Notiospathius xanthofasciatus De Jesus-Bonilla , Nunes, Penteado-Dias, Zaldivar-Riveron

De Jesus-Bonilla, Vladimir Salvador, Nunes, Juliano F., Penteado-Dias, Angelica M., Csoesz, Sandor & Zaldivar-Riveron, Alejandro, 2011, A new synonym of the Neotropical parasitoid wasp genus Notiospathius (Braconidae, Doryctinae), with redescription of two species and description of five new species from Brazil, ZooKeys 122, pp. 71-90 : 82-84

Notiospathius xanthofasciatus De Jesus-Bonilla, Nunes, Penteado-Dias, Zaldivar-Riveron sp. n. Figs 6 A–D

Diagnosis.

This species differs from the remaining described Brazilian species of Notiospathius by having the following combination of features: (1) hind femur brown with yellow transverse stripe in the middle (Fig. 6C) (hind femur without yellow transverse stripe in the remaining species), (2) fourth metasomal median tergite sculptured on basal half (Fig. 6D) (see Notiospathius atra diagnosis for character states of remaining species), (3) mesopleuron rugose dorsally (Fig. 6A) (at least partially porcate or coriaceous dorsally in the remaining species), and (4) hind coxa with a distinct tubercle at base (see Notiospathius atra diagnosis for character states of remaining species).

Description.

Female. Colour: Head brown to light brown, eye orbits yellow; scape and pedicel honey yellow; flagellomeres honey yellow, turning brown at apex; palpi yellow to white. Mesosoma and first metasomal tergum brown to dark brown, remaining terga brown except the last one, which is light brown. Ovipositor and sheaths light brown, dark brown to black at apex. Fore and middle coxae, trochanter and trochantellus yellow, fore femur yellow, turning brown dorsally, middle femur brown with a lighter transversal stripe medially, fore and middle tibiae light brown; hind coxa dark brown to black, trochanter and trochantellus yellow, femur brown with yellow transverse stripe medially, tibia light brown, turning yellow to white apically; tarsi light brown to honey yellow. Wings dusky, veins brown, stigma brown with yellow at extreme base, tegula honey yellow to ligth brown. Body length: 5.0 mm, ovipositor 6.0 mm. Head: Clypeus granulate, face striate-rugose, frons striate-rugose to rugose, vertex strongly rugose anteriorly, striate-rugose posteriorly, temple striate, gena smooth; eye 1.2 times higher than wide (lateral view); malar space 0.5 times eye height (lateral view); temple 0.3 times eye width (dorsal view); hypoclypeal depression elliptic; ocular-ocellar distance 2.3-2.6 times diameter of lateral ocellus; length of scape 1.6 times its width (frontal view); antenna with 32 flagellomeres. Mesosoma: Length of mesosoma about twice its maximum height; pronotum laterally costate-rugose, pronotal groove wide and scrobiculate, propleuron costate-coriaceous; mesoscutal lobes strongly rugose, with a median, transverse coriaceous area (Fig. 6B); notauli scrobiculate, meeting before scutellum at middle of mesoscutum in a large rugose area (Fig. 6B); scutellar disc coriaceous- rugose; mesopleuron rugose dorsally, rugose-coriaceous medially and ventrally (Fig. 6A); precoxal sulcus wide, scrobiculate, as long as mesopleuron; venter of mesosoma coriaceous, region near precoxal sulcus slightly transversely striate; propodeum and metapleuron rugose, propodeum without median longitudinal carina or areola; apical lateral corners without tubercles, spines over hind coxae absent. Wings: Fore wing length 4.1 times its maximum width, length of pterostigma 5.3 times its maximum width, vein r 0.2 times length of vein 3RSa, vein m-cu interstitial with vein 2RS, vein 1cu-a interstitial with vein 1M; hind wing vein M+CU 0.6 times length of vein 1M. Legs: Hind coxa rugose-coriaceous, with a well-defined tubercle at base; fore, middle and hind tibiae granulate; fore, middle and hind femora coriaceous; middle tibia with a row of at least seven spines. Metasoma: First metasomal median tergite rugose basally, costate-rugose apically, length 2.8 times its apical width (lateral view); basal sternal plate (acrosternite) about 0.6 times length of tergum (Fig. 6C, D); second and third median tergites costate with rugose microsculpture, sutures between second and third and third and fourth median tergites distinct and sinuate; fourth median tergite costate on basal half, smooth on apical half (Fig. 6D); remaining median tergites smooth and polished; ovipositor 1.5 times length of metasoma.

Male. Smaller than female. Body length 3.7 mm.

Variation. Female. Body length: 4.5-6.0 mm. Head: eye 1.1-1.2 times higher than wide (lateral view); malar space 0.4-0.5 times eye height (lateral view); ocular-ocellar distance 2.3-2.6 times diameter of lateral ocellus; length of scape 1.4-1.6 times its width (frontal view); antenna with 30-32 flagellomeres. Wings: Length of pterostigma 5.0-5.3 times its maximum width. Metasoma: Length of first metasomal median tergite 2.6-2.9 times its apical width (lateral view); ovipositor 1.5-1.6 times length of metasoma.

Holotype.

Female (NHML). "Brasil, Nova Teutonia, 27°11'S, 52°23'W; 30-XII-1938; Fritz Plaumann coll, B. M. 1937-724".

Paratypes.

Five females, three males (NHML, CNIN-UNAM). Same data as holotype.

Biology.

Unknown.

Etymology.

From the Greek xanthos, meaning yellow or golden, and the Latin fascia, meaning band or stripe, referring to the yellow stripe on the hind femur of the species.

Comments.

We examined a large series of specimens from south and southeast Brazil that are morphologically very similar to Notiospathius xanthofasciatus . However, the latter species distinguishes from these specimens by having the venter of mesosoma coriaceous, (consistently coriaceous-rugose in the other specimens), the fourth metasomal median tergite sculptured on basal half (always smooth in the other specimens), and the length between ocelli evidently longer. We also found considerable variation in some diagnostic features in the above specimens, suggesting there is more than one undescribed species involved, though we need to confirm their boundaries before describing any of them.