Aximopsis masneri Gates, 2009

Gates, Michael, 2009, A new species of Aximopsis sensu lato Ashmead (Hymenoptera, Chalcidoidea, Eurytomidae) parasitic on Euglossa spp. (Hymenoptera, Apidae), ZooKeys 20 (20), pp. 165-174 : 167-172

Aximopsis masneri Gates , sp. n.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:70B87229-6C68-4C2A-84BD-35F9E78BACE7

Figs 1–16

Etymology. masneri (Latinized, noun) = genitive, singular, masculine, named in honor of Lubomír Masner for his boundless enthusiasm and years of dedication to “black gold.”

Female holotype. Body length 3.9 mm (2.7–4.2 mm; n=10). Color: Red-brown except for the following darker red-brown to black – head, flagellum apically, pronotum dorsally and ventrolaterally, procoxae basally, along epicnemial carina, femoral depression ventrally, ventrad wing bases, metapleuron, propodeum, petiole, Gt1–3, Gt4 dorsoposteriorly, Gt5–6, syntergum (Fig. 1); gold – antenna, tegula, femora, tibiae, venation; white – extreme tibial apices, tibial spurs, tarsomeres and wing veins.

Head 1.6× as broad as high (Fig. 2), clypeal region slightly elevated, triangular and lacking punctures, extending to intertorular space; ventral margin clypeus very shallowly bilobed (Fig. 3), even with margin of oral fossa; anterior tentorial pits small

Figures Ι–8. Aximopsis masneri , female. ΙΙ habitus 22 head, frontal 33 clypeus 44 antenna 55 mesosoma, lateral 66 mesosoma, anteroventral 77 propodeum 88 procoxa, rotated 90° clockwise.

but present; genal carina indistinct, gena with impunctate area; malar space 0.63× eye height; mandible tridentate, basal tooth smallest and separated from middle tooth by emargination; toruli positioned above lower ocular line; intertorular space sulcate and bearing two rows of hairs, pointed above. Scrobal depression carinate laterally, carina as slightly raised lobe in dorsal 1/4. Antenna with scape reaching ventral margin of anterior ocellus; ratio of scape (minus radicle):pedicel:anellus: F1:F2: F3:F4:F5:club as 30:8:2:17:12:12:13:10:28; pedicel chalice-shaped; F1 slightly narrowed basally; funicular segments with 2–3 irregular rows of longitudinal sensilla (Fig. 4) and evenly setose; clava apparently bisegmented (C2+C3 fused, former separation faintly indicated). Ratio of lateral ocellus:OOL:POL as 9:10:26. [Head posteriorly lacking postgenal lamina but postgenal grooves evidently ridged, slightly converging ventrally, extending to ½ length maxillary stipes; dorsal and lateral margins of lateral foraminal plate visible, convex; subforaminal plate absent; postgenal sulci narrow, superficial.] Mesosoma with umbilicate sculpture (Fig. 5), 2.0× as long as broad; midlobe of mesoscutum 1.14× as long as broad; scutellum 1.30× as long as broad; notauli complete, indicated as a row of punctae; axillar grooves with pit at mid length; lateral surface of prepectus triangular, narrowly rounded posteriorly, smooth, deep sublaterally; [subventral carinae of prepectus broad, ventral surface of prepectus with median tooth] (Fig. 6). Mesepimeron reticulate to finely striate ventrally, becoming striate dorsally and with indistinct punctae posteriorly, femoral depression finely striate mid-height. Mesepisternum anterior to femoral depression with umbilicate sculpture (Fig. 5), epicnemium imbricate, concave, defined by carinae laterally and ventrally, carina produced medially between procoxae a rounded lamina, forming depressions to receive procoxae (Fig. 6). Metapleuron and lateral areas of propodeum (Figs 5, 7) with umbilicate sculpture, propodeum broadly flattened medially, reticulate, bordered laterally and posteriorly by carinae, 2–3 setose, incomplete cells anterolaterally (Fig. 7), elliptical cell anterad nucha; spiracle about 1/3 its greatest diameter from metanotum. Procoxa imbricate on basal anterior surface, reticulate laterally, oblique carina at midlength defining a shelf for reception of lower head, with ovate setose cell laterally defined by oblique carina, remaining procoxa with setose punctae anteriorly (Fig. 8). Mesocoxa smooth, becoming imbricate apically. Metacoxa elongate-imbricate laterally and dorsally, with indistinct setose punctae along dorsolateral surface. Forewing with ratio of marginal vein:postmarginal vein:stigmal vein as 21:20:18 (Fig. 9). Metasoma smooth to microreticulate, Gt1 smooth with arcuate carina on anterior edge with associated longitudinal rugae, row of three setae present dorsolaterally (Fig. 10); remaining terga and syntergum effaced microreticulate (Fig. 11); [petiole 0.63× as long as broad in dorsal view, with projecting median carina dorsally and indistinctly carinate dorsolaterally (Fig. 12); two subventral carinae converge anteroventrally on petiole, forming triangular prong in lateral view;] measurements of gastral terga along midline as 15:20:20:55:15:20:13.

Male. Body length 2.4–2.9 mm (n=5). Color: as described for female, but with following black – pronotum (especially dorsally), mesopleuron, gaster (Fig. 13); brown – scape, pedicel, flagellum (yellowish ventrally) (Fig. 14). Sculpture as described for fe-

Figures 9–Ι6. Aximopsis masneri , female. 99 fore wing; Ι0 Ι0 metasoma, anterior; ΙΙΙΙ metasoma, lateral; Ι2 Ι2 petiole, lateral. Male: Ι3 Ι3 habitus; Ι4 Ι4 antenna; Ι5 Ι5 petiole, dorsal. Ι6 Ι6 dissected nest of Euglossa sp. with pupa of Aximopsis masneri inside.

male. Antenna with funicular segments (Fig. 14) minutely pedicellate, each with multiple rows of suberect setae and about 1.0× as long as width of segment; ratio of scape (minus radicle):pedicel:anellus:F1:F2:F3:F4:F5:club as 28:5:2:20:18:17:15:35; scape with ventral plaque unapparent. Gastral petiole in lateral view roughly cylindrical (Fig. 15), in dorsal view length about 1.50× as long as greatest width, subequal in length to metacoxa; evenly reticulate dorsally and ventrally, smoother laterally.

Variation. Most variation observed occurs in coloration. Th e clava may be abruptly darker than the funiculars, but sometimes darker brown coloration begins with funicular three or four. Th e pronotum sometimes much more red-brown than black, with this usually beginning laterally and continuing dorsolaterally; only occasionally is the entire pronotum black. Th e mesopleuron is completely black in one Aripo Valley paratype and all of the Aripo Valley paratypes have a darker brown flagellum. Some specimens have Gt1–3 appearing almost solid black or occasionally the entire gaster is a concolorous brownish.

Type material. Holotype ♀ ( USNM); PANAMÁ: Panamá: Riveras Río Capira, Capira Cabecera , 21.IV.1992, J. Coronado / Parasitando celdas de Euglossa .

Paratypes (52♀♀ 7 ♁♁) ( BMNH, CNC, MIUP, MZCR, USNM) , same data as holotype: [mounted 3♀♀ /pin on 7 pins] (21♀♀ MIUP) ; [mounted 2♀♀ 1 ♁/pin on two pins] (4♀♀ 2 ♁ MIUP) ; [3♀♀ /pin on 2 pins, date is 20.IV] (3♀♀ BMNH, 3♀♀ CNC) ; [3♁♁/pin on 1 pin date is 20.IV] ( USNM) ; [4♀♀ 1 ♁ /pin 20.IV] ( MZCR) ; [3♀♀ /pin 20.IV (2♀♀ now mounted, partially dissected, on separate pins)] ( USNM) ; [3♀♀ /pin 20.IV (with additional labels: Eurytomidae, Rileya sp.?, det. D. Quintero and Eurytoma sp., det. E. Grissell, 1994) ( USNM). PANAMÁ: Colon, Feb. 1973, nest Euglossa cybelia, R. L. Dressler (1♀ USNM). TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO: Aripo Valley, April 1965, Ex cells of Euglossa variabilis (3♀♀ /pin with FDB-7 label; 2♀♀ 1 ♁ /pin with FDB-4 label; 2♀♀ with FDB-6 label; 3♀♀ /pin with FDB-5 label) (8♀♀ 1 ♁ USNM, 2♀♀ BMNH).

Hosts. Euglossa sp., Euglossa cybelia Moure (1968) , Euglossa variabilis Friese (1899) (Fig. 16)

Discussion and biological information. The head with preorbital carinae, lower face punctate and without striae, procoxae with oblique shelflike carina, prepectus pitlike sublaterally, and mesepimeron striate indicate that Aximopsis masneri belongs to the nodularis species group as outlined in Lotfalizadeh et al. (2007). Aximopsis masneri may be separated from species of the nodularis species group by its majority red-brown coloration, and broadly flattened, reticulate median area of the propodeum. Other nodularis group species are nearly completely black and have a differently sculptured propodeum, usually coarsely punctate and/or with a narrow median channel.

Most reports detailing parasitoid Hymenoptera , specifically Chalcidoidea , known to parasitize Euglossini list certain taxa of Leucospidae (Bouček 1974; Cameron and Ramírez 2001), Torymidae ( Sakagami and Sturm 1965; Zucchi et al. 1969; Grissell 2007, Otero 2001), and Eulophidae ( Garófalo et al. 1998) . Roubik and Hanson (2004) reported that they reared Eurytoma sp. from nesting boxes of Euglossa hemichlora Cockerell (1917) in Panama. Gonzalez et al. (2007) reported rearing a gregarious eurytomid from the nests of Euglossa cybelia . Th e nominate member ( Aximopsis nodularis (Boheman)) of the nodularis group is known to attack a variety of Hymenoptera such as Apidae ( Ceratina sp., Heriades sp., Megachile sp., Osmia spp., Prosopis sp.), Cynipidae ( Cynips quercusfolii L. (1758)), Sphecidae ( Nitela spinolai Latreille 1809 , Pemphredon lethifer ( Shuckard 1837) , Psenulus schencki ( Tournier 1889) , Trypoxylon spp.), and Vespidae ( Symmorphus debilitatus ( Saussere 1856)) ( Noyes 2003) .

Acknowledgments

I thank Dr. Diomedes Quintero (G.B. Fairchild Invertebrates Museum, University of Panama), Michael Pogue (Systematic Entomology Laboratory [SEL], PSI, ARS, USDA) and David Smith (SEL, ret,) for their critical reviews and suggestions for this paper. Lynn Kimsey (University of California, Davis, CA, USA) confirmed the euglossine nest cell was that of Euglossa sp. Th anks also go to Scott Whittaker (SEM Lab Manager of the Scanning Electron Microscopy Lab, Smithsonian Institution, National Museum Natural History) for stub preparation and SEM access.