Tanycarpa Foerster

Yao, Junli, Kula, Robert R., Wharton, Robert A. & Chen, Jiahua, 2015, Four new species of Tanycarpa (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Alysiinae) from the Palaearctic Region and new records of species from China, Zootaxa 3957 (2), pp. 169-187 : 170-171

Tanycarpa Foerster

Tanycarpa Foerster, 1862: 26 . Type species: Bassus gracilicornis Nees von Esenbeck, 1812: 206 (monobasic and original designation).

Acrobela Foerster, 1862: 266 . Type species: Acrobela carinata Foerster, 1862: 266 (monobasic and original designation). Wharton 2002: 99 (synonymy).

Epiclista Foerster, 1862: 264. Type species: Epiclista erythrogaster Foerster, 1862: 264 . Wharton 1986: 455 (synonymy).

Hypostropha Foerster, 1862: 264; Type species: Hypostropha amplipennis Foerster, 1862: 264 . Fischer 1971: 143 (synonymy).

Diagnosis. First flagellomere longer than second, most flagellomeres without long setae ( Figs 6 , 8 , 13 , 20 , 28 , 36 ); clypeus moderately small, barely protruding; anterior tentorial pits moderately small, never reaching eye border; maxillary palpus slender, longer than height of head; precoxal sulcus crenulate, weakly developed and linear to wide and strongly developed ( Figs 3 , 10 , 18 , 26 , 34 ); scutellar disc moderately convex, never with posterior spine; metanotum with midridge, never with tall flange or spine; propodeal spiracle minute and round, its diameter much shorter than distance between spiracle and anterior margin of propodeum; fore wing venation complete ( Figs 6 , 13 , 20 , 28 , 36 ); r arising before middle of elongate, often nearly linear stigma; 3RSa approximately equal in length to 2RS; 2nd submarginal cell small, strongly narrowed distally; 1st subdiscal cell closed distally; 2CUb arising near middle of distal margin of 1st subdiscal cell, never interstitial; 1m-cu postfurcal or interstitial; hind wing 1cu-a present, often weakly developed; 1r-m slightly shorter than 1M; M+CU longer than 1M; female metasoma not strongly laterally compressed; metasomal terga smooth beyond petiole, some species (i.e., T. areolata , T. concreta Chen and Wu , T. lineata , T. punctata , T. svarog Belokobylskij ) with 1 pair of grooves on basal portion of T2, and in T. dazhbog Belokobylskij basal 1/3–1/4 of T2 with sparse shallow striae; ovipositor sheath with fairly numerous, moderately long setae.

Distribution. Palaearctic, Australasian, Nearctic, Neotropical, Oriental ( Yu et al. 2012).

Biology. Detailed studies have been conducted on T. punctata , a parasitoid of Drosophila , but very little is known about other species in the genus. Vet and van Alphen (1985) compared the searching behaviour of females of 32 alysiine species. They noted that T. punctata used their antennae to locate Drosophila larvae in fermenting fruit, while T. bicolor employed vibrotaxis when searching for Drosophilidae larvae in decaying plant materials and mushrooms. Carton et al. (1986), Hardy and Godfray (1990), van Lenteren (1976), and Bakker (1979) have also provided biological data for T. punctata . Tanycarpa punctata is a solitary endoparasitoid that oviposits into host larvae but remains as an egg or first instar until the host forms a puparium at which time the wasp feeds rapidly, kills the host, and emerges as an adult from the host puparium. Males from a given cohort emerge first and are polygynous, whereas females only mate once. Mating takes place soon after the female emerges, and males have elaborate courtship behaviour. This species is synovigenic, with potential lifetime fecundity of about 300 eggs.

Remarks. As noted by Wharton (2002), Tanycarpa is essentially an Alysia with an elongate stigma, making it difficult to characterize Alysia as monophyletic with respect to Tanycarpa . The gradual transition from a thickened stigma to a completely linear one has occurred repeatedly within Alysiini and can be seen most easily in Tanycarpa , Pentapleura Foerster , and several series of species currently placed in Aphaereta Foerster , Asobara Foerster and Phaenocarpa Foerster.

Three of the species treated here (i.e., T. bicolor , T. gracilicornis , and T. mitis ) were previously recorded from China by Chen and Wu (1994), and T. chors is newly recorded for China.

There are three recognizable species groups within Tanycarpa ; they have not been tested for monophyly. The first species group is characterized by long grooves on T2. This group is referred to here as the punctata species group and includes the previously described species T. concreta , T. chors , T. perun Belokobylskij , T. punctata , and T. svarog . Tanycarpa lineata and T. areolata are also included in this group. Members of the other two species groups lack grooves on T2 and are characterized by differences in the shape of the fore wing stigma. Tanycarpa bicolor and T. rufinotata form the bicolor species group, which is based on the broad and relatively short stigma ( Fig. 6 ). See comments on these two species under the species treatment of T. bicolor below. All other Palaearctic species have a narrow pterostigma ( Figs 13 , 20 , 28 , 36 ); these are referred to here as the gracilicornis species group, which includes T. amplipennis (Foerster, 1862) , T. dazhbog , T. gymnonotum , T. gracilicornis , T. gladius Chen and Wu , T. mitis , T. scabrator Chen and Wu , T. simargla Belokobylskij , T. similis , T. stribog and T. volch Belokobylskij.

Tanycarpa perun is easily separated from other members of the punctata species group based on the grooves of T2 close to one another at the base; the wide T1 (see Belokobylskij 1998: plate 80, fig. 1), with T1L:T1AW=1.20; and the propodeum almost entirely sculptured. The other species in this group have the grooves widely separated at the base, and the T1L:T1AW ratio is between 1.40–2.30. Tanycarpa perun , T. punctata and T. svarog all lack an areola on the propodeum; T. concreta has an areola with irregular ridges, and the other three species: T. areolata , T. chors , and T. lineata , all have a setose areola. Tanycarpa concreta and T. punctata are putatively closely related based on similar brownish color and the short T1, but they differ in that T1L:T1AW is 1.70 for T. concreta and 1.40 for T. punctata , T1AW:T1BW is 1.50 for T. concreta and 1.90 for T. punctata ; the propodeum of T. concreta has an areola, while T. punctata lacks an areola. Tanycarpa svarog has two characters unique to the punctata species group, with T1 longitudinally rugose medially and the mesoscutal midpit small or absent. Diagnostic features for other members of this species group are noted in the species treatments below.

The gracilicornis species group is the largest such group in Tanycarpa . Tanycarpa amplipennis is the most distinctive member, with a number of unique features to the gracilicornis species group besides the longer and narrow pterostigma. Notably, the temple is densely covered with white setae apically, and the propodeum is entirely or almost entirely irregularly and densely rugose-granular. Tanycarpa scabrator is the only species from China in which the face has a medial vertical ridge. Tanycarpa volch and T. simargla are similar to one another in that the face lacks a medial ridge, and the frons is entirely densely pubescent. Tanycarpa dazhbog has the frons glabrous as do most of the species in Tanycarpa ; however, the base of T2 is with sparse, shallow striae which is unique for the genus but differs from other genera with deep, more distinct striae. Tanycarpa gladius is also very distinctive because the apical three flagellomeres are moniliform, and the mesoscutal midpit is absent. Diagnostic features for other members of this species group are noted in the species treatments below.

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 6. Tanycarpa bicolor (Nees von Esenbeck). 1. Head, dorsal view. 2. Head and mesoscutum, dorsal view. 3. Head and mesosoma, lateral view. 4. Metasoma, dorsal view. 5. Mesoscutum and metasoma, dorsal view. 6. Lateral habitus.

FIGURES 7 – 10. Tanycarpa spp. 7. Tanycarpa chors Belokobylskij. 8 – 10. Tanycarpa gymnonotum Ya o sp. n. 7. Propodeum and T 1, dorsal view. 8. Head and antenna, dorsal view. 9. Mandible and head, lateral view. 10. Mesosoma, lateral view.

FIGURES 11 – 14. Tanycarpa gymnonotum Ya o sp. n. 11. Mesosoma, dorsal view. 12. Propodeum, dorsal view. 13. Lateral habitus. 14. Metasoma, dorsal view.

FIGURES 19 – 22. Tanycarpa similis Yao sp. n. 19. Head, lateral view and mesosoma, dorsal view. 20. Lateral habitus. 21. Metasoma, dorsal view. 22. Metasoma, lateral view.

FIGURES 27 – 30. Tanycarpa areolata Yao sp. n. 27. Head and mesosoma, dorsal view. 28. Lateral habitus. 29. Mesosoma and metasoma, dorsal view. 30. Metasoma, lateral view.

FIGURES 31 – 36. Tanycarpa lineata Yao sp. n. 31. Head and mesoscutum, dorsal view. 32. Head, anterior view. 33. Mandible and mesosoma, lateral view. 34. Head and mesosoma, lateral view. 35. Mesosoma and T 1, dorsal view. 36. Lateral habitus.

FIGURES 15 – 18. Tanycarpa similis Yao sp. n. 15. Head, dorsal view. 16. Head, anterior view. 17. Head, lateral view and mesoscutum, dorsal view. 18. Mesosoma, lateral view.

FIGURES 23 – 26. Tanycarpa areolata Ya o sp. n. 23. Head and antenna, dorsal view. 24. Head, anterior view. 25. Head and mesoscutum, lateral view. 26. Head and mesosoma, lateral view.