Opius nympha Fischer

Wharton, Robert & Norrbom, Allen L., 2013, New species and host records of New World, mostly Neotropical, opiine Braconidae (Hymenoptera) reared from flower-infesting, stem-galling, and stem-mining Tephritidae (Diptera), ZooKeys 349, pp. 11-72 : 47-50

Opius nympha Fischer Figs 4, 26, 67-70

Opius nympha Fischer, 1968: 34-35, 40-41 (key), 111-113 (description). Holotype female in CNC (examined).

Opius nympha : Fischer 1971: 92 (catalog).

Opius (Thoracosema) nympha : Fischer 1977: 409-410, 436-437 (key, redescription); Yu et al. 2005, 2012 (electronic catalogs).

Type locality.

Mexico, Mexico, Toluca.

Type material.

Holotype. Female (CNC), first label, first line: Toluca, 10 Mi. E., second line: 8900', Mexico, Mex., third line: 31 –VII– 1958, fourth line: J. G. Chillcott.

Other specimens examined.

Mexico: 5 females, 10 males, Distrito Federal, Rt. 95 between Km 42 and 43, 1 km N La Cima, 8.viii.1989, A.L. Norrbom, reared ex. Paroxyna from flowers of Senecio sanguisorbae DC. (89M3) (TAMU, USNM); 2 females, 4 males, same host and host plant data but Morelos, Parque Lago de Zempoala, 9-11.viii.1989, A.L. Norrbom (89M9) (TAMU, USNM); 5 females, 5 males, same locality and collector but 23-25.ix.1991, reared ex. Paroxyna sp. from capitulae of Roldana lineolata (DC.) H. Rob. & Brettell (91M11) (TAMU, USNM); 2 females, Mexico, Rt. 890 Km 9 area, 6 km W Lago Zempoala, 2.x.1991, A.L. Norrbom, reared ex. Paroxyna sp. from capitulae of Senecio iodanthus Greenm. (91M33) (TAMU, USNM); 2 females, Mexico, Parque Popo Izta, Rt. 451 (Amecameca Cholula), Km 17.6, 13.viii.1989, A.L. Norrbom; reared ex. Paroxyna from stems of Barkleyanthussalicifolius (Kunth) H. Rob. & Brettell (89M1) (TAMU, USNM).

Diagnosis.

Temple narrow, eye about 2.0-2.5 × longer than temple in both dorsal and lateral view. Clypeus somewhat crescentic, ventral margin weakly protruding in lateral view, sharp, truncate medially, curving ventrally near lateral margins; labrum broadly exposed. Malar space about as long as basal width of mandible, malar sulcus complete, deeply incised throughout. Occipital carina widely absent dorsally, the gap greater than distance between eyes in dorsal view, carina present, well developed laterally, widely separated from hypostomal carina at base of mandible. Antenna with 20-21 (female) and 22-24 (male) flagellomeres. Pronotum dorsally narrow, with median pit; laterally without vertical carina adjacent median vertical groove. Mesoscutum with deep, vertical anterior declivity; notaulus a short, deep impression barely extending posteriorly beyond anterior declivity, continuing to posterior margin of mesoscutum only as a narrow band of setae, disc of mesoscutum otherwise bare, without midpit posteriorly; supramarginal carina well-developed. Precoxal sulcus short, not extending to anterior or posterior margins of mesopleuron, nearly always (95%) crenulate. Propodeum largely smooth, polished, with some rugulose sculpture medially adjacent posterior margin; setose laterally. Hind tibia without basal carina. Fore wing stigma wedge-shaped, gradually merging with R1 distally, r arising from basal 0.25; 3RSa 1.6-1.95 (female) and 1.5-1.85 (male) × longer than 2RS; m-cu distinctly postfurcal; 2CUb arising distinctly below middle of distal margin of 1st subdiscal cell. Hind wing RS absent; m-cu present, extending 0.3-0.5 distance to wing margin as a crease, usually weakly pigmented basally. T1 with laterope but without dorsope; dorsal carinae distinct to level of spiracle, nearly absent posteriorly, not reaching posterior margin, rugulose to nearly smooth between carinae. T2 and following without sculpture. Ovipositor (total length) 1.4 × longer than mesosoma; ovipositor sheath 0.9 × length of mesosoma. Color: head yellow, usually with faint infumate spots around dark ocellar triangle and posteriorad middle of eye; meso- and metasoma dark brown with T2+3, small spot surrounding propodeal spiracle, and some to all of pronotum laterally yellow; male often with yellow markings on mesopleuron, sometimes extensively; wings hyaline.

Biology.

All of the specimens were reared from species of the tephritid genus Campiglossa (currently treated as a senior synonym of Paroxyna , the genus name indicated on the labels as noted above under specimens examined). The vast majority of the specimens were reared from flower heads, but two of the specimens were from stems containing flies of this genus. Wasps and flies were reared from four species of Asteraceae , representing three or four closely related genera [ Senecio sanguisorbae (DC.) C. Jeffrey is also known as Packera sanguisorbae (DC.) C. Jeffrey]. Plant host names are given in the materials examined section. One of the samples yielded 28 flies and 5 braconids (15% parasitism by Opius nympha ).

Remarks.

Fischer (1968, 1977) provides a detailed description and keys for this species, all in German. The above diagnosis is intended primarily to highlight features useful for separating Opius nympha from the other species of Opius s.l. treated here. This species is readily distinguished from members of the baderae, godfrayi, and pipitae species groups by the distinctly lower position of 2CUb arising from the distal side of the 1st subdiscal cell. From the remaining species of Opius described or otherwise treated in this publication, O. nympha can be differentiated by the absence of a mesoscutal midpit, the presence of a weakly sculptured precoxal sulcus, and the lack of rugose or carinate sculpture medially on the propodeum.

Fischer (1977) placed Opius nympha in the subgenus Thoracosema Fischer, characterized by reduced propodeal sculpture. The precoxal sulcus is very weakly sculptured in a few of the specimens, and these would likely run instead to Phaedrotoma in Fischer (1977). Opius nympha also superficially resembles species in the Old World genus Psyttalia Walker, but differs in such characteristics as the lack of propodeal carinae medially and the presence of a hind wing m-cu in addition to lacking a short T2.

All of the specimens listed in the material examined section appear to represent a single species, with color and sculptural variation as great within each series as it is among the different series. However, there are an additional six specimens from Costa Rica and one from Guatemala (all USNM, all reared from Campiglossa ) that appear to represent one or more species. They differ slightly from Opius nympha in having an extensively rugose propodeum and very slightly longer ovipositor, but because of the sculptured propodeum they would not be placed in the same subgenus as Opius nympha in the classification of Fischer (1972, 1977). The morphological variation in the material at hand thus suggests that Opius nympha is likely to be just one of several closely related species specializing on Campiglossa . Determining whether other members of this group are described or undescribed will require extensive comparisons across several large subgenera in Fischer’s (1972, 1977) classification, the only one providing extensive keys for Neotropical species.