Ophion artemisiae Boie, 1855

Johansson, Niklas & Cederberg, Björn, 2019, Review of the Swedish species of Ophion (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae: Ophioninae), with the description of 18 new species and an illustrated key to Swedish species, European Journal of Taxonomy 550, pp. 1-136 : 43-46

Ophion artemisiae Boie, 1855

Figs 6G, J , 7 J–K, 10F, 24A–B

Material examined

11 ♀♀, 7 ♂♂ ( Sweden); 1 ♀ ( Germany); 1 ♀ ( Norway).

Diagnosis

Fore wing length 14–16 mm. Antenna in both sexes with 55–59 flagellomeres. First flagellomere 3.0–3.5 times as long as wide. Central flagellomeres stout, about 1.2–1.3 times as long as wide. Subapical flagellomeres approximately 1.5 times as long as wide. Temples in female and male buccate, in lateral view temple 0.6–0.7 times as long as compound eye. Face below antennal sockets very densely punctured and shagreened, almost rugose. Punctures often merging. Malar space about 0.1–0.2 times as long as mandibular base in female and about 0.3 times in male. Mandibular gape right-angled, with internal angles. Wing membrane weakly yellowish to clear. Discocubitus evenly curved and ramellus usually entirely absent ( Fig. 24A ), rarely indicated as a small denticle. Radius weakly sinuous. Nervellus broken above or at the middle by the discoidella. Mesopleuron strongly shagreened with deep large punctures. Interstices between punctures 0.5–1 times their diameter. Mesopleuron centrally-posteriorly depressed. The depression more or less rugose or wrinkled with irregular punctures ( Fig. 24B ). Epicnemial carina, in antero-ventral view, with pleurosternal angles prominent, nearly in level with sternal angles. Pleurosternal angles slightly acute. Scutellum usually with distinct lateral carinae in basal 0.4–0.7 (as in Fig. 6C ) but sometimes less distinct (as in Fig. 6A ). Propodeum distinctly to weakly punctate, often quite polished with anterior and posterior transverse carina strong. The latter often narrowly interrupted centrally. Longitudinal carinae delimiting area superomedia usually weak ( Fig. 10F ) but sometimes stronger, forming a distinct area superomedia. Hind trochantellus shorter than wide in dorsal view. Legs normal with hind femur about 6.0 times as long as wide. Sclerotised part of first sternite ending slightly posterior to spiracle ( Fig. 6G ). One series of reared specimens from Blekinge with first tergite dorsally with three dinstinct grooves ( Fig. 7J ), spiracles of first tergite placed almost dorsally on the tergite and first tergite in lateral view strongly inflated anteriorly ( Fig. 7K ). Male genitalia as in Fig. 6J . Inner spur of hind tibia as long as 0.3 times metatarsus.

Colour

Body testaceous. Mandibular teeth black. Head with inner and outer eye margins yellow. Posterior metasomal segments sometimes infuscate in the ventral part. Ovipositor sheath testaceous or slightly infuscate, concolourous with apical metasomal segments.

DNA barcode

The DNA barcode sequences of four Swedish specimens of Ophion artemisiae are available at the BOLD systems database (www.boldsystems.org, BIN. BOLD: ADG 2760. Specimen codes: STI-NJBC: 08, 10, 192–193).

Ecology

The series in NHRS mentioned above is reared from C. absinthii (Linnaeus, 1761) . The original description by Boie refers to a rearing from Cucullia artemisiae (Hufnagel, 1877) . Brauns (1889) mentions a rearing from Cucullia formosa Rogenhofer, 1860 . One female, a potential future neotype, collected in Rügen, Northern Germany in HSC was reared from Cucullia argentea (Hufnagel, 1766) . The available data suggest that the species mainly occurs in semi-open grasslands in coastal areas in Southern Sweden. The species is active during late July to September in Sweden.

Distribution in Sweden

Rare in Central and Southern Sweden, only known from Skåne and one island in the Baltic Sea (Gotland) and one in the Atlantic (Koster).

Remarks

A morphologically distinct species easily separated from all other Ophion species in Northern Europe by the combination of the very prominent pleurosternal angles, almost level with the sternal angles (almost as prominent as in O. angularis Johansson & Cederberg sp. nov.), the posteriorly/centrally depressed and rugose-wrinkled mesopleuron, the absent or very short ramellus, the densely punctured face, the nervellus broken above the middle and the sclerotised section of first sternite ending obviously posterior to the spiracle. As the type material of Boie, probably collected in Northern Germany, is presumably lost, the current interpretation of this species depends solely on the original description. Boie (1855: 107) refers to a rearing of seven specimens on the 15 th of August from Cucullia artemisiae and mentions the absence of the ramellus as a defining character. He also refers to a rearing of a series of Ophion reared from C. absinthii but regrets that these specimens are no longer available for study. The first author has seen material from Croatia (Dalmatia) of a closely related species, that potentially also could fit the description given by Boie. This species, which possibly is conspecific with Ophion pseudocostatus Meyer, 1935 (type lost), is active in early summer in open rocky heathlands of Mediterranean type where it occurs alongside several Southern European Ophion species such as Ophion andalusicus Shestakov, 1926 and Ophion neglectus Habermehl, 1930 . The presumed O. pseudocostatus is darker in colour, has the mesopleuron more strongly wrinkled, the nervellus broken distinctly below the middle, the face less densely punctate, the ramellus usually present and the shape of the male genitalia different ( Fig. 6I ). As the southern species occurs in spring and early summer and seems to be restricted to Southern Europe, it is unlikely that it is conspecific with O. artemisiae as defined in this study. All Swedish records, as well as the original description, refer to a species active during late July–September.

Ophion artemisiae , as defined here, is also the Ophion costatus sensu Brauns (collected in Hungary). The description in Brauns (1889) mentions the absence of a ramellus, the evenly curved discocubitus, the shorter antennae (in relation to O. costatus as defined in this study) and the nervellus broken above the middle. Brauns’s Ophion artemisae ( O. costatus auct.) was reared from Cucullia formosa , which is a member of the species group feeding mainly on Artemisia L. The interpretation presented in this study is that Ophion artemisiae is a species specialised in parasiting Cucullia Schrank, 1802 species feeding on Artemisia , bearing in mind that additional information of rearing records, as well as barcoding of potential sibling species, might call for adjustments in nomenclature. It is also uncertain that the type material of Boie is really lost (Heinz Schnee, Markleeberg, pers. com.). Therefore a neotype is not designated for this species at the present stage. Notable is a series of one female and three males in NHRS from Blekinge that have the labels “Blekinge, Juni 1942 ex Cucullia absinthii , leg. Allander”. Two males have the metasoma missing but the female and the remaining male have three conspicous grooves dorsally on the first tergite ( Fig. 7 J–K). All specimens are also smaller than all other specimens of O. artemisiae studied and have stouter legs. In this study these specimens are treated as anomalies due to an aberration caused by rearing conditions but it shall be noted that Hellén (1926) has an interesting interpretation of O. mocsaryi (spelled moczaryi) found in two localities in Finland: “An dem vollständig gefeldertern Mediansegment und dem stark verbreiterten Postpetiolus, der mit einer Mittel- und zwei gebogenen Seitenfurchen versehen ist, zeimlich leicht zu erkennen.”. This description seems likely to refer to an aberration similar to that present in the Swedish specimens of O. artemisiae . Hellén’s material of O. mocsaryi is unfortunately lost (Gergely Várkonyi, Finnish Environment Institute, pers. com.; Juho Paukkunen, MZH, pers. com.) so no further studies could be made to exclude this as a species potentially differentiated from O. artemisiae .

Figures

Fig. 6. A–D. Scutellum, dorsal view. A. Ophion luteus (Linnaeus, 1758). B. O. areolaris Brauns, 1889. C. O. inclinans Johansson sp. nov., holotype, ♀ (NHRS-HEVA000008667). D. O. dispar Brauns, 1895. E–H. Firsttergite, lateral view.E. O.inclinansJohanssonsp.nov.,holotype,♀ (NHRS-HEVA000008667). F. O. dispar. G. O. artemisiae Boie, 1855. H. O. luteus. I–J. Shape of male parameres, lateral view. I. Ophion sp. cf. pseudocostatus Meyer, 1935. J. O. artemisiae.

Fig. 7. A–D. Occipital carina posterior view. A. Ophion confusus Johansson sp. nov., holotype, ♀ (NHRS-HEVA000008637). B. O. mocsaryi Brauns, 1889. C. O. ocellaris Ulbricht, 1926. D. O. areolaris Brauns, 1889. E–G. Hind trochanter and trochantellus dorsal view. E. O. slaviceki Kriechbaumer, 1892. F. O. obscuratus Fabricius, 1798. G. O. costatus Ratzeburg, 1848. H–I. Mandible ventral view. H. O. obscuratus. I. O. slaviceki. J–K. First tergite, aberration O. artemisiae Boie, 1855. J. Dorsal view. K. Lateral view. L–M. Head in posterior view showing generalized shape of occipital carina. L. O. obscuratus. M. O. variegatus Rudow, 1883. N–O. Central flagellomeres in males. N. O. obscuratus. O. O. variegatus.

Fig. 24. Ophion artemisiae Boie, 1855, ♀. A. Habitus, lateral view. B. Mesopleuron, lateral view. Scale bar: A = 1 mm.

Fig. 10. Generalized carination of propodeum in females, posterodorsal view. A. Ophion luteus (Linnaeus, 1758)/O. scutellaris Thomson, 1888/O. obscuratus Fabricius, 1792. B. O. costatus Ratzeburg, 1848. C. O. brocki Johansson sp. nov., paratype, ♀ (NHRS-HEVA000008633). D. O. confusus Johansson sp. nov., holotype, ♀ (NHRS-HEVA000008637). E. O. crassicornis Brock, 1982. F. O. artemisiae Boie, 1855. G. O. ellenae Johansson sp. nov., paratype, ♀ (NHRS-HEVA000008655). H. O. perkinsi Brock, 1982. I. O. ocellaris Ulbricht, 1926. J. O. areolaris Brauns, 1889. K. O. dispar Brauns, 1895. L. O. tenuicornis Johansson sp. nov., paratype, ♀ (NHRS-HEVA000008743). M. O. longigena Thomson, 1888. N. O. brevicornis Morley, 1915. O. O. forticornis Morley, 1915.