Cotesia tjapekki, Fagan-Jeffries & Austin, 2020

Fagan-Jeffries, Erinn P. & Austin, Andrew D., 2020, Synopsis of the parasitoid wasp genus Cotesia Cameron, 1891 (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Microgastrinae) in Australia, with the description of seven new species, European Journal of Taxonomy 667 (667), pp. 1-70 : 54-56

Cotesia tjapekki sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:92713381-3321-42C2-972C-1958ED27F5C8

Fig. 30

Diagnosis

Cotesia tjapekki sp. nov. can be separated from all other species of Cotesia currently described from Australia and Papua New Guinea by the following combination of characters: T1 parallel sided; scutellar disk with very strong, distinct punctures scattered over whole of area; fore wing 2RS not creating a ‘stub’ at junction with vein r; anteromesoscutum punctate reticulate; T3 dark; centre of medial posterior band of the scutellum smooth.

Etymology

This species was named by a group of Aboriginal Summer School for Excellence in Technology and Science (ASSETS) high school students who participated in an entomology workshop in 2019 with the first author. The students chose to use an acronym for the group’s members (Tiah, Jayda, Pete, Erinn, Kaitlyn, Katelen, Izzy) with the ‘a’ for ‘ASSETS’ to form the species name. The sound ‘tj’ is commonly used in the Pitjantjatjara language, which is spoken in the north-west of South Australia where the species has been collected. It is pronounced like the ‘j’ in the English word ‘jar’. The species name is a noun in apposition.

Material examined

Holotype

AUSTRALIA – South Australia • ♀; Andamooka Station, Andamooka Homestead; 30.72627° S, 137.20149° E to Wirrda Well 30.67943° S, 137.07232° E; vehicle net; 31 Sep. 2016; R. Leijs leg.; Bushblitz Lake Torrens; BOLD: AUMIC134-18, Genbank COI: MH138660 ; SAMA 32-035867 .

Paratypes

AUSTRALIA – South Australia • 1 ♂; Great Victoria Desert, Middle road; 29.11531° S, 129.54124° E to 28.91363° S, 130.27775° E; vehicle net; 24 Sep. 2017; R. Leijs leg.; Great Victoria Desert Bush Blitz ; BOLD: AUMIC535-19; Genbank COI: MK567156 ; SAMA 32-44407 • 1 ♂; same collection data as for preceding; BOLD: AUMIC536-19; Genbank COI: MK567158 ; SAMA 32-44408 • 1 ♂; Great Victoria Desert, Rodinia Road, Standard Survey Site 2; 28.8161° S, 129.5358° E to Airstrip 29.11530° S, 129.54124° E; vehicle net; 18 Sep. 2017; R. Leijs leg.; Great Victoria Desert Bush Blitz ; BOLD: AUMIC537-19; Genbank COI: MK567155 ; SAMA 32-44409 • 1 ♂; Great Victoria Desert , between Oak Valley 29°00′24.23″ S, 130°15′37.37″ E and 64 km NW of Oak Valley 29°24′57.70″ S, 130°43′51.83″ E; vehicle net; 3 Sep. 2015; J.A. Forrest and R. Leijs leg.; BOLD: AUMIC538-19, Genbank COI: MK567154 ; SAMA 32-44410.

Description

Female

COLOUR. Head, antenna and mesosoma dark, all tergites and most of metasoma dark, non sclerotised areas of T1–2 and anterior sternites paler; (fore-, mid-, hind coxa) dark, dark, dark; femora (fore-, mid-, hind femur) pale, pale though darker anteriorly, light brown darkening distally; tibiae (fore-, mid-, hind tibia) pale, pale, light brown darkening distally; tegula and humeral complex dark; pterostigma dark; fore wing veins light brown to dark.

BODY LENGTH. Head to apex of metasoma: 2.7 mm.

HEAD. Antenna slightly shorter than body length; OOL/posterior ocellus diameter 1.9; POL/posterior ocellus diameter 1.9; antennal flagellomere 2 length/width 3.4; antennal flagellomere 14 broken off in holotype.

MESOSOMA.Anteromesoscutum punctate reticulate, tending towards reticulate rugose on posterior lateral areas, punctures less dense in anterior centre; number of pits in scutoscutellar sulcus 9; scutellar disc with shallow but distinct punctures; maximum height of mesoscutellum lunules/maximum height of lateral face of mesoscutellum 0.6.

WINGS. Fore wing length 2.7 mm; length of veins r/2RS 1.2; length of veins 2RS/2M 1.2; length of veins 2M/(RS+M)b 1.0; pterostigma length/width 2.2.

LEGS. Hind tibia inner spur length/metabasitarsus length 0.6.

PROPODEUM. Medial carina indistinct in holotype, but clearly visible in male paratypes suggesting that female specimens may also have variable carina, holotype propodeum strongly rugose with some areas leaning towards reticulate rugose, but sculpturing less strong in some male paratypes.

METASOMA. T1 length / T1 width at posterior margin 1.3; mostly parallel sided, slightly bulging at posterior curved corners, reticulate rugose to rugose in posterior half, sculpturing ‘messy’ and not easily categorise; T2 width at posterior margin /T2 length 2.5, trapezoid with curved lateral sides, messy rugose sculpturing, crenulate border on lateral sides and with T3 although less distinct in some male paratypes; T2 length /T3 length 0.7; T3 sculpture smooth and shiny; ovipositor sheaths length/hind tibial length 0.1.

Male

As female but with slight variations in measurements, including antennal flagellomere 2 length/width 2.9; antennal flagellomere 14 length/width 3.0.

Distribution

Currently, this species is only recorded from arid South Australia, in the Lake Torrens and Great Victoria Desert regions.

Host

Unknown.

Remarks

This species constitutes the BIN BOLD:ADL5542, which has a maximum intraspecific distance of 1.28%, and a 2.41% distance to the nearest neighbour.

Figures

Fig. 30. Cotesia tjapekki sp. nov., holotype, ♀ (SAMA 32-035867) A. Metasoma in dorsal view. B. Habitus in lateral view. C. Habitus in dorsal view. D. Metasoma in lateral view. E. Mesoscutellum and propodeum. F. Anteromesoscutellum and scutellar disk. G. Head in dorsal view. H. Fore wing. I. Head in anterior view.