Moona spermophaga Kim & La Salle

Kim, Il-Kwon, Maurice & Salle, John La, 2005, Moona, a new genus of tetrastichine gall inducers (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) on seeds of Corymbia (Myrtaceae) in Australia, Zootaxa 989, pp. 1-10 : 4-8

Moona spermophaga Kim & La Salle sp. nov.

( Figs 1–13 )

Diagnosis. Submarginal vein with 3–5 setae; postmarginal vein about 0.5 length of stigmal vein. Antenna with 4 anelli in female and 3 anelli in male; all funicular segments longer than broad. Scape and pedicel without rasp­like reticulation. Face with very weak frontofacial suture and scrobal depression with weak median carina ventrally. Gena swollen with malar sulcus slightly curved. Clypeal margin strongly bilobed. Pronotum long in lateral view. Mesoscutal midlobe without median line. Precoxal suture weak or absent. Propodeum without distinct median carina and paraspiracular carina; outer rim of propodeal spiracle partially covered by raised lobe of callus; spiracular depression open wide to anterior margin of propodeum. Gaster lanceolate; last tergum longer than broad.

Description.

Female ( Fig. 1–12 ). Body length 3.09–3.63 mm.

Body mainly green metallic or with red metallic tints; scape partially yellow but other antennal segments dark brown; yellow mainly on face except vertex, gena posteriorly, ventral part of lateral panel of pronotum, prepectus, and most parts of legs, except hind coxa; brown with slight greenish metallic tint on gaster.

Head ( Figs 1–3 ). POL about 1.8 times as long as OOL. Face with weak frontofacial suture just ventral to median ocellus, difficult to see in shrunken specimens. Scrobal depression with weak median suture dorsally and median carina or projection ventrally. Torulus located slightly below the middle of face; above the lower margin of eye; scape not exceeding vertex.

Gena swollen and malar sulcus slightly curved. Lower face with a longitudinal groove between torulus and clypeus. Clypeal margin strongly bilobed. Mouth about 2.5 times as long as malar space.

Antenna ( Fig. 8 ) with 4 anelli and 3 funicular segments. All funicular segments slen­ der and longer than broad. F1 almost as long as F2; F2 slightly longer than F3; F3 the shortest (F1: F2: F3 = 1.0: 1.0–1.1: 0.75–0.85). Clava 3 segmented; last segment without distinct terminal spine and slightly asymmetrical with its sutures oblique. Scape and pedicel without rasp­like reticulation.

Mesosoma ( Figs 4–5 ). Pronotum long in lateral view like Quadrastichodella . Mesoscutal midlobe without median line; with 5–7 adnotaular setae on each side; notaulus and transscutal articulation quite deep and wide. Scutellum with deep and distinct submedian and sublateral lines; anterior pair of setae located slightly posterior to middle. Mesosternum slightly concave just in front of trochantinal lobes. Precoxal suture weak to absent; if traceable, extending up to 0.6 length of mesopleuron. Dorsellum medially about 1.9 times as long as propodeum. Propodeum without distinct median carina; without paraspiracular carina; outer rim of propodeal spiracle partially covered by raised flap from callus; spiracular depression open to anterior margin of propodeum. Callus with 4–6 setae.

Gaster ( Figs 6–7 ) lanceolate and 1.1–1.4 times as long as head plus mesosoma. Apex of gaster acute; the last tergum longer than broad and ovipositor sheath projecting acutely so as to be clearly visible dorsally. Apex of hypopygium situated close to base, extending about 0.27–0.28 length of gaster from base. Cercus with 3–4 setae; cercal setae straight or very slightly curved; the longest seta slightly longer than the other two which are subequal in length.

Wing ( Figs 10–11 ). Submarginal vein with 4–5 dorsal setae; tapering apically and joining parastigma distal to proximal end of parastigma. Marginal vein not swollen. Stigma brown, stigmal veins from light to brown. Postmarginal vein about 0.5 length of stigmal vein. Costal cell: marginal vein: stigmal vein: postmarginal vein = 3.3–4.3: 3.7– 4.5: 1.0: 0.5. Basal line of setae absent and cubital line of setae not extending past base of speculum. The area distal to speculum densely setose.

Male ( Fig. 13 ). Body length 1.95–2.09 mm.

Body color almost the same as female; sometimes with blue and green metallic tint. Non­metallic parts pale color. Wing veins pale.

Antenna ( Fig. 9 ) with 3 anelli; 4 funicular segments which all longer than broad; without whorls of long setae. Claval suture of the last segment symmetrical. Ventral plaque 0.32–0.4 length of scape; lower margin of plaque located in the middle of scape. F1 slightly shorter than F2; F2 and F3 almost the same in length; F4 almost the same with or slightly longer than F1 (F1: F2: F3: F4 = about 1.0: 1.1–1.3: 1.1–1.3: 1.0–1.3). Mesoscutal midlobe with 3–5 adnotaular setae. Submarginal vein with 3–5 setae. Gaster 0.95–1.15 as long as head plus mesosoma.

Type material.

Holotype Ψ: Australia, Queensland, near Mount Perry, lat. 251738, lon. 1514150, coll., 6.X.2003, ex 24.III.2004 – 3.V.2004, reared from seeds of Corymbia citriodora subsp. variegata. ( ANIC).

22 Ψ, 27♂ Paratypes: Same collection date as Holotype (many of the specimen broken or damaged) (15Ψ, 12♂ ANIC); NSW, Batemans Bay, ex 17–24.VII.1940, reared from seeds of Corymbia maculata . (3Ψ, 11♂ ANIC); 1Ψ, 1♂: BMNH, CNC, QMB, USNM).

Non­type material: 1Ψ, 1♂, loc.?, ex. 10.V.2001, reared from seeds of Corymbia maculata .

Biology. Emerged from galls on seeds of Corymbia maculata and Corymbia citriodora subsp. variegata ( Figs 14–15 ). They are main gall inducers on seeds of these species, and they may induce 2–4 chambers on a single seed. Small numbers of wasps emerged intermittently for several months after the majority of emergences had occurred. Distribution. Queensland, New South Wales, Australia

Etymology. The species name spermophaga is from the Greek sperma meaning seed, and phagein meaning to eat. It signifies its biology feeding on seeds.

Figures

FIGURE 1 – 7. Moona spermophaga sp. n. Ψ. 1. Vertex, dorsal view; 2. Face, frontal view; 3. Head, lateral view; 4. Thorax, dorsal view; 5. Thorax, lateral view; 6. Gaster, dorsal view; 7. Gaster, lateral view.

FIGURES 8 – 15. Moona spermophaga sp. n. and seeds of Corymbia macualta. 8. Antenna, Ψ; 9. Antenna, ♂; 10. Forewing; 11. Submarginal vein; 12. M. spermophaga, Ψ; 13. M. spermophaga, ♂; 14. galled seeds, with more than 3 chambers; 15. normal healthy seeds.