Anagrus (Anagrus) nedotepae Triapitsyn

Triapitsyn, Serguei V., Kwadjo, K. Eric & Rosete, Yaima Arocha, 2017, Anagrus nedotepae sp. n. (Hymenoptera: Mymaridae), an egg parasitoid of Nedotepa curta (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae), a pest of coconut palm in West Africa, Zootaxa 4276 (1), pp. 134-138 : 134-136

Anagrus (Anagrus) nedotepae Triapitsyn , sp. n. ( Figs 1–8 )

Type material. Holotype female on slide ( Fig. 1 ), deposited in UCRC, labeled: 1. “ Côte d'Ivoire : Lagunes District Grand-Lahou Department, Yaokro 5°09'54''N 5°09'50''W, 8 m Collected 12.ii. 2017, emerged 17.ii.2017, K. E. Kwadjo, from eggs of Nedotepa curta Dmitriev ”; 2. “ Mounted by V. V. Berezovskiy 2017 in Canada Balsam”; 3. [magenta] “ Anagrus (Anagrus) nedotepae Triapitsyn HOLOTYPE ♀ ”; 4. “dry body length ca. 0.6 mm Det. by S. V. Triapitsyn 2017”; 5. [database barcode label] “ UCRC UCRC _ ENT 00407585 ”. The holotype is mounted dorsoventrally and lacking one pair of wings. Paratypes, same data: 2 ♀ and 1 ♂ on slides [ CNC (1 ♀) and UCRC (1 ♀ and 1 ♂)], as well as 2 ♀ and 1 ♂ on points [ UCRC].

Description. Female (holotype). Body mostly yellow (as in Fig. 8 ) except eyes and ocelli dirty pink, appendages yellowish or pale except apical flagellomeres a little darker, wings mostly hyaline except fore wing disc with a slight brownish tinge behind venation. Antenna ( Fig. 2 ) with scape 3.1× as long as wide, without distinct cross-ridges, 1.8× length of pedicel; F1 cylindrical and the shortest funicular segment, slightly less than half length of pedicel; F2 shorter than F3; F3–F6 subequal in length (F4 the longest funicular); F3–F6 each with 2 mps; clava with 3 mps, 3.1× as long as wide, a little shorter than combined length of F5 and F6. Midlobe of mesoscutum without adnotaular setae. Fore wing ( Fig. 3 ) 7.3× as long as wide, longest marginal seta 2.7× maximum wing width; disc with a median row of setae in addition to admarginal rows of setae, leaving distinct bare areas along the margins. Hind wing ( Fig. 3 ) about 20× as long as wide, longest marginal seta 6.8× maximum wing width; disc mostly bare except for a row of setae along posterior margin. Ovipositor ( Fig. 4 ) quite short, not extending anteriorly to mesophragma in slide-mounted specimens and not exserted posteriorly beyond apex of gaster, 1.5× length of protibia; second valvifers [= external plates of ovipositor , e.g., Chiappini et al. (1996)] each with 1 distal seta.

Measurements of the slide-mounted holotype (as length or length: width for the wings). Body 0.58; head 0.106; mesosoma 0.19; gaster 0.3; ovipositor 0.172. Antenna: scape 0.069; pedicel 0.039; F1 0.018; F2 0.027; F3 0.045; F4 0.048; F5 0.047; F6 0.045; clava 0.085. Fore wing 0.458:0.063; longest marginal seta 0.17. Hind wing 0.424:0.021; longest marginal seta 0.142.

Variation (paratypes). Body length of dry-mounted, critical point-dried specimens 0.5 mm. Fore wing 7.2–7.3× as long as wide; distal macrochaeta 2.6–2.9× length of proximal macrochaeta. Ovipositor 1.3× length of protibia.

Male. Body length of dry-mounted, critical point-dried paratypes (includes a measurement taken prior to slidemounting) 0.46–0.5 mm. Similar to female except for the normal sexually dimorphic features such as the antenna ( Fig. 5) and genitalia ( Fig. 7), and the following. Scape 3.0× as long as wide; F1 a little shorter than following flagellomeres; F10 and F11 broadly attached to each other so appearing to form a clava more than usual for the males of other Anagrus species. Fore wing ( Fig. 6) 6.4× as long as wide. Genitalia length 0.118 mm.

Diagnosis. This new species belongs to the atomus species group of A. ( Anagrus ) Haliday, as defined by Chiappini et al. (1996), because it has 3 mps on the clava of the female antenna. In Triapitsyn (2015), females of A. nedotepae key to couplet 19 together with A. scassellatii Paoli and A. sensillatus Viggiani & Jesu , both from the Afrotropical region. All have 2 mps on F3 of the female antenna. Among the three, A. nedotepae seems to be more similar to A. scassellatii , but the latter has two rather than one rows of setae on the fore wing disc between the admarginal rows. A modified couplet is provided below to differentiate these three species.

19(18) Fore wing disc with 5 or 6 rows of setae in the broadest part in addition to admarginal rows of setae, leaving no bare areas ( Viggiani & Jesu 1995, fig. III, 2) .................................................................... Anagrus (Anagrus) sensillatus Viggiani & Jesu - Fore wing with 1 or 2 rows of setae in the broadest part in addition to admarginal rows of setae, leaving at least one distinct bare area ................................................................................................................................................................................. 19' 19'(19) Midlobe of mesoscutum without adnotaular setae; fore wing disc with 1 median row of setae in addition to admarginal rows of setae leaving distinct bare areas along both anterior and posterior margins ( Fig. 3 )

.......................................................................................................................... Anagrus (Anagrus) nedotepae Triapitsyn sp. n. - Midlobe of mesoscutum with adnotaular setae; fore wing disc with 2 rows of setae in addition to admarginal rows of setae leaving a distinct bare area along posterior margin only ( Paoli 1930, fig. 2, G) ............. Anagrus (Anagrus) scassellatii Paoli

Etymology. The species is named after the generic name of its leafhopper host, Nedotepa curta .

Notes on biology and host association. Unlike most other leafhoppers, females of N. curta lay eggs on the surface of the leaves ( Dmitriev 2016) and then guard them ( Fig. 10 ), very often remaining with their offspring until nymphs become adults. Upon locating a host egg cluster ( Figs 9, 11 ), females of A. nedotepae ( Fig. 8 ) antennate the eggs ( Fig. 11 ) and then oviposit in them. Despite the fact that the host eggs are all the time guarded by female leafhoppers till they hatch, usually at least half of them get parasitized.

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 4. Anagrus nedotepae (female, holotype): 1, slide; 2, antenna; 3, fore and hind wings; 4, ovipositor (arrow indicates the distal seta on second valvifer).

FIGURES 8 – 11. 8, Anagrus nedotepae (habitus of a non-type, live female in dorsal view); 9, cluster of both parasitized (6 eggs on the left, those with two large reddish spots [eyes of the developing parasitoid] close to the top of an egg and 3 small reddish points in a triangle between them [ocelli]) and unparasitized (the remaining eggs on the right, those with eyes much smaller and without 3 small reddish points between them) eggs of Nedotepa curta; 10, female of N. curta guarding her cluster of unparasitized eggs on a coconut palm leaf; 11, female of A. nedotepae at a cluster of N. curta eggs ready to parasitize them.