Trigonalys gotica Santos & Aguiar, 2012

Santos, Bernardo F., Aguiar, Alexandre P. & Tedesco, Anazelia M., 2012, Trigonalidae (Hymenoptera) from cacao agroforestry systems in northeastern Brazil, with two new species of Trigonalys Westwood, Journal of Hymenoptera Research 25, pp. 19-34 : 25-29

Trigonalys gotica Santos & Aguiar sp. n. Figs 13-19

Holotype

♀, Ubaitaba, Fazenda Casa de Pedra, Pt. 5, 20.XI.2002 (UFES).

Paratypes.

1 ♀, Barra do Rocha, Fazenda Iacina, Pt. 1, 19.XI.2002. 1 ♂, Buerarema, Fazenda Boa Sorte, Pt. 5, 29.XI.2002; 2 ♂♂, same data except Pt. 7. 1 ♂, Ipiaú, Fazenda Petrolina, Sítio Casca, Oeste, 15.II.2007. 1 ♀, Itacaré, Fazenda Muchirão, Pt. 1, 22.XI.2002; 1 ♂, same data except Pt. 2, 12.XII.2003. 1 ♀, Itororó, Fazenda Santa Cruz, pt. 3, 24.XI.2002 (UFES); 1 ♂, same data except Pt. 7, 24.VIII.2003. 1 ♀ from Ituberá, Fazenda Vale da Juliana, Leste, 26.I.2007. 1 ♂, Ubaitaba, Fazenda Casa de Pedra, Pt. 5, 9.IV.2003; 1 ♂, same data except Fazenda Fortaleza, pt. 1, 16.VIII.2002; 1 ♀, same data except Pt. 4; 1 ♀, same data except XII.2003; 1 ♂, same data except Pt. 7, 20.XI.2002; 1 ♀, same data except Pt. 8, 16.VIII.2002. 1 ♂, Uruçuca, Fazenda Bom Jardim, Pt. 4, 23.XI.2002 (CEPLAC).

Diagnosis.

Blackish or dark brown with pale yellow marks; mesopleuron with oblique mark extending from dorsad to ventrad of longitudinal sulcus; female armature absent; frons and vertex punctate-areolate; supra-antennal elevation subtle; propodeal foramen V-shaped; fore wing vein M arising distinctly basad to crossvein 1cu-a.

Description.

Holotype: body length 9.9 mm; fore wing length 9.0 mm.

Head ( Figs 13, 14-16 ). Mandible covered with dense and moderately long setae, teeth glabrous; four teeth on right mandible; dorsal tooth of right mandible [observed in paratypes; right mandible of holotype not visible] slightly longer than median teeth, distinctly bent upwards; ventral tooth slightly longer and more slender than other teeth; three teeth on left mandible, dorsal tooth dorsally pointed and bent, ventrally round, sharp, ventral tooth slender, pointed, median tooth intermediate between dor sal and ventral ( Fig. 14 ). Clypeus 2.60 × as wide as maximum length, densely pilose, deeply punctate. Inner margin of eyes subparallel; interocular distance at narrowest level 1.36 × maximum eye height. Antenna with 23 flagellomeres, about twice the lateral length of mesosoma; intertoruli distance distinctly longer than distance from torulus to inner margin of eye. Supra-antennal elevation subtle, not forming a sharp carina. Frons and vertex densely covered with short hairs, entirely deeply punctate-areolate; frons without any trace of longitudinal depression; posterior ocelli slightly turned laterally so that they are weakly elevated medially while forming a small depression on vertex laterally. Gena width in lateral view, at level of midline of eye, 1.25 × maximum eye height, moderately punctate, densely pilose, particularly at ventral 0.4. Occipital carina conspicuous, slightly widest dorsally.

Mesosoma ( Figs 13, 17-18 ). Densely pilose. Pronotum: anterior, neck-shaped portion short, in dorsal view transversal, about 3.6 × as wide as long, crossed anteriorly by single, stout, transverse carina, centrally nearly smooth, anterior margin sharp, reflexed upwards; a line of tall, erect hairs along anterior margin and another line of same hairs along anterior carina; pronotum lateral area dorsally subareolate-rugulose, ventrally sparsely to densely punctate, its posterior margin with longitudinal wrinkles; central portion of lateral area intensely concave, anteriorly with distinct oblique swelling. Mesoscutum and scutellum foveate-areolate, centrally more coarsely; lateral lobe with narrow, straight, smooth, mid-longitudinal line; notaulus deeply impressed, with a few transverse wrinkles inside; median lobe of mesoscutum progressively raised from base to apex, until moderately detached from lateral lobes at anterior end; scutellum with very shallow but distinct mid-longitudinal sulcus; mesosoma crenulated along its entire width just behind transscutal articulation. Hypoepimeron distinctly projected, subpyramidal, punctate, except small posterior area shiny and impunctate; scrobal sulcus distinct, somewhat crenulate; mesopleuron otherwise mostly punctate to areolate-punctate. Mesopleural suture entirely carinate. Metanotum (a narrow yellow stripe; Fig. 17 ) with only a few anterior punctures. Metapleuron areolate-rugulose. Transverse sulcus at base of propodeum very narrow, moderately deep. Propodeum densely pilose, laterally setae slightly longer and erect than centrally; areolate-rugulose, laterally more coarsely, medially with very slight longitudinal line, sublaterally with raised lines (perhaps traces of longitudinal carina); propodeal spiracle covered by prominent, convoluted flap. Propodeal foramen shaped as an acute, inverted V. Legs covered with dense whitish pubescence; hind coxa moderately punctate, dorsally with distinct, wide depression, deepest at apex (probably to receive the trochanters).

Wings. Fore wing vein M arising distinctly basad to crossvein 1cu-a; crossvein 2m-cu distinctly sinuous, with bulla on anterior 0.65; crossveins 2r-m and 3r-m almost straight. Second submarginal cell not petiolated; third submarginal cell subrectangular, much wider than high.

Metasoma ( Fig. 19 ). Densely and fully covered with short setae. Tergum I short and broad, trapezoidal in dorsal view, 1.63 × as long as its maximum width, apical width 2.80 × basal width, centrally distinctly concave and with slight transverse wrinkles, tergum otherwise impuctate; posterior margin nearly straight across. Terga II-V and sterna I-V areolate, densely covered with short setae. Metasomal armature absent. Ovipositor sheath conical, without carinae.

Color. Blackish with pale yellow marks. Head: blackish; antenna mostly dark brown, except flagellomeres 4-8 or so brown, and last 6 apical flagellomeres progressively lighter, last one yellowish brown; palpi brown; dorsal mark on mandible, part of malar space, lateral areas of clypeus and face, small mark on inner margin of torulus, and narrow mark on gena along most of eye length, pale yellow. Mesosoma: mostly blackish, pale yellow on pronotal collar, dorsal margin of pronotum, median mesoscutal lobe antero-laterally on each side, along anterior third of notaulus, axilla almost entirely, scutellum except posterior margin and mid-longitudinally, metanotum, nearly vertical stripe on mesopleuron, metapleuron just ventrad of hind wing, posterior 0.6 of metapleuron and contiguous with sublateral mark on propodeum; shiny brownish on tegula and prominence of propodeal spiracle. Legs mostly dark brown, fore tibia anteriorly mostly yellow, hind trochanters fully and coxa dorsally yellowish. Wings slightly infuscate, fore wing widely infuscate in brown along entire anterior margin. Metasoma: blackish; terga I-V and sterna I-II with posterior margin bearing a narrow pale yellow stripe, on terga II-III stripe also extending longitudinally along ventral margin; tergum VI brownish; sterna III-IV at apical margin with small lateral pale yellow marks.

Male. Essentially identical to female, except by genital features. Antenna with 20-22 flagellomeres.

Variation.

Body 5.0-9.9 mm long, small to medium-sized specimens, observed both for males and females; fore wing 5.0-9.0 mm long. Antenna with 20-23 flagellomeres. In many specimens the blackish areas are brownish; some specimens with bright yellow marks instead of pale yellow. Scutellum almost entirely yellow or having slight to distinct posterior blackish mark. Crossvein 2m-cu sometimes only slightly sinuous; second submarginal cell may vary from nearly to distinctly (but shortly) petiolate. Small specimens have lighter/paler color tonalities than large ones.

Comments.

This species does not match any of the described New World species of Trigonalys . It can be readily differentiated from Trigonalys sanctaecatharinae (Schulz) by the absence of female armature (vs. present, though delicate, on sternum III, on Trigonalys sanctaecatharinae ). The color pattern of the two species is also almost entirely different ( Figs 13 , 20). It is however important to mention that “melanic” forms are known for Trigonalys sanctaecatharinae that are more extensively black. Further differences include the vertex areolate-rugulose (vs. punctate in Trigonalys sanctaecatharinae ); anterior, neck-shaped portion of pronotum short (vs. quite long); central lobe of mesoscutum only subtly elevated (vs. distinctly elevated, detached from lateral lobes); and longitudinal groove on mesopleuron straight (vs. curved upwards).

It is distinguished from Trigonalys melanoleuca by the color pattern, with yellow marks on pronotal collar, dorsal margin of pronotum, mesoscutum, scutellum, and metanotum (vs. marks on those areas absent in Trigonalys melanoleuca ); mesopleuron with an oblique mark extending from dorsad to ventrad of longitudinal sulcus (vs. with large mark placed ventrad to sulcus); mid and hind femora predominantly dark brown (vs. often with extensive white marks). Additionally, Trigonalys melanoleuca has the fore wing more distinctly infuscate centrally (cells 1R1, 1M, 2Cu, 1Rs) and antero-apically (cells 2R1, 2Rs) (vs. infuscated along entire anterior margin only), supra-antennal elevation very stout, vertex sculpturing smooth (vs. coarse punctate-areolate), propodeum uniformly punctate (vs. areolate-rugulose) and posterior margin of tergum I rounded (vs. nearly straight).

The color pattern of Trigonalys gotica is more similar to that of Trigonalys erythrocephala (see above),but the two species can be easily differentiated by their general structure. Trigonalys gotica has subtle supra-antennal elevation (vs. stout, conspicuous in Trigonalys erythrocephala ); vertex deeply punctate-areolate (vs. shiny, finely punctate); pronotal collar very slightly raised (vs. moderately raised), pronotum with a less evident oblique carina (vs. distinct); hind coxa without distinctly deep depression to receive trochanters (vs. distinctly deep); propodeal foramen V-shaped (vs. U- or M-shaped), and female armature absent (vs. well developed).

The diagnostic differences provided above to separate Trigonalys erythrocephala from the remaining New World species of Trigonalys ( Trigonalys flavescens , Trigonalys championi and Trigonalys maculifrons ) also apply equally well to distinguish them from Trigonalys gotica .

Etymology.

The specific epithet refers to the shape of the petiolar foramen, which reminds the classic design of a Gothic arch.

Figures

Figures 13 - 19. Trigonalis gotica Santos et Aguiar, sp. n. Holotype female except Figure 14. 13 Lateral habitus (Morphobank accession number M 99940) 14 Paratype female, head, antero-ventral (M 99941) 15 Head, antero-dorsal (M 99942) 16 Head, dorsal (M 99943) 17 Mesothorax, dorsal (M 99944) 18 Propodeum, dorsal (M 99945) 19 Apical segments of metasoma, latero-ventral, left, showing ovipositor (M 99946).