Gonatocerus morrilli ( Howard, 1908 )

Triapitsyn, Serguei V., 2006, A key to the Mymaridae (Hymenoptera) egg parasitoids of proconiine sharpshooters (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) in the Nearctic region, with description of two new species of Gonatocerus, Zootaxa 1203, pp. 1-38 : 12-15

Gonatocerus morrilli ( Howard, 1908)

( Figs 8 , 9 )

Cosmocomoidea morrilli Howard 1908: 69 .

Gonatocerus morrilli (Howard) : Huber 1988: 51 –53 (subsequent references, redescription, diagnosis, distribution, host associations); Triapitsyn et al. 1998: 241–243; Triapitsyn, Bezark and Morgan 2002: 39 –40 (distribution in Mexico, host associations); de León 2004b: 318 –320 (molecular distinction between geographic populations); de León 2004c: 322 –324 (molecular distinction between geographic populations); de León et al. 2005: 302–305 (molecular distinction between cryptic species); Hoddle and Stouthamer, 2005: 338 –340 (molecular and morphological distinction between similar species).

Type locality

Orlando, Orange Co., Florida, USA.

Material examined

MEXICO. BAJA CALIFORNIA SUR, Las Barracas, ca. 30 km E of Santiago, 27°28’20’’N, 109°27’10’’W: 30.iv–14.v.1985, P. DeBach [3 females, UCRC]; 11–26.iv.1986, P. DeBach [2 females, UCRC]. MORELOS, Tlayacapan, 29.x.1982, J.T. Huber [1 female, UCRC]. NUEVO LEÓN: Municipio Allende, Raíces, Río Ramos, 9.vii.1983, A. González­Hernández, G. Gordh [5 females, UCRC]. Municipio El Carmen: El Carmen, 10.vii.1983, A. González­Hernández [6 females, 1 male, UCRC]; Hacienda Barnabe Villarreal, 10.viii.1983, M.A. Rodríguez­Pérez [1 male, UCRC]. SINALOA, 12 mi. N of Mazatlán, 24.x.1982, J.T. Huber [1 female, UCRC]. TAMAULIPAS: Gómez Farías, 23°02’56’’N, 99°09’24’’W, 13–15.iii.2003, S.V. Triapitsyn, E.Ya. Shouvakhina, S.N. Myartseva (ex.? Homalodisca sp. or? Oncometopia sp. on orange leaves) [1 female, 2 males, UCRC]. Llera de Canales, 23°19.023’N, 99°01.510’’W: 7.iii.2005 (emerged 22.iii. 2005 in UCR quarantine), L. Pilkington (ex. Oncometopia sp. eggs on orange leaf) [1 female, UCRC]; 26.iii.2005 (emerged 29–30.iii. 2005 in UCR quarantine), S.N. Myartseva, S.V. Triapitsyn (ex. Oncometopia sp. eggs on hibiscus leaf) [1 female, UCRC]. Municipio Hidalgo, near Ejido Benito Juárez, 24°01’20’’N, 99°16’08’’W, Hotel Hacienda Santa Engracia, 12–14.iii.2003, S.V. Triapitsyn, E.Ya. Shouvakhina, S.N. Myartseva (ex.? Homalodisca sp. or? Oncometopia sp. on citrus leaf) [1 female, UCRC]. Ca. 5 km N of Valle Hermoso, 10.iii.2000, S.V. Triapitsyn (on hibiscus) [1 female, UCRC]. VERACRUZ, 85 km S of Veracruz, 31.vii.1984, G. Gordh [1 female, UCRC]. USA. ARIZONA, Cochise Co., Texas Canyon Rd., 32°02’20’’N, 110°05’40’’W, 11.xii.2001, A. Owen [1 female, UCRC]. CALIFORNIA, Riverside Co., Menifee Valley, 33°39’N, 117°13’W, 1800’ el.: 8–13.viii.1981, J.D. Pinto [1 female, UCRC]; 18–28.viii.1981, J.D. Pinto [2 females, UCRC]. FLORIDA: Gadsden Co., Quincy, 29.vi.2005, C. Tipping (from lab. colony on Oncometopia nigricans (Walker) eggs on bean leaves, emerged in UCR quarantine 8.vii.2005) [5 females, 33 males, UCRC]; Jefferson Co., Monticello: 2.vii.1997, S.V. Triapitsyn (on grapevine) [1 female, UCRC]; 24–25.vii.2000, V.V. Berezovskiy, S.V. Triapitsyn [2 females, UCRC]; 25.vii.2000, S.V. Triapitsyn (emerged in UCR quarantine 2–4.viii.2000 from an egg mass of H. coagulata ; adult glassy­winged sharpshooters sleeved on crape myrtle 18.vii.2000 by R. López, then sleeve removed and host eggs exposed 21.vii.2000) [2 females, UCRC]. Location not indicated, 31.viii.1952, S. Flanders [1 female, UCRC]. LOUISIANA, Orleans Parish, New Orleans, Michoud, 4.vii.1934, H.L. Dozier [2 females, 1 male, USNM]. NORTH CAROLINA, Carteret Co., Morehead City, 20–27.viii.2000, M. Wuenschel [1 female, UCRC]. TEXAS. Hidalgo Co: Elsa, 14.iv.2000, W.C. Warfield (emerged 24.iv. 2000 in UCR quarantine ex. H. coagulata eggs in Sophora sp. leaves) [4 females, 1 male, UCRC]. Weslaco: 12.iii.2001, W.C. Warfield (emerged 14.iii. 2001 in UCR quarantine ex. H. coagulata eggs in Sophora secundiflora leaves) [2 females, UCRC]; 21.iii.2005, J.H. de León et al. (from lab. colony on H. coagulata eggs) [3 females, 2 males, UCRC].

Diagnosis

Very similar to G. walkerjonesi sp. n. described below. It differs by the parallel submedial carinae on the propodeum, with a narrower gap between them ( Fig. 8 ). The petiole is generally relatively longer in G. morrilli (usually at least 1.5x as long as wide) than in G. walkerjonesi (usually about as long as wide). Males have a relatively shorter apodeme of the genital sternite, which is almost as long as the aedeagal apodemes ( Fig. 9 ). This species belongs to a complex of similarly looking species within the morrilli subgroup of Gonatocerus , all of which have a mostly yellow­orange body and F5 and F6 of the female antenna white (F5 sometimes at least partially) (S. Triapitsyn in Hoddle and Stouthamer 2005). Using molecular methods, de León (2004b, 2004c) and de León et al. (2004, 2005) showed that the California (Orange and San Diego Counties) population of G. sp. near morrilli (i.e., G. walkerjonesi described in this communication) is significantly different genetically from the populations of G. morrilli from southern Texas and Florida. Specimens of G. morrilli from the Texas population are genetically identical to the specimens from Florida (de León et al. 2004), from where this species was originally described. They are also identical morphologically.

Distribution

Mexico and USA (Arizona [new record], California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina [new record], Texas). Populations from Texas and Tamaulipas ( Mexico) were supposedly introduced into California (Morgan et al. 2002; Triapitsyn, Bezark and Morgan 2002; Pilkington et al. 2005) although a later report (de León and Morgan 2005) indicated that it was the California native “California near morrilli species”) (i.e., G. walkerjonesi sp. n. described below) that actually had been released in California due to contamination of the cultures of the insectary­reared G. morrilli with this similarly looking species. Thus, the three females collected in Menifee Valley, Riverside Co., in 1981 seem to be the only specimens from California that at least morphologically can be tentatively identified as G. morrilli . Unfortunately, attempts to extract DNA from these old, drymounted specimens for sequencing failed (H. van Oosten, personal communication). The identity of the only other California native specimen, a female collected at UCR campus, in Riverside, in 1984 ( Huber 1988), cannot be verified because it could not be located in CNCI (J.T. Huber, personal communication).

Hosts

Homalodisca coagulata (Say) , H. liturata Ball , Oncometopia clarior (Walker) , O. nigricans (Walker) , O. sp. near nigricans (Walker) , and other Oncometopia spp., also likely including O. orbona (Fabricius) .

Figures

FIGURES 5 – 8. Gonatocerus spp. 5 – 7. G. m o rg a n i. 5. Forewing (female). 6. Antenna (male). 7. Genitalia (male). 8. Propodeum of G. morrilli (female).

FIGURES 9 – 13. Gonatocerus spp. 9. Genitalia of G. morrilli (male). 10 – 13. G. walkerjonesi. 10. Antenna (female). 11. Propodeum (female). 12. Forewing (female). 13. Antenna (male).