Apanteles freddyquesadai Fernandez-Triana

Fernandez-Triana, Jose L., Whitfield, James B., Rodriguez, Josephine J., Smith, M. Alex, Janzen, Daniel H., Hallwachs, Winnie D., Hajibabaei, Mehrdad, Burns, John M., Solis, M. Alma, Brown, John, Cardinal, Sophie, Goulet, Henri & Hebert, Paul D. N., 2014, Review of Apantelessensu stricto (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Microgastrinae) from Area de Conservacion Guanacaste, northwestern Costa Rica, with keys to all described species from Mesoamerica, ZooKeys 383, pp. 1-565 : 141-142

Apanteles freddyquesadai Fernandez-Triana sp. n. Figs 56, 249

Apanteles Rodriguez46 ( Smith et al. 2006). Interim name provided by the authors.

Type locality.

COSTA RICA, Guanacaste, ACG, Sector El Hacha, Sendero Potrero, 290m, 11.02842, -85.52779.

Holotype.

♀ in CNC. Specimen labels: 1. COSTA RICA, Guanacaste, ACG, El Hacha, Estación los Almendros, 07/02/2000, Lucia Rios. 2. 00-SRNP-3040, Atarnes sallei on Annona reticulata. 3. DHJPAR0012472.

Paratypes.

7 ♀, 5 ♂ (BMNH, CNC, INBIO, NMNH). COSTA RICA, ACG database codes: DHJPAR0002316, DHJPAR0002328, DHJPAR0002337, DHJPAR0002910, DHJPAR0002913, DHJPAR0002916, DHJPAR0002921, DHJPAR0004059, DHJPAR0004086, DHJPAR0005276, DHJPAR0011975, DHJPAR0034223.

Description.

Female. Body color: body mostly dark except for some sternites which may be pale. Antenna color: scape, pedicel, and flagellum dark. Coxae color (pro-, meso-, metacoxa): pale, pale, dark. Femora color (pro-, meso-, metafemur): pale, pale, pale. Tibiae color (pro-, meso-, metatibia): pale, pale, pale. Tegula and humeral complex color: both pale. Pterostigma color: mostly pale and/or transparent, with thin dark borders. Fore wing veins color: partially pigmented (a few veins may be dark but most are pale). Antenna length/body length: antenna about as long as body (head to apex of metasoma); if slightly shorter, at least extending beyond anterior 0.7 metasoma length. Body in lateral view: not distinctly flattened dorso–ventrally. Body length (head to apex of metasoma): 2.9-3.0 mm or 3.1-3.2 mm. Fore wing length: 3.1-3.2 mm, 3.3-3.4 mm, rarely 3.5-3.6 mm. Ocular–ocellar line/posterior ocellus diameter: 2.0-2.2. Interocellar distance/posterior ocellus diameter: 1.7-1.9. Antennal flagellomerus 2 length/width: 2.9-3.1. Antennal flagellomerus 14 length/width: 1.4-1.6. Length of flagellomerus 2/length of flagellomerus 14: 2.0-2.2. Tarsal claws: with single basal spine–like seta. Metafemur length/width: 3.0-3.1. Metatibia inner spur length/metabasitarsus length: 0.6-0.7. Anteromesoscutum: mostly with deep, dense punctures (separated by less than 2.0 × its maximum diameter). Mesoscutellar disc: with punctures near margins, central part mostly smooth. Number of pits in scutoscutellar sulcus: 7 or 8. Maximum height of mesoscutellum lunules/maximum height of lateral face of mesoscutellum: 0.6-0.7. Propodeum areola: completely defined by carinae, including transverse carina extending to spiracle. Propodeum background sculpture: mostly sculptured. Mediotergite 1 length/width at posterior margin: 3.5-3.7, 3.8-4.0, rarely 4.1 or more. Mediotergite 1 shape: mostly parallel–sided for 0.5-0.7 of its length, then narrowing posteriorly so mediotergite anterior width>1.1 × posterior width. Mediotergite 1 sculpture: with some sculpture near lateral margins and /or posterior 0.2-0.4 of mediotergite. Mediotergite 2 width at posterior margin/length: 4.4-4.7. Mediotergite 2 sculpture: mostly smooth. Outer margin of hypopygium: inflexible (without a folded, transparent, semi–desclerotized area); with no pleats visible. Ovipositor thickness: anterior width 3.0-5.0 × posterior width (beyond ovipositor constriction). Ovipositor sheaths length/metatibial length: 0.4-0.5. Length of fore wing veins r/2RS: 2.3 or more. Length of fore wing veins 2RS/2M: 1.1-1.3. Length of fore wing veins 2M/(RS+M)b: 0.5-0.6. Pterostigma length/width: 3.1-3.5. Point of insertion of vein r in pterostigma: clearly beyond half way point length of pterostigma. Angle of vein r with fore wing anterior margin: clearly outwards, inclined towards fore wing apex. Shape of junction of veins r and 2RS in fore wing: distinctly but not strongly angled.

Male. Similar to female.

Molecular data.

Sequences in BOLD: 14, barcode compliant sequences: 9.

Biology/ecology.

Solitary (Fig. 249). Host: Hesperiidae , Sostrata bifasciata nordica , Gorgythion begga pyralina .

Distribution.

Costa Rica, ACG.

Comments.

The barcode sequences of Apanteles freddyquesadai only differ from those of Apanteles luciariosae by 1.3% (~ 8bp), but there are clear diagnostic characters for each species in the barcoding region. In addition to molecular and slight morphological differences, Apanteles freddyquesadai seems to be an ecologist generalist, having been found in dry forest, mix of dry and rainforests and deep rainforests, while Apanteles luciariosae is an ecological specialist, only found on a small piece of deep rainforest (i.e., many kilometres into the rain forest, far from the dry forest and dry-rain forest interface).

Etymology.

We dedicate this species to Freddy Quesada in recognition of his diligent efforts for the ACG Programa de Parataxónomos and Estación Biológica Pitilla of ACG.