Aleiodes shenefelti Shaw and Marsh

Shaw, Scott R., Marsh, Paul M. & Fortier, Joseph C., 2006, Revision of Nearctic Aleiodes Wesmael (Part 8): the coxalis (Spinola) Species­Group (Hymenoptera: Braconidae, Rogadinae), Zootaxa 1314, pp. 1-30 : 23-25

Aleiodes shenefelti Shaw and Marsh , NEW SPECIES

( Figs. 6 , 27–30 )

Female. Body color: ( Fig. 6 ) body dark honey yellow; antenna black on apical half; mesonotal lobes and venter of mesopleuron black, propodeum black dorsally; first metasomal tergum black basally, second tergum black laterally, third and following terga black; legs honey yellow, hind femur, tibia and tarsus brown; wings hyaline, veins brown except C+SC+R yellow on basal half, stigma bicolored brown with yellow at base, tegula yellow. Body length: 4.5–5.0 mm; fore wing length, 4.0–4.5 mm. Head: 49–50 antennomeres, all flagellomeres longer than wide; malar space long, greater than basal width of mandible and 3/5 eye height; temple 2/3 eye width; occipital carina complete, meeting hypostomal carina; oral space small and circular, diameter equal to basal width of mandible and about 1/2 face height; clypeus swollen; ocelli small, ocellocular distance greater than diameter of lateral ocellus; face, frons, vertex and temple rugulose coriaceous; maxillary palpus not swollen; mandible small, tips not crossing when closed. Mesosoma: pronotum somewhat lengthened behind head and at right angle with mesonotum, median length equal to ocellocular distance and length of first flagellomere, rugose laterally; mesonotum and scutellum strongly coriaceous, notauli weakly scrobiculate, meeting in weak rugulose area before scutellum; mesopleuron rugose­coriaceous, area above episternal scrobe nearly smooth; propodeum rugose dorsally, coriaceous laterally, median carina complete. Metasoma: first four terga ( Figs. 27–30 ) rather carapace­like, following terga often obscured under first four; first tergum rugose ( Fig. 27 ), length greater than apical width, median carina complete; second tergum rugose ( Fig. 28 ), median carina complete; third tergum rugulose coriaceous ( Fig. 29 ), median carina complete; remainder of terga coriaceous; ovipositor less than 1/2 length of hind basitarsus. Legs: tarsal claws not pectinate; hind coxa rugulose coriaceous dorsally. Wings: fore wing with vein r 1/2 length of 3RSa and 2/3 length of m­cu, vein 1cu­a beyond 1M by distance greater than length of 1cu­a, vein 1CUa 2/5 length of 1CUb; hind wing with vein RS arched in middle, marginal cell narrowest in middle, vein 1r­m 3/5 length of 1M, vein M+CU slightly longer than 1M, vein m­cu represented by short weakly infuscated line.

Male. Essentially as in female.

Holotype. Female: WYOMING, Carbon Co., 3/ 4 mi. N of WY 130 W between mi. 54 & 55, mixed forest near water, Malaise, Mian, July 14–27, 1991. Deposited in RMSEL.

Paratypes. WYOMING: 5 females, 5 males, same data as holotype with additional date of July 4–14, 1991; 1 male, Albany Co., Medicine Bow Nat. Forest,. 5 mi. SW Lincoln Monument, mixed conifer/aspen forest, Mian, August 8–13, 1990, Ml. t.; 2 males, Albany Co., Medicine Bow Nat. Forest,. 4 mi. S Lincoln Monument, meadow east of highway, July 28–August 20, 1990, Mian, M. t.; 1 male, Albany Co., 1.5 mi. W of Centennial, Medicine Bow Nat. Forest, Snowy Range, mixed forest, Malaise, Mian, July 14–27, 1991. WISCONSIN: 1 male, Jackson Co., T21N, R4W, S27, June 16–23, 1975, gypsy moth M. t. OREGON: 2 females, 8 males, Union Co., Mt. Emily, June 19–August 27, 1987, T. R. Torgersen. COLORADO: 1 male, 22 km. w. Livermore, 2300m, August 1987, H. Evans. Deposited in RMSEL, USNM, AEI.

Distribution. Known only from localities in Wyoming and Wisconsin. It possibly occurs across the north central forests.

Biology. Unknown.

Comments. This species is similar to A. wyomingensis and occurs in the same habitats but is distinguished by the longer antenna and first metasomal tergum.

Etymology. This species is named for the late Roy D. Shenefelt, former professor at the University of Wisconsin, who greatly aided PMM in his early studies of the Braconidae and who did much pioneering study on the subfamily Rogadinae.

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 8. Habitus illustrations of the Aleiodes coxalis species­group and mummy of A. aquilonius. 1, A. aquilonius; 2, A. aquilonius mummy; 3, A. brevis; 4, A. sanctihyacinthi; 5, A. dichromatus; 6, A. shenefelti; 7, A. wyomingensis; 8, A. itamevorus.

FIGURES 27 – 30. Metasomal tergites of Aleiodes shenefelti. 27, first tergite; 28, second tergite; 29, third tergite; 30, fourth tergite.