Biroia Szépligeti, 1900

Stevens, Nicholas B., Austin, Andrew D. & Jennings, John T., 2010, Synopsis of Australian agathidine wasps (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Agathidinae), Zootaxa 2480, pp. 1-26 : 9-10

Biroia Szépligeti, 1900

( Figs 2 A, 6B, 9A)

Biroia Szépligeti, 1900: 62 . Type species: Biroia elegans Szépligeti, 1900 , by monotypy; Turner, 1918b: 229 [description]; Parrott, 1953: 199 [catalogue]; Shenefelt, 1970b: 368 [catalogue]; Bhat & Gupta, 1977: 265 [description, catalogue]; Sharkey, 1992: 437 [in tribe Cremnoptini]; Yu et al., 2005 [catalogue]; Sharkey et al., 2006: 557 [phylogeny, in tribe Cremnoptini]; Sharkey et al., 2009: 33 [key, description].

Isoptronotum Enderlein, 1920: 193. Type species Isoptronotum taeiocauda Enderlein, 1920, by original designation; Shenefelt, 1970b: 418 [catalogue]; Bhat & Gupta, 1977: 159 [key, description]; Sharkey et al., 2006: 557 [synonym of Biroia ].

Diagnosis. Length: 7–10 mm; colour: body varying from red–orange to yellow ( Fig. 9 A); wings infuscate; inter–antennal region with paired carinae or protuberances ( Fig. 6 B); frons with incomplete lateral carinae; notauli always absent (e.g., Fig. 3 A); claws cleft, base of claws not pectinate ( Fig. 2 A); mid tibial preapical spines absent; pair of longitudinal carinae not present on ventral surface of hind trochantellus; fore wing cell 1–RS present, quadrate and sessile (e.g., Fig. 4 B), vein 2–RS2 absent; ovipositor long, greater than 0.5 metasomal length (e.g., Fig. 9 C).

Comments. Biroia is closely related to Cremnops ( Sharkey et al. 2006) from which it can be distinguished by the basal claws being non-pectinate and notauli absent. It is not well represented in Australia and is more diverse in the Oriental region ( Bhat and Gupta 1977), with species occurring in Papua New Guinea to which the Australian representatives appear to be most closely allied.

Species richness and distribution. Only four species are known of which one is described. All are from the northeast part of the continent in the Torresian and northern Kosciuskan biogeographic regions.

Figures

FIGURE 2. Agathidinae leg characters: A, Biroia sp., fore tarsal claw cleft (arrowed), base non – pectinate; B, Braunsia sp., fore tarsal claw simple, non – cleft, basal lobe quadrate, non – pectinate; C, Cremnops sp., fore tarsal claw cleft, base pectinate (arrowed); D, Braunsia sp., mid tibial preapical spines (circled); E, Coccygidium sp., fore tibial spur long, sinuate and aristate (arrowed); F, Amputostypos sp., fore tibial spur short, non – sinuate and non – aristate (arrowed); G, Disophrys sp., posterior view of metasoma, showing paired longitudinal carinae on ventral surface of hind trochantellus (arrowed). Scale lines, A, B and C = 0.05 mm; D, E and F = 0.1 mm; G = 1 mm.

FIGURE 3. Agathidinae, dorsal mesoscutum and head: A, Therophilus sp., notauli absent; B, Disophrys sp., notauli present and scrobiculate (small arrow), lateral carinae of frons present (large arrow). Agathidinae lateral metasoma: C, Lytopylus rufipes; D, Therophilus sp. Scale lines = 0.5 mm.

FIGURE 4. Agathidinae fore wing venation characters: A, Coccygidium sp., fore wing cell 1 – RS triangular, vein 2 – RS 2 absent; B, Disophrys sp., fore wing cell 1 – RS quadrate, vein 2 – RS 2 present; C, Baeognatha sp., fore wing cell 1 – RS absent; D, Therophilus unimaculatus, fore wing cell 1 – RS small and petiolate, vein 2 – RS 2 absent. Scale lines A, B and D = 1 mm; C = 0.5 mm.

FIGURE 6. Agathidinae anterior head view: A, Baeognatha sp.; B, Biroia sp., paired carinae present on inter – antennal region. Scale lines = 0.5 mm.

FIGURE 9. Lateral habitus of Agathidinae spp.: A, Biroia sp.; B, Braunsia sp., exhibiting tropical mimicry complex colour pattern; C, Cremnops sp., exhibiting tropical mimicry complex colour pattern; D, Coccygidium sp. Scale lines = 1 mm.