Enicospilus flavocephalus (Kirby, 1900)

Shimizu, So, Broad, Gavin R. & Maeto, Kaoru, 2020, Integrative taxonomy and analysis of species richness patterns of nocturnal Darwin wasps of the genus Enicospilus Stephens (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae, Ophioninae) in Japan, ZooKeys 990, pp. 1-144 : 1

Enicospilus flavocephalus (Kirby, 1900) Figure 17

Ophion flavocephalus Kirby, 1900: 82; LCT ♂ from Christmas Island, designated by Gauld (1977: 79), NHMUK, examined.

Henicospilus lunulatus Szépligeti, 1906: 143; HT ♂ from Bismarck Island, TM, not examined; synonymised by Gauld and Mitchell (1981: 416).

Henicospilus albicaput Morley, 1912: 50; HT ♂ from Australia, NHMUK, examined; synonymised by Townes et al. (1961: 275).

Henicospilus similis Matsumura and Uchida, 1926: 221; HT ♂ from Ryûkyûs, SEHU, examined; synonymised by Uchida (1928: 221).

Specimens examined.

Total of 57 specimens (34♀♀22♂♂ and 1 unsexed): Australia (5♀♀2♂♂ and 1 unsexed), Brunei (2♀♀1♂), Japan (21♀♀13♂♂), Laos (1♀), Singapore (1♀), Taiwan (4♀♀6♂♂).

Type series: LCT ♂ of Ophion flavocephalus Kirby, 1900, Flying Fish Cove, Christmas Island, AUSTRALIA, C.W. Andrews leg. (NHMUK, Type 3b.1273); HT ♂ of Henicospilus albicaput Morley, 1912, Mackay, Queensland, AUSTRALIA (NHMUK, Type 3b.1254); HT ♂ of Henicospilus similis Matsumura & Uchida, 1926, Okinawa, Ryûkyûs, JAPAN, S. Sakaguchi leg. (SEHU).

Distribution.

Australasian, Oceanic, and Oriental regions ( Yu et al. 2016); new to the Eastern Palaearctic region.

Newly recorded from Laos.

JAPAN: [ Kyûshû] Kagoshima*; [ Ryûkyûs] Kagoshima ( Uchida 1956; present study) and Okinawa ( Matsumura and Uchida 1926; Uchida 1928; Sonan 1940; present study). *New record.

Bionomics.

Recorded as a parasitoid of three species of Euproctis ( Erebidae : Lymantriinae ) ( Corbett and Miller 1928; Sonan 1944; Chen et al. 2009). Other host records seem less likely, and there are no host records from Japan.

Differential diagnosis.

This species is easily distinguishable from all other Enicospilus species by the angulate fore wing vein 1m-cu&M, large value of CI (i.e., 0.6-0.8), and characteristic sclerites of fore wing fenestra (Fig. 17F ). Enicospilus flavocephalus is very similar to E. xanthocephalus in colour pattern, body size, and body profile, as in Figs 17 and 52 , but these species are easily distinguishable from each other by the colour of interocellar area (entirely yellow-brown in E. flavocephalus , as in Fig. 17C , but entirely black in E. xanthocephalus , as in Fig. 52C ), shape of fore wing vein 1m-cu&M (angulate in E. flavocephalus , as in Fig. 17F , but evenly curved in E. xanthocephalus , as in Fig. 52F ), etc.

Figures

Figure 17. Enicospilus flavocephalus (Kirby, 1900) ♀ from Japan A habitus B head, frontal view C head, dorsal view D head, lateral view E mesosoma, lateral view F central part of fore wing.

Figure 52. Enicospilus xanthocephalus Cameron, 1905 ♀ from Japan A habitus B head, frontal view C head, dorsal view D head, lateral view E mesosoma, lateral view F central part of fore wing.