Spathius lubomiri, Austin & Jennings, 2009

Austin, Andrew & Jennings, John, 2009, A new highly aberrant doryctine wasp, Spathius lubomiri n. sp. (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Doryctinae), from Lord Howe Island, ZooKeys 20 (20), pp. 275-284 : 277-281

Spathius lubomiri sp. n.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:D403F0D9-C9DA-49F3-97FF-84639119E4FC

Type-material. Holotype. Female. NSW: Mt. Gower walking trail, Lord Howe Is.; 31.35.12; 159.4.35; 28-Nov-2000; ex Bubbia howeana ; P. Flemons, J. Tamawski; LHIS050 /028 (beating) ( AM).

Paratype. Male. NSW; eastern slope of Phillip Point (North Head); Lord Howe Is.; 31.31.20; 159.2.29; 01-Dec-2000; CBCR, Australian Museum; LHIS015L leaf litter ex Closed Rain Forest – Drypetes / Cryptocarya habitat (AM).

Diagnosis. This species differs from all other known Spathius (both described and undescribed) by the dorsal body, metapleuron, forewing and legs possessing extremely long bristle-like setae, the wings being brachypterous, rod-like and reaching just past the middle of propodeum, and the body having a mottled white, dark brown and brown pattern.

Description. Female. body 3.9 mm long (without ovipositor).

Colour. Creamy white with extensive dark brown and brown markings giving appearance of a mottled pattern; face brown with cream margins; frons brown with broader cream margins; vertex brown but with narrow brown band joining dark brown occiput; temples cream around eyes, brown posteriorly; pronotum dark brown; scutum

Figures Ι–2. Lord Howe Island. Ι view south from Kim’s Lookout showing Mount Lidgbird (left) and Mt Gower (right) 2 view north from summit of Mt Gower.

Figures 3–8. Spathius lubomiri sp. n. female holotype. 3 lateral view of whole body (length 3.9 mm) 4 lateral view of mesosoma showing wings 5 lateral view of posterior mesosoma showing wings 6 dorsal view of first metaosomal tergite 7 hind leg 8 lateral view of metasoma.

Figures 9–Ι2. Spathius lubomiri sp. n. male paratype. 9 lateral view of whole body (length 2.5 mm) Ι0 lateral view of head ΙΙ lateral view of mesosoma showing wings Ι2 lateral view of metasoma and hind legs.

and scutellum cream with brown margins; metanotum brown; mesopleuron and metapleuron dark brown, but with large central cream patch; propodeum dark brown; legs creamy white with various brown patches and bands; hind leg dark brown in distal onethird; wings cream; first metasomal tergite light brown dorsally, dark brown laterally and in basal one-quarter; second tergite with broad cream patch medially, dark brown, along lateral and posterior margins, cream patch with two small brown spots; rest of metasoma cream with broad dorso-longitudinal dark brown band, broad dark brown patches on lateral tergites and on second sternite; ovipositor and sheaths pale brown.

Head. With fine punctuate sculpture; face and lower gena with sparse long yellow hairs, the longest about 0.5 eye height; vertex with 6 very long black bristle-like setae, the longest about 1.5 × eye height, frons and temples with a few long brown hairs; antennal scape with single long black bristle-like seta; antennae longer than body.

Mesosoma. Dorsal pronotum with fine rugulose sculpture and two bristle-like setae, lateral surface rugulose-punctate, becoming more strigose along posterior margin; scutum with 7 very long black bristle-like setae, the longest about 1.5 × eye height, rugulose within boundaries of very broad shallow notauli, rest of scutum faintly rugu- lose punctuate; scutellum and metanotum mostly smooth around carinae; propodeum with 7 long black bristle-like setae, the longest about 1.0 × eye height, dorsal surface more coarsely rugulose-punctate with strigose elements, including an irregular mid longitudinal carina in anterior two-thirds; mesopleuron and metapleuron irregularly rugulose-punctate with anterior and posterior margins punctuate; anterior and lateral pronotum and lateral mesosoma including propodeum with scattered long yellow hairs; dorsal surface of mid and hind coxae faintly rugulose-punctate, the rest of the legs smooth; femur, tibia and first tarsal segment with scattered very long black bristlelike setae, the longest about 1.5 × eye height, interspersed among these are scattered long yellow hairs.

Wings. Forewing rod-like, with narrow membranous flange, reaching to just past mid-point of propodeum, with 4–5 very long black bristle-like setae, the longest about 1.5 x eye height; hindwing rod-like, about 0.5 × length of forewing, with several long hairs, but lacking black bristle-like setae.

Metasoma. First tergite more than 3 × its distal width, longitudinally rugulose in basal one-third, the remainder longitudinally striate, with 7 scattered very long black bristle-like setae, the longest about 1.2 × eye height; remaining tergites smooth, with 4–6 very long black bristle-like setae, on tergites 3–6 forming a transverse row; ovipositor about 2.3 mm long, slightly longer than metasoma.

Male. Same as female except smaller, 2.5 mm long; colour more extensively dark brown, legs with pale brown markings; head and mesopleuron densely punctate; first tergite of mesosoma more uniformly rugulose, without striate pattern posteriorly.

Etymology. We have much pleasure in naming this species after our friend and colleague Lubomír Masner.

Distribution and habitat. Only known from the type locality, Lord Howe Island. Interestingly the male and female specimens have been collected from different ends of the island in quite different habitats; the male from Phillip Point at the north end of the island amongst leaf litter in closed rain forest comprising Drypetes and Cryptocarya , and the female about 7 km away at the southern end of the island among Bubbia howeana above the ground.

Comments. Although we have seen several undescribed Spathius from Australasia and the Oriental Region that have long hairs over parts of the body, in all cases these are species that have similar hairs compared with most other doryctines, except they are simply longer than normal. We have not seen any other Spathius or other Doryctinae that have the bristle-like setae of S. lubomiri . A this stage we do not know what is the function of these setae, but speculate that they may represent an anti-predator adaptation or, in some unknown way, may be related to host exploitation.