Allorhogas margitae Oliveira, Samacá-Sáenz & Zaldívar-Riverón, 2024

Oliveira, Tamires Camila Talamonte De, Sáenz, Ernesto Samacá, Faria, Lucas Del Bianco & Riverón, Alejandro Zaldívar, 2024, Two new species of Allorhogas (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Doryctinae) from southeast Brazil reared from seed pods of Inga vera Willd. and Anadenanthera colubrina (Vell.) (Fabaceae), Zootaxa 5415 (1), pp. 106-116 : 111-114

Allorhogas margitae Oliveira, Samacá-Sáenz & Zaldívar-Riverón sp. nov.

(Figures 4A–F).

Diagnosis. This new species can be morphologically distinguished from the species of Allorhogas which were reared from Fabaceae species and which are mentioned in the diagnosis of Al. lavraensis by having a: 1) body honey yellow with lateral mesoscutal lobes, anterior edge of mesopleuron and propodeum dark brown, legs pale yellow; 2) tarsomeres brown to dark brown; 3) fore wing vein r about as long as vein 3RSa; 4) fore wing vein m-cu interstitial to 2RS; propodeum rugose-areolate, slightly rugose and coriaceous basally; and 6) ovipositor 0.7 × as long as metasoma.

Description. Female. Body size 3.5 mm (Fig. 4A), fore wing 3.0 mm. Colour: body entirely honey yellow, lateral mesoscutal lobes, anterior edge of mesopleuron and propodeum dark brown; scape and pedicel dark brown to black, flagellomeres dark brown to black; eyes silverish black; ocelli black, area surrounding ocelli yellow; palpi pale yellow; legs pale yellow, tarsomeres brown to dark brown; claws brown; wings hyaline; fore wing veins brown, stigma brown; hind wing veins brown; ovipositor sheaths dark brown to black, ovipositor yellow, apex strongly sclerotized black.

Head: transverse in dorsal view, 1.5 × wider than its median length (dorsal view) (Fig. 4B), and 0.85 × as long as high (lateral view); occipital carina complete and reaching hypostomal carina before mandible; post ocellar line (POL) as long than ocellar diameter (OD), 0.5 × ocular ocellar line (OOL); vertex, frons, and temple acinosecoriaceous, gena coriaceous; face sparsely pilose, rugose (Fig. 4B); frons excavation distinct, without a median longitudinal carina, not defined by sharp lateral margins; clypeus with dense and long pilosity; eye 1.3 × longer than wide; eye width 2.3 × longer than temple in dorsal view; malar space 0.4 × eye height and 2.0 × longer than width of hypoclypeal depression; mandibles tridentate; antenna with at least 11 flagellomeres (broken), first flagellomere about 4 × longer than wide, 1.15 × longer than second flagellomere.

Mesosoma: 2.3 × longer than high (Fig. 4D) and 1.6 × longer than wide (Fig. 4C); pronotal collar short, nonvisible in dorsal view, pronotal furrow wide, rugose; mesoscutum transverse in dorsal view, its median length 0.95 × its width; mesoscutal lobes coriaceus-acinose, sparsely pilose along notauli; median mesoscutal lobe with poorly defined longitudinal furrow; notauli wide, deep and scrobiculate, not meeting, reaching the end of mesoscutum in a longitudinally rugose-acinose area; scutellar disc acinose, prescutellar furrow with six transverse carinae; mesopleuron coriaceus; subalar groove wide and scrobiculate; precoxal sulcus wide, deep, smooth, running along most part of mesopleuron; metapleuron entirely rugose—areolate; propodeum rugose-areolate, coriaceous basally, with two indistinct diverging carinae.

Wings: fore wing 3.0 × longer than wide (Fig. 4G). Pterostigma 4 × as long as wide and 0.65 × as long as R. Vein r about as long as 3RSa, 0.4 × as long as 3RSb, and as long as r-m. Vein 2RS interstitial with m-cu, vein RS+Mb absent. Hind wing vein M + CU 0.9 × as long as 1 M, vein m-cu slightly curved towards wing base.

Legs: hind coxa with distinct, pointed basoventral tooth, sparsely pilose, ventrally coriaceous. Hind femur 4.1 × longer than wide.

Metasoma: first tergite 1.4 × wider than long, costate-punctate, with two longitudinal carinae running at the base; transverse basal carina distinct (Fig. 4F). Second and basal half of third tergite costate—slightly punctate, line between second and third tergites distinct and straight; apical half of third punctate, fourth tergite mostly smooth, slightly costate, remaining tergites smooth. Ovipositor 0.7 × as long as metasoma.

Variation. Body size 3.0–4.0 mm. Antenna with 26–31 flagellomeres.

Male. Unknown

Holotype. Female ( IBUNAM). Brasil, Minas Gerais, Lavras , UFLA 21° 30’ 36” S – 44° 54’ 01” W; ex Anadenanthera colubrina seeds, 25.IV.2019; A15, FR1, T.C.T. Oliveira col.

Paratypes. ( IBUNAM). 2 females, same data as holotype. 25.IV.2019, 1.V.2019 .

Biology. Four adult specimens of Allorhogas margitae were reared from three out of 120 pod seeds approximately two weeks after the pods were collected. We carefully examined each pod and seeds, and there was no evidence that suggested that specimens of Al. margitae were parasitoids, since there were no remnants of other insects, such as larvae’s cephalic capsule ( Morales-Silva and Modesto-Zampieron 2017). Each specimen of Al. margitae completed its biological cycle in a single seed. We reared two specimens in the same pod, but multiple exit holes suggest there were at least three specimens of Al. margitae consuming different seeds from the same pod ( Figs 5A,B ).

We found other fruits of An. columbrina with similar seed predation patterns and exit holes; however, the insects appeared to have exited the pods before we collected them. We observed 10 unidentified Curculionidae ( Coleoptera ) specimens consuming seeds of this plant species. However, we did not observe whether they were co-existing in the same fruit. The seeds are stenospermic, with their shape ranging from round to reniform; The shell is rough, leathery, glabrous, brown and highly polished, with the presence of stretch marks and ripples ( Barretto & Ferreira 2011). Each pod has between 5 to 10 seeds ( Lorenzi & Matos 2002). We also observed that the type specimens of Al. margitae consumed almost all content of the seed before its emergence, and no galls were observed in the fruit or seeds ( Figure 5A ).

Etymology. The specific epithet of this species is given homage to the mother of the senior author, Elsa Margit Talamonte, who has always supported and encouraged her during all her life to do what she loves.

Figures

FIGURE 5. Fruits and seeds of Anadenanthera colubrina, with seeds consumed by the phytophagous Allorhogas margitae sp. nov. A. Seed partially consumed and the exit hole where Al. margitae emerged from; B. Seeds almost completely consumed and the exit holes where specimens of Al. margitae emerged.