat. 10.90014, Long. —85.38284, 495 m, Col. O. Espinoza. iii) Alajuela, Dos Ríos, San Gabriel, Finca San Gabriel , Lat. 10.87766, Long. —85.39343, 645 m, Col. G. Sihezar.

Widely distributed in rain forest in northern South America and Central America. This species shows some regional morphological variation, and might well represent a complex of sibling species.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Prasmodon zlotnicki n. sp. A: mesonotum. B: body in lateral view. E: ovipositor and ovipositor sheaths. F: dorsal view of body. H: hind wing and forewing. Prasmodon eminens Nixon. C: lateral view of body. D: mesonotum. G: dorsal view of body.

FIGURE 2. Prasmodon zlotnicki n. sp. A: mesonotum. B: first metasomal tergum. C: hind tarsal claw. E: ovipositor and ovipositor sheath. F: tip of ovipositor. G: propodeum. Prasmodon eminens Nixon. D: hind tarsal claw. H: propodeum.

FIGURE 3. White silk cocoon (16 mm in length) and the carcass of a crambid host (Omiodes humeralis) of Prasmodon eminens Nixon reared in the Area de Conservación Guanacaste (03­ SRNP­10289). Photograph taken by D.H. Janzen.