Scelio baoli Risbec, 1950

Yoder, Matthew, Polaszek, Andrew, Masner, Lubomir, Johnson, Norman & Valerio, Alejandro, 2009, Revision of Scelio pulchripennis - group species (Hymenoptera, Platygastroidea, Platygastridae), ZooKeys 20 (20), pp. 53-118 : 67-70

Scelio baoli Risbec

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:894ADEA5-47EF-4E2B-B2CB-12B72795384F urn:lsid:biosci.ohio-state.edu:osuc_concepts:5180

Figs 9,19–24; Morphbank 13

Scelio baoli Risbec, 1950: 589 (original description); Masner, 1976: 17 (type information).

Description. Female body length: 2.76–3.77 mm (n=24). Male body length: 3.02 mm (n=1). Color of antenna in female: A1 brown to dark brown, tip of A2 and A3 slightly lighter (to yellow), remaining brown to dark brown. Color of head in female: black. Color of mesosoma in female: dark brown to black. Color of coxae in female: brown to dark brown. Color of leg past coxa in female: brown to dark brown. Color of metasoma in female: brown to dark brown.

Sculpture of lower frons in female: predominantly transverse to slightly arcuate striae. Sculpture of ventrolateral frons in female: minutely rugulose to obliterated, sculpture appearing slightly rough, without fine umbilicate sculpture. Form of malar sulcus in female: sulcus percurrent, slit, groove or carina extremely narrow but course well defined. Sculpture of upper frons of female: rugulose, with dorsoventral trend. Sculpture of dorsal head between and posterior to lateral ocelli in female: rugulose, obliterated in spots or not. Mandible of female: upper tooth typically developed, lower tooth very short but clearly present, truncate to pointed.

Transverse pronotal carina in female: well developed, linear or with extremely slight deviations, contiguous with mesoscutum or interrupted by a single subpolygonal cell, anterior shoulder relatively abruptly transitioned to anterior pronotum. Sculpture of medial mesoscutum in female: fine reticulate to irregularly rugulose. Sculpture of notaular course in female: more or less undifferentiated to slightly more robust and coarse relative to medial sculpture. Sculpture of lateral mesoscutum in female: present. Sculpture of mesoscutellum in female: irregularly longitudinally striate, sparsely to moderately reticulate. Sculpture of lateral pronotum in female (excluding interstitial

Figures Ι9–24 .52 Scelio baoli Risbec , female (OSUC 214182). Ι9 Habitus, dorsal view 20 Habitus, lateral view 2Ι Head and mesosoma, dorsal view 22 Head and mesosoma, lateral view 23 Head, anterior view 24 Mesonotum, dorsal view. Scale bars in millimeters.

sculpture): with smooth to obliterated patch immediately below lateral epomial carina, otherwise reticulate with few to moderate longitudinal elements. Pronotal verricule in female: apparently absent. Pronotal setal patch posteroventral to end of lateral epomial carina in female: dense (around 5 to many) small patch of appressed to slightly semidecumbent setae. Sculpture of mesopleural depression in female: predominantly irregularly reticulate. Pilosity of anteroventral metapleuron in female: glabrous, or sparsely setose. Dorsal surface of hind tibia in female: typical distribution and moderate length, setae appressed to loosely appressed, more or less straight. Shape of hind femur in female: narrow, dorsal and ventral surfaces relatively symmetrical. Basal pigmented spot of fore wing in female: percurrent from submarginal vein to posterior margin, striplike (a band), divided only by hyaline course of M+Cu. Basal fascia of fore wing in female: subrectangular, striplike, percurrent from anterior to posterior margin. Apical fascia of fore wing in female: broad, more or less semicircular, only slightly lightened, without lighter patch posteriorly, gradually lighter to apex of fore wing.

Sculpture of dorsal T 1 in female: longitudinally striate, with moderate to dense reticulation, intersticies rough throughout. Sculpture of dorsal T 2 in female: fine parallel to slightly reticulate striae with minutely colliculate to transverse sculpture within interstices. Sculpture of anterior T2 through anterior depression in female: interrupted with by a smooth strip, majority of sculpture not contiguous with that of posterior T2. Sculpture of dorsal T 3 in female: dense minute reticulations, with slight longitudinal elements absent to very sparse. Medial sculpture of T 4 in female: present, obliterated to smooth. Medial sculpture of T 5 in female: obliterated to smooth. Sculpture of T2– T5 curved transition from dorsal to lateral terga in female: sculptured. Profile of female metasoma in lateral view: dorsal and ventral surfaces more or less evenly convex. Sculpture of lateral T2–T 6 in female: fine irregular longitudinal striae throughout. Pilosity of laterotergites in female: present on T1–T5, present on T1–T4.

Diagnosis. Similar to other nonmetallic species with the mesoscutum completely sculptured. Differing from these by the combination of the uninterrupted transverse pronotal carina, the presence of an apical fascia on the fore wing and the fine reticulate sculpture of T3.

Link to distribution map. [http://osuc.biosci.ohio-state.edu/HymOnline/maplarge.html?id=5180]

Associations. Emerged from eggs of Zacompsa festa Karsch ( Orthoptera : Acrididae , Acridinae ).

Material examined. Lectotype female (present designation): SENEGAL: M’Bambey , OSUC 234732 (deposited in MNHN) . Other material (46 females, 1 male): BENIN: 1 female, OSUC 254437 ( BMNH). BOTSWANA: 10 females, OSUC 211498 , 211527 , 211530 , 211555 , 211583 ( CNCI) ; OSUC 164199 , 212087 ( OSUC) ; OSUC 171362–171363 , 171370 ( USNM). MOZAMBIQUE: 1 female, OSUC 211540 ( CNCI). SENEGAL: 1 female, OSUC 234731 ( MNHN). SOUTH AFRICA: 27 females, 1 male, OSUC 254436 ( BMNH) ; OSUC 211453 , 211499 , 211518 , 211520 , 211531–211532 , 211576 , 211578–211580 , 211587 , 235073 ( CNCI) ; OSUC 142600 ( OSUC) ; OSUC 213542 , 213678 , 213684 , 213928 , 214182 , 223326 ( SAMC) ; OSUC 167010 , 167017–167018 , 213328 , 213482 , 250707 – 250708, 250710 ( SANC). TANZANIA: 1 female, OSUC 211516 ( CNCI). YEMEN: 2 females, OSUC 211514–211515 ( CNCI). ZAMBIA: 1 female, OSUC 254434 ( BMNH). ZIMBABWE: 3 females, OSUC 211456–211457 , 211588 ( CNCI) .

Comments. It is likely that the concept of Nixon (1958) and other past workers of S. pulchripennis is the concept presented here for S. baoli . Nixon (1958) noted “Sculpture of the scutellum very variable...”, and while there are general trends, the sculpture of the mesoscutellum and mesoscutum does indeed vary in the relative prominence of longitudinal versus transverse elements. Nixon’s (1958) figure of the wing seems to match more closely the wing of S. leipo , but interpretation of the presence or absence of the apical fascia is difficult. In the past Malagasy specimens in the pulchripennis -group were identified as S. pulchripennis . All material from Madagascar is here excluded from S. baoli ; see S. parapulchripennis and S. leipo for material from Madagascar.

Scelio baoli is the most widespread species within Africa. While the majority of specimens are known from eastern Africa, the type series was collected in Senegal. In West Africa S. baoli can only be confused with S. corion . In some specimens of S. baoli the lateral mesoscutum is slightly polished or flattened, which would seem to represent an intermediate state between the absence of sculpture observed in S. corion and its presence in S. baoli . Th e unique sculpture of the medial mesoscutum in S. corion (relatively uninterrupted longitudinal grooves, cf. Fig. 10) together with the obliterated patches on the lateral metasoma (sculptured throughout in S. baoli ), however, clearly distinguishes S. corion from S. baoli . Th e particularly dense, fine reticulate to near granulate sculpture of the metasoma is most common, though weakly striate sculpture is also possible.

Risbec (1950) did not designate a holotype, but listed three specimens as the material he examined. We were only able to locate two of these three in the MNHN. We have designated one of these as the lectotype in order anchor the concept of S. baoli .

Three potentially extralimital specimens are here included in S. baoli . Two individuals from Yemen match well with smaller individuals from South Africa with the wing banding pattern being slightly more highly contrasting, the apical fascia appearing percurrent from anterior to posterior. At present this difference does not seem to warrant description of an additional species. A single specimen from Nigeria (OSUC 211518) has the sculpture of the metasoma and face less dense than typically observed, but otherwise matches well. See also Comments section for S. pulchripennis .