Jaliscoa vulgaris (Ashmead) Ashmead, 2013

Gibson, Gary A. P., 2013, Revision of the species of Jaliscoa Bouček within a review of the identity, relationships and membership of Jaliscoa, Catolaccus Thomson, Eurydinoteloides Girault, Lyrcus Walker and Trimeromicrus Gahan (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae), Zootaxa 3612 (1), pp. 1-85 : 49-51

Jaliscoa vulgaris (Ashmead) n. comb.

Figs 105–110

Catolaccus vulgaris Ashmead, 1894b: 164 . Lectotype (Ƥ, USNM, here designated). Lectotype labels: “ St. Vincent, W.I., H.H. Smith, 238” / “Cotype No. 2449 U.S. N.M.” / “ Catolaccus vulgaris Ash. Ƥ Type ” / “ LECTOTYPE, Catolaccus vulgaris Ashmead 1894 (Gibson, 2012) ”. Condition: entire; mounted left side on triangular card. Heterolaccus vulgaris ; Burks, 1954: 12.

Pteromalus vulgaris ; De Santis, 1979: 151.

Description (based on type specimens, lectotype measurements in parenthesis). FEMALE (habitus: Figs 106, 108 ). Similar to J. hunteri with following restrictions: body length about 2.4–3.1 (2.6) mm. Head with clypeus finely strigose and supraclypeal region finely, meshlike reticulate below toruli, but with smoother, coriaceous circular region dorsad clypeus; malar space about 0.35–(0.39)× eye height and about 0.58–(0.61)× width of eye ( Figs 105, 107 ). Scape and pedicel yellow. Fore wing ( Fig. 110 ) without or with 1 seta within costal cell ventroapically; disc setose beyond broad, oblique speculum extending to about apex of marginal vein, though setae shorter posterobasally toward medial fold; admarginal area with (10)–14 setae in double row at least behind base of marginal vein; smv: mv: pmv: stv = 3.8–(4.1): 2.7–(2.9): 1.8–(2.2): 1.0. Legs with tibiae uniformly yellowishwhite. Propodeum with median carina and at most rounded, transverse angulation across plical region, but without or with at most only very fine plical carina within nuchal furrow ( Fig. 109 : arrow) or posterior of anterolateral plical depression.

MALE. Body length about 1.4–2.0. Similar to female except gaster with large basal yellowish region and fore wing disc with longer, more conspicuous setae similar to male of J. hunteri ; costal cell with 2–4 ventroapical setae; 6–10 admarginal setae; malar space 0.31–0.37× eye height and 0.48–0.56× eye width; smv: mv: pmv: stv = 3.6–3.7: 2.4–2.5: 1.8–1.9: 1.0.

Type information. Ashmead (1894b: 164) stated that J. vulgaris was described from St. Vincent and “a common species... described from many specimens”. In addition to the lectotype designated herein ( Figs 105, 107–110 ), the USNM has another male with the same collection data except the number on the locality label is “207”. The USNM also has a male and female labelled “Leeward side, St. Vincent, W.I., H.H. Smith”. The female has the number “199”, whereas the male has the number “200” and is labelled “ Catolaccus vulgaris Ashm. 3 Type ”. All individuals are J. vulgaris in the present sense. The BMNH has another female labelled as for the lectotype except it has the number “207” and four other labels—“W. Indies 99-331 / Catolaccus vulgaris Ashm. Ƥ Type / Type / B.M. Type Hym. 5.689b”. Three other females and one male are labelled as the latter specimen except for the lack of a type label and one, which lacks its head, has the number “238”. Another male is labelled similarly except it has the number “239” and is from “Leeward side” of St. Vincent. At least four of the five specimens are C. vulgaris in the present sense. The female lacking a head with the number 238 is smaller than the others, has only a single row of 8 admarginal setae, 2 ventroapical setae in the costal cell, and the tibiae are quite distinctly darker mesally than basally or apically. The anterior margin of the metapleuron is uniformly curved and smooth, and the body is black and otherwise similar to Jaliscoa species. However, based on its fore wing setal pattern and leg colour, I suspect this female is a Eurydinoteloides . The BMNH has an additional 11 specimens, all labelled similarly as for the lectotype except only three have a number (207, 209, 210) on the locality label and all have the additional label “W. Indies 99-331”. Of these, two females and six males are an unidentified species of Neocatolaccus . One of the Neocatolaccus males has the label “ Catolaccus vulgaris Ashm. 3 Type ” and a yellow BMNH cotype label, whereas one female has the label “not Catolaccus vulgaris Ash. ’94, Zd. Bouček det. 1970”. Yet another female labelled as “ Catolaccus vulgaris Ashm. Ƥ Type ” is an unidentified species of Eurydinoteloides (quite distinctly metallic green with yellow tegula, without malar depression but with malar sulcus, bilobed clypeus, and evenly curved and smooth and shiny metapleuron). The remaining two specimens are male Eurydinoteloides . One of the males might be the opposite sex of the female, though it appears to have only a shallowly incurved clypeus, whereas the other is definitely a male of a second species (with malar depression and anterior margin of metapleuron angulate with slight sculpture). The BMNH has a further male with the label “W. Indies 99-331”, but collected from “Mount Gay est. (Leeward side), Grenada, W.I., H.H. Smith, 31”. The USNM has a similarly labelled female except for having the number “24” and lacking the “99-331” label. The BMNH male is a Eurydinoteloides , though a different species than the above male, whereas the USNM female is C. vulgaris in the present sense.

Of the specimens listed above, I do not consider the two from Grenada as part of the type series of C. vulgaris because the species was stated as described from St. Vincent. I do consider the other 20 specimens (in addition to the lectotype) as part of the type series and designate these as paralectotypes. All the specimens fit the general description given, including “species with scattered white hairs” and “legs honey-yellow or pallid; the coxae and femora, except tips, metallic”. Further, it is quite apparent from the original description that Ashmead (1894b) described the species from a mixed series. He stated that it is “variable in colour and size” and further described the colour as “variable from a bronze-green to blue-green or aeneous”. Individuals of J. vulgaris are dark and the description of metallic colour likely was more for the Eurydinoteloides and/or Neocatolaccus specimens. Further, although the male flagellum is stated as “much stouter than the scape and pedicel”, which fits the flagellum of J. vulgaris , the funiculars are also stated as “almost twice as long as thick”, which is not descriptive of J. vulgaris males. Males of J. vulgaris have all six funiculars quadrate or the first funicular slightly longer than wide (cf. Fig.

86). The former ratio best fits the males of Neocatolaccus , though none of the remaining males of the type series have the “first joint” of the funicle “twice as long as the pedicel”. Only the female Neocatolaccus have the first funicular segment approaching twice as long as the pedicel. Also anomalous is that the female flagellum is described as “6-jointed”, whereas females of both the Eurydinoteloides and Neocatolaccus considered as forming part of the type series have only five funicular segments. It is because the female is described as having six funiculars that I designated the lectotype in the present sense, even though the description does not fit exactly females or males of J. vulgaris in the present sense.

Material examined. NEOTROPICAL. ST. VINCENT. H.H. Smith (Lectotype and 4Ƥ and 33 paralectotypes as discussed under type information). GRENADA. Mount Gay Est., H.H. Smith, 24 (1Ƥ USNM).

Distribution. Map 4.

Biology. Unknown, but undoubtedly a parasitoid of Curculionidae based known host associates for J. hunteri .

Discussion. Jaliscoa vulgaris may be conspecific with J. hunteri and represent nothing more than a regional population with an unusually short malar space, as discussed under the latter species. However, because of implications synonymy would have on the biological literature I prefer to retain both names as valid until species limits can be tested throughout the range of the hunteri -complex using molecular techniques.

Figures

FIGURES 105 – 110. Jaliscoa vulgaris Ƥ. 105 and 106, Ƥ paratype (BMNH) (174): 105, head and antenna, frontolateral; 106, habitus, lateral. 107 – 110, Ƥ lectotype: 107, head, lateral; 108, habitus, dorsal; 109, propodeum, posterior [arrow points to plical carina within nuchal furrow]; 110, fore wing. No. in parenthesis = CNC 2011 photo no.

FIGURES 85 – 90. Jaliscoa hunteri. 85, Ƥ head and antenna, frontal (7); 86, 3 head and antennae, frontal (157); 87, Ƥ clypeus and mandibles, frontal (7); 88, Ƥ lower face, frontolateral (158); 89, Ƥ habitus, dorsal (9); 90, Ƥ pro- and mesonotum, dorsal (28). No. in parenthesis = CNC 2011 photo no.