Eurytoma sylviae, 2014

Delvare, Gérard, Gebiola, Marco, Zeiri, Asma & Garonna, A. P., 2014, Revision and phylogeny of the European species of the Eurytoma morio species group (Hymenoptera: Eurytomidae), parasitoids of bark and wood boring beetles, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 171 (2), pp. 370-421 : 411

EURYTOMA SYLVIAE DELVARE SP. NOV.

( FIG. 30A–K )

Type material

Holotype ♀. France: Hérault, Vic-la-Gardiole, Bois des Aresquiers , 2 m a.s.l., 43°27′56″N, 03°48′26″E, 27.vii.2004 (G. Delvare) (in MHNG).

Description

Female, body length 2.70 mm. Body and all coxae black. Trochanters dark brown. All femora, and meso- and metatibiae darkened on basal two-thirds. Knees, apices of meso- and metatibiae, whole protibia testaceous. Tarsi whitish. Basal two-thirds of scape testaceous, rest of antenna dark brown. Veins yellowish, darkened on parastigma. Ovipositor completely reddish.

Head relatively transverse in dorsal view, 1.87 times as wide as long but outline of frons strongly convex. Vertex punctured. OOL 0.80 times lateral ocelli diameter. POL 2.57 times median ocellus diameter. Frontal convexity and temple 0.18 and 0.29 times length of eye, respectively. Head roundish in frontal view, outline of genae convex. Clypeus distinctly emarginate ventrally. Lower face with radiating crests reaching above the antennal toruli and lower margin of eyes. Setation relatively sparse and thin. Length of malar space 0.73 times width of oral fossa and height of eyes. Eyes separated by 1.40 times their height. Height of antennal scrobes much shorter than distance between antennal toruli and lower margin of clypeus. Genae with narrow coriaceous stripe behind malar sulcus.

Antenna. Scape regularly tapering from base. Pedicel subtriangular. Funicular segments fusiform, all longer than wide and decreasing in length. Clava with an evident constriction between first segment and the following one.

Mesosoma 1.67 times as long as wide. Pro- and mesonotum densely and uniformly punctured, interspaces narrow, not showing any coriaceous sculpture. Setae thin and suberect, 1.30 times as long as the larger punctures. Pronotum 1.10 times as long as mesoscutum. Pronotum collar on median line 0.82 times as long as mesoscutum and on shoulders 1.27 times length of lateral lobes. Notauli broad and deeply impressed, rather strongly converging backwards. Scutellum 1.07 times as long as wide. Propodeum broadly depressed medially, median channel hardly visible anteriorly. Bottom of lateral prepectus finely reticulate. Anterior outline of mesepisternum straight.

Appendices. Metacoxa with a few hairs dorsally in basal half. Forewing 1.88 times as long as wide. Costal cell 0.44 times as long as wing. Setation of lower surface of costal cell as usual, not especially dense, and leaving posterior bare stripe. Marginal vein not widened, 5.54 times as long as wide.

Metasoma. Petiole short. Gaster short, as long as mesosoma (excluding ovipositor) and not laterally compressed. Syntergum much shorter than GT6 on median line. Ovipositor with sharp apex.

Male unknown.

Remarks

Eurytoma sylviae looks much like E. padi Vereshchagin, 1953 , as illustrated by Zerova (2010). Its type was not accessible to us but Marina Zerova and Victor Fursov (Schmalhausen Institute of Zoology, Kiev, Ukraine) kindly compared the plate representing E. sylviae with a paratype of E. padi . It was therefore possible to establish the morphological differences between the two species. The antennal toruli of E. sylviae are situated higher on the frons, the funicular segments are relatively longer, the marginal vein shorter, apart from some other small differences. Moreover, the host plant from which E. padi was reared is absent from the region where E. sylviae was collected.

Etymology

The species is dedicated to G.D.’s wife for her patient devotion to his entomological activities.

Hosts

Unknown, but the morphology of the gaster, quite similar to those of E. gatesi sp. nov. and E. padi , suggests that the species might be phytophagous in seeds of some plant. Eurytoma padi has been associated with the bird cherry Prunus padus L., 1753 ( Rosaceae ) ( Fursov & Zerova, 1991).

Distribution

The species is only known from the holotype collect- ed in Southern France (see Fig. S 10 in Appendix S8).

Figures

Figure 10. A–D, Eurytoma afra: A–C, female; D, male. A, head in frontal view; B, head and pronotum in lateral view; C, head and mesosoma in dorsal view; D, antenna.

Figure 30. A–K, Eurytoma sylviae sp. nov. (holotype ♀): A, head in frontal view; B, head in dorsal view; C, head in ventral view; D, head in lateral view; E, antenna; F, mesosoma in dorsal view; G, mesopleuron; H, propodeum; I, hind leg; J, base of forewing; K, gaster in lateral view.