Chirotica nigra Lima & Fernandes, 2024

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 : 127-129

Chirotica nigra Lima & Fernandes sp. nov.

( Figures 8B ; 12B ; 13B ; 14B ; 26 )

Material examined. 1 female. Holotype. Brazil. Pará , Santarém, BR 163 / KM 19, Ramal das Lavras, Sítio / Recanto do Sabiá, 02°35’13.0” / S- 54°43’15.3” W, 01–/ 15.IX.2019, M. L. Oliveira leg. / Arm. Malaise grande, Projeto / Rede-BIA (1 female, INPA).

Diagnosis. Chirotica nigra sp. nov. can be distinguished from all other Neotropical Chirotica species by the combination of the following characters: (1) antenna with a brownish-brown median band and blackish-brown apex ( Fig. 26A ); (2) pronotal collar yellowish-orange ( Fig. 26A ); (3) mesoscutum with matted areas posterolateral ( Fig. 26D ); (4) tergites 2 and 3 with punctuation and smooth on central part ( Fig. 26E ).

Description. Holotype (♀). Body length (head to T8) 8.60 mm.

Head. Antenna length 7.00 mm; 30 flagellomeres. Frons convex, polished, rugose-punctuate with dense fine setae; median longitudinal sulcus present. Face polished, with punctuation with dense setae, median tubercle prominent. Clypeus slightly convex, with punctuation and weak apical notch; sparse long setae. Mandibular teeth with punctuation and sparse long setae. Median longitudinal sulcus between posterior ocelli not extending to the vertex. Frons width 0.82 mm. Face width 0.97 mm. Height eye 1.19 mm. Basal mandible width 0.11 mm. Malar space 0.31 mm. Ocellus diameter 0.12 mm. Shortest distance between anterior and posterior ocelli 0.09 mm. Shortest distance between posterior ocellus and compound eye 0.21 mm. Shortest distance between posterior ocelli 0.23 mm ( Figs 26B and 26C ).

Mesosoma . Pronotum polished, with dense punctuation and dense fine setae. Epomia present anteriorly. Epicnemium and mesopleuron polished, with dense punctuation and long setae. Mesoscutum polished, weak rugose-punctuate, with posterocentral striae and matted areas, setae very sparse. Notaulus with rugae along their length ( Fig. 26D ). Scuto-scutellar groove polished and smooth. Scutellum polished, with sparse punctuation and sparse setae, without lateral rugae. Propodeum polished, areas spiracularis and lateralis with rugae, area externa posterolaterally with rugae and centrally with punctuation, area basalis with fine punctuation, area superomedia margined rugose-punctuate, area dentipara with rugae and without teeth, area petiolaris centrally smooth and margined with punctuation, areas postero-externa and coxalis with punctuation; anteriorly with sparse short setae, posteriorly with long dense setae. Metapleuron polished, rugose-punctuate and with long dense setae; area below juxtacoxal carina with fine punctuation. Legs polished with punctuation and long dense setae; fore legs with one tibial spur, mid legs with two asymmetrical tibial spurs and hind legs with two symmetrical tibial spurs; tibia and tarsus with denticles; tarsal claws simple. Fore wing length 6.60 mm. Hind wing length 4.83 mm.

Metasoma. Tergite 1 polished, convex, with sparse punctuation and clustered fine punctuation on apicolateral part, sparse setae and without lateromedian carinae. Tergite 2 onwards polished, with sparse fine punctuation and sparse short setae ( Fig. 26E ). Ovipositor with upper valve smooth, lower valve with scattered and large proximal teeth at apex ( Fig. 26F ). Tergite 1 length 1.06 mm. Basal width of tergite 1 0.26 mm. Apical width of tergite 1 1.16 mm. Tergite 2 length 0.90 mm. Basal width of tergite 2 1.41 mm. Apical width of tergite 2 1.45 mm. Tergite 3 length 0.70 mm. Basal width of tergite 3 1.34 mm. Apical width of tergite 3 1.40 mm. Ovipositor length 2.42 mm.

Coloration. Black. Head black. Clypeal apex and mandibular teeth brown. Maxillary palps brown. Antenna with flagellomeres I–V black, IV–X brownish-brown, XI onwards brownish-black. Pronotal collar laterally with a yellowish-orange band. Tegula and posterior corner of pronotum whitish-yellow and half of the apex of the tegula brown. Fore and mid legs yellowish-orange, fore tarsus blackish; hind legs reddish-brown, apex of hind femur 0.2 black; 0.2 of the base of hind tibia whitish-yellow; hind tarsus dark brown. Wings subhyaline, veins and pterostigma dark brown; fore wing with a large dark brown band pre-median and post-median; hind wing subapical brown. Abdomen reddish-brown with a black apex (apical margin of tergite 5 black and segments 6 onwards black).

Male. Unknown.

Distribution. Brazil (Pará) ( Fig. 26G ).

Host. Unknown.

Etymology. From Latin nigra meaning “black, dark”, because of the coloration of the holotype. Name is an adjective.

Holotype condition. Right hind tarsus missing. Specimen glued to entomological pin on the lateral part of the mesosoma.

Discussion. Chirotica nigra sp. nov. is morphologically similar to C. pothina having mesopleuron with dense punctuation and long setae; tergite 1 with sparse punctuation and without lateromedian carinae; and epicnemium with dense punctuation and long setae. However, C. nigra sp. nov. differs from C. pothina in the following characters: mesoscutum weak rugose-punctuate and with areas posterolateral matted ( Fig. 26D ) (versus C. pothina which has mesoscutum granulated, with punctuation and rugae on posterocentral part ( Fig. 29D )); area below the juxtacoxal carina with fine punctuation and tergites 2 and 3 with sparse fine punctuation (versus C. pothina which has area below the juxtacoxal carina rugose-punctuate, tergites 2 and 3 with medial punctuation and lateral rugae); area of stemmaticum with median longitudinal sulcus between posterior ocelli not extending to vertex ( Fig. 26B ) (versus C. pothina which has area of stemmaticum with weak rugae and punctuation between posterior ocelli ( Fig. 26B )).

Figures

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

FIGURE 12. A–B: Pronotal collar, female, lateral view. A: Chirotica pothina (Marshall, 1982). B: Chirotica nigra sp. nov..

FIGURE 13. A–B: Area below the juxtacoxal carina, female, lateral view. A: Chirotica pothina (Marshall, 1982). B: Chirotica nigra sp. nov..

FIGURE 14. A–B: Tergite 2 and 3, female, dorsal view. A: Chirotica pothina (Marshall, 1982). B: Chirotica nigra sp. nov..

FIGURE 26. A–G: Chirotica nigra 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).

FIGURE 29. A–G: Chirotica pothina (Marshall, 1982). 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, orange square for previous records, yellow circle for new record).