Parapanteles aletiae (Riley)

Valerio, A. A., Whitfield, J. B. & Janzen, D. H., 2009, Review of world Parapanteles Ashmead (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Microgastrinae), with description of fourteen new Neotropical species and the first description of the final instar larvae, Zootaxa 2084 (1), pp. 1-49 : 8-12

publication ID	https://doi.org/ 10.11646/zootaxa.2084.1.1
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03BA4913-7167-FFA7-BDD1-FD1EFE13FB4B
treatment provided by	Felipe
scientific name	Parapanteles aletiae (Riley)
status

Treatment

Figs. 4G View FIGURE 4 , 5C View FIGURE 5 , 6B, 6D View FIGURE 6

Apanteles aletiae Riley, 1869 View in CoL , 4: 296, 298, 306.

Parapanteles aletiae, Mason, 1981 , 115: 102.

Female. Body length = 1.60–2.10 mm.

Body color: Legs (except hind coxae anterior 1/2 and tarsal claws) light yellow, as is most of metasoma (except terga, posterior area of metasoma), ovipositor, tegula, labrum, palpi, scape (except distal edge light brownish yellow), pedicel, propleuron anterior edge and posterolateral flange; remainder of antenna brownish yellow; ocelli yellowish; remainder of body light brown as on hind telotarsus and tarsal claws. Wings hyaline, forewing veins translucent except pterostigma and C+SC+R with very light yellow color; hind wing veins translucent.

Head. Head height/width = 1.27; compound eye height/width = 1.60; intertentorial pit distance = 0.15–0.18 mm; tentorial pit distance/distance tentorial pit to compound eye = 3.00–3.75; width of face at dorsal clypeal edge = 0.30 mm; clypeus width/height = 4.00–4.25; vertex width/distance between anterior ocelli and edge of torulus = 2.06–2.28; length of first flagellomere = 0.18 mm; first flagellomere length/width = 2.80; length of first flagellomere/length of second flagellomere = 1.00; length of first flagellomere/length of third flagellomere = 1.00; terminal flagellomere length = 0.11 mm; terminal flagellomere length/penultimate flagellomere length = 1.80; terminal flagellomere length/width = 2.25; malar space height/basal width of mandible = 0.86; ocell-ocular distance/lateral ocelli distance = 1.40–1.50. Clypeus with fine punctulate sculpture; face with dense fine punctate sculpture mixed with confused, upper keel present without strong cristate; frons with scrobal areas nitid and shallow near toruli, frons laterally with fine punctate sculpture, distal area more glabrous; vertex with dense punctulate sculpture; temple and gena with dense, shallow and confused punctate sculpture extending to basal 2/3 of postgena near junction area with gena; remainder of postgena nitid.

Mesosoma. Mesosoma length = 0.90–0.92 mm; mesosoma length/width = 1.36–1.48; mesosoma height = 0.61–0.64 mm. Propleuron with fine punctate sculpture throughout except nitid anterolateral 1/3; pronotum laterally with anterior 1/3 well impressed and essentially nitid except for two short transverse ridges, ventrolateral groove crossed by short transverse ridges throughout its length, dorsolateral groove also well impressed but transverse ridges only present over distal 1/4; area between grooves nitid, dorsal edge 1/5 and ventral edge 1/3 of posterior edge height; mesonotum with dense punctate sculpture that almost reaches the scutellar groove; scutellar groove with 12 small costulae, medial ones more clearly defined and larger than lateral ones; scutellum with large but shallow and scattered punctations laterally, medial area essentially nitid, scutellum lateral area with narrow costulate sculpture which become narrower and elongated towards posterior edge; axilla through mesonotum mainly nitid except for a series of transverse narrow ridges on anterior edge of lunulae; metanotum subrectangular and nitid; axilla through metanotum with short transverse ridges on distal edge, remainder nitid; propodeum with anteromedial longitudinal and transverse, areolar and posterior part of costular carinae cristate and well defined, interior of areola posteriorly with sparse light rugulose sculpture, anterolateral areas with punctate sculpture, remainder of propodeum nitid; mesopleuron with anterior 1/4 punctate, sternaulus forming an elongate depression, dorsal edge with anterior 1/3 nitid, remainder with well defined, dense and fine scrobiculate sculpture, posterior edge nitid, remainder of mesopleuron nitid; metapleuron with dorsal and posterior edge bearing dense narrow transverse ridges, nearby with shallow and confused punctate sculpture, small medial pit present, pleural suture present, remainder of metapleuron nitid.

Legs. Hind femur length = 0.50–0.60 mm; hind femur length/width = 3.69–5.00; hind tibia length/hind femur length = 1.12–1.13. Fore telotarsus with one large elongate hooklike seta set on ventral area located on a small lobe at mid length of telotarsus, ventral area below hooklike seta bare and concave in shape, in lateral view the telotarsus slightly bent dorsally, shorter in length than basitarsus; hind telotarsus in dorsal view slightly bent and with an elongate setae on anterior 1/3.

Wings. Forewing length = 2.30–2.45 mm; 1RS length = 0.09–0.10 mm; 1CUa length/1CUb length = 0.81–0.86; length RS+Ma = 0.35 mm; length M+CU = 0.75–0.78 mm; 1M length/m-cu length = 1.86–2.00; pterostigma length/height = 1.25–1.54. Hind wing: 1M length = 0.34–0.35 mm; 1M length/2M length = 1.69–1.75; 1M length/M+CU length = 1.33–1.50; length r-m/length cu-a = 0.75–0.88; 1RSa length/2r-m = 1.25; 1A length = 0.20–0.21 mm.

Metasoma. First tergum basal width = 0.24–0.26 mm; first tergum length/distal width = 1.39–1.5; second tergum length/distal width = 0.27–0.30; third tergum length/distal width = 0.37–0.38; hypopygium length = 0.32–0.34 mm. First metasomal tergum parallel-sided and carinate at edges throughout its length, surface with confused aciculo-rugose sculpture except on basal 1/4 which is nitid; second tergite mainly nitid except for very sparse punctate sculpture on anterior edge of tergite; remainder of tergite nitid; ovipositor short and thick at base, barely exserted from hypopygium; ovipositor sheaths with dense setation over distal 0.2.

Variation. The following color variation was observed: scape and pedicel totally brownish yellow or with basal 1/2 light yellow and remainder brownish yellow; forewing with pterostigma and C+SC+R and all hind wing veins with a very faint yellowish color, not white as described in Riley (1869).

Material examined. Holotype: female, “ USNM type number 2771, 2340, Hubblard’s (Maybe Hubbard’s?) No. 71c.” under the name Apanteles aletiae Riley . Paratypes, two females, USNM with type number 1171, 2340, Hubbard’s No 71(c). One female identified by Gahan as Apanteles aletiae , P.[uerto] R.[ico], Camuy, Acc 330- 1922, 5 Oct. 1922, G.N. Wolcott collection . Holotype and paratypes are at USNM .

The type specimen is missing the head.

Comments. The rearing data for P. aletiae are very meager; the known hosts are larvae of noctuid and notodontid, with only family level of identification at this time. The known distribution is the southeastern United States ( Mason 1981, p. 104). According to Riley (1869), the specimens from the type series were reared from Aletia argillacea (currently Alabama argillacea (Hubner) , cotton worm) collected from August to October in Florida and Alabama.

The type specimen has the head and hind legs missing; the paratypes are in good condition but are totally covered with fungal hyphae.