Syngaster lepidus Brullé

Iqbal, M., Austin, A. D. & Belokobylskij, S. A., 2006, Systematics of the Australasian endemic wasp genus Syngaster Brullé (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Doryctinae), Journal of Natural History 40 (13 - 14), pp. 819-853 : 832-840

Syngaster lepidus Brullé

( Figures 2h , 3 a–e, 4b, 5a, b)

Syngaster lepidus Brullé 1846, p 459 ; Cameron 1912, p 197; Belokobylskij et al. 2004, p 100;

Shenefelt and Marsh 1976, p 1332; Austin et al. 1994, p 160 (lectotype designation). Vipio gestroi Mantero 1897, p 119 ; Parrott 1953, p 209 (synonym by Fahringer 1942). Iphiaulax rubriceps Froggatt 1916, p 564 (synonym by Austin et al. 1994). Iphiaulax rubricepsis Shenefelt 1978, p 1792 (replacement name for I. rubriceps ).

Female

Length. 8.0– 12.5 mm.

Colour. Head red-brown. Mesosoma usually all black, sometimes with posterior scutellum and metanotum dark red-brown. Palps pale brown, slightly darker basally. Scape black except for outer distal flange which is dark red-brown; rest of antenna black. Metapleuron and propodeum milk white; posterior margin of propodeum black. Legs usually all black, sometimes partially or almost completely red-brown. Wings evenly and darkly infuscate.

First metasomal tergite milk white. Second to sixth tergites black, sometimes with redbrown or golden brown transverse stripes. Seventh tergite yellow-brown or red-brown.

Head. Width 1.25 times its median length, 1.1 times width of mesoscutum. Head behind eyes weakly convex. Transverse diameter of eye virtually equal to length of temple in dorsal view. Ocelli medium size, in triangle with base 1.2 times its sides, POL 1.1 times OD, 0.2 times OOL. Frons short with narrow indistinct depression. Diameter of antennal sockets 2.0 times distance from socket to border of eye. Eyes glabrous, 1.3 times as high as broad. Malar space height 0.6 times height of eye, 1.1 times basal width of mandible. Face flat, width 1.2 times height of eye and almost equal to height of face and clypeus combined. Clypeus with lower flange, clypeal suture distinct. Hypoclypeal depression round, its width 0.75 times distance from edge of depression to eye, 0.5 times width of face. Occipital carina complete, curved ventrally and fused with hypostomal carina. Hypostomal keel wide. Head below eyes convexly narrowed. Maxillary palps about 1.4 times as long as height of head. Antennal flagellum slender, 58–65-segmented, first segment length 3.3 times width. Scape more or less compressed, its maximum length including lobe 2.7 times maximum width.

Mesosoma. Length two times its height. Pronotum very short, with distinct submedian pronotal keel. Mesoscutum highly and almost perpendicularly raised above pronotum, its median lobe weakly protruding forward. Notauli deep, narrow, complete, and crenulated. Prescutellar depression rather short, more or less deep, smooth, with seven strong carinae, 0.3 times as long as scutellum. Scutellum flat, its maximum width about 1.1 times median length. Metanotum with very small median tooth. Subalar depression shallow and wide, rugose-reticulate. Sternaulus very shallow, straight, smooth, running along entire lower length of mesopleuron. Metapleuron separated from propodeum by distinct punctate suture along which these sclerites meet at an angle (i.e. propodeal and metapleural surfaces not continuously rounded). Propodeum without lateral tubercles, distinctly roundly narrowed from base to apex (lateral view). Fore tibia with very small spines arranged almost in single row. Basitarsal segment of middle leg elongate, nearly seven times as long as wide, 2.0 times as long as second segment; remaining segments shortened, with fourth segment subsquare. Hind coxa without basoventral tooth, 1.45 times as long as wide. Hind femur 3.6 times as long as wide. Inner spur of hind tibia 1.3 times as long as outer spur, 0.13 times as long as basitarsus. Hind tarsus 0.9 times as long as hind tibia, hind basitarsus 0.94 times as long as second to fifth segments combined, second tarsal segment 0.38 times as long as basitarsus, 1.4 times as long as fifth segment (without pretarsus).

Wings. Length of fore wing 3.5 times its maximum width. Pterostigma 3.9 times as long as wide, 0.78 times as long as R1. 3RSa 2.0 times r, 0.2 times 3RSb, 0.8 times 2RS. Second submarginal cell 2.1 times as long as wide, 0.6 times as long as first subdiscal cell. Hind wing about 4.8 times as long as wide; C+Sc+R almost equal to SC+R.

Metasoma. Metasoma 1–1.1 times as long as head and mesosoma combined. First tergite distinctly and almost linearly widened basally, but weakly narrowed apically, with short and wide basolateral processes, with very small dorsope, without spiracular tubercles, length of tergite almost equal to its maximum submedian width, 1.25 times its apical width. Second tergite with wide and distinctly convex medially basal semicircular area, separated by deep crenulate furrow, median length of area 0.7 times maximum length of tergite, maximum length 0.7 times its basal width, 0.76 times length of third tergite, second suture weakly undulate. Third tergite with distinct straight transverse crenulate furrow in basal one-third. Ovipositor sheaths about as long as body, 1.8 times as long as metasoma, 2.7 times as long as mesosoma; tip of sheaths strongly and broadly clavate.

Sculpture and pubescence. Vertex, frons, and temple entirely smooth. Vertex, temples, and face with rather long semi-erect sparse hairs. Face mostly smooth except for scattered tiny punctures. Pronotum rugulose in dorsal part, punctate along ventral margin. Mesoscutum and scutellum smooth. Mesosoma except for median mesopleuron entirely with semi-erect hairs. Mesopleuron smooth in most part. Metapleuron sparsely and distinctly punctulate, smooth anteriorly. Propodeum entirely puncturate to reticulate-punctate, sometimes smoother along anterior and posterior margins. Hind coxa almost entirely smooth, dorsally with very short, dense semi-erect hairs. Hind femur almost smooth. First tergite sparsely puncturate to more extensively punctate but with broad smooth areas between. Second and third tergites virtually smooth except for punctate transverse grooves. Remaining tergites smooth.

Male

As for female except as follows: length 6.0–10.0. Metasoma elongate, up to two times as long as head and mesosoma combined. First metasomal tergite with lateral margins parallel, about 1.8 times as long as wide. Second tergite with median area defined by striate-punctate sculpturing. Fourth and fifth tergites with crescent-shaped area anteriorly indicated by faint line which is often finely scrobiculate. Body with slightly longer pilosity which is denser along ventro-lateral pronotum.

Material examined

Lectotype: Syngaster lepidus , female (designated by Austin et al. 1994) (in poor condition: part of head, side of the mesosoma, right fore leg, both median and left hind legs, right hind wing, left fore wing and metasoma behind third tergite missing), ‘‘Nmuseum Paris, Tasmanie, Craunster 2900-40’’, ‘‘2900/40’’, ‘‘ ♀ Syngaster lepidus Brulle´, C. van Achterberg, 1970, Lectotype’’ (MNHN). Lectotype of Iphiaulax rubriceps Froggatt , female, ‘‘NSW, Uralla, parasite of Phoracantha , WWF’’ (NSWA).

Other material. Queensland: one female, Brisbane , January 1973, J. Sedlacek ( AEIC) ; two females, Brisbane , 22–26 January 1990, R. Wharton ( USNM) ; one female, one male, Brisbane , 4 September 1911, H. Hacker ( QMBA) ; one female, Brisbane , 13 April 1912, H. Hacker ( QMBA) ; one female, 17 Mile Rocks, Brisbane , 24 February 1964 ( UQIC) ; one female, Dunk Island , August 1927, H. Hacker ( QMBA) ; one female, Highvale, November , year and collector missing ( AEIC) ; one male, Lake Broadwater near Dalby , 1 May 1987, G. and A. Daniels ( UQIC) ; one male, Lamington National Park , 22 July 1963, M. Koplick ( UQIC) ; two males, Mackay , 1909 ( BMNH) ; two females, Mt Tambourine , 27 October 1912, H. Hacker ( QMBA) ; one male, Dunwich, Stradbroke Is , 2 May 1971, D. Murray ( UQIC) ; two females, Stradbroke Island , 3 December 1912, H. Hacker ( QMBA) ; one female, Stradbroke Island , 5 December 1913, H. Hacker ( QMBA) ; one female, Mt Walker, November to December, year and collector missing ( AEIC) . New South Wales: one female, Mt Canobolas , 29 October 1957, E. F. Riek ( ANIC) ; one male, Mt Kaputra , 30 October 1967, G. W. Frazier ( ANIC) ; one female, Lisarow , 11 July 1954, K. M. Moore ( USNM) ; one female, Lisarow , 25 July 1954, K. M. Moore ( USNM) ; two females, four males, Ourimbah State Forest, Scaddens Ridge Wyong , 1 July 1986 ( AEIC, WINC) ; five females, one male, Wyong , September 1968, D. U. U. Webb ( USNM) . Australian Capital Territory: three female, six males, Black Mountain , 12–15 February 1991, R. Paiva ( WINC) ; one female, five males, Black Mountain , 25 January to 7 February 1991, R. Paiva ( WINC; USNM) ; two males, Black Mountain , 15 January 1991, R. Paiva ( AEIC; USNM) ; one female, Blundells , 6 January 1961, E. F. Riek ( ANIC) ; one female, two males, Canberra , 4–10 January 1999, R. Wharton ( USNM) . Victoria: one male, Healesville , 3 January 1927, F. E. Wilson ( QMBA) ; 11 females, 10 males, Morwell , 24 May 1991, Qiao Wang ( USNM; WINC) ; one female, multiple locations, October 1991, Qiao Wang ( WINC) ; one male, locality missing, 1912, C. French ( BMNH) ; one female, no data, 7 February 1907 ( BMNH) . South Australia: one female, one male, Bundaleer , 27 October 1959, F. D. M. ( WINC) ; two females, Mt Crawford , 10 July 1986, no collector ( WINC) ; one female, Kangaroo Island , 26 December 1989 to 3 January 1990, R. Wharton ( USNM) ; one female, Nundoo , December 1961, H. G. G. ( UQIC) ; four females, Wirrabara , November 1987, Riverside ( USNM) . Tasmania: one female, Woodsdale , 15 July 1985, R. Bashford ( FCTH) ; one female, Woodsdale , 16 August 1984, R. Bashford ( FCTH) . Western Australia: one female, 41 miles W Caiguna , 25 October 1969, H. Evans and R. W. Matthews ( USNM) ; one female, Perth , 1917 ( WAMP) ; one female, Caversham , November 1915 ( WAMP) ; one female, Yanchep , 16 October 1969, H. Evans and R. W. Matthews ( USNM) .

Comments

Syngaster lepidus is the most widely distributed ( Figure 4b ) and commonly collected species in the genus and, along with S. polychromus , is the only species recorded from Australia. These two species are also the only members of the genus that have a white propodeum. However, they differ in many respects and are not closely related to each other. Most importantly they differ in the metapleural–propodeal suture which is present and distinctly punctate in S. lepidus and absent in S. polychromus . Syngaster lepidus also has the mid and hind coxae black (rather than white), lacks a median protuberance above clypeus, and has a much larger body. Compared with all other species, it also has a distinctly clavate tip to the ovipositor sheaths. N.B. The distribution map for S. lepidus ( Figure 4b ) includes locality data for the material examined and listed above, as well as additional material from several collections referred to in Austin et al. (1994) which we did not need to re-borrow for the current study.

Figures

Figure 2. (a–c) Syngaster crypticus sp. nov., male: (a) body (dorsolateral view); (b) head and pronotum (lateral view); (c) propodeum and metasomal tergites 1–4 (lateral view). (d–g) Syngaster hirtus sp. nov., female: (d) head and mesosoma (dorsal view); (e) head and mesosoma (lateral view); (f) propodeum and metasomal tergites 1–2 (dorsal view); (g) head (anterior view); (h) Syngaster lepidus Brulle´, female, head and pronotum (dorsal view). Scale bars: 2 mm (a, e, f, h); 1 mm (b–d, g).

Figure 3. Syngaster lepidus Brulle´, female. (a) Fore wing; (b) hind wing; (c) head (anterior view); (d) fore tibia (lateral view); (e) propodeum and metasomal tergites 1–3. Scale bars: 2 mm (a, b); 1 mm (c–e). After Austin et al. (1994).

Figure 4. (a) Distribution map of Syngaster species in New Guinea: (m) S. crypticus; (´) S. hirtus; (*) S. neoguineensis; (w) S. quadricolor; (&) S. steυensi; (>) S. tricolor; (S) S. υariegatus. (b) Distribution map of Syngaster species in Australia: (>) S. lepidus; arrow, S. polychromus. Map for S. lepidus modified from Austin et al. (1994).