Alphomelon crocostethus Deans, 2003

Fernandez-Triana, Jose L., Shimbori, Eduardo M., Whitfield, James B., Penteado-Dias, Angelica M., Shaw, Scott R., Boudreault, Caroline, Sones, Jayme, Perez, Kate, Brown, Allison, Manjunath, Ramya, Burns, John M., Hebert, P. D. N., Smith, M. Alex, Hallwachs, Winnifred & Janzen, Daniel H., 2023, A revision of the parasitoid wasp genus Alphomelon Mason with the description of 30 new species (Hymenoptera, Braconidae), ZooKeys 1175, pp. 5-162 : 5

Alphomelon crocostethus Deans, 2003

Figs 22A-F , 23A-F , 24A-D

Distribution.

Argentina*, Bolivia, Brazil (DF*, ES, MG, PE*, RJ, RN*, SP*), Colombia, Dominican Republic*, Jamaica, Peru*, Puerto Rico.

Biology.

Solitary, reared from unidentified hesperiid on sugar cane Saccharum officinarum ( Deans et al. 2003).

DNA barcoding.

BINBOLD:AAZ9859.

Notes.

The specimens we examined are very variable and it is likely that there are several species within what is currently considered A. crocostethus . The Caribbean specimens have darker legs, mesosoma and metasoma; T1 with stronger sculpture (near posterior margins); and T1 petiolar ridge tends to be larger and wider. The South American specimens vary considerably, but usually have paler colored legs, mesosoma, and metasoma; T1 with weaker sculpture; and T1 petiolar ridge shorter, narrower, and usually less well defined. However, there are exceptions, sometimes from the same locality (such as in Brazil, where most of the material we have examined was collected). Besides morphology, DNA barcoding supports more than one species, although only four specimens (three with partial barcodes) are available. Until more specimens and sequences from South America are available for study, we think is best to keep a single species, but future work will certainly reveal more within what appears to be a species complex.

Other specimens examined.

(13 females): CNC280516, CNCHYM 00021, CNCHYM 00022, CNCHYM 00023, CNCHYM 00020, CNC704254, CNC704255, CNC704256, CNC704257, CNC704258, CNC1065929, CNC1179774, CNC1179953.

Figures

Figure 22. Alphomelon crocostethus Deans female CNC 704257 A habitus, lateral B head, frontal C antenna, lateral D wings E propodeum and metasoma, dorsal F mesosoma, dorsal.

Figure 23. Alphomelon crocostethus Deans female CNC 1065929 A habitus, lateral B head, frontal C propodeum, dorso-lateral D wings E head and mesosoma, dorsal F metasoma, dorso-lateral.

Figure 24. Alphomelon crocostethus Deans holotype female USNMENT 00828299 A habitus, dorsal B close-up of habitus, dorsal C habitus, lateral D close-up of habitus, lateral.