Aleiodes inga Shimbori & Shaw, 2020

Shaw, Scott R., Shimbori, Eduardo M. & Penteado-Dias, Angelica M., 2020, A revision of the Aleiodes bakeri (Brues) species subgroup of the A. seriatus species group with the descriptions of 18 new species from the Neotropical Region, ZooKeys 964, pp. 41-107 : 41

Aleiodes inga Shimbori & Shaw sp. nov. Figs 51-54

Type material.

Holotype data: Female (CNCI). Voucher: D.H. Janzen & W. Hallwachs, DB http://janzen.sas.upenn.edu, Area de Conservacion Guanacaste, COSTA RICA, 07-SRNP-42836, DHJPAR0029056.

Paratype: 1 female (pinned) with same data as holotype except database code number as follows: 07-SRNP-42756, DHJPAR0023529 [BOLD ID: replace: ASHYM281-08; additional data: Sector Rincon Rain Forest, Puente Rio Negro, 10.904 -85.303, 340 m, ex. Rosema deolis ( Notodontinae ), 15.xi.2007, J. Perez col.] (CNCI); 6 males (in alcohol vials) with same data as holotype except database code numbers as follows: 07-SRNP-43021, DHJPAR0029053; 07-SRNP-42801, DHJPAR0029052; 07-SRNP-34415, DHJPAR0029057 [BOLD ID: replace: ASHYE936-09; additional data: Sector Pitilla, Pasmompa, 11.019 -85.41, 440 m, ex. Epitausa dilina ( Erebidae ), 22.i.2008, C. Moraga and M. Rios col.]; 07-SRNP-42751, DHJPAR0029050 [BOLD ID: replace: ASHYE929-09; additional data: Sector Rincon Rain Forest, Puente Rio Negro, 10.904 -85.303, 340 m, ex. Helia argentipes ( Erebidae ), 21.xi.2007, M. Carmona col.]; 07-SRNP-66111, DHJPAR0028755; 07-SRNP-42758, DHJPAR0029055 [BOLD ID: replace: ASHYE934-09; additional data: Sector Rincon Rain Forest, Puente Rio Negro, 10.904 -85.303, 340 m, ex. Helia argentipes ( Erebidae ), 22.xi.2007, J. Perez col.] (CNCI).

Description.

Body length 6.6-6.7 mm. Fore wing length 5.3-5.5 mm.

Head (Fig. 52 ). In dorsal view eye length/temple 4.8-5.1. Eye height/head width 0.44-0.46. Eye height/minimum distance between eyes 1.4-1.5. OD/POL 2.5. OD/OOL 3.3. Frons excavated. Frons lateral carina absent. Occipital carina dorsally complete, weakly curved. Occiput in dorsal view nearly straight, not indented medially. Occipital carina ventrally meeting hypostomal carina. Mid-longitudinal crest at upper face present. Hypoclypeal depression/face width 0.37. Malar space/eye height 0.18-0.19. Face height/width 0.81-0.85. Clypeus height/width 0.70-0.75. Clypeus convex, granulate. Sculpture of head shiny granular-coriaceous. Face mostly granular-coriaceous, transversely rugose-striate around median crest.

Antenna. Antennal segments 51-54. Antenna/body length 1.1-1.2. Scape/pedicel length 2.1-2.4. Length of first/second flagellomere 1.1. Fourth flagellomere length/apical width 1.6. Tip of apical segment of antenna pointed.

Mesosoma. Length/height 1.6-1.7. Width of mesoscutum/width of head 0.66-0.69. Mesoscutum length/width ~ 1.1. Pronotal collar/vertex 0.78-0.83. Prescutellar sulcus with complete mid-longitudinal carina, and a few irregular and incomplete carinae laterally. Mesoscutum posterior border with distinct complete carina. Metanotum with mid-longitudinal carina complete, connecting to a carinate pit posteriorly, sometimes bisecting posterior pit. Metanotum mid-pit present, delimited by carinae. Mid-longitudinal carina of propodeum nearly complete. Ventral mid-line of mesopleuron without sulcus anteriorly, shallow smooth sulcus present posteriorly; pit at ventral mid-line weakly indicated. Notauli weakly indicated anteriorly, indistinctly crenulate. Sternaulus weakly indicated anteriorly, rugose. Sculpture of mesosoma mostly granulate. Pronotum with pronotal groove mostly crenulate, short subventral longitudinal carina present. Mesopleuron rugose below subalar groove. Subalar groove sparsely crenulate. Mid-posterior region of mesoscutum rugose. Mesoscutellar trough entirely costate. Metanotum mostly smooth, with one or two pairs of lateral carinae. Propodeum mostly rugose.

Wings. Fore wing: Stigma length/height 3.5-3.7. Vein r/2RS 1.1-1.3. Vein r/RS+Mb 1.2-1.3. Vein 3RSa/2RS 1.9-2.0. Vein 3RSa/2M 0.83. Vein 3RSa/3RSb 0.5. Vein 1CUa/1CUb 0.8-0.9. Vein 1CUa/2CUa 1.8-1.9. Vein 1cu-a nearly vertical. Vein 1M weakly curved basally. Vein RS+Ma weakly curved. Vein M+CU virtually straight. Vein 1-1A weakly sinuate at apex. Vein 1a absent. Second submarginal cell long and trapezoidal. Subbasal cell glabrous, with two parallel rows of short setae subapically, and a narrow patch of setae just below vein 1CUa. Basal cell mostly evenly setose, sparsely setose posteriorly, with a bare spot posteriorly. Hind wing: Vein RS bent at basal 0.3, with vein r present. Marginal cell narrowest at base. Vein M+CU/1M 1.4-1.6. Vein M+CU/r-m 1.4-1.5. Vein m-cu present, spectral. Vein m-cu position relative to vein r-m antefurcal. Vein 2-1A absent. Basal cell sparsely setose, bare posteriorly.

Hind legs. Femur length/width 4.3-4.4. Length of tibia/tarsi ~ 0.9. Length of basitarsus/tarsi 2-4 0.70-0.75. Sculpture of hind coxa dorsally granulate. Tarsal claws not pectinate.

Metasoma. T1 length/apical width 1.2-1.3. T2 length/apical width 0.85. T3 length/apical width 0.60-0.65. Mid-longitudinal carina extending until basal 0.5 of T3. Metasoma sculpture T1 rugose, T2 and most of T3 striate-rugose, remainder terga granular-coriaceous. Ovipositor sheath/hind basitarsus 0.3. Apex of ovipositor sheaths truncate; apical point absent.

Color. (Figs 51-53 ) Brownish yellow. Stemmaticum black. Antenna dark brown basally, gradually lightening toward brownish yellow apex; pedicel dark brown; scape dark brown, ventrally yellow. Wings weakly tinged yellow; stigma yellow; most veins yellow but veins 1M at basal half, apex of 2CUb, and sometimes vein r brown; faint infuscate areas around base of vein 1M and below apex of vein 1-1A. Ovipositor sheaths dark brown (Fig. 53 ).

Male. Essentially as in female. Body length 6.5-6.7 mm; fore wing 5.2 mm; antenna with 51-52 segments.

Diagnosis.

Aleiodes inga is unique within the subgroup in having the fore wing vein r longer than 2RS and much shorter than 3RSa, the second submarginal cell rectangular and comparatively long (Fig. 54 ) and the frons without lateral carina (Fig. 52 ). Other characters are similar to A. nigristemmaticum .

Biology.

The most common host caterpillar for this species is Helia argentipes (Walker) ( Erebidae , Erebinae ) [7-SRNP-42758, 42751, 42801, 42836], but there are also records from Epitausa dilina ( Herrich-Schäffer) ( Erebidae , Eulepidotinae ) [7-SRNP-34415], feeding on Inga edulis and I. oerstediana ( Fabaceae ), and Letis mycerina (Cramer) [10-SRNP-65094] ( Erebidae ) feeding on Inga oerstediana . A database record from caterpillars of the Área de Conservación Guanacaste (http://janzen.sas.upenn.edu) of Rosema deolis (Cramer) ( Notodontidae ) [7-SRNP-42756] is refuted based on the morphology of the accompanying mummy.

Distribution.

This species is only known from northwest Costa Rica.

Etymology.

The name is a reference to Inga , a genus of small tropical trees in the Fabaceae family and the recorded host plant for some Erebidae host caterpillars of this new species.

Figures

Figures 51 - 54. Aleiodes inga sp. nov. 51 lateral habitus 52 head, dorsal view 53 apex of metasoma showing ovipositor and truncate sheath without apical point 54 wings.