Calliephialtes Ashmead, 1900

Khalaim, Andrey I. & Ruíz-Cancino, Enrique, 2022, Darwin wasps of the subfamily Pimplinae (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) of Mexico: Ephialtes genus-group, Zootaxa 5169 (3), pp. 201-251 : 207-209

Genus Calliephialtes Ashmead, 1900

Calliephialtes Ashmead 1900a: 54 .

Type species: Pimpla xanthothorax Ashmead, 1890 (= grapholithae Cresson, 1890 ), by original designation.

References. Ashmead 1890: 446 [ Pimpla xanthothorax (description); USA (Missouri)]. Morley 1914: 12 [remarks; key to 2 species]. Townes & Townes 1951: 187 [catalogue; 10 species in America north of Mexico]. Townes & Townes 1960: 80 [revision of 4 species from America north of Mexico; key]. Townes & Townes 1966: 10 [catalogue; 9 species in Neotropical region; 1 species in Mexico]. Townes 1969: 74 [description; distribution]. Carlson 1979: 325 [catalogue; 4 species in America north of Mexico]. Gauld 1991: 178 [description; review of 9 species (6 described as new) from Costa Rica; key]. Gauld et al. 1998: 19 [12 species (3 described as new) in Costa Rica; key]. Ruíz-Cancino et al. 2002: 645 [checklist; 2 species in Mexico]. Gauld et al. 2002: 33 [review of 3 species (1 described as new) from El Salvador; key].

Calliephialtes is a moderately large genus with 22 species in the Nearctic and Neotropical regions. Seven species are restricted to South America, 13 species occur in Central America and four in North America. Six species, including one unidentified taxon, are found to occur in Mexico.

Calliephialtes coxatus (Smith) was included to the list of Mexican species by Ruíz-Cancino et al. (2002) after Morley (1914: 29) and the catalogue of the Neotropical Ichneumonidae ( Townes & Townes 1966) , but this record is apparently erroneous (see Remarks under C. coxata ). Described from Mexico Epiurus flavipes Cameron was mistakenly synonymized to C. coxatus , but subsequently it was found to be a typical species of Scambus ( Gauld 1991: 185) . Record of the Costa Rican species C. ruizi Gauld from the State of Tamaulipas, Mexico ( Ruíz-Cancino et al. 2010: 63) is apparently incorrect.

Types of four Costa Rican species, C. picadoi Gauld , C. rojasi Gauld et al. , C. ruizi Gauld and C. sittenfeldae Gauld et al. , deposited in the INBio collection, have been examined by the senior author.

Species of Calliephialtes are idiobiont ectoparasitoids of a variety of Lepidoptera , Coleoptera and Diptera whose larvae live in galls, nuts, small fruits, mines, cases and similar niches, or hyperparasitoids via the primary ichneumonoid parasitoid of such host ( Gauld 1991; López-Ortega & Khalaim 2011).

Key to species of Calliephialtes occurring in Mexico

1. Female............................................................................................. 2

- Male (unknown for Calliephialtes sp. ).................................................................... 7

2. Head, mesosoma and metasoma more or less entirely reddish brown....................... 1. C. ferrugineus Cushman

- Head black, mesosoma and metasoma black marked to entirely black........................................... 3

3. Metasoma with tergites 1–5 orange and tergites 6–8 black ( Fig. 9 ). Hind leg with coxa and femur black, tibia fuscous ( Fig. 16 ). Mesoscutum, mesopleuron and propodeum orange ( Fig. 15 ). [Tergites 2 and 3 transverse ( Fig. 10 ).]................................................................................................ 4. C. sittenfeldae Gauld et al.

- Metasoma with tergite 1 black, the rest brown to black. Hind leg with femur and tibia uniformly orange-brown or white with black markings. Mesoscutum, mesopleuron and propodeum with a variable amount of orange-brown and black.......... 4

4. Hind coxa and femur whitish with brown or blackish marks ( Fig. 14 ). Nervellus of hind wing intercepted distinctly below its middle ( Fig. 13 ). Mesosoma with metapleuron and propodeum blackish, the rest orange-brown ( Fig. 13 ).............................................................................................. 2. C. grapholithae (Cresson)

- Hind coxa and femur uniformly orange-brown. Nervellus of hind wing intercepted near or above its middle............. 5

5. White stripe on upper edge of pronotum not reaching base of notaulus. Fore coxa usually orange-brown. Groove between propodeum and metapleuron containing a carina behind spiracle............................ 3. C. notanda (Cresson)

- White stripe on upper edge of pronotum reaching forwards beyond base of notaulus ( Fig. 17 ). Fore coxa whitish. Groove between propodeum and metapleuron not containing a carina.................................................. 6

6. Propodeum as long as broad in dorsal view (length measured from anterior dorsal margin to base of first tergite, width measured between spiracles in dorsal view), weakly convex in lateral view............................... 6. Calliephialtes sp.

- Propodeum shorter, 0.85–0.9× as long as wide in dorsal view, distinctly convex in lateral view ( Fig. 17 )................................................................................................ 5. C. thurberiae Cushman

7. Hind femur uniformly yellowish or reddish brown. Hind wing with nervellus intercepted near or above middle.......... 8

- Hind femur whitish with blackish marks basally and apically. Hind wing with nervellus intercepted near, above or below middle............................................................................................. 9

8. Metapleural carina present. White mark on upper margin of pronotum not reaching forward to notaulus................................................................................................. 3. C. notanda (Cresson)

- Metapleural carina absent, propodeum and metapleuron separated by groove only. White stripe on upper margin of pronotum extending forwards beyond base of notaulus........................................... 5. C. thurberiae Cushman

9. Nervellus intercepted above middle. Propodeum orange, sometimes infuscate. Hind coxa, femur and tibia whitish with blackish marks....................................................................... 4. C. sittenfeldae Gauld et al.

- Nervellus intercepted near or below middle. Propodeum black. Hind leg sometimes without blackish marks, whitish or reddish brown............................................................................................. 10

10. Metapleuron, propodeum and metasoma black....................................... 2. C. grapholithae (Cresson)

- Metapleuron and propodeum reddish brown, metasoma mostly reddish brown................ 1. C. ferrugineus Cushman

Figures

FIGURES 8–12. Calliephialtes grapholithae, ♀ (Tamaulipas): 8—habitus (without one antenna and ovipositor), lateral. Calliephialtes sittenfeldae, ♀ (Tamaulipas): 9—habitus, lateral; 10—metasomal tergites 1–3, dorsal. Calliephialtes thurberiae, ♀ (Tamaulipas): 11—habitus, lateral; 12—apex of ovipositor, lateral.

FIGURES 13–17. Calliephialtes grapholithae, ♀ (Tamaulipas): 13—mesosoma and base of metasoma, lateral; 14—hind leg, lateral. Calliephialtes sittenfeldae, ♀ (Tamaulipas): 15—head, mesosoma and base of metasoma, lateral; 16—hind leg, lateral. Calliephialtes thurberiae, ♀ (Tamaulipas): 17—mesosoma and base of metasoma, lateral.