Opius rojam Daniels & Wharton

Wharton, Robert, Daniels, Sophia, Shirley, Xanthe & Restuccia, Danielle, 2013, An opiine Braconidae (Hymenoptera) reared from Richardiidae (Diptera) and recognition of a new species group of Opius s. l., ZooKeys 289, pp. 65-101 : 70-74

Opius rojam Daniels & Wharton sp. n. Figs 469132937, 39-4043

Type locality.

Trinidad, St. George Co., Curepe

Type material.

Holotype. Female (USNM), first label, first line: Trinidad: St. George second line: Co., Curepe third line: III 1982 fourth line: F.D. Bennett second label, first line: ex puparium second line: Sepsisoma third line: erythroceph- fourth line: alum third label: 82-92

Paratypes.

One male, same data as holotype except third label = 82-90 (TAMU). Two females, Costa Rica, Puntarenas Province, Golfito, 25.vi.1976, M. Wasbauer, Malaise trap 8am-5pm (TAMU).

Description.

Female. Eye in dorsal view 2.1-2.2 × longer than temple, temples not receding; eye in lateral view 2.3-2.5 × longer than temple. Face coarsely shagreened throughout; weakly elevated midridge extending from clypeus to antennal bases bifurcated dorsally by shallow impression extending ventrally from frons; median impression more elongate in Trinidad than in Costa Rica specimens. Clypeus coarsely shagreened; ventral margin concave, strongly impressed, in profile very weakly bulging dorsad impressed ventral margin, otherwise flat; 1.7-1.8 × wider (between anterior tentorial pits) than midheight. Anterior tentorial pit large, diameter 0.3-0.4 × maximum height of clypeus. Malar space 0.7-0.8 × longer than basal width of mandible; malar sulcus deep, marking sharp contrast between shagreened face and smooth, polished gena. Occipital carina broadly absent dorsally, well-developed laterally, widely separately from hypostomal carina ventrally. Mandible broadly triangular, without basal tooth or lobe; dorsal margin reflected ventrally, broadly exposing labrum; with two apical teeth, ventral tooth slightly smaller than and positioned posterior to dorsal tooth. Maxillary palp about as long as height of head. Antenna approximately 1.8 × longer than body, with 55 flagellomeres; first flagellomere 1.1-1.2 × longer than second, 1.25-1.35 × longer than third; first, second, and third flagellomeres 3.1-3.5, 2.6-2.8, and 2.2-2.5 × longer than wide, respectively; setae on basal flagellomeres thin, pale.

Mesosoma 1.5 × longer than high; 2.3 × longer than wide; 1.5-1.6 × higher than wide. Pronope deep, very large, posterior margin flattened, obliterating posterior transverse sulcus and broadly overlapping base of mesoscutum; pronotum laterally with shallow vertical groove lacking carinate anterior margin. Mesoscutum anteriorly on nearly same plane as pronotum, without distinct anterior declivity; with white, weakly decumbent setae around margins and extending in 1-2 rows along traces of notauli to posterior margin, becoming less densely clustered posteriorly; midpit absent. Notaulus deeply impressed as a short, curved line, not extending to anterior margin of mesoscutum, extending posterior-medially nearly to level of anterior margin of tegula; extending laterally towards tegula as groove bordered by very well-developed supramarginal carina. Scuto-scutellar sulcus rectangular, crenulate. Scutellum bare medially, setose laterally. Propodeum coarsely, carinately rugose, with short median trough anteriorly, areola indistinct, largely obscured by sculpture posteriorly; pleural sulcus irregular, mostly obscured by sculpture; propodeal spiracle equidistant from anterior and posterior margins. Mesopleuron smooth, polished, bare except posterior-ventrally; precoxal sulcus not evident in holotype, present in paratypes as short, faintly impressed, unsculptured groove. Metapleuron finely rugulose on ventral 0.5-0.6, evenly covered with long, white setae.

Wings. Fore wing stigma wedge-shaped, discrete distally, approximately 3.6 × longer than wide; r1 shorter than stigma width, arising from basal 0.55 of stigma; 1RS (excluding parastigma) short, 0.15-0.2 × length of 1M; m-cu interstitial; second submarginal cell converging distally, 3RSa 1.15-1.3 × longer than 2RS; 1cu-a usually interstitial with 1M, weakly postfurcal in one female paratype. Hind wing m-cu completely absent; RS and M equally well-developed as pigmented lines.

Metasoma with T1 1.2-1.3 × longer than apical width, apex 1.7-1.9 × wider than base, length 2.9-3.4 × height at spiracle; sharply declivitous anteriorly, with deep, discrete basal depression; surface coarsely rugose; dorsal carinae distinctly elevated, nearly parallel-sided throughout, very weakly diverging posteriorly, not sinuate, transversely carinate between dorsal carinae; laterope large, deep. T2+3 uniformly shagreened, T4 more weakly and irregularly so. Ovipositor short; ovipositor sheath about 0.2-0.3 × length of mesosoma.

Color. Head, body, tegula, fore and mid legs, hind coxa, trochanter, trochantellus, femur, and basal 0.6-0.7 of tibia orange; remainder of hind leg, pretarsi of all legs, antenna, and ovipositor sheath dark brown to black; wings infumate to darkly infumate.

Male. Largely as in female with variation as follows: antenna 2.05 × longer than body, with 56 flagellomeres; mesosoma 2.4 × longer than wide; fore wing m-cu postfurcal; T1 with apex 2.0 × wider than base; metasomal tergum and genitalia black.

Body length 3.9-4.0 mm, fore wing length 4.0 mm, mesosoma length 1.45-1.55 mm.

Diagnosis.

Face shagreened throughout. Temples in dorsal view not receding. Antenna with 55-56 flagellomeres; setae on basal flagellomeres thin, pale. Mesoscutum anteriorly on nearly same plane as pronotum, without distinct anterior declivity. Propodeum coarsely, carinately rugose, with short median trough anteriorly, areola largely obscured by sculpture posteriorly. Fore wing 3RSa 1.15-1.3 × longer than 2RS. T1 sharply declivitous anteriorly; surface coarsely rugose. T2+T3 distinctly shagreened. Ovipositor short; ovipositor sheath about 0.2-0.3 × length of mesosoma. Head, body, hind coxa and femur orange; antenna without pale subapical ring; wing infumate.

This species is nearly identical to Opius ingenticornis , from which it differs primarily in sculpture. Most notably, T1 is extensively shagreened in Opius ingenticornis and lacks coarsely rugose sculpture (Fig. 38). In Opius rojam , T1 lacks evident shagreening and is coarsely sculptured throughout (Figs 9, 37), including distinct transverse carinae be tween the dorsal carinae. Opius rojam is also a slightly larger species, with somewhat darker wings. For further discussion of related species, see remarks under Opius gabrieli below as well as the remarks under Opius ingenticornis and Opius filiflagellatus .

Biology.

The two specimens from Trinidad (holotype and male paratype) were reared from Sepsisoma erythrocephala ( Diptera : Richardiidae ), and associated puparia are pinned with the specimens. Additional details are given above under the Biology heading at the beginning of the results section.

Etymology.

This species is dedicated to Major, a dear friend, but for nomenclatural purposes the species name should be treated as an arbitrary combination of letters.

Remarks.

The holotype shows evidence of developmental irregularities along the midline of T2+3 (Fig. 40). The antennae are broken in paratypes from Costa Rica, but these specimens otherwise match the reared material from Trinidad. The male and female from Trinidad have approximately the same number of flagellomeres. The flagellomeres are more numerous than in the females of Opius ingenticornis but fewer than in the male paratypes of this species as recorded by Fischer (1965c). The apparent difference in antennal length between the male and female of Opius rojam from Trinidad may be an artifact since the antennae are strongly curled apically in the female holotype and therefore difficult to measure accurately.