Chirotica brevilabris Townes, 1983

Lima, Adriane G. M. & Fernandes, Daniell R. R., 2024, Synopsis of the Darwin wasp Chirotica Förster, 1869 (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae: Phygadeuontinae) in Brazil, Zootaxa 5418 (2), pp. 101-139 : 116

Chirotica brevilabris Townes, 1983

( Figures 7A ; 8A ; 21 )

Chirotica brevilabris Townes, 1983: 81 . Holotype female, Surinam (EMUS, not examined) [ Entomology Museum , Utah State University, Logan, Utah, United States of America]

Material examined. 4 females. Brazil. BA [ Bahia ], Jequié , Distrito de / Irrigação da Fazenda Velha / 13°86’18, 6”S/40°15’79,5”W / Borda do Pasto, Malaise / 23.iv.2005, Santos, J. T. leg.[coletores] (1 female, LRRP); same except 29.i.2006 (1 female, LRRP); same except 29.iv.2006 (1 female, LRRP); same except 13°52’51, 9”S / 40°10’42,6”W / Agroecossistemas, Malaise / 29.iv.2006, Alves, F. P. leg.[coletores] (1 female, LRRP) .

Diagnosis. Chirotica brevilabris can be distinguished from all other Neotropical Chirotica species by the combination of the following characters: (1) tergite 1 with very sparse small punctuation, with striae on apicolateral part and more weak in the center; apex of tergite 1 with sparse punctuation; lateromedian carinae absent; (2) tergites 2 and 3 with very sparse longitudinal striae and apex with small sparse punctuation ( Fig. 21E ); (3) clypeal apex truncate ( Fig. 21C ).

Additional description. Female. Body length (head to T8) 4.45 mm to 5.39 mm.

Head. Antenna length 3.67 mm to 3.98 mm; 24 to 26 flagellomeres. Frons convex, polished, with transverse rugae, fine and dense setae, median longitudinal sulcus absent. Face polished, punctuation with dense setae and small median tubercle. Clypeus polished with sparse coarse punctuation and sparse fine setae. Mandibular teeth with coarse punctuation and sparse fine setae. Median longitudinal sulcus between posterior ocelli extending (or not, in some cases) to the vertex. Frons width 0.47 mm to 0.53 mm. Face width 0.49 mm to 0.60 mm. Eye height 0.68 mm to 0.81 mm. Basal mandible width 0.08 mm to 0.11 mm. Malar space 0.15 mm to 0.18 mm. Ocellus diameter 0.07 mm to 0.12 mm. Shortest distance between anterior and posterior ocelli 0.07 mm to 0.67 mm. Shortest distance between posterior ocellus and compound eye 0.10 mm to 0.11 mm. Shortest distance between posterior ocelli 0.14 mm to 0.15 mm ( Figs 21B and 21C ).

Mesosoma . Pronotum polished, superiorly with punctuation on posterolateral part and inferiorly with striae on posterolateral part, dense fine setae. Epomia present anteriorly. Epicnemium polished, with punctuation and short dense setae. Mesoscutum polished, with granulated areas between rugae, very sparse punctuation, posterolateral rugae and sparse setae ( Fig. 21D ). Notaulus with rugae along their length ( Fig. 21D ). Scuto-scutellar sulcus polished with rugae and sparse setae. Scutellum polished, with sparse punctuation, sparse setae and without lateral rugae. Propodeum polished with rugae, sparse punctuation and long dense setae; area dentipara without teeth. Mesopleuron with sparse setae. Metapleuron with sparse long setae; area below juxtacoxal carina with weak rugae. Legs polished with sparse fine punctuation; fore legs with fine setae and with one tibial spur, mid and hind legs with long dense setae, with two asymmetrical tibial spurs; femurs with dense punctuation; tibiae with dense punctuation, denticles and dense fine setae; tarsus with short dense setae and denticles; tarsal claws simple. Fore wing length 3.33 mm to 3.67 mm. Hind wing length 2.41 mm to 2.94 mm.

Metasoma. Tergite 1 with striae on apicolateral part and weak in central part; apex of tergite 1 with sparse punctuation, sparse short setae dorsally and dense long setae laterally. Tergites 2 and 3 with striae, sparse punctuation on the apex and sparse long setae ( Fig. 21E ). Tergites 4 onwards with punctuation with setae. Ovipositor with smooth upper valve, lower valve with small ventrolateral teeth and apex slightly sinuous ( Fig. 21F ). Tergite 1 length 0.74 mm to 0.77 mm. Basal width of tergite 1 0.09 mm. Apical width of tergite 1 0.52 mm to 0.63 mm. Tergite 2 length 0.49 mm to 0.65 mm. Basal width of tergite 2 0.65 mm to 0.76 mm. Apical width of tergite 2 0.65 mm to 0.92 mm. Tergite 3 length 0.43 mm to 0.59 mm. Basal width of tergite 3 0.74 mm to 0.92 mm. Apical width of tergite 3 0.65 mm to 0.92 mm. Ovipositor length 1.13 mm to 2.11 mm.

Coloration. Tergites 1 and 3 with 0.3 of the apex light brown and whitish-yellow margins.

Distribution. Suriname ( Townes 1983; Yu et al. 2016); Brazil ( Bahia **) ( Fig. 21G ).

Host. Unknown.

Discussion. Chirotica brevilabris is morphologically similar to C. maraca sp. nov. having a granulated areas on the mesoscutum and rugae on the posterior part, with very sparse punctation and sparse setae ( Figs 21D and 24D ); and the mesopleuron rugose-punctuate with sparse setae. However, C. brevilabris differs from C. maraca sp. nov. in the following characters: metapleuron with rugae, except in the area juxtacoxal (versus in C. maraca sp. nov. it is rugose-punctuate); tergite 1 has small very sparse punctuation with striae on apicolateral part and weak on central part, apex with sparse punctuation and lateromedian carinae absent (versus C. maraca sp. nov. which has tergite 1 with apicolateral part with weak rugae and sparse punctuation, apical part only sparse punctuation and lateromedian carinae centrally present); tergites 2 and 3 with very sparse striae and apex with small sparse punctuation ( Fig. 21E ) (versus C. maraca sp. nov. which has tergite 2 strigose, with sparse punctuation and apex with sparse punctuation ( Fig. 24E )); tergite 3 diagonally reticulate rugae centrally and laterally, with sparse punctuation, sparse setae ( Fig. 24E ); and tergites 4 onwards with punctuation with setae (versus C. maraca sp. nov. which has tergite 4 onwards with sparse punctuation and long sparse setae).

Figures

FIGURE 7. A–B: Clypeal apex, female, frontal view. A: Chirotica brevilabris Townes, 1983. B: Chirotica parallela Townes, 1983.

FIGURE 8. A–B: Tergites 2 and 3, female, dorsal view. A: Chirotica brevilabris Townes, 1983. B: Chirotica nigra sp. nov..

FIGURE 21. A–G: Chirotica brevilabris Townes, 1983. Female. A: habitus; B: head, dorsal view; C: head, frontal view; D: mesoscutum, dorsal view; E: tergites 2 and 3, dorsal view; F: ovipositor, lateral view; G: distribution map (pink triangle for type locality, yellow circle for new record).

FIGURE 24. A–G: Chirotica maraca Lima & Fernandes sp. nov.. Holotype female. A: habitus; B: head, dorsal view; C: head, frontal view; D: mesoscutum, dorsal view; E: tergites 2 and 3, dorsal view; F: ovipositor, lateral view; G: distribution map (pink triangle for type locality).