Itaplectops griseobasis, Fleming, AJ, Wood, D. Monty, Smith, M. Alex, Janzen, Daniel H. & Hallwachs, Winnie, 2015

Fleming, AJ, Wood, D. Monty, Smith, M. Alex, Janzen, Daniel H. & Hallwachs, Winnie, 2015, Nine new species of Itaplectops (Diptera: Tachinidae) reared from caterpillars in Area de Conservacion Guanacaste, northwestern Costa Rica, with a key to Itaplectops species, Biodiversity Data Journal 3, pp. 4596-4596 : 4596

Itaplectops griseobasis sp. n.

Materials

Type status: Holotype. Occurrence: occurrenceDetails: http://janzen.sas.upenn.edu; catalogNumber: DHJPAR0007073 ; recordedBy: D.H. Janzen & W. Hallwachs, Gloria Sihezar; individualID: DHJPAR0007073; individualCount: 1; sex: F; lifeStage: adult; preparations: pinned; otherCatalogNumbers: ASTAV315-06, 06-SRNP-2159; Taxon: scientificName: Itaplectopsgriseobasis; phylum: Arthropoda; class: Insecta; order: Diptera; family: Tachinidae; genus: Itaplectops; specificEpithet: griseobasis; scientificNameAuthorship: Fleming & Wood; Location: continent: Central America; country: Costa Rica; countryCode: CR; stateProvince: Alajuela; county: Area de Conservacion Guanacaste; locality: Sector San Cristobal ; verbatimLocality: Rio Blanco Abajo; verbatimElevation: 500; verbatimLatitude: 10.9; verbatimLongitude: -85.373; verbatimCoordinateSystem: Decimal; decimalLatitude: 10.9; decimalLongitude: -85.373; Identification: identifiedBy: AJ Fleming; dateIdentified: 2014; Event: samplingProtocol: reared from caterpillar of Euprosternawemilleri (Limacodidae); verbatimEventDate: 04-Apr-2005; Record Level: language: en; institutionCode: CNC; collectionCode: Insects; basisOfRecord: Pinned Specimen

Type status: Paratype. Occurrence: occurrenceDetails: http://janzen.sas.upenn.edu; catalogNumber: DHJPAR0030159 ; recordedBy: D.H. Janzen & W. Hallwachs, Petrona Rios; individualID: DHJPAR0030159; individualCount: 1; sex: F; lifeStage: adult; preparations: pinned; otherCatalogNumbers: ASHYB903-09, 08-SRNP-32765; Taxon: scientificName: Itaplectopsgriseobasis; phylum: Arthropoda; class: Insecta; order: Diptera; family: Tachinidae; genus: Itaplectops; specificEpithet: griseobasis; scientificNameAuthorship: Fleming & Wood; Location: continent: Central America; country: Costa Rica; countryCode: CR; stateProvince: Guanacaste; county: Area de Conservacion Guanacaste; locality: Sector Pitilla ; verbatimLocality: Pasmompa; verbatimElevation: 440; verbatimLatitude: 11.019; verbatimLongitude: -85.41; verbatimCoordinateSystem: Decimal; decimalLatitude: 11.019; decimalLongitude: -85.41; Identification: identifiedBy: AJ Fleming; dateIdentified: 2014; Event: samplingProtocol: reared from caterpillar of Natadamichorta (Limacodidae); verbatimEventDate: 29-Nov-2008; Record Level: language: en; institutionCode: CNC; collectionCode: Insects; basisOfRecord: Pinned Specimen

Type status: Paratype. Occurrence: occurrenceDetails: http://janzen.sas.upenn.edu; catalogNumber: DHJPAR0020994 ; recordedBy: D.H. Janzen & W. Hallwachs, Jose Perez; individualID: DHJPAR0020994; individualCount: 1; sex: F; lifeStage: adult; preparations: pinned; otherCatalogNumbers: ASTA1337-07, 07-SRNP-41902; Taxon: scientificName: Itaplectopsgriseobasis; phylum: Arthropoda; class: Insecta; order: Diptera; family: Tachinidae; genus: Itaplectops; specificEpithet: griseobasis; scientificNameAuthorship: Fleming & Wood; Location: continent: Central America; country: Costa Rica; countryCode: CR; stateProvince: Alajuela; county: Area de Conservacion Guanacaste; locality: Sector Rincon Rain Forest ; verbatimLocality: Laureles; verbatimElevation: 95; verbatimLatitude: 10.933; verbatimLongitude: -85.253; verbatimCoordinateSystem: Decimal; decimalLatitude: 10.933; decimalLongitude: -85.253; Identification: identifiedBy: AJ Fleming; dateIdentified: 2014; Event: samplingProtocol: reared from caterpillar of Natadamichorta (Limacodidae); verbatimEventDate: 10-Aug-2007; Record Level: language: en; institutionCode: CNC; collectionCode: Insects; basisOfRecord: Pinned Specimen

Type status: Paratype. Occurrence: occurrenceDetails: http://janzen.sas.upenn.edu; catalogNumber: DHJPAR0023604 ; recordedBy: D.H. Janzen & W. Hallwachs, Anabelle Cordoba; individualID: DHJPAR0023604; individualCount: 1; sex: F; lifeStage: adult; preparations: pinned; otherCatalogNumbers: ASTAW461-08, 07-SRNP-5030; Taxon: scientificName: Itaplectopsgriseobasis; phylum: Arthropoda; class: Insecta; order: Diptera; family: Tachinidae; genus: Itaplectops; specificEpithet: griseobasis; scientificNameAuthorship: Fleming & Wood; Location: continent: Central America; country: Costa Rica; countryCode: CR; stateProvince: Alajuela; county: Area de Conservacion Guanacaste; locality: Sector San Cristobal ; verbatimLocality: Puente Palma; verbatimElevation: 460; verbatimLatitude: 10.916; verbatimLongitude: -85.379; verbatimCoordinateSystem: Decimal; decimalLatitude: 10.916; decimalLongitude: -85.379; Identification: identifiedBy: AJ Fleming; dateIdentified: 2014; Event: samplingProtocol: reared from caterpillar of Natadalalogamezi (Limacodidae); verbatimEventDate: 13-Jan-2008; Record Level: language: en; institutionCode: CNC; collectionCode: Insects; basisOfRecord: Pinned Specimen

Description

Male: unknown at this time.

Female

Length: 5-7mm.

Head (Fig. 8c): proclinate orbital bristles present; first flagellomere entirely dark or brownish orange over at least 1/2 of its surface; arista dark brown over 4/5 of its length, bright orange basally, with gradual taper; first flagellomere reaching facial margin; ocellar bristles reduced, almost hair-like, less than the length of pedicel, arising behind anterior ocellus; ocellar triangle covered in small proclinate hairs; frontal vitta approximately 2x as wide as fronto-orbital plate; facial ridge bare, 4-5 supravibrissal bristles; fronto-orbital plate silver; parafacial entirely silver and bare; fronto-orbital plate with fine bristles not confined to a row and interspersed with frontal bristles, these not extending past lowest frontal bristle.

Thorax (Fig. 8a, b): three postsutural supra-alar bristles, anteriormost extremely reduced in size so as to appear hair-like; katepisternum with 2 bristles of equal size, anteriormost arising directly below or slightly in front of suture; apical scutellar bristles short, up to 1/2 length of subapical scutellars; subapical scutellar bristles divergent; scutellum lacking discal bristles.

Wings (Fig. 8a): smoky yellow.

Legs (Fig. 8b): Appearing light colored overall, femur and tibia yellow, and tarsi haired, appearing black but with yellow ground color; dorso-ventral margin of hind tarsi with yellow tufts of bristles at tarsal apices.

Abdomen (Fig. 8a, b): T1+2 with mid-dorsal depression extending halfway along its length, but not reaching tergal margin; median marginal bristles present on all tergites. Discal bristles present on T3, these are shorter than marginal bristles but still obviously bristles. Silver tomentosity entirely covering T1+2 and on anterior margins of abdominal segments T3 and T4, covering up to 1/2 of tergal surface.

Diagnosis

Itaplectops griseobasis is to date only known from females. It is distinguished by the following combination of traits: first flagellomere brown/black over at least 1/2 of surface; legs yellow with black tarsi; median marginal bristles present on all tergites; discal bristles present at least on T3 (in some cases these can appear reduced but still present); silver tomentosity present on all of T1+2 and on margins of abdominal segments T3, T4, and the underside of T5. It can be distinguished from its most similar congener, Itaplectops akselpalolai , following couplet 9 in the key to Itaplectops (below).

Etymology

From the Latin adjective grisea, meaning “gray”, in reference to the silver tomentosity on the entirety of T1+2, and the Latin nound basis meaning "foundation".

Distribution

Costa Rica, ACG, Prov. Alajuela, rain forest.

Ecology

Hosts

Reared from caterpillars of 3 species of Limacodidae : Euprosterna wemilleri Corrales & Epstein, 2000; Natada lalogamezi Corrales, 2000; and Natada michorta Dyar, 1912.