Exoryza schoenobii (Wilkinson)

Valerio, A. A., Deans, A. R. & Whitfield, J. B., 2004, Review of the microgastrine braconid wasp genus Exoryza, with description of a new species, E. monocavus, from Central America, Zootaxa 526, pp. 1-11 : 6-8

Exoryza schoenobii (Wilkinson)

( Figs. 3, 5 , 7 )

Apanteles schoenobii Wilkinson, 1932 Stylops 1: 142.

Exoryza schoenobii (Wiilkinson) : Mason,1981, Mem. Entomol. Soc. Canada 115: 40.

Female. Body length = 3.7 mm.

Body color. Antenna brownish yellow as are hind coxae, palpus, distal edge of metasomal 3rd to 6th tergites, ovipositor and lateral areas of metasoma; hind femur distal tip dark brown as are tarsomeres and distal portion of hind tibia; hypopygium yellow as are most of legs; hind tibial spurs whitish yellow; compound eyes silver; ocelli yellow; mandible (except distal tips dark brown) and labrum light brown; palpus yellow as are fore leg telotarsus, distal edge of 3rd to 6th metasomal terga. Wings hyaline; forewing veins brownish except base of M+CU and basal 1/3 of 1–1A; hind wing veins brownish yellow.

Head. Head height/width = 1.2; compound eye height/width = 1.7; intertentorial pit distance/distance from tentorial pit to compound eye = 3.2; width face at dorsal clypeal edge = 0.44 mm; clypeus width/height = 3; vertex width/distance between anterior ocelli and edge of torulus = 2.6; first flagellomere length/width = 1.0; length of first flagellomere/length second flagellomere = 1.0; length of first flagellomere/length of third flagellomere = 1.1; distal flagellomere length/subdistal flagellomere length = 0.14; distal flagellomere length/width = 0.25; malar space height/basal width of mandible = 0.46; ocell­ocular distance/lateral ocelli distance = 1.8.

Face and clypeus with dense and fine punctate sculpturing, less evident and less dense on clypeus than on face, remainder of head with same sculpturing; ocell­ocular area with more widely spaced and less evident punctate sculpturing; frons with most of scrobal areas punctate.

Mesosoma. Mesosoma length/width = 1.6. Propleuron anteriorly with confused foveate sculpturing, distally with less dense and larger punctations than remainder of propleuron, dorsal area of medial half with confused punctate sculpturing; pronotum anteriorly with sparse large transverse ridges, lateroventral groove with well­defined but miniature scrobiculate sculpturing, upper groove appearing as a well­defined nitid depression, area between lateral grooves with sparse confused punctate sculpturing; mesonotum with punctate sculpturing which becomes less dense towards scutellar groove; scutellar groove with 10 well defined costulae of approximately same width, medial ones slightly longer than lateral ones; scutellum with tiny shallow punctations, lateral areas of scutellum with narrow transverse costulae distal tip less sculptured than rest of scutellum; axilla through mesonotum with transverse costulate sculpturing on anterior edge of lunulae, remainder nitid; mesopleuron almost totally covered with punctate sculpturing except sternaulus with thick transverse sculpturing, sternaulus appearing as an elongated depression that runs at least 1/3 of mesopleuron length, dorsal edge with well defined and dense sculpturing on medial 1/3, but upper part distally almost completely nitid, anterior 1/3 of dorsal edge with confused and shallow scrobiculate sculpturing; metanotum with anterior 1/3 nitid as on distal edge, remainder with two transverse ridges and conspicuously depressed; metapleuron with anterior 1/3 with punctate sculpturing, medial pit present, distal 2/3 with fine and confused rugulose sculpturing mixed with shallow punctate sculpturing, upper and distal edge with coarsely spaced rugulose sculpturing (distal edge with less sculpturing), remain­ der of metapleuron nitid; anterolateral area of propodeum with rugose aciculate sculpturing, spiracular carina cristate and well­developed, spiracular area with fine rugulose sculpturing, areola deeper than anterolateral areas (appearing sunken into the propodeum), transverse carinae confused with few shallow punctate sculpturing at areolar area, posterolateral areas with carinate sculpturing mixed with shallow punctate sculpturing.

Legs. Hind femur length/width = 3.1; hind tibia length/hind femur length = 1.4. Tarsal claws simple.

Wings. Forewing length = 3.5 mm; 1CUa length/2Cub length = 0.62; length RS+Ma = 0.48 mm; length M+CU = 1.3 mm; 1M length/ m­cu length = 1.5; pterostigma length/ height = 1.9. Hindwing: 1M length = 0.7 mm; 1M length/2M length = 2.1; 1M length/ M+CU length = 2.1; length r­m/length Cua = 1.1; 1 RSa length/2r­m = 1.7.

Metasoma. First tergum length/distal width = 1; second tergum length/distal width = 2.2; third tergum length/distal width = 0.3; Hypopygium length = 3.2 mm;

First and second metasomal terga with rugulose aciculate sculpturing; mediolongitudinal area of first metasomal tergum depressed but not clearly defined; 3rd metasomal tergum with shallow punctate sculpturing on anterior edge, becoming less evident towards posterior edge; metasomal terga 4 to 7 mainly nitid; hypopygium with longitudinal desclerotized pleats present medially; ovipositor long and thin throughout its length; ovipositor sheaths squarely truncate distally and slightly wider distally than basally with fine and dense setae throughout its length.

Material examined. Female, “ Philippines, Pangasinan, San Manuel, 4/ii/1953, H. & M. Townes.” Deposited in CNC under the name “ Apanteles schoenobii .”

The holotype is in the Natural History Museum, London and was not examined but our material was compared and matched with the holotype by W. R. M. Mason.

Comments. This species is easily recognized by the forewing vein 1CUa which is contrastingly shorter than vein 1Cub (approximately 0.6 X) and the metapleuron being mainly covered in punctate sculpturing. Neither of the two remaining Exoryza species exhibits this combination of characters.

The original description of Wilkinson departs from the one presented here and the one presented by Mason (1981) in the dark coloration of the mouthparts as well as of the clypeus, the yellow color of the legs in combination with the brownish tarsomeres; the wings not being distinctly infumate, the presence of more than 6 costulae in the scutellar groove; the absence of minute rugose sculpturing on the anterior edge of the mesopleuron. The remainder of Wilkinson’s description agrees with our material in all details.

Rearing records. Reared from stem­boring Pyraloidea larvae on rice plants according to Wilkinson’s and Mason’s accounts.

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 5. 1: Exoryza monocavus, female, lateral habitus; 2,3: Forewing 1 ­ CU of E. minnesota and E. schoenobii, respectively; 4,5: Mesopleura of E. minnesota and E. schoenobii, respectively. Scale = 0.5 mm.

FIGURE 6 – 8. Metasomal tergites I – III of: 6, Exoryza minnesota, 7, E. schoenobii, 8, E. monocavus. Scale = 0.5 mm.