Pristomerus pallidus (Kriechbaumer in Magretti, 1884 )

Rousse, Pascal & Noort, Simon van, 2015, Revision of the Afrotropical species of Pristomerus (Ichneumonidae: Cremastinae), with descriptions of 31 new species, European Journal of Taxonomy 124, pp. 1-129 : 76-79

Pristomerus pallidus (Kriechbaumer in Magretti, 1884)

Fig. 25

Cremastus pallidus Kriechbaumer in Magretti, 1884: 243 .

Pristomerus africator Aubert & Shaumar, 1978: 18 . Syn. nov.

Pristomerus cunctator Tosquinet, 1896: 422 . Syn. nov.

Pristomerus luteolus Tosquinet, 1896: 421 . Syn. nov.

Diagnosis

Moderately small to moderately sized; yellow to reddish overall with variable dark markings on first tergites and often around scutellum, dark markings sometimes also present on propodeum and apical tergites; frons darker than face, mesosoma varying from almost uniformly yellowish to strikingly mottled yellowish and reddish, with notaulus and scutellum almost always lighter than remainder of mesonotum; face densely punctate; inner margins of eyes barely diverging ventrally; clypeus strongly transverse, densely but very shallowly punctate; malar line moderately long to long; remainder of head coriaceous to punctategranulate; occipital carina joining hypostomal carina shortly above mandible base; antenna long with 28–35 flagellomeres, penultimate flagellomere subquadrate; mesosoma moderately elongate and very densely punctate but pronotum dorsally and ventral half of speculum smooth; propodeum with area superomedia moderately stout to elongate; female femoral tooth moderate to very small, sometimes reduced to a barely distinct subapical tubercle; ovipositor moderately short, its apex strongly sinuous. B 7.4–12.1; A 4.7–6.8; F 4.2–6.4; CT 1.7–2.4; ML 0.6–0.7; POL 0.9; OOL 1.1; Fl n–1 1.1; ASM 1.8–2.3; OT 1.3–1.6; FFT 1. Male with inner margins of eyes more strongly diverging ventrally, mesoscutum most often weakly sculptured, mostly coriaceous with dense punctation on anterior edge of median mesoscutal lobe, punctation occasionally more extended; ocelli strongly enlarged, hind femur and femoral tooth stouter. POL 0.6; OOL 0.2.

Differential diagnosis

Mostly yellow to yellowish-orange with notaulus and scutellum most often usually distinctly lighter than remainder of mesoscutum; otherwise differentiated from all other Afrotropical species by the combination of the rather long malar line, the strongly transverse clypeus, the somewhat reduced ocellus, the weak female femoral tooth and the rather short ovipositor. Confusion may occur with P. moramora , P. kelikely or P. venda sp. nov., these three species having a shorter malar line and no trace of a femoral tooth in females; P. pallidus may also be confused with P. bullis in which the clypeus is significantly more transverse and the ovipositor shorter.

Material examined

Holotype ETHIOPIA: ♀ of C. pallidus , “ Coll. P. Magretti, Kor Arvian, [in Homran area ( Townes & Townes 1973)], Afr. Orle, 9.3.1883 ” ( MCSN).

Other material

BENIN: “ 1 ♀, Bénin: Cotonou, ex Plutella xylostella sur Brassica , 13.vi.1999 E. Goudegnon” ( CBGP).

CAMEROON: 1 ♂, “21328 tube H-0009 Cameroun Guider, ex Helicoverpa armigera sur Gossypium hirsutum , ix/ x 2008 Patrick Prudent” ( CBGP).

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO: 1 ♀, 1 ♂, “ Congo Belge, P. N. G. Miss. H. De Saeger II/gc/8, 30-iv–1952 H. De Saeger. 3402” ( MRAC); 1 ♀, same label data except: “II/fd/17, 7-v–1952 H. De Saeger. 3431” ( MRAC); 1 ♀, same label data except: “II/gd/4, 23-viii–1952 H. De Saeger. 3972” ( MRAC).

GAMBIA: 1 ♂, [Holotype of P. luteolus ]: “Gambie Mocquerys [date of collection not reported]” ( ISNB).

IVORY COAST: 1 ♂, [Paratype of P. africator ]: “Côte d’Ivoire 28.1.1977 e. l. de Maliarpha separatel [sic] Bouake-Côte d’Ivoire sur riz” ( MZLS); 1 ♂, “Bouaké R.C.I. 21.II.1977 LDR rec., 490” ( CBGP); 1 ♂, same locality, “4.3.77 A. Pollet rec. coll. n°a1, ex larva Maliarpha separatella riz, 557” ( CBGP); 1 ♀, “Lamto-RCI 5°02W. 6°13N, 2.5 à4.6.84, Teramnus buettneri ”; 1 ♂, same locality, 22.4 à17.6.85 Tephrosia bracteolata ” ( BMNH); 2 ♀♀, 2 ♂♂, same locality “22.03 à17.4.85, Crotalaria goveensis ”; 2 ♂♂, same locality “8.v à 22.v.85 Crotalaria glauca ” ( BMNH).

MOZAMBIQUE: 1 ♀, [Lectotype of P. cunctator ]: “Delagoa-Bai [collection date not reported], 26283” ( MNK).

NAMIBIA: 1 ♀, “South West Africa Okahandja, 21.57S 16.54E, 11.1978 S. J. v. Tonder” ( SANC); 2 ♀♀, “Warmbad S.W.A. Koakoveld Mus. Expedit. 1925, SAM–HYM–P001208” ( SAMC); 3 ♂♂, “Zesfontein S.W.A. Mus. Expedit. 1925, SAM–HYM–P001206” ( SAMC).

SENEGAL: 1 ♀, [Paralectotype of P. cunctator ] “Senegal Buq. [date and locality of collection not reported], 11229” ( MNK); 1 ♀, “Darou Sourang, Senegal, 24.IX.1976 Vercambre, 1049, sur larve de Raghuva sp.” ( CBGP); 2 ♀♀, 1 ♂, “Sénégal, Diourbel, district de Bambey, Ndondol [14°46’N 16°38’W], ex épi mil avec chenille Rhaguva albipunctella [ex millet ears with R. albipunctella caterpillars] 44-xi- 000 and 1-H23-000” ( CBGP).

SOUTH AFRICA: 2 ♀♀, 1 ♂, “ ACTS 68, Mopani 4.12.60 T. Naudé” ( SANC); 1 ♂, “South Africa MPU Loskop Res Stn Moitse West nr Marble Hall 6.iv.2004 D Mamogobo, ex larvae of bollworm on cotton” ( SANC); 1 ♂, “South Africa, Tvl, Brits 2.i.1987 P.J. Guest, ACB 304 nr 3” ( SANC); 1 ♀, same label data except: “ 6.i.1986 ACB 302 nr1” ( SANC).

SUDAN: 1 ♀, “ Khartoum, H. W. Bedford, 28.7.31, bred out from Laphygma exigua, Ent. coll. C10438” ( BMNH).

TANZANIA: 1 ♀, “Mkomazi Game Reserve, Ibaya Camp, 3.58S 37.48E 10–25 Dec 1995, S. van Noort, Malaise trap, Acacia / Commiphora / Combretum bushland, SAM–HYM–P015675” ( SAMC).

Host records

Maliarpha separatella Ragonot ( Lepidoptera : Pyralidae ) on Oryza sativa L. (Poacaeae); unidentified lycaenid cocoons on Crotalaria sp. ( Fabaceae ). New records: Plutella xylostella (L., 1758) ( Lepidoptera : Plutellidae ) on Brassica sp.; Helicoverpa armigera Hübner, 1827 ( Lepidoptera : Noctuidae ) on Gossypium hirsutum L. ( Malvaceae ); Heliocheilus albipunctella (de Joannis, 1925) ( Lepidoptera : Noctuidae ); Spodoptera exigua ((Hübner, 1808) ( Lepidoptera : Noctuidae ); unknown hosts on Crotalaria glauca Willd. , C. goveensis Guill. & Perr. , Teramnus buettneri (Harms) Baker f. and Tephrosia bracteolata Guill. & Perr. (Fabaceae) .

Distribution

Egypt (?, see comments), Ethiopia, Gambia, Ivory Coast, Italy, Madagascar, Mozambique, Senegal, Sierra Leone. New records: Benin, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Namibia, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania.

Comments

Pristomerus pallidus is distributed throughout the whole Afrotropical region and is very common in collections. It exhibits a noticeable intra-specific variation in the size of the femoral tooth in the female, although the tooth is always distinct and shorter than wide. The extent of the dorsal dark markings and the intensity of the reddish markings on the mesosoma are also variable. Finally, some males from Western Africa also have a mostly punctate mesoscutum. The holotype of P. africator (from Ivory Coast) is in the private collection of Jacques F. Aubert and was not available for examination. According to Horstmann (1990), the record from Egypt is doubtful. We could not examine this specimen, but we consider the record as probable because of the species’ wide distribution.

Figures

Fig. 25. Pristomerus pallidus (Kriechbaumer, 1884). Holotype, ♀. A. Habitus, lateral view. B. Head, mesosoma, dorsal view. C. Head, anterior view. D. Propodeum, dorsal view. E. Mesosoma, lateral view. F. Hind tibia, lateral view (inset: data labels).