Pseudidarnes minerva Girault, 1927

Farache, Fernando Henrique Antoniolli & Rasplus, Jean-Yves, 2014, Revision of the Australasian genus Pseudidarnes Girault, 1927 (Hymenoptera, Agaonidae, Sycophaginae), ZooKeys 404, pp. 31-70 : 59-63

Pseudidarnes minerva Girault, 1927 Figures 23-27

Pseudidarnes minerva ; Girault (1927) Records of the South Australian Museum. 3: 332. [description female]

Pseudidarnes minerva ; Bouček (1988) Australasian Chalcidoidea , Cap. 6 p. 159 (key), 187-188 pp. Figs 317-318. [New record, redescription]

Pseudidarnes minerva ; Fellowes et al. (1999) Behavioural Ecology and Sociobiology, 46: 95-102. [ecology]

Pseudidarnes minerva ; Early JW (2000) New Zealand Entomologist, 23: 29-30. Fig. 1. [natural history, description of wingless male, new occurrence]

Pseudidarnes minerva ; Cook (2005) In: Fellowes M, Holloway G, Rolff J (Eds), Insect Evolutionary Ecology, 83-110, Fig. 4.1. [ecology]

Pseudidarnes minerva ; Cruaud et al. (2011a) BMC Evolutionary Biology, 11: 15pp. [phylogenetic position]

Pseudidarnes minerva ; Cruaud et al. (2011b) Journal of Biogeography, 38: 209-225. [biogeography]

Material examined.

Holotype. ♀, AUSTRALIA: Queensland: Brisbane and Lake Manchester, -27.48°, 152.76°, 67m, [no date], ex Ficus rubiginosa (ASCI) [examined].

AUSTRALIA: Queensland: Amity, -27.39°, 153.44°, 5m, 7♀, 23.I.1999, Rasplus J.Y. & Meusnier, S, ex Ficus rubiginosa , n° JRAS00722 (CBGP), Ballina, -28.89°, 153.56°, 5m, 7♀, 3♂, 25.I.1999, Rasplus J.Y. & Meusnier, S, ex Ficus rubiginosa , n° JRAS00726 (CBGP), 1♀, 25.I.1999, Rasplus J.Y., ex Ficus rubiginosa , n° JRAS00727_01 (CBGP), Mount Molloy, -16.67°, 145.33°, 400m, 1♂, 25.X.2005, Jousselin E. & Coeur d’Acier A., ex Ficus rubiginosa , n° JRAS01418_28 (CBGP), Yungaburra, -17.27°, 145.58°, 700m, 5♀, 15.I.1999, Rasplus J.Y. & Meusnier, S, ex Ficus rubiginosa , n° JRAS00690 (CBGP); Victoria: Melbourne, -37.81°, 144.96°, 20m, 2♀, 2♂, I.1995, Cook J., ex Ficus rubiginosa (CBGP).

Diagnosis.

Mesosoma metallic green, mostly reticulate. Median sulcus of the propodeum extending over most of the propodeum length, not reaching the posterior margin. Postmarginal vein as long as the stigmal. Petiole longer than wide in dorsal view. Ovipositor sheaths longer than metasoma.

Description.

Body length 2.6 mm. Ovipositor sheaths length 2.33 mm.

Coloration. Metallic tinge present at least in some body regions. Predominantly green. Scape yellow. Petiole yellow brown. Flagellomeres brown. Coxae almost concolorous with mesosoma. Femora brown. Tibiae and tarsi predominantly yellow. Metatibia proximally browner. Petiole brown. Metasoma browner dorsally.

Head. Antennae inserted at or slightly below the middle line of compound eyes. Scape nearly 3 × as long as pedicel. Pedicel almost as long as wide, pyriform, and as long as first funicular segment. Anelli transverse. First funicular segment longer than wide to approximately as long as wide. Distal antennomeres forming a distinctive clava. Face sculpture reticulate. Face pilosity short and sparse. Supraclypeal area wide, its delimiting sulci not converging near epistomal groove, and its sculpture mostly smooth. Lateral ocelli nearly one diameter far from the eye margin.

Mesosoma. Pronotum short, nearly as long as high in lateral view, or slightly longer than high. Mesoscutum reticulate. Mesoscutellum engraved. Frenal sulcus densely crenulated. Mesepimeron sculpture reticulate. Metascutellum very short, inconspicuous, and almost completely covered by frenum. Propodeum with a carinulated longitudinal median line, extending over most of the propodeum length, not reaching the posterior margin. Propodeum sculpture engraved reticulate, smooth near the proximal region of median line of propodeum. Petiole 1.5 × as long as high in lateral view. Wings hyaline, with sparse pilosity. Marginal and postmarginal vein not particularly widened. Postmarginal vein as long as stigmal vein, or slightly shorter.

Metasoma. Petiole sculpture in lateral view slightly rugose. Petiole dorsally with a longitudinal median sulcus. Ovipositor sheaths long, distinctly protruding beyond metasoma apex. Ovipositor sheaths length 4.4 × hind tibia length, 0.9 × body length.

Male. Body length 2.3 mm. Characters agreeing with the females, except the following. body slender. Coxae brown, not concolorous with mesosoma. Anelli more transverse than female. Head sculpture engraved. Ocelli ca. 2 × the diameter of the female’s. Body sculpture fainter. Wing more pilose.

Wingless males were described for this species ( Early 2000), but they are uncommon.

Biology.

Reared from Ficus rubiginosa Desf. ex Vent. syconia. Ficus rubiginosa is pollinated by Pleistodontes imperialis Saunders. Usually collected in low abundances, but sometimes they are quite abundant, at least in Eastern Australia and Auckland (as seen by Early 2000). Details about the biology of Pseudidarnes minerva and other wasps associated with Ficus rubiginosa in New Zealand were described by Early (2000).

Molecular data.

GenBank sequences: COI HM770660; CytB HM770560; EF1a HM770504; rRNA 28S HM770665 ( Cruaud et al. 2011a; Cruaud et al. 2011b).