Alphomelon calixtomoragai Fernandez-Triana & Shimbori, 2023

Fernandez-Triana, Jose L., Shimbori, Eduardo M., Whitfield, James B., Penteado-Dias, Angelica M., Shaw, Scott R., Boudreault, Caroline, Sones, Jayme, Perez, Kate, Brown, Allison, Manjunath, Ramya, Burns, John M., Hebert, P. D. N., Smith, M. Alex, Hallwachs, Winnifred & Janzen, Daniel H., 2023, A revision of the parasitoid wasp genus Alphomelon Mason with the description of 30 new species (Hymenoptera, Braconidae), ZooKeys 1175, pp. 5-162 : 5

Alphomelon calixtomoragai Fernandez-Triana & Shimbori sp. nov.

Figs 15A-F , 93A

Type material.

Holotype. Costa Rica • Female, CNC; Guanacaste, Area de Conservación Guanacaste, Sector El Hacha, Vuelta Peligrosa, 11°02'07.22"N, 85°32'11.22"W, 280m; 25.IX.2008; ex. Vettius aurelius ; coll. Roster Moraga; Voucher code: DHJPAR0034186; Host voucher code: 08-SRNP-23629.

Other specimens examined.

Mexico • 1 female, CBG. Voucher code: BIOUG26457-C04 .

Distribution.

Costa Rica (ACG), Mexico.

Biology.

Solitary, reared from Vettius aurelius .

DNA barcoding.

BINBOLD:ADA5721.

Etymology.

Named in honor of Sr. Calixto Moraga in honor of his decades of teamwork in the ACG parataxonomist team.

Diagnostic description.

White patch on gena: extending to occiput and onto clypeus. Tegula/humeral complex color: yellow/yellow. Mesonotum color: mostly dark brown to black. Metasoma color: mostly dark brown to black but with some laterotergites and sternites yellow. Tarsal claws spines: 2. Pterostigma shape: comparatively less elongate, its length ≤ 2.5 × its central height and usually more rounded with at least one of its lower margins curved. T1 sculpture: entirely to mostly smooth. T1 central ridge: clearly marked by two raised carinae. T2 sculpture: entirely to mostly smooth. Ovipositor sheaths length: longer than first segment of metatarsus. Body length: 4.3 mm. Fore wing length: 4.6 mm.

Notes.

The specimen from Mexico (which has an almost complete barcode with 564 bp) is associated with the species because its sequence matches perfectly with the specimen from ACG and the image available in BOLD is also similar. The sequences of A. calixtomoragai and A. petronariosae are comparatively very similar (only 1.28% bp difference) but they have morphological differences (see key) as well as different hosts.

Figures

Figure 15. Alphomelon calixtomoragai Fernandez-Triana & Shimbori holotype female DHJPAR 0034186 A habitus, lateral B antenna, lateral C fore wing D head, frontal E head and mesosoma, dorsal F propodeum and metasoma, dorsal.

Figure 93. Parasite cocoons A Alphomelon calixtomoragai 08 - SRNP- 23629 - DHJ 448941 B Alphomelon carolinacanoae 06 - SRNP- 45140 - DHJ 414816.