Meteorus horologium Jones

Jones, Guinevere Z. & Shaw, Scott R., 2012, Ten new species of Meteorus (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) from Ecuador reared at the Yanayacu Biological Center for Creative Studies, Zootaxa 3547, pp. 1-23 : 7-9

Meteorus horologium Jones , new species

( Figs 12–17 )

Holotype Female. Body length 3.5 mm; fore wing length 3.0 mm.

Body color: Head orange with dark brown ocellar patch, antennae brown; mandibles cream with brown teeth; palpi cream; body dark brown dorsally, cream ventrally, orange metasoma medially; dorsal view of mesonotum dark yellow medially, brown anteriorly and laterally; propodeum brown dorsally; coxae and tibia cream on all legs; wing transparent brown with brown venation; tergum one anteriorly white, dark brown posteriorly; second tergite dark brown laterally and posteriorly, cream asymmetrical “hourglass” shape medially, wider anteriorly and narrower posteriorly ( Fig. 14 ); ovipositor and sheath brown.

Head: Antenna with 30 flagellomeres; flagellar length/width ratios as follows: F1 = 2.5, F2 = 2.5, F3 = 2.3, F28 = 1.8, F29 = 1.8, F30 = 2.8; ocelli small with 1.5 OCOD to OCD ratio; eyes nearly parallel, small, head height to eye height ratio 1.6, maximum face width nearly equal to minimum face width; minimum face width 1.3 X clypeus width; malar space 3.3 X the mandible width; mandibles strongly twisted; clypeus, face and frons smooth; occipital carina complete.

Mesosoma: Mesonotal lobes well defined, distinct finely foveate notauli; pronotum, mesopleuron smooth with slightly foveolate sternaulus; metapleuron smooth; propodeum rugose ( Fig. 16 ).

Legs: Hind coxae smooth; simple tarsal claw.

Wings: Vein 3 RSa twice as long as vein r; lacking (RS + M)b vein at 2RS insertion point.

Metasoma: Ovipositor short, 1.5 X longer than tergum one; tergum one longitudinally costate, beginning just anterior to spiracles, lines mostly parallel until slight divergence posteriorly.

Variation of paratype females. Body length 3.5–4 mm; antennal flagellomere variation range due to many broken antennae, 30 flagellomeres on complete antennae.

Variation of paratype males. Average body length is 3 mm; all antennae were broken, flagellomeres 16–29.

Cocoon. Ovoid; dark brown; heavily baled in silk in dense cluster; corpus 4 mm long; cap 2 mm long, nipple slightly lighter in color than corpus and cap.

Material examined.

Holotype female: Ecuador: Napo Province, reared at Yanayacu Biological Station with database number YY #12074, S 00°35.9’ W 77°53.4’, 2163 m, collected 8 February 2006, Plot 175 on Ruben Trail, S 00°36.134’ W 77°53.150’, 2094 m, parasitoid pupated 8 March 2006, adult wasp emerged 26 March 2006, host caterpillar Parasa macrodonta (Limacodidae) , associated plant unknown species of Piperaceae . Deposited in UWIM.

Paratypes: Ecuador: Napo Province, reared at Yanayacu Biological Station with database number YY #12074, 15 females, 4 males, S 00°35.9’ W 77°53.4’, 2163 m, collected 8 February 2006, Plot 175 on Ruben Trail, S 00°36.134’ W 77°53.150’, 2094 m, parasitoid pupated 8 March 2006, adult wasp emerged 26 March 2006, host caterpillar Parasa macrodonta (Limacodidae) , associated plant unknown species of Piperaceae . Deposited in UWIM.

Distribution. Known only from the type localities in Napo Province, Ecuador.

Biology. Meterous horologium is a gregarious species reared from a Limacodidae larva, known familiarly as “ver mas tarde” by the gusaneros, but more recently identified by Marc Epstein as Parasa macrodonta Hering & Hopp, 1927 ( Fig. 15 ). Twenty wasps emerged from one host larva. Meteorus horologium was reared from a caterpillar that was found feeding on an unknown species of Piper ( Piperaceae ).

Etymology. Named for the “hourglass-esque” shape on the second tergite, from Latin for “hourglass”.

Comments. There are a few Meteorus species with distinct patterns on tergite 2: M. oviedoi , M. rugonasus and M. imaginatus . The Costa Rican M. oviedoi has a more distinct hourglass shape and the costate sculpture of tergum one is strongly converging posteriorly, while the sculpturing on tergum one on M. horologium is mostly parallel. Meteorus oviedoi was the first record of a Meteorus utilizing a Limacodidae larvae as a host ( Shaw & Nishida, 2005), so now M. horologium is the second record of limacodid host utilization within this parasitoid genus. Meteorus rugonasus also had a variable hourglass-esque color variation as well, but M. rugonasus has a convex and coarsely rugose clypeus ( Shaw & Jones 2009). The clypeus is smooth for H. horologium .

Additionally, this is the first hymenopteran parasitoid record for this host caterpillar. Previously, only tachinid flies were known to be parasitoids of Parasa macrodonta .

Figures

FIGURES 12 – 15. 12. — Lateral habitus of Meteorus horologium, new species: holotype female; 13. — Face of Meteorus horologium, new species: holotype female; 14. — Dorsal view of metasoma of Meteorus horologium, new species: holotype female, showing color pattern; 15. — Host caterpillar of Meteorus horologium, new species: Parasa macrodonta Hering & Hopp, 1927 (Lepidoptera: Limacodidae).

FIGURES 16 – 17. 16. — Scanning electron micrograph of Meteorus horologium, new species: dorsal view of mesosoma (150 x), showing sculpturing; 17. — Scanning electron micrograph of Meteorus horologium, new species: fore wing (150 x), showing absence of vein (RS + M) b at vein 2 RS insertion point.