Oozetetes lucidus Pérez-Benavides, 2016

Pérez-Benavides, A. Lucia, Serna, Francisco & Gibson, Gary A. P., 2016, A new species of Oozetetes De Santis (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea: Eupelmidae) from Colombia with an updated key for the bucheri species-group, Zootaxa 4084 (3) : -

Oozetetes lucidus Pérez-Benavides , sp. nov.

Etymology. The species name is the Latin word lucidus , meaning bright, in reference to the bright body color of the female ( Fig. 1 ).

Material examined. Holotype female (UNAB, Catalogue No. 1191). Colombia, Caquetá, El Doncello, Vereda Anayacito, Farm Copoazú, N 1°40'2.33'' W 75°16'57", 337 m alt. Manually collected, on cocoa leaves, Theobroma cacao (Malvaceae) . L. Pérez. Specimen entire ( Fig. 1 ) with mesonotum flexed and mesosoma in contorted condition ( Fig. 1 ); cardboard-point mounted.

Diagnosis. Antenna dark except scape, pedicel and first funicular metallic green with blue-purple lusters under some angles of light (less distinctly so for first funicular, which has bluish-purple luster under some angles of light, Fig. 2 ); legs dark, femora and tibiae with bluish-green to purple lusters under some angles of light ( Fig. 1 ); interorbital distance 0.26× head width; costal cell dorsally with band of setae along length; gaster with Gt1–Gt5 dark with coppery luster except laterally and posteriorly with bluish-green luster under some angles of light ( Fig. 3 ); metasoma obviously longer than the mesosoma; fore wing uniformly light brown from near base of parastigma to apex; vanal area and cubital fold glabrous.

Description. Female. Length 8.2 mm ( Fig. 1 ), bright, with a color combination of green, blue and purple with coppery luster under some angles of light ( Fig. 1 ). Head metallic green with blue-purple lusters under some angles of light, more conspicuously toward scrobal depression, parascrobal region, gena, postgena and interantennal region; scrobal depression bell-shaped, extending to anterior ocellus and reticulate-rugose; parascrobal region granulose to microreticulate with small, darkened, setiferous punctures ( Fig. 2 ); frontoclypeal area with conspicuous white setae, excluding scrobal depression and upper parascrobal area; parascrobal area and vertex with setae brown and clearly longer than frontoclypeal setae. Mandible and palps black ( Fig. 2 ). Antenna black except scape, pedicel and first flagellomere metallic green with blue-purple luster under some angles of light (less distinctly so for first funicular, which has bluish-purple luster under some angles of light) ( Figs 1, 2 ); scape length, excluding radicle, 1.3 mm, pedicel 0.5 mm, and flagellum 3.4 mm.

Pronotum metallic green with coppery and blue lusters laterally along anterior margin extending to propleuron; posterior margin with white setae, these being thicker and longer in posterodorsal angle. Mesoscutum metallic green with blue and purple lusters, reticulate-rugulose; midlobe of mesoscutum with reticulations becoming larger and more conspicuous posteriorly between smooth paralateral ridges, and uniformly setose with white setae except longitudinal parapsidal bands granulate and bare; outer lateral lobe of mesoscutum more conspicuously rugulose with white setae anteriorly. Scutellar-axillar complex metallic green with blue-purple luster ( Fig. 4 ) and with evenly distributed dark setae; axilla rugulose; scutellum low convex, longitudinally cristate-strigose centrally. Tegula metallic green with blue luster and black margins ( Fig. 4 ), granulate with some white setae more noticeable on anterior margin. Prepectus metallic green with coppery and blue lusters depending on angle of light, granulate and bare ( Fig. 5 ). Mesothoracic pleurosternum metallic green except in ventral view transepisternal lines as parallel black bands ( Fig. 6 ), otherwise metallic green with blue and purple luster under some angles of light and acropleuron posteriorly with slight coppery luster; acropleuron bare, but mesothoracic pleurosternum otherwise with white setae anterior to and ventrally between acropleural sulci; acropleuron reticulate-rugulose anteriorly but with region of minute-reticulate to granular sculpture medially below base of wings and with sculpture increasing in coarseness posteriorly to posterodorsal margin where reticulate-punctate ( Fig. 5 ). Fore wing with marginal vein 3× as long as stigmal vein; postmarginal vein about 2× as long as stigmal vein; stigmal vein smoothly curved, uncus not readily distinguishable; costal cell ventrally densely setose along anterior margin as well as basally and apically, but bare posteriorly along submarginal vein, and dorsal surface with scattered setae along anterior margin except densely setose apically; vanal area and mediocubital fold bare; submarginal vein with line of setae and parastigma densely setose; fore wing uniformly light brown from near base of parastigma to apex, and with brown infuscation basally, including cubital and vanal folds and basal cell basally ( Fig. 7 ); fore wing setae dark brown in both infuscate and more hyaline areas ( Fig. 7 ); submarginal vein length 1.9 mm, marginal vein 1.1 mm, postmarginal vein 0.6 mm, and stigmal vein 0.4 mm. Legs with coxae metallic green, with blue and coppery lusters under some angles of light; trochanters dark brown; femora light brown basally and black distally, but with bluepurple and green metallic lusters under some angles of light; tibiae apparently black, with blue-purple lusters under some angles of light ( Fig. 1 ); protarsus brown, meso- and metatarsi black; pro- and metacoxae densely covered with white setae, likewise femora and tibiae with numerous white setae but to a lesser extent; pretarsus densely covered by dark setae. Metanotum, and metapleuron metallic green with blue luster under some angles of light. Propodeum very short medially, with plical region dark brown with purple luster under some angles of light, bare and smooth along foramen but otherwise rugulose; callus metallic green with bluish luster, reticulate-rugulose and with white setae except bare along oblique band behind spiracle ( Fig. 4 ).

Metasoma obviously longer than the mesosoma; reticulate-rugose sculpture, in lateral view with setae distributed uniformly on each laterotergite; metallic green laterally, but ventrally with blue and coppery lusters ( Fig. 3 ); first through fifth gastral tergites in dorsal view with between dark brown and black, but with coppery and purple lusters under some angles of light ( Fig. 4 ); first gastral tergite with purple luster anteriorly under some angles of light ( Figs 3, 4 ); syntergum with posterior margin curved and light yellow, giving the appearance of an edge; ovipositor sheaths light brown.

Male. Unknown.

Host. Unknown, but possibly the eggs of a cockroach ( Blattodea ).

Remarks. Because of its entirely dark, bright green to blue color, O. lucidus ( Figs 1–6 ) is very similar to O. splendens ( Figs 12–15 ). However, O. lucidus has all legs similarly dark ( Fig. 1 ), whereas in O. splendens the middle legs are mostly yellowish-orange and only the front and hind legs are dark ( Fig. 15 ) [described by Walker (1862: 396) as “Legs bright green; tarsi black; middle femora and middle tibiae red, the latter with black tips”]. Walker (1862: 396) also described the metasoma as “Abdomen fusiform, narrower and a little shorter than the thorax” ( Fig. 15 ). The mesonotum of the holotype of O. lucidus is in a flexed position and the mesosoma in a ‘contorted’ state sensu Gibson (1986) ( Figs 1 , 21 ). The mesosoma is therefore somewhat shorter than it would be in a more natural, uncontorted condition. This is because in a contorted state the pronotum, along with the head, is pulled back up over the anterior margin of the mesopleurosternum, thereby displacing the prepectus ( Fig. 5 ) (see Gibson 1986 for mechanics). Even though the mesosoma would appear somewhat longer in an uncontorted female, it is still obviously shorter than the metasoma ( Fig. 1 ). Females of O. bucheri are more conspicuously differentiated by having all the legs mostly orange ( Figs 10, 11 ), whereas pale scapes readily differentiate females of O. testaticornis ( Fig. 21 ) and O. nyctiboraphagus ( Fig. 18 ). Although O. magniclavatus is also entirely dark, it is comparatively dull rather than bright and has a much shorter and more strongly clavate flagellum ( Figs 8, 9 ) than that of O. lucidus ( Fig. 1 ) and O. splendens ( Fig. 14 ).

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 4. Oozetetes lucidus sp. nov. (holotype): 1, lateral habitus; 2, head and base of antennae, frontodorsal view (scd, scrobal depression); 3, metasoma, lateral view (Gtx, gastral tergite); 4, mesosoma and base of metasoma, dorsal view (cal, callus).

FIGURES 5 – 7. Oozetetes lucidus sp. nov. (holotype): 5, mesosoma, lateral view (ac, acropleuron; acs, acropleural sulcus; pl 2, mesopleurosternum; pre, prepectus; tgl, tegula); 6, mesopleurosternum, ventral view (tss, transepisternal sulcus); 7, fore wing (bf, basal fold; cc, costal cell; mdf, mediocubital fold; mv, marginal vein; pmv, postmarginal vein; smv, submarginal vein; stv, stigmal vein; vna, vanal area; vnf, vanal fold).

FIGURES 12 – 15. Oozetetes splendens (Walker, 1862) (holotype): 12, fore wing; 13, head, frontal view; 14, scape, pedicel and basal three flagellomeres; 15, dorsal habitus.

FIGURES 20 – 21. Oozetetes testaceicornis (Cameron, 1884) (holotype): 20, fore wing; 21, lateral view of head and mesosoma.

FIGURES 10 – 11. Oozetetes bucheri De Santis, 1970 (holotype): 10, lateral habitus; 11, dorsal habitus.

FIGURES 16 – 19. Oozetetes nyctiboraphagus Gibson, 2004: 16, dorsal habitus (paratype); 17, fore wing (paratype); 18, lateral habitus (holotype); 19, head, frontal view (holotype).

FIGURES 8 – 9. Oozetetes magniclavatus (Ashmead 1904) (holotype): 8, dorsal habitus; 9, head, frontal view.