Apanteles aratiku Shimbori, 2023

Shimbori, Eduardo Mitio, Giacomelli, Arthuro De Castro Stolf, Fernández-Triana, José L., Watanabe, Isabela Midori, Santos, Eliaber Barros, Santos, Jakeline Maria Dos, Fazolin, Wilian Xavier & Penteado-Dias, Angélica Maria, 2023, The Apanteles adelinamoralesae species group (Hymenoptera, Braconidae) from Brazil, with descriptions of three new species reared from fruit borers (Lepidoptera, Depressariidae), Zootaxa 5277 (2), pp. 339-362 : 354-356

Apanteles aratiku Shimbori sp. n.

( Figure 11 )

Type material. Holotype, female

Type locality. Brazil, Alagoas state, Rio Largo municipality.

Type specimen, female ( DCBU 509734 ) “ Brazil, Alagoas, Rio Largo , vii.2018. Santos J.M. col. / Ex. Cerconota anonella in Annona squamosa ”

Paratypes. 4 females and 7 males ( DCBU 509735– 509745 ) , same as holotype. 10 females and 16 males: “ Brazil, Sergipe, Platô de Neópolis , 25.x.2006. M.C. Mendonça col. / Ex. larva in Atemoia (221.2—IB—CBE)” ( DCBU 509746–509758 ; MZSP 115410–115422 )

Description. Female. Body color: body mostly dark except for some sternites which may be pale; mesopleuron frequently paler than body ventrally. Antenna color: scape, pedicel, and flagellum dark. Coxae color (pro-, meso-, metacoxa): dark, dark, dark. Femur color (pro-, meso-, metafemur): pale, anteriorly dark/posteriorly pale, dark. Tibiae color (pro-, meso-, metatibia): pale, pale, mostly dark but anterior 0.2 or less pale. Tegula and humeral complex color: tegula pale, humeral complex half pale/half dark. Pterostigma color: mostly pale and/or transparent, with thin dark borders. Fore wing veins color: partially pigmented (a few veins may be dark but most are pale).Antenna length/body length: antenna slightly shorter than body (~0.9 ×), at least extending beyond anterior 0.7 metasoma length. Body in lateral view: not distinctly flattened dorso–ventrally. Body length (head to apex of metasoma): 3.1–3.5 mm. Fore wing length: 3.3–3.6 mm. Ocular–ocellar line/posterior ocellus diameter: 2.0–2.2. Interocellar distance/posterior ocellus diameter: 1.8–2.0. Antennal flagellomerus 2 length/width: 2.4–2.6. Antennal flagellomerus 14 length/width: 1.3–1.4. Length of flagellomerus 2/length of flagellomerus 14: 2.1–2.3. Tarsal claws: with single basal spine-like seta. Metafemur length/width: 2.9–3.1. Metatibia inner spur length/metabasitarsus length: 0.5–0.6. Anteromesoscutum: mostly with deep, dense punctures (separated by less than 2.0 × its maximum diameter). Mesoscutellar disc: with punctures near margins, central part mostly smooth. Number of pits in scutoscutellar sulcus: 9–10. Maximum height of mesoscutellum lunules/maximum height of lateral face of mesoscutellum: 0.7. Propodeum areola: completely defined by carinae, including transverse carina extending to spiracle. Propodeum background sculpture: mostly sculptured. Mediotergite 1 length/width at posterior margin: 1.25–1.30. Mediotergite 1 shape: nearly parallel sided throughout its length. Mediotergite 1 sculpture: mostly sculptured, excavated area centrally with transverse striation inside and/or a polished knob centrally on posterior margin of mediotergite. Mediotergite 2 width at posterior margin/ length: 4.1–4.3. Mediotergite 2 sculpture: with some sculpture, mostly near margin. Outer margin of hypopygium: with a wide, medially folded, transparent, semi-desclerotized area; usually with 4 or more pleats. Ovipositor thickness: about same width throughout its length. Ovipositor sheaths length/metatibial length: 1.2–1.3. Length of fore wing veins r/2RS: 1.8–1.9. Length of fore wing veins 2RS/2M: 1.2–1.4. Length of fore wing veins 2M/(RS+M)b: 0.7–0.8. Pterostigma length/width: 2.9–3.1. Point of insertion of vein r in pterostigma: clearly beyond halfway point length of pterostigma. Angle of vein r with fore wing anterior margin: clearly outwards, inclined towards fore wing apex. Shape of junction of veins r and 2RS in fore wing: distinctly but not strongly angled.

Male. Body length 2.4–3.2 mm; fore wing length 2.4–3.3 mm; antenna slightly longer than body (~1.1 ×). Mesopleuron most frequently pale on ventral half; mesofemur mostly to entirely dark and profemur dark anteriorly; hind tibia mostly dark.

Molecular data. Attempts to retrieve DNA barcoding sequences for this species were unsuccessful.

Biology/ecology. Solitary. The specimens from Annona — Annona squamosa (Annonaceae) were reared from Cerconota anonella (Sepp) ( Depressariidae , Stenomatinae ) in Alagoas, Brazil. The other 29 specimens were reared from Atemoya ( Annona squamosa x Annona cherimola ) in Sergipe, from an unknown host, but it is possible to assume that hosts for the specimens reared from atemoya are likely Cerconota anonella larvae, boring fruits.

Distribution. Brazil, Sergipe and Alagoas states.

Etymology. From the Tupi language, aratiku is the name used by native Americans in Brazil for the fruits and trees of the genus Annona L. ( Carvalho 1987)

Comparative diagnosis. This new species is similar to A. luislopezi in having the tarsal claws with one basal spine-like setae, T2 at least partly sculptured and more than 3.5 × wider than long, and mesoscutellar disc mostly smooth, although it does not run close to it in the key because the metatibia in females is mostly yellowish-brown. Considering metatibia color, the new species is most similar to A. wilbertharayai . The new species is distinguished from both, wilbertharayai and luislopezi , by the lighter color of pro- and mesofemora, which are entirely pale and posteriorly pale respectively, as compared to anteriorly dark and entirely dark in the other two species, and in a relatively shorter vein r, 1.8–1.9 × as long as vein 2RS (as compared to 2.3 × or more in wilbertharayai and luislopezi ). In addition, the ventral region of mesopleuron is frequently pale in the new species, but always entirely dark in the other species. Compared to luislopezi , it differs in having distinctly wider T2, 4.1–4.4 × wider than long, as compared to 3.2–3.5 in luislopezi , and shorter T1, 1.2–1.3 × longer than its posterior width, compared to 2.0– 2.2 in luislopezi . Considering the biology of these two species, both parasitize Cerconota , however luislopezi is gregarious whereas aratiku sp. n. is solitary. Compared to wilbertharayai , additional characters separating these two species are the relatively larger ocelli, OOL/OD 2.0–2.2 compared to 2.3–2.5 in wilbertharayai , and POL/OD 1.8–2.0 compared to 2.3–2.5 in wilbertharayai , the shorter ovipositor, with sheaths 1.2–1.3 × longer than hind tibia, as compared to 1.4–1.5 in wilbertharayai , and the tarsal claws with one basal spine-like setae, which is absent in wilbertharayai . Biology is also distinct in these two species, since wilbertharayai parasitizes Anadasmus sp. and the new species Cerconota sp.

Prospects for biological control. The annona fruit borer or soursop moth, Cerconota anonella (Sepp) , is considered the most important pest in fruits of Annona spp. (Annonaceae) in the Neotropics ( Peña & Bennett 1995; Peña 2002; Pereira et al. 2009), attacking several species in this genus, including most, if not all, commercially important species, e.g. A. muricata (soursop), A. reticulata (custard apple), A. squamosa (sweetsop), and A. cherimola (cherimoya) (Moura et al., 2006). Losses caused by this species may range from 60 to 100% of the fruit production, most notably in soursop orchards ( Martinez & Godoy 1989; Ruiz 1991; Braga et al. 1999; Oliveira 2001; Montiel et al. 2014). As a result of those affectations, several studies were conducted and published to evaluate the best tactics for the control of this pest (e.g., Broglio-Micheletti et al. 2001; Silva et al. 2014; Lemos 2014), including studies on biological (e.g. Pereira et al. 2003) and ethological aspects ( Da Silva et al. 2006; Pires et al. 2016). The natural enemies of C. anonella and their prospect as biological control agents were also evaluated in a few studies, where Apanteles sp. appears as the main larval parasitoid of this pest in several countries in the Americas (i.e., Peru, Venezuela, Brazil, Colombia, and Ecuador) (Willie 1952; Martinez & Godoy 1983; Peña et al. 1990; Bustillo & Peña 1992; Broglio-Micheletti & Berti-Filho 2000). Natural control provided by Apanteles ranged from 2–5% in Colombia and 2% in Ecuador ( Peña et al. 1990; Bustillo & Peña 1992) up to 51.61% in one region of Venezuela ( Martínez & Godoy 1983). In Brazil, Broglio-Micheletti & Berti-Filho (2000) found total natural parasitism of 32.92%, of which Apanteles sp. accounted for 74%, promoting control throughout the year. However, during the more than 70 years since Apanteles was recorded, the correct identity of the species is still uncertain. Martinez & Godoy (1983) provided the only tentative identification at species level, after consultation with taxonomist Paul M. Marsh, who suspected that to be A. stenomae . Currently, it is not possible to confirm the accuracy of this identification. However, the image provided by Martinez & Godoy (1983), of the habitus of one specimen in dorsal view, is good enough to detect a few important differences as compared to the holotype of A. stenoma , especially the proportions of T2, which seem within the range for adelinamoralesae , but is much narrower in A. stenomae , and the much less sculptured T1 of A. stenomae . In conclusion, the possibility that more than one species of Apanteles are important parasitoids of C. anonella is not discarded, one of these species being A. aratiku sp. n. Direct comparison of the specimens reared in previous works is required to confirm identity.

Figures

FIGURE 11. Apanteles aratiku sp. n. A, Habitus, lateral view; B, Fore wing; C, Hypopygium and ovipositor sheaths; D, Antenna; E, Head, frontal view; F, Head, dorsal view; G, Meso- and metasoma, dorsal view.