Apanteles ruthfrancoae Fernandez-Triana

Fernandez-Triana, Jose L., Whitfield, James B., Rodriguez, Josephine J., Smith, M. Alex, Janzen, Daniel H., Hallwachs, Winnie D., Hajibabaei, Mehrdad, Burns, John M., Solis, M. Alma, Brown, John, Cardinal, Sophie, Goulet, Henri & Hebert, Paul D. N., 2014, Review of Apantelessensu stricto (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Microgastrinae) from Area de Conservacion Guanacaste, northwestern Costa Rica, with keys to all described species from Mesoamerica, ZooKeys 383, pp. 1-565 : 280-281

Apanteles ruthfrancoae Fernandez-Triana sp. n. Figs 64, 256

Apanteles Rodriguez07 ( Smith et al. 2006), in part. Interim name provided by the authors.

Type locality.

COSTA RICA, Guanacaste, ACG, Sector Cacao, Estación Gongora, 570m, 10.88700, -85.47443.

Holotype.

♀ in CNC. Specimen labels: 1. COSTA RICA, Guanacaste, ACG, Cacao, Estación Gongora, 07/27/1995: gusaneros. 2. 95-SRNP-7168, Staphylus prob. vulgata, Amaranthaceae 13207. 3. DHJPAR0005254.

Paratypes.

36 ♀, 30 ♂ (BMNH, CNC, INBIO, INHS, NMNH). COSTA RICA: ACG database codes: 95-SRNP-7163, 95-SRNP-7168, 95-SRNP-7169, 95-SRNP-7171, 96-SRNP-10698, 97-SRNP-3323, 97-SRNP-4093, 02-SRNP-29391, 02-SRNP-29405, 02-SRNP-32482, 04-SRNP-45194, 04-SRNP-45195, 04-SRNP-45196, 04-SRNP-45421, 04-SRNP-45422, 04-SRNP-45424, 04-SRNP-45425, 04-SRNP-45426, 04-SRNP-45428, 04-SRNP-45476, 04-SRNP-45478, 04-SRNP-45511, 04-SRNP-45538, 04-SRNP-45544, 04-SRNP-45545, 04-SRNP-45555, 04-SRNP-45601.

Description.

Female. Body color: body mostly dark except for some sternites which may be pale. Antenna color: scape, pedicel, and flagellum dark. Coxae color (pro-, meso-, metacoxa): pale, dark, dark. Femora color (pro-, meso-, metafemur): pale, pale, pale, rarely pale, pale, mostly pale but posterior 0.2 or less dark. Tibiae color (pro-, meso-, metatibia): pale, pale, pale, rarely pale, pale, mostly pale but with posterior 0.2 or less dark. Tegula and humeral complex color: both pale. Pterostigma color: dark with pale spot at base. Fore wing veins color: mostly dark (a few veins may be unpigmented). Antenna length/body length: antenna shorter than body (head to apex of metasoma), not extending beyond anterior 0.7 metasoma length. Body in lateral view: not distinctly flattened dorso–ventrally. Body length (head to apex of metasoma): 2.7-2.8 mm, 2.9-3.0 mm, rarely 2.5-2.6 mm. Fore wing length: 2.7-2.8 mm or 2.9-3.0 mm. Ocular–ocellar line/posterior ocellus diameter: 2.3-2.5. Interocellar distance/posterior ocellus diameter: 1.7-1.9. Antennal flagellomerus 2 length/width: 2.3-2.5. Antennal flagellomerus 14 length/width: 1.1-1.3. Length of flagellomerus 2/length of flagellomerus 14: 2.0-2.2. Tarsal claws: with single basal spine–like seta. Metafemur length/width: 2.6-2.7. Metatibia inner spur length/metabasitarsus length: 0.6-0.7. Anteromesoscutum: mostly with deep, dense punctures (separated by less than 2.0 × its maximum diameter). Mesoscutellar disc: mostly smooth. Number of pits in scutoscutellar sulcus: 9 or 10. Maximum height of mesoscutellum lunules/maximum height of lateral face of mesoscutellum: 0.6-0.7. Propodeum areola: completely defined by carinae, including transverse carina extending to spiracle. Propodeum background sculpture: mostly sculptured. Mediotergite 1 length/width at posterior margin: 3.8-4.0. Mediotergite 1 shape: mostly parallel–sided for 0.5-0.7 of its length, then narrowing posteriorly so mediotergite anterior width>1.1 × posterior width. 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: 2.4-2.7. Mediotergite 2 sculpture: mostly smooth or with some sculpture, mostly near posterior margin. Outer margin of hypopygium: with a medially folded, transparent, semi–desclerotized area; with 0-3 pleats visible. Ovipositor thickness: anterior width 3.0-5.0 × posterior width (beyond ovipositor constriction). Ovipositor sheaths length/metatibial length: 0.8-0.9 or 1.0-1.1. Length of fore wing veins r/2RS: 1.4-1.6. Length of fore wing veins 2RS/2M: 1.4-1.6. Length of fore wing veins 2M/(RS+M)b: 0.5-0.6. Pterostigma length/width: 2.6-3.0. Point of insertion of vein r in pterostigma: clearly beyond half way 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: evenly curved.

Male. As in female, but darker coloured, especially on legs, and longer, narrower mediotergite 1.

Molecular data.

Sequences in BOLD: 34, barcode compliant sequences: 27, haplotypes: 2.

Biology/Ecology.

Gregarious (Fig. 256). Host: Hesperiidae : Staphylus Janzen03, Staphylus caribbea , Staphylus vulgata .

Distribution.

Costa Rica, ACG.

Comments.

This new name may actually represent two different species, one reared from Staphylus Janzen03 and Staphylus vulgata , and the other reared from Staphylus caribbea . DNA barcoding haplotype data suggests this hypothesis, just as barcode data suggested the separation of Apanteles duniagarciae from Apanteles ruthfrancoae , but we have not yet been able to study the specimens reared from Staphylus caribbea and thus cannot describe them here.

Etymology.

We dedicate this species to Ruth Franco in recognition of her diligent efforts for the ACG Parataxonomist Program and BioLep, the inventory of the adult ACG Lepidoptera .