Apanteles aichagirardae Fernandez-Triana

Fernandez-Triana, Jose L., Whitfield, James B., Rodriguez, Josephine J., Smith, M. Alex, Janzen, Daniel H., Hallwachs, Winnie D., Hajibabaei, Mehrdad, Burns, John M., Solis, M. Alma, Brown, John, Cardinal, Sophie, Goulet, Henri & Hebert, Paul D. N., 2014, Review of Apantelessensu stricto (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Microgastrinae) from Area de Conservacion Guanacaste, northwestern Costa Rica, with keys to all described species from Mesoamerica, ZooKeys 383, pp. 1-565 : 68-70

Apanteles aichagirardae Fernandez-Triana sp. n. Fig. 35

Apanteles Rodriguez150 ( Smith et al. 2006). Interim name provided by the authors.

Type locality.

COSTA RICA, Guanacaste, ACG, Sector Cacao, Sendero Derrumbe, 1220 meters, 10.92918, -85.46426.

Holotype.

♀ in CNC. Specimen labels: 1. COSTA RICA, Guanacaste, ACG, Sector Cacao, Sendero Derrumbe, 1220 meters, 24.iv.2006, 10.92918, -85.46426, 01-SRNP6737. 2. DHJPAR0012466.

Paratypes.

1 ♀ (CNC). COSTA RICA: Guanacaste, ACG database code: DHJPAR0012468.

Description.

Female. Body color: body mostly dark except for some sternites which may be pale. Antenna color: scape, pedicel, and flagellum dark. Coxae color (pro-, meso-, metacoxa): dark, dark, dark. Femora color (pro-, meso-, metafemur): pale, pale, dark. Tibiae color (pro-, meso-, metatibia): pale, pale, anteriorly pale/posteriorly dark. Tegula and humeral complex color: tegula pale, humeral complex half pale/half dark. Pterostigma color: dark. Fore wing veins color: mostly dark (a few veins may be unpigmented). Antenna length/body length: antenna about as long as body (head to apex of metasoma); if slightly shorter, at least extending beyond anterior 0.7 metasoma length. Body in lateral view: not distinctly flattened dorso–ventrally. Body length (head to apex of metasoma): 3.1-3.2 mm or 3.3-3.4 mm. Fore wing length: 3.3-3.4 mm or 3.5-3.6 mm. Ocular–ocellar line/posterior ocellus diameter: 1.7-1.9. Interocellar distance/posterior ocellus diameter: 1.7-1.9. Antennal flagellomerus 2 length/width: 3.2 or more. Antennal flagellomerus 14 length/width: 1.4-1.6. Length of flagellomerus 2/length of flagellomerus 14: 2.3-2.5. Tarsal claws: with single basal spine–like seta. Metafemur length/width: 3.0-3.1. Metatibia inner spur length/metabasitarsus length: 0.6-0.7. Anteromesoscutum: mostly with deep, dense punctures (separated by less than 2.0 × its maximum diameter). Mesoscutellar disc: mostly smooth. Number of pits in scutoscutellar sulcus: 9 or 10. Maximum height of mesoscutellum lunules/maximum height of lateral face of mesoscutellum: 0.4-0.5. Propodeum areola: completely defined by carinae, including transverse carina extending to spiracle. Propodeum background sculpture: mostly sculptured. Mediotergite 1 length/width at posterior margin: 1.1-1.3. Mediotergite 1 shape: clearly widening towards posterior margin. Mediotergite 1 sculpture: mostly sculptured, excavated area centrally with transverse striation inside and/or a polished knob centrally on posterior margin of mediotergite. Mediotergite 2 width at posterior margin/length: 3.2-3.5. Mediotergite 2 sculpture: with some sculpture, mostly near posterior margin. Outer margin of hypopygium: with a wide, medially folded, transparent, semi–desclerotized area; usually with 4 or more pleats. Ovipositor thickness: about same width throughout its length. Ovipositor sheaths length/metatibial length: 1.0-1.1. Length of fore wing veins r/2RS: 1.7-1.9. Length of fore wing veins 2RS/2M: 1.4-1.6. Length of fore wing veins 2M/(RS+M)b: 0.7-0.8. Pterostigma length/width: 2.6-3.0. Point of insertion of vein r in pterostigma: clearly beyond half way point length of pterostigma. Angle of vein r with fore wing anterior margin: more or less perpendicular to fore wing margin. Shape of junction of veins r and 2RS in fore wing: distinctly but not strongly angled.

Male. Unknown.

Molecular data.

Sequences in BOLD: 2, barcode compliant sequences: 2.

Biology/ecology.

Solitary. Host: Elachistidae , specimen with ACG database code: 01-SRNP-6737.

Distribution.

Costa Rica, ACG.

Comments.

This species is characterized by the combination of tegula different color from humeral complex, pterostigma brown, mediotergite 1 clearly widening towards posterior margin (1.3 × as long as wide at posterior margin), mediotergite 2 with posterior margin sinuate (width at expanded central area 1.7 × as large as width at lateral area), and ovipositor relatively thick (basal width about twice apical width).

Etymology.

We dedicate this species to Aicha Girardi, daughter of Caroline Boudreault (CNC, Ottawa) as an appreciation for Caroline’s support, especially photographing many types for this paper.