Orthocentrus rectus Veijalainen

Veijalainen, Anu, Broad, Gavin R. & Sääksjärvi, Ilari E., 2014, Twenty seven new species of Orthocentrus (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae; Orthocentrinae) with a key to the Neotropical species of the genus, Zootaxa 3768 (3), pp. 201-252 : 216-217

Orthocentrus rectus Veijalainen , sp. nov.

Figs 2 F, 6 K, 8 K, 11 K, 13 K.

Fore wing length 2.6–3.1 mm.

Face medially 1.0–1.3x as wide as high; smooth and polished, with shallow, sparse punctures, eyes not setose, dorsal ridge of face inbetween antennal sockets usually with a low ridge; face profile straight, edge of clypeus almost straight, slightly impressed, antennal sockets not on a distinct high shelf; malar groove distinct, sharp, straight; maxillary palp reaching slightly beyond fore coxa. In dorsal view, head posteriorly slightly to moderately concave, temples very narrow, only slightly protruding posterior to eye, hind ocellus separated from eye by 0.7x ocellar diameter, anterior ocellus separated from eye by 1.8x ocellar diameter, lacking ocellar-ocular grooves. Minimum distance between antennal sockets slightly more than half diameter of socket; antenna slender, with 24– 26 flagellomeres (n=6) rather stout, elongate, flagellomeres which gradually slightly shortening towards apex of antenna; basal flagellomere 0.3x as wide as high and basal flagellomere about 2/3 of the length of scape; scape with internal surface convex, outer side concave.

Mesosoma polished except for inconspicuous punctation on anterior of mesoscutum and pronotum with short striate postero-ventrally; sometimes with vague, coriaceous microsculpture dorsally on propodeum; mesoscutum anteriorly with short notauli; in profile, scutellum high and posteriorly steeply angled, metapleuron slightly convex; propodeum with posterior transverse carina complete, strong, raised as distinct projections at level of lateral longitudinal carinae; median longitudinal carinae complete, lateral longitudinal carinae present as short stubs not reaching spiracles, spiracles small to medium-sized.

Legs broad; coxae and femora polished, femora with inconspicuous alutaceous-coriaceous sculpture, tibiae and tarsi coriaceous-granulate; hind coxa 1.3x as long as first tergite, hind femur 3.1x as long as high, hind tibia 3.5x as long as apically wide; tibiae with spine-like setae.

Wings not particularly narrow; fore wing with areolet open, vein Rs straight; hind wing with vein cu-a not intercepted, straight.

First tergite elongate, 1.7x as long as apically wide, in dorsal view, slightly wider at spiracles; coriaceous, with complete median longitudinal carinae, with transverse impressions originating at about middle of tergite, sloping posteriorly, not meeting centrally, laterally as deep pits.

Second tergite 1.1x as long as apically wide; coriaceous, sometimes with striae, median longitudinal carinae of first tergite continuing onto base of second tergite, with diagonal-transverse impressions originating at about middle of tergite, sloping anteriorly and posteriorly, not meeting centrally, forming a somewhat oval or diamondshaped horizontal uplifted area in the middle; basal thyridia small, round/oval, contrastingly coloured, second thyridia vaguely defined, medial, same colour as surrounding cuticle. Remainder of metasoma impunctate except third tergite smoothly coriaceous in basal quarter to third, polished, without thyridia. Ovipositor rather strong, straight to slightly upcurving, with well-defined notch (ovipositor tip broken in holotype); ovipositor sheath bluntly pointed, with sparse, long, backwards-directed setae.

Body setose except eyes, pronotum, mesopleuron and metapleuron, setae scattered on metasoma and posterior coxae.

Dark to blackish brown except inner orbits from antennal sockets to ocelli creamy to light yellow, malar area behind malar sulcus, sternites and fore and mid coxae, trochanters, trochantelli white to creamy; face yellow except upper face sometimes brownish; anterior pronotum, propleuron and legs largely yellow except apex of hind coxa and hind femur, dorsal surface of hind tibia and hind tarsus distinctly brown.

Male. Unknown.

Biology. Hosts unknown. Material collected from Central American cloud forests and lower elevation sites.

Etymology. Named after the straight malar suture.

Comments. Compared with other species that have a complete posterior transverse carina and short notauli, the malar groove is straight (unlike in species O. luteoclypeus and O. maculae ). Most similar to O. saaksjarvii but differs in the normal-sized propodeal spiracle, its smaller size, the scutellum less steeply sloping posteriorly, the slightly broader temples and in details of the colour pattern.

Material examined. Holotype female: ‘ Honduras, PN La Muralla, 15.09544ºN, 86.73867ºW, 1440± 10 m, cloud forest, Malaise trap, 2.–5.V.2010, LLAMA #Ma-C- 01-2-01 ’ ( BMNH).

Paratypes: 2 ♀ Nicaragua, Jinotega, PN Cerro Saslaya, 1110± 20 m, 13.77194 -85.01465, 12–16.V.2011, Malaise trap, ridgetop cloud forest, LLAMA #Ma-D- 03-3-01 ( ZMUT); 1 ♀ Guatemala, Baja Vera, Biotopo Quetzal, 1690± 8 m, 15.21357 ºN, 90.21826 ºW, cloud forest, 7–10.V.2009, Malaise, LLAMA #Ma-B- 02-2-02 ( USNM); 2 ♀ Costa Rica, Guanacaste Pv., Guanacaste NP, 560 m, Est Maritza Vn Orosi, X.88, Gauld & Mitchell; 1 ♀ Costa Rica, Guanacaste Pv., Guanacaste NP, 1000 m, Est Mengo Vn Cacao, VIII.88, Gauld & Janzen (all BMNH).

The holotype ( Orthocentrus sp. 37 F 606 LLAMA Ma-C- 01-2-01) was sequenced by Veijalainen et al. (2012) and had a clearly different haplotype to other specimens.

Figures

FIGURE 2. Lateral views: Orthocentrus shieldsi (in part) and O. maculae species-groups. A: scurra, B: teres, C: luteoclypeus, D: maculae, E: saaksjarvii, F: rectus. Scale 0.5 mm except in E 1.0 mm.