Prasmodon eminens Nixon, 1965

Fernandez-Triana, Jose L., Whitfield, James B., Smith, M. Alex, Braet, Yves, Hallwachs, Winnie & Janzen, Daniel H., 2014, Review of the Neotropical genus Prasmodon (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Microgastrinae), with emphasis on species from Area de Conservacion Guanacaste, northwestern Costa Rica, Journal of Hymenoptera Research 37, pp. 1-52 : 18-19

Prasmodon eminens Nixon, 1965 Figs 95 , 97

Prasmodon eminens Nixon, 1965: 206.

Type locality.

PERU: Chanchamayo.

Holotype.

♂, NHM (not examined).

Material examined.

8 ♀, 18 ♂ (BMNH, CNC, INBio, INHS, NMNH), Costa Rica, ACG; 2 ♂ (CNC), Ecuador, Pichincha, Rio Palenque, 160-200m.

Description.

Female. Body length 4.9-5.0 mm, 5.1-5.2 mm, rarely 5.3-5.4 mm. Fore wing length 5.1-5.2 mm, 5.3-5.4 mm, rarely 5.5-5.6 mm. Body color: mesosoma entirely yellow-orange (with the exception of a very small black spot on axillar complex), metasoma with only small brown areas centrally on mediotergites 4-7 (usually only on mediotergires 5-6) ( Fig. 95 ). Scape color: partially dark brown to black. Flagellomeres color: most flagellomeres brown to black, except for small apical area (F15-16, and occasionally apical half of F14) which is yellow-brown. Tegula and humeral complex color: both pale. Mesotibia color: posterior 0.1-0.2 dark brown to black. Metatibia color: posterior 0.1-0.3 dark brown to black ( Fig. 95 ). Metatibia spurs color: dark brown to black. Metatarsus color: dark brown to black (except for anterior 0.7 or less of first metatarsomere) ( Fig. 95 ). Fore wing color pattern: uniformly and entirely infumate (except for small hyaline area near veins (RS+M)b and 2M). Fore wing veins color: all veins dark brown ( Fig. 95 ). Pterostigma color: entirely dark brown. Hypostomal carina: not raised. Scutoscutellar sulcus: with 5 impressions or with 6 impressions. Areolet height÷vein r length (fore wing): 0.2 ×. Hind wing subbasal cell: mostly without setae. Hind tarsal claws: with pectination uniform, teeth thick and relatively evenly spaced. Shape of mediotergite 1: distinctly narrowing posteriorly, width at posterior margin clearly less than width at anterior margin and median width ( Fig. 95 ). Mediotergite 1 length÷width at posterior margin 4.1-4.5 ×. Mediotergite 2 width at posterior margin÷length: 3.1-3.5 x, rarely 2.6-3.0 ×. Ovipositor sheaths length: 0.5 × as long as metatibia or 0.6 × as long as metatibia.

Male. As female but with flagellomeres fully dark brown to black.

Molecular data.

Sequences in BOLD: 67, barcode compliant sequences: 61 ( Fig. 105 ).

Biology and ecology.

Hosts: Crambidae , Anarmodia nebulosalis , Asturodes fimbriauralis DHJ02, Bocchoris marucalis , Ceratocilia sixolalis , Desmia Janzen07, Desmia Solis19, Eulepte concordalis , Eulepte Janzen12, Eulepte Solis15, Mimophobetron pyropsalis , Omiodes fulvicauda , Omiodes humeralis , Pantographa suffusalis , Parastenia retractalis , Phostria mapetalis , Piletosoma thialis , Portentomorpha xanthialis , and Syllepte amando DHJ02.

Distribution.

Widely distributed in rain forest in northern South America and Central America, including Brazil ( Mardulyn and Whitfield 1999), Costa Rica, ACG rain forest ( Valerio et al. 2005), Ecuador (this paper), and Peru ( Nixon 1965).

Comments.

This species was described by Nixon (1965) based on one male specimen. Valerio et al. (2005) extensively illustrated the species, including the cocoon and adults, but until now no detailed description of the female was available. DNA barcodes were made available recently by Smith et al. (2013). Host records are considerably expanded here, based on new data from the ongoing inventory of ACG parasitoids. Valerio et al. (2005) mentioned that this species shows some regional morphological variation and might well represent a complex of sibling species. Since we were not able to examine the holotype, or DNA barcode it, we infer from its morphological description that the ACG Prasmodon eminens is the same species.

Figures

Figure 105. Neighbor-Joining tree (Saitou and Nei 1987) based on distances computed using the Kimura 2 - parameter method (Kimura 1980) of all Prasmodon sequences from the ACG. Tree tips are labeled with species name | specimen accession | host information | sequence length and ambiguities | type status.

Figure 94 - 95. 94 Prasmodon zlotnicki. Body, dorsal view 95 Prasmodon eminens. Body, dorsal view.

Figures 40 - 45. Prasmodon masoni. 40 Habitus 41 Fore wing 42 Head and mesosoma (partially), lateral view 43 Hypopygium, ovipositor, ovipositor sheaths, and hind leg (partially), lateral view 44 Head and mesosoma, dorsal view 45 Propodeum and metasoma, dorsal view.