Parapanteles paradoxus (Muesebeck), 1981

Valerio, A. A., Whitfield, J. B. & Janzen, D. H., 2009, Review of world Parapanteles Ashmead (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Microgastrinae), with description of fourteen new Neotropical species and the first description of the final instar larvae, Zootaxa 2084 (1), pp. 1-49 : 13-14

Parapanteles paradoxus (Muesebeck)

Figs. 4H , 7E , 9D , 11C , 12E

Apanteles paradoxus Muesebeck, 1958: 418 , 446–448.

Parapanteles paradoxus (Muesebeck) Mason, 1981: 104 .

Female. Body length = 2.35–2.50 mm.

Body color: Fore and mid leg yellow (except coxae), hind leg trochanters and basal area of femur and basal tip of tibia, metasomal sterna and pleura (except hypopygium), ovipositor, tegula, ocelli, compound eyes silver; fore and mid coxae honey brown and remainder of hind femur, labrum, propleuron, pronotum, tarsal claws, hypopygium, hind tarsomeres and tibia; palpi whitish yellow; remainder of body dark brown. Wings hyaline, forewing veins light brownish yellow with pterostigma and veins r and 2RS more darker than remainder of veins, also anterior 2/3 of vein 1-1A transparent as basal area of M+CU; hind wing veins light yellow except for veins SC+R and R1 light brownish yellow.

Head. Head height/width = 1.28–1.30; compound eye height/width = 1.47–1.55; intertentorial pit distance = 0.18 mm; tentorial pit distance/distance tentorial pit to compound eye = 2.33–2.80; width of face at dorsal clypeal edge = 0.32–0.35 mm; clypeus width/height = 2.42–2.67; vertex width/distance between anterior ocelli and edge of torulus = 2.67–2.76; length of first flagellomere = 0.22 mm; first flagellomere length/width = 1.00; length of first flagellomere/length of second flagellomere = 1.00; length of first flagellomere/length of third flagellomere = 1.00; terminal flagellomere length = 0.13–0.15 mm; terminal flagellomere length/ penultimate flagellomere length = 1.38–1.50; terminal flagellomere length/width = 2.40–2.75; malar space height/basal width of mandible = 1.00; ocell-ocular distance/lateral ocelli distance = 1.25–1.42. Clypeus with shallow and confused punctate sculpture; face with shallow and confused punctate sculpture at lateral areas of it, central area with an elevated medial keel which does not exhibit any punctate sculpture; frons with scrobal areas nitid and very shallow, lateral areas of frons with fine punctate sculpture, distal area almost nitid except for few punctulate sculpture; vertex with few punctulate sculpture except at lateral and distal areas with dense fine punctate sculpture as gena and junction area between gena and postgena; gena with ocular ring nitid; remainder of postgena nitid.

Mesosoma. Mesosoma length = 0.98–1.20 mm; mesosoma length/width = 1.20–1.30; mesosoma height = 0.62–0.70 mm. Propleuron with sparse fine punctate sculpture mainly at posterior 1/2 of it, anterior and externolateral areas almost nitid; pronotum with lateral anterior 1/3 with transversal narrow ridges, dorsal and ventral grooves with smooth, confused and dense transversal ridges which are not evident, area between lateral grooves nitid as dorsal and ventral edges, dorsal edge 1/3 and ventral edge 1/5 of posterior edge height; mesonotum with dense punctate sculpture which becomes slightly denser and smaller at midlongitudinal areas of lateral area of distal 1/2 of mesonotum, sculpture almost reaching scutellar groove; scutellar groove deeply impressed and with few transversal division which are not well defined; scutellum with punctate sculpture throughout its length which is more dense at anterior 1/2 of it, lateral areas with well defined and narrow transversal ridges except distal costulae wider and thicker in shape; axilla through mesonotum with transversal ridges across its width and with transversal ridges next to anterior edge of lunulae; metanotum very narrow and normally nitid, sometimes exhibits few irregular lineate sculpture next to middistal costula; axilla through metanotum with three transversal short ridges and with two upper longitudinal carinae; propodeum with confused rugose sculpture throughout its length and areolar carinae, costula, midlongitudinal and transversal carinae, anterior lateral areas with few punctate sculpture at medial area, spiracular areas with rugose sculpture too, costula totally present; mesopleuron with anterior edge punctate, posterior edge nitid, dorsal edge with big and few transversal ridges at anterior area of it but remainder of edge with dense and well defined scrobiculate sculpture, sternaulus as a longitudinal depression which is nitid as remainder of mesopleuron; metapleuron mainly nitid, medial pit present an dorsal and posterior edges with transversal ridges, posterior edge with more spaced sculpture and mixed with few confused rugulose sculpture, remainder nitid.

Legs. Hind femur length = 0.65–0.68 mm; hind femur length/width = 3.38–3.70; hind tibia length/hind femur length = 1.26–1.27. Telotarsus of fore leg with a hooklike setae at internolateral area of it and not set of 4 setae present at ventrodistal area of telotarsus; hind telotarsus with long setae at internolateral area of it; hind tarsal claw with a basal tooth in one of the claws and the other one simple.

Wings. Forewing length = 2.6–2.65 mm; 1RS length = 0.06–0.07 mm; 1CUa length/1CUb length = 0.88; length RS+Ma = 0.38–0.40 mm; length M+CU = 0.81–0.84 mm; 1M length/ m-cu length = 2.13–2.14; pterostigma length/height = 1.12–1.18. Hind wing: 1M length = 0.43–0.46 mm; 1M length/2M length = 1.17–1.80; 1M length/M+CU length = 1.23–1.59; length r-m/length cu-a = 0.71–0.81; 1RSa length/2r-m = 0.43–0.46; 1A length = 0.22–0.28 mm.

Metasoma. First tergum basal width = 0.98–1.02 mm; first tergum length/distal width = 1.23–1.25; second tergum length/distal width = 0.44–0.45; third tergum length/distal width = 0.32–0.33; hypopygium length = 0.32–0.35 mm. First metasomal tergum with coarsely rugulose sculpture and basal 1/3 with more confused rugulose sculpture present at medial area and less conspicuous coarsely rugulose sculpture at lateral areas; second metasomal tergum with coarsely rugulose sculpture throughout its area, remainder of terga nitid; hypopygium short in length; ovipositor sheaths with distal 1/3 sparsely setose; ovipositor very thick at basal 1/ 2, distal 1/3 normal and thin, as long as 1/5 as hind tibial length; hypopygium slightly divided at posterior edge.

Material examined. Holotype, female USNM Type No. 6307, “ Costa Rica (San José), Paso Ancho, San Sebastián , 13/xii/1936, No. 5060, C.P. Ballou. ” Other material: Costa Rica, Alajuela, ACG, Sector San Cristóbal, Sendero Vivero , 730 m, 316490 N 384531 E, 27/viii/2001, Col. F. Quesada; (2) Costa Rica, Puntarenas, A.C.L.A.P., P.I.L.A., Buenos Aires , Sabanas Esperanza , 1800 m, 15-23/iii/1999, Col. R. Villalobos, amarilla. LN 337300 _ 570200, #52480; Costa Rica, Buenos Aires , PILA, Sector Altamira, A.C. Amistad, 1150–1400 m, Junio 1994, Col. R. Delgado, LN 331500 _571700, #3015.

The Costa Rican material is deposited at INBio except holotype.

Male. Similar to female.

Comments. Sometimes the fore leg telotarsus is darker in color than remaining tarsomeres; also the propleuron and pronotum can be dark brown.

Rearing records. The type specimen was reared from Hemiceras sp. (Notodontidae) feeding on Inga roussoviana (Fabaceae) . Janzen and Hallwachs specimens that morphologically match P. paradoxus have been reared from larva of Tithraustes seminigrata (Notodontidae) feeding on Chamaedorea tepejilote (Arecaceae) ; Dunama mexicana (Notodontidae) feeding on Chamaedorea costaricana (Arecaceae) ; Rosema sp. (Notodontidae) feeding on Inga oerstediana (Fabaceae) ; Elachistidae larva feeding on Dichapetalum sp. (Dichapetalaceae) and Hemiceras conspirata (Notodontidae) feeding on Inga vera (Fabaceae) . According to Muesebeck (1958) P. paradoxus was reared from other unidentified Hemiceras species at Santa Clara ( El Salvador) by P.A. Berry. The observed sex ratio was 1/6.

Voucher numbers: 00-SRNP-11175, 00-SRNP-8625, 00-SRNP-8626, 01-SRNP-3235, 02-SRNP-431, 02- SRNP-434, 02-SRNP-437, 02-SRNP-1455, 02-SRNP-1532, 03-SRNP-3261, 03-SRNP-3264, 03-SRNP- 3267, 03-SRNP-7519, 03-SRNP-3268, 03-SRNP-3269, 03-SRNP-3265, 03-SRNP-3260, 04-SRNP-55287, and 04-SRNP-55754. However, when these specimens were DNA barcoded and carefully compared with many other rearing Parapanteles rearing records, under the protocol for species discovery through barcoding as described by Smith et al (2008) for other microgastrine wasp genera collected in the same inventory, they have been found to be 4 species that will be described and discussed elsewhere, one parasitizing Hemiceras and Rosema , one parasitizing Dunama mexicana , one parasitizing Tithraustes noctiluces and one parasitizing Elachistidae

Figures

FIGURE 4. Parapanteles masoni Austin & Dangerfield fore telotarsus (A) and pronotum in dorsal view (F); fore telotarsus structure of P. tessares n. sp. (B), P. sicpolus n. sp. (C), P. mariae n. sp. (D), P. scotti n. sp. (E), P. aletiae (Riley) (G), P. paradoxus (Muesebeck) (H), and P.rarus n. sp. (I). The arrows in these figures point to the different setae on the fore telotarsus.

FIGURE 7. Propodeum of Parapanteles lincolnii n. sp. (A), P. polus n. sp. (B), P. noae n. sp. (C), P.thrix n. sp. (D), P. paradoxus (Muesebeck) (E) and P. rarus n. sp. (F).

FIGURE 9. Female genitalia of Parapanteles thrix n. sp. (A), P. rarus n. sp. (B), P. em n. sp. (C), P. paradoxus (Muesebeck) (D), P. continua n. sp. (E), and P. tessares n. sp. (F).

FIGURE 11. First metasomal tergum in dorsal view for Parapanteles sicpolus n. sp. (A), P.em n. sp. (B), P. paradoxus (Muesebeck) (C), P. rooibos Valerioet al., P. tlinea n. sp. (E), and P. continua n. sp. (F).

FIGURE 12. Wing venation of Parapanteles polus n. sp. (A), P. mariae n. sp. (B), P.thrix n. sp. (C), P. continua n. sp. (D), P. paradoxus (Muesebeck) (E), and P. noae n. sp. (F).