Nemeritis scaramozzinoi Di Giovanni & Araujo, 2021

Araujo, Rodrigo O. & Giovanni, Filippo Di, 2021, Description of the first species of Nemeritis Holmgren (Hymenoptera Ichneumonidae: Campopleginae) from the Southern Hemisphere, with a key to the New World species, Zootaxa 5023 (2), pp. 263-272 : 266-269

Nemeritis scaramozzinoi Di Giovanni & Araujo , sp. nov.

( Figs 3A–H )

Diagnosis. Nemeritis scaramozzinoi sp. nov. may be distinguished from all the other species of the genus by the combination of the following characters: face about as wide as frons; clypeus matte and coriaceous, with small dense punctures on the entire surface, only the apical margin narrowly smooth; lower tooth of mandible clearly longer than the upper one; temples almost parallel behind eye; head and thorax matte and coriaceous, without distinct punctures or with punctures dense but very small; areolet receiving vein 2 m-cu at its outer angle; propodeum with area superomedia almost pentagonal, about 0.8× as long as its maximum width; tegula, all coxae and trochanters black; hind tibia reddish–brown slightly lighter in the middle on inner side, darker basally, apically and on the outer side, ovipositor about 3.0× as long as hind tibia.

Description. Holotype female ( Figs 3A–H ). Approximate body length (without ovipositor): 11.1 mm; fore wing length: 8.0 mm.

Head. Head, seen frontally, squared, with dense short whitish hairs ( Fig. 3B ). Face strongly transverse, matte and coriaceous, lateral fields without distinct punctures on coriaceous background, medial field with very few small and dense punctures; maximum face width about 1.8–1.9× as high (measured from base of antennae to base of clypeus) as wide. Tentorial pits conspicuous. Clypeus matte, with small and dense punctures basally and laterally, punctures larger and more scattered apically and medially, only the apical margin narrowly smooth; clypeus flat in profile, its apical margin medially truncate, straight. Malar space 0.8× as long as basal mandibular width; mandible long and relatively stout, lower margin of mandible without a narrow flange, mandible basally matte and coriaceous, with very small punctures, medially punctate-rugose; mandible bidentate, teeth smooth, lower tooth longer than upper tooth; lower tooth 3.0× as long as basally wide. Frons coriaceous, matte, without distinct punctures. Inner orbits almost parallel, very slightly indented opposite antennal socket. Posterior ocellus separated from eye about 0.9× its maximum diameter; distance between posterior ocelli 1.3× the maximum diameter of posterior ocellus ( Fig. 3C ). Vertex matte, without distinct punctures. Temple matte with indistinct setiferous punctures, in dorsal view about 0.7× as long as eye, temples almost parallel behind eye. Occipital carina complete, dorsally not dipped in the middle, meeting hypostomal carina distinctly before mandibular base; occipital and hypostomal carina not elevated. Antenna with 36–38 flagellomeres, first flagellomere 2.9× as long as apically wide.

Mesosoma. Mesosoma matte and coriaceous, with very short whitish hairs. Pronotum on dorsal third coriaceous with very small scattered punctures, in ventral two-third coriaceous with transverse wrinkles. Mesoscutum convex in profile, notaulus absent; mesoscutum matte and coriaceous, with very small, dense and evenly distributed punctures. Scuto-scutellar groove moderately deep. Scutellum convex in profile, without lateral carinae; scutellum and postscutellum matte and coriaceous, with very small and dense punctures. Mesopleuron matte and coriaceous, with small and dense punctures on dorsal half anterior to speculum and on ventral half; speculum matte, with very fine transverse striae on anterior half, entirely smooth on posterior half. Epicnemial carina complete, strong, not elevated, reaching anterior margin of mesopleuron at about its middle height ( Fig. 3D ), ventral part of epicnemial carina not elevated, nor medially excised.Sternaulus indistinct. Posterior transverse carina of mesosternum complete, medially slightly excised. Metapleuron matte and coriaceous, with few indistinct and very small punctures in the center, about 1.2× as long as height ( Fig. 3G ); submetapleural carina complete, strong, produced anteriorly into a small lobe. Pleural carina of propodeum complete, strong; propodeal spiracle suboval, connected to pleural carina by a short ridge. Propodeum matte and coriaceous, in dorsal view about as long as medially wide, in lateral view descending obliquely from anterior to posterior margin without a differentiation between an horizontal and a declivous part; propodeal carinae strong ( Fig. 3F ); area basalis very small, trapezoidal, smooth; area superomedia almost pentagonal, about 0.8× as long as its maximum width, apically opened, confluent with area petiolaris, coriaceous and matte, with few small transverse rugae along lateral margins; costulae present, connected to area superomedia at or little posterior to its middle; area petiolaris long, with a small longitudinal carina in the middle running for two-third of its length starting from the base of petiole, area petiolaris coriaceous with transverse and/or irregular wrinkles; area externa and area dentipara matte and coriaceous, without distinct punctures. Coxae matte and coriaceous, mid and hind coxae with very small punctures. Hind femur about 4.7× as long as its maximum height and about 0.8× as long as hind tibia; inner spur of hind tibia about 0.4× as long as first segment of hind tarsus. Tarsal claws small, longer than arolium, with 2–3 basal pectens. Fore wing with short-stalked areolet, receiving vein 2 m-cu at its outer angle; vein 1 cu-a distal to M&RS by about 0.3 its length; CU between 1 m-cu&M and 2 cu-a about 1.2× as long as 2 cu-a; distal abscissa of Rs very slightly sinuate; hind wing with abscissa of CU present, CU about 0.6× as long as cu-a; CU weakly inclivous, cu-a weakly reclivous ( Fig. 3E ).

Metasoma. Metasoma matte and coriaceous, with very short and relatively sparse whitish hairs. First metasomal tergite about 2.6× as long as posteriorly wide; spiracle near its apical 0.4; glymma absent; dorso-lateral carina of first metasomal tergite weak, not reaching the spiracle and absent on postpetiole; suture separating first metasomal sternite from its tergite subventral ( Fig. 3H ). Second metasomal tergite about as long as apically wide, thyridium slightly discernible. Laterotergites of second and third metasomal tergites separated from the tergites by a crease. Sixth metasomal tergite apically and seventh metasomal tergite basally excised. Ovipositor thin, about 3.0× as long as hind tibia ( Fig. 3A ).

Color. Predominantly black. Head black, apical part of antenna, apical half of mandible including teeth, and last segments of palpi brownish–black. Mesosoma entirely black; tegula black; legs with all coxae and trochanters black; all trochantelli brownish–black to reddish–brown apically; all femurs and fore and mid tibiae red; hind tibia reddish–brown, slightly lighter in the middle on inner side, darker basally, apically and on the outer side; hind spurs reddish–brown; fore tarsus with first and second segments red, following segments reddish–brown; mid and hind tarsi brown with second, third, and fourth segments basally lighter. Wings brownish, pterostigma and all veins dark brown. Metasoma black, with posterior margin of metasomal tergites III–VIII yellowish–brown. Ovipositor sheath dark brown, ovipositor yellowish–red.

Variation. Body length 9.5–13.0 mm; wing length 6.2–9.0 mm. Small longitudinal carina in area petiolaris sometimes absent.

Male. Unknown.

Type material. Holotype. ♀ El Peumo, 23 – XI – 1967, T. Ramírez ( MNHN) . Paratypes. 107 ♀♀ L a Obra , XI – 1967, R . Pérez ( MNHN) ; 2 ♀♀ El Canelo , 15- XI – 1954 ( MNHN) ; 2 ♀♀ El Canelo , 15- XII – 1954 ( MNHN) ; 8 ♀♀ Qda. (= Quebrada) El Peumo , 21 – XI – 1966, T . Ramírez ( MNHN) ; 6 ♀♀ El Peumo , 23 – XI – 1967, T . Ramírez ( MNHN) ; 3 ♀♀ El Manzano , 2. Feb. 1998, A. Fierro ( MNHN) ; 4 ♀♀ El Manzano , 2. Feb. 1998, T . Ramírez ( MNHN) ; 2 ♀♀ El Manzano , 10 – XII - 1964, J. Moroni ( MNHN) ; 1 ♀ Las Condes , XI – 1968, T . Ramírez ( MNHN) ; 1 ♀ Macul , 9 – XI – 1967, R . Pérez ( MNHN) ; 2 ♀♀ Macul , 21 – XI – 1967, R . Pérez ( MNHN) ; 1♀ Macul , 21 – XI – 1967, T . Ramírez ( MNHN) ; 4 ♀♀ Macul , XI – 1968, R . Pérez ( MNHN) ; 1 ♀ Macul , 7 – XI – 1967, R . Pérez ( MNHN) ; 1 ♀ Quebrada de Macul , 13 – XI – 1967, R . Pérez ( MNHN) ; 1 ♀ Renca , 23 – XI – 1969, R . Vergara ( MNHN) ; 3 ♀ Chile – Cordillera di Santiago – El Manzano – 13.xi.1988 – G. Arriagada leg. ( MZUR) .

Distribution. Chile.

Etymology. The specific epithet is in honor of Pier Luigi Scaramozzino, entomologist and dear friend of FDG, who contributed to the knowledge of Ichneumonidae for 30 years.

Biological notes. The biology of N. scaramozzinoi sp. n. is unknown. Porter (1998) mentions that Holarctic Nemeritis species use Rhaphidiidae (Neuroptera: Raphidioidea) as hosts, and that some species can parasite Coleoptera larvae. However, Rhaphidiidae, which seem to be the hosts of N. caudatula and N. elegans groups, are not present in South America. Nemeritis scaramozzinoi shares some morphological similarities with species belonging to N. macrocentra group, whose species have been recorded as parasitoids of Lepidoptera and Coleoptera ( Horstmann 1994).

Figures

FIGURE 3. A–H: Nemeritis scaramozzinoi sp. nov. (holotype, female): A: habitus, in lateral view; B: head, in frontal view; C: head, in dorsal view; D: head and mesosoma, in lateral view; E: wings; F: propodeum, in dorsal view; G: propodeum, in dorsolateral view; H: first metasomal tergite, in lateral view. Scale bars: 1.00 mm (A, B, D, E); 0.50 mm (C, F, G, H).