Aleiodes carminatus, van Achterberg, Cornelis & Shaw, Mark R., 2016

van Achterberg, Cornelis & Shaw, Mark R., 2016, Revision of the western Palaearctic species of Aleiodes Wesmael (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Rogadinae). Part 1: Introduction, key to species groups, outlying distinctive species, and revisionary notes on some further species, ZooKeys 639, pp. 1-164 : 54-58

Aleiodes carminatus sp. n. Figs 113, 114-124

Type material.

Holotype, ♀ (NMS, Edinburgh), "[France:] Corsica: Corte, Val de Restonica ( Hôtel Colonna), 500 m, [at] light, 29. vii– 3.viii.[20]01, M.R. Shaw", "MRS Aleiodes DNA 102". Paratypes (11 ♀ + 23 ♂): 1 ♀ + 1 ♂ (NMS, RMNH), same data as holotype; 1 ♀ (BMNH), "[Spain:] Mallorca, Sa Roca, P.N. de s’Albufera, MV light, 2-27.ix.2013, M.R. Honey BMNH(E) 2013-158"; 1 ♀ (NMS), "Spain: Zaragoza Prov., Los Monegros, Retuerta de Pina, 30TYL 27.94, J. Blasco-Zumeta, 5104, 8.viii.[19]92, NMSZ1997.026, swept from Suaeda vermiculata "; 2 ♀ + 1 ♂ (NMS, RMNH), id., but 28.vi.1992 and swept from Suaeda vera , ♂ swept from Osyris alba ; 3 ♀ (NMS, RMNH), id., but 12.ix.1991 (1) or 10.ix.1993 (2) and collected at light; 2 ♂ (NMS, RMNH), id., but 10.vii.1993, at light; 9 ♂ (NMS, RMNH), id., but 10.ix.1993; 3 ♂ (NMS, RMNH), id., but 20.ix.1993; 2 ♂ (NMS, RMNH),, id., but?1991; 2 ♂ (NMS), id., but 20.vii.1993; 1 ♂ (NMS), id., but 20.viii.1993; 2 ♀ (FC), "Esp.: Valencia, El Saler (Casal d’Esplai), T.M., 20-27.vii.1992 & 17-24.viii.1992, J.V. Falcó y F. Luna"; 2 ♂ (FC), "Esp.: Valencia, Moncada-TM blanca, 6-13.vii.1992 & 13-20.vii.1992, M.J. Verdú”; 1 ♀, (NMS), "[Spain:] Canary Islands, Tenerife, Anco Viejo, La Sabinita, 20.iii.1999, R.R. Askew".

Molecular data.

MRS055 (Corsica JF962818, CO1), MRS098 (Corsica KU682224, CO1), MRS102 (Corsica KU682225, CO1).

Biology.

Unknown. This species is active at night and occurs in open habitats suggesting that its hosts live in low vegetation, but its voltinism is unclear.

Diagnosis.

Head weakly transverse (Fig. 122); body slender and entirely brownish yellow; antenna of ♀ (except scapus) dark brown; antennal segments of ♀ 34-37, of ♂ 35-40; eye rather small (Figs 121-123)); OOL equal to width of posterior ocellus; length of malar space of ♀ 0.5 × height of eye in lateral view (Fig. 123); speculum of mesopleuron smooth and shiny or superficially granulate; propodeum slightly elongate (Fig. 115); fore wing rather narrow (Fig. 114); vein m-cu of fore wing straight and angled to vein 2-CU1 (Fig. 114); pterostigma pale yellowish basally; hind coxa distinctly shorter than first tergite; fore wing subhyaline; apex of hind tibia with comb at inner side (Fig. 119); hind femur 5 × as long as its maximum width; hind trochantellus slender (Fig. 117); dorsal carinae of first metasomal tergite lamelliform protruding basally; second tergite without triangular area medio-basally (Fig. 116); third tergite weakly sculptured; fourth tergite without sharp lateral crease, fourth and following tergites partly retracted and largely smooth. Resembles Aleiodes testaceus (Telenga, 1941), but Aleiodes testaceus has no apical comb of the hind tibia (present in Aleiodes carminatus ); surrroundings of precoxal sulcus largely smooth and shiny (mainly granulate and moderately shiny); veins 1-SR and r of fore wing longer (shorter); antenna yellowish brown basally (dark brown) and length of malar space 0.3-0.4 × height of eye in lateral view (0.5 ×). Resembles superficially Aleiodes curticornis nom. n., but Aleiodes curticornis has no apical comb of the hind tibia (present in Aleiodes carminatus ); fore femur, third and penultimate antennal segments robust (slender) and antenna yellowish brown basally (dark brown). The presence of a hind tibial comb distinguished it from all the pale members of the Aleiodes circumscriptus group not treated in this paper.

Description.

Holotype, ♀, length of fore wing 3.4 mm, of body 3.9 mm.

Head. Antennal segments of ♀ 35, length of antenna 1.2 × fore wing, its subapical segments about 1.7 × as long as wide; frons rugulose-granulate, with satin sheen; OOL and POL 1.0 and 0.8 × width of posterior ocellus, respectively; vertex granulate, rather dull and distinctly depressed near ocelli; clypeus convex and coriaceous; ventral margin of clypeus thick and depressed (Fig. 121); width of hypoclypeal depression 0.3 × minimum width of face (Fig. 121) and face coriaceous with superficial rugulae; length of eye 2.4 × temple in dorsal view and temple roundly narrowed behind eye; occiput behind stemmaticum coriaceous with satin sheen; occipital carina widely interrupted medio-dorsally and ventrally weak and irregular (Figs 122-123); clypeus partly above lower level of eyes (Fig. 121); length of malar space 0.5 × height of eye in lateral view; eyes protruding (Fig. 122).

Mesosoma. Mesoscutal lobes coriaceous-granulate, with satin sheen, but medio-posteriorly longitudinally rugose and anteriorly steep; notauli obsolescent; prepectal carina medium-sized, reaching anterior border; precoxal area of mesopleuron (except posteriorly) and mesopleuron antero-dorsally distinctly rugose; remainder of mesopleuron (but speculum partly smooth and shiny) granulate and dull; metapleuron largely granulate, matt; mesosternal sulcus shallow and largely smooth; mesosternum rounded posteriorly; scutellum flat, granulate, and laterally with distinct carina, lunula narrow and parallel-sided; propodeum convex, without tubercles, rugulose anteriorly and remainder rugose, median carina complete.

Wings. Fore wing: r 0.7 × 3-SR (Fig. 114); 1-CU1 horizontal, 0.4 × as long as 2-CU1; r-m 0.7 × 2-SR, and 0.5 × 3-SR; second submarginal cell medium-sized (Fig. 114); cu-a slightly inclivous, nearly parallel with CU1b, straight; 1-M nearly straight and 1-SR distinctly angled with 1-M. Hind wing: apical half of marginal cell slightly widened; 2-SC+R short; m-cu absent.

Legs. Tarsal claws with yellow setae; hind coxa rugulose and with spaced oblique rugae, with satin sheen and 0.8 × as long as first tergite; hind trochantellus 2.8 × longer ventrally than wide (Fig. 117); length of fore and hind femora 6.6 and 4.8 × their width, respectively (Figs 117-118); inner apex of hind tibia with distinct comb (Fig. 119); length of inner hind spur 0.2 × hind basitarsus.

Metasoma. First tergite as long as wide posteriorly, convex anteriorly and dorsal carinae lamelliform protruding basally; first and second tergites longitudinally striate, robust (Fig. 116), with distinct median carina; medio-basal area of second tergite absent; second suture narrow and crenulate; third tergite largely longitudinally rugulose, but smooth posteriorly; third tergite with complete sharp lateral crease but this absent from following tergites; ovipositor sheath ventrally densely setose and remainder smooth, shiny and apically acute.

Colour. Yellowish brown; antenna (except scapus and pedicellus ventrally), ovipositor sheath and most of ventral part of metasoma dark brown; stemmaticum black; tegulae, pronotum partly and legs brownish yellow; veins brown; pterostigma pale yellowish, but slightly darkened laterally; wing membrane subhyaline.

Variation. Antennal segments of ♀: 34(5), 35(3), 36(2), 37(2), of ♂: 35(1), 36(1), 37(8), 38(3), 39(1), 40(2). In many specimens fore wing 2-SR is strikingly longer than r-m, but in others this is less distinctive. Hind femur sometimes brown, 4.5-4.9 × as long as wide and hind trochantellus 2.6-2.9 × longer ventrally than wide; occipital carina ventrally sinuate and reduced or complete; colour of body varies from nearly completely yellowish brown to largely brown. The female from Canary Islands is the darkest specimen examined with metasoma (except medial pale patch) and hind leg largely brown.

Etymology.

From “carmino” (Latin for “comb”), because of the comb on the hind tibia.

Distribution.

*France (Corsica), *Spain (mainland, Balearic and Canary Islands).

Note.

Males have on average about 2-3 more antennal segments than females.