Ophirion lenkoi, Gudin, 2023

Gudin, Filipe Macedo, 2023, Annotated Catalog of Vespid Hosts (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) of Tachinidae (Diptera), with Description of a New Species of Ophirion Townsend from Brazil, Zoological Studies 62 (6), pp. 1-25 : 9-11

Ophirion lenkoi sp. nov. Gudin

( Fig. 1B, D, F ) urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:5F859590-3E87-4066-AC66-6FFBABE3197D

Material examined: Holotype ³: “ Brasil, SP, Nova Europa / Faz. Itaquerê, 23.xii.1964 / Lenko col., emergido de ninho/ de vespa Polybia scutellaris ” / “Holótipo” ( MZSP) . Holotype in good condition and not dissected.

Diagnosis: Ophirion lenkoi can be distinguished from other Ophirion species by having: pale golden pruinosity on head and dorsal surface of thorax and abdomen; abdomen yellowish at base and with brown dorsal vitta from base to apex, faint in syntergite 1+2, narrow in tergite 3 and covering the dorsal surface of tergites 4 and 5; antennal axis about two-thirds head height; eyes with sparse minute inconspicuous hairs; one very short anepimeral seta; and wings hyaline. A comprehensive comparison of the main diagnostic characters of Ophirion species is covered in the Remarks section below.

Description: Body length: 6.30 mm. Wing length: 5.96 mm.

Coloration: Head with pale golden pruinosity, except face, gena and postgena, with silver pruinosity. Frontal vitta and lunule dark brown. Pedicel and arista yellow, with first flagellomere brown. Clypeus, palpi and labella yellow. Occiput dark brown, covered with silver pruinosity. Thorax with pale golden pruinosity, except lower region of pleural sclerites, with faint silvery pruinosity. Scutum with four weak, brown vittae; outer vittae interrupted by transverse suture and not reaching last postsutural dorsocentral seta, and inner vittae continuous and extending to first postsutural acrostichal seta. Lateral surface of thorax and spiracles yellow. Scutellum and subscutellum yellow, entirely covered with pale golden pruinosity. Wing hyaline. Tegula, basicosta and veins yellow. Halter light yellow. Calypteres yellowish, with yellow border. Legs yellow, with silver pruinosity. Tarsal claws brown. Pulvilli light brown. Abdomen with faint silvery pruinosity. Syntergite 1+2, tergite 3 and lateral surface of tergite 4 yellow. Tergites with brown vitta from base to apex, faint in syntergite 1+2, narrow in tergite 3 and covering the dorsal surface of tergites 4 and 5.

Head ( Fig. 1B ): Ratio of head height/ head width in frontal view 0.86. Ratio of frontal vitta width/ fronto-orbital plate width in dorsal view 0.92. Ratio of vertex width/ head width in dorsal view 0.26. Ratio of first flagellomere length/ pedicel length 2.83. Ratio genal height/ head height in lateral view 0.17. Dichoptic. Eye with sparse minute inconspicuous hairs. Antennal axis about two-thirds head height. Antenna inserted at middle level of eye, almost reaching lower facial margin. Scape short, about one-quarter length of pedicel. Pedicel setose dorsally. First flagellomere subrectangular, with outer surface bearing one minute sensory pit closer to posterior margin. Arista long, pubescent and thickened at base, arising in basal dorsal surface of first flagellomere. Three inclinate and four reclinate frontal setae from level of pedicel to level of upper quarter of eye, with upper setae longer and stronger than lower ones. Proclinate orbital setae absent. Two reclinate orbital setae, continuous with frontal setae, with posterior setae about three-quarters length of anterior seta. Ocellar triangle setulose, without ocellar setae; all ocelli with similar size. Two short postocellar setae. Inner vertical setae reclinate, subparallel. Outer vertical setae weak, about one-fifth length of inner vertical. Fronto-orbital plate with fine setulae. Parafacial bare, about two-thirds width of fronto-orbital plate. Facial ridge bare, except on lowest quarter, with three or four weak supravibrissal setae. Vibrissa strong and crossed, arising at level of lower facial margin, with two or three subvibrissal setae. Face flat and not visible in lateral view, with facial carina. Gena with four setae on ventral margin. Genal dilation and postgena setulose, with patches of long, white setulae. Clypeus U-shaped. Palpi clavate and setose. Prementum short, setulose. Labella padlike.

T h o r a x ( Fig. 1D, F ): P r o s t e r n u m s e t o s e. Proepisternum bare. Two proepimeral setae, strong, upcurved, with setulae at base. Anterior spiracle with both lappets well-developed, covering almost entire opening. Posterior spiracle with posterior lappet shaped as an operculum. Three postpronotal setae, arranged as an arc. Scutum with 3+? [postsutural area damaged by pin] acrostichal setae; 2+2 dorsocentral setae; 2+3 intra-alar setae; 1+2 supra-alar setae, with first postsutural seta absent, and second postsutural seta strong and subequal to median postalar seta. One well-developed intrapostalar seta. Two notopleural setae. Three postalar setae, with median seta stronger than other two. Two katepisternal setae. Anepisternum anterodorsal corner with one seta, about half length of notopleural setae; posterior margin with row of six setae. One short anepimeral seta, with patch of setulae at base. Six meral setae. Anatergite bare. Scutellum with one pair of basal setae, convergent and long, about two-thirds length of subapical setae; one pair of lateral setae, subparallel and about two-thirds length of basal setae; one pair of subapical setae, divergent; apical setae absent; one pair of discal setae arising at level of subapical setae. Wing: Vein C ending right after R 4+5, just before wing apex, with strong costal spine. Vein R 4+5 setose only at base. Bend of M obtuse, with distal part straight to wing margin. Cell r 4+5 almost closed, reaching wing margin close to vein R 4+5. Legs: Fore coxa with two longitudinal rows of setae on anterior surface. Fore femur with dorsal, posterodorsal and posteroventral rows of setae from base to apex. Fore tibia with one strong apical seta on dorsal surface, one strong median seta and one apical seta on posterior surface. Mid coxa with row of setae on anterior surface. Mid femur with one median seta on anterior surface and one basal seta on posteroventral surface. Mid tibia with one strong median seta and one apical seta on anterodorsal surface, one apical seta on anteroventral surface, two median setae on posterior surface, one median seta and one apical seta on posteroventral surface. Hind coxa with row of setae on apical and outer lateral margin. Hind femur with anterodorsal and anteroventral rows of setae from base to apex, and one incomplete row of posteroventral setae. Hind tibia with anterodorsal row of setae from base to apex, with median seta strong, one strong apical seta on dorsal surface, two strong median setae and one apical seta on anteroventral surface, two strong median setae and one apical seta on posterodorsal surface. Basal tarsomeres long, subequal to combined length of remaining tarsomeres. Tarsal claws long, almost as long as last tarsomeres.

Abdomen ( Fig. 1D, F ): Subtriangular, tapering towards posterior end. Syntergite 1+2 with mid-dorsal depression extending half way to hind margin. Syntergite 1+2 and tergite 3 with one pair of median marginal setae and one pair of lateral marginal setae. Tergite 4 with row of marginal setae. Tergite 5 with row of marginal setae. Sexual patches of setae absent. Sternites completely overlapped by tergites.

Etymology: This species is named for the Polish entomologist Karol Lenko, former curator of Hymenoptera of MZSP who collected the specimen.

Distribution: Brazil (São Paulo).

Remarks: The chaetotaxy of species of Ophirion show little variation, which may cause confusion in species identification. The main informative characters are variations of pruinosity color on each tagma, presence and color of abdominal dorsal vitta, presence and shape of infuscation on wings, presence of eye hairs, length of antennal axis and presence of anepimeral setae. Ophirion flava ( Townsend, 1919) , O. mirabile ( Townsend, 1911, adult description provided in Townsend (1912)) and O. punctigerum ( Townsend, 1927) also have eyes apparently bare, with sparse minute inconspicuous hairs ( Fig. 2F ); O. flava and O. mirabile , however, have abdomen entirely yellow or brownish-yellow, without a marked dorsal vitta and wings faintly infuscated on distal half of the costal margin, and O. punctigerum has abdomen with dark brown vitta covering only the posterior margin of tergite 4, wings strongly infuscated distally, legs dark brown and antennal axis about half head height ( Fig. 2B, D ). Ophirion atlixcoensis ( Reinhard, 1975) , O. brasiliensis ( Townsend, 1927) , O. polybia ( Curran, 1937) and O. tersum ( Townsend, 1919) have eyes conspicuously haired and abdomen with marked dark brown vitta ( Fig. 3 ), except O. brasiliensis , with abdomen without vitta and with silver pruinose bands ( Fig. 2A, C ). Characters of male and female terminalia of Ophirion species remain unknown.

Ophirion lenkoi is not the only species in the genus parasitoid of Polybia , as O. polybia ( Fig. 3 ) was reared from P. (M.) occidentalis in Trinidad and Tobago and other record for Ophirion is listed in the catalog above. Therefore, Ophirion species appear to be specialized parasitoids of vespid larvae. Ophirion brasiliensis and O. punctigerum were also collected in the Atlantic Forest of São Paulo, just a few kilometers away from the municipality of Nova Europa, but they are easily separated from O. lenkoi based on characters listed above. As P. (M.) scutellaris is distributed throughout the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay ( Richards 1978a), O. lenkoi could have a wider distribution in South America.

Figures

Fig. 1. Record of Ophirion lenkoi sp. nov. in Polybia (Myrapetra) scutellaris (White). A, Label; B, D, F: Head in frontal view, lateral habitus and dorsal habitus of holotype male of O. lenkoi sp. nov. (MZSP), respectively; C, E: Lateral habitus and dorsal habitus of worker female of P. (M.) scutellaris, respectively. Scale bars = 2 mm.

Fig. 2. Type material of Ophirion Townsend. A, C, E, G: Lateral habitus, dorsal habitus, head in frontal view and labels of holotype female of Ophirionopsis brasiliensis Townsend (USNM), respectively; B, D, F, H: Lateral habitus, dorsal habitus, head in frontal view and labels of holotype male of Oxyophirion punctigerum Townsend (USNM), respectively. Scale bars = 2 mm.

Fig. 3. Type material of Telothyriosoma polybia Curran. A, C, E: Lateral habitus, dorsal habitus and head in frontal view of holotype male (AMNH), respectively; B, D, F: Lateral habitus, dorsal habitus and head in frontal view of paratype female (AMNH), respectively. Scale bars = 2 mm.