Aleiodes wyomingensis Shaw and Marsh

Shaw, Scott R., Marsh, Paul M. & Fortier, Joseph C., 2006, Revision of Nearctic Aleiodes Wesmael (Part 8): the coxalis (Spinola) Species­Group (Hymenoptera: Braconidae, Rogadinae), Zootaxa 1314, pp. 1-30 : 27-29

Aleiodes wyomingensis Shaw and Marsh , NEW SPECIES

( Figs. 7 , 14 , 25, 26)

Female. Body color: ( Fig. 7 ) head, mesosoma and metasoma reddish brown, with black markings on ocellar triangle, on face above tentorial pits, medially on mesonotal lobes, propodeum dorsally, and venter of metasoma; legs honey yellow; antenna honey yellow on basal half, brown on apical half; ovipositor sheaths black; wings lightly infumated, veins brown, stigma brown with yellow spots at base and apex, tegula yellow. Body length, 4.5–5.0 mm; fore wing length, 4.0–4.5 mm. Head: ( Fig. 14 ) eyes and ocelli normal size; 32–33 antennomeres, first and second flagellomeres equal in length, all flagellomeres longer than wide, apical ones barely so; malar space moderately long, 1.3 times basal width of mandible and about 1/2 eye height; temple broad, 2/3 eye width; occipital carina complete, meeting hypostomal carina; oral space small and circular, width less than malar space and less than face height; clypeus somewhat swollen; ocelli small, ocellocular distance greater than diameter of lateral ocellus; face, vertex and temple coriaceous rugulose, frons rugose; maxillary palpus not swollen; mandible small, tips not crossing when closed. Mesosoma: pronotum rugose; mesonotum and scutellum coriaceous; notauli scrobiculate, meeting posteriorly in narrow rugose area; mesopleuron coriaceous rugose, subalar sulcus and sternaulus not distinct but indicated by areas of stronger rugosity; propodeum rugose dorsally (Fig. 26), coriaceous laterally, median carina complete. Metasoma: (Fig. 25) terga 1–3 strongly rugose costate, median carina complete on tergum 1 and on basal half of tergum 2, absent on tergum 3; first tergum wider at apex than long; remainder of terga coriaceous; ovipositor slightly less than 1/2 length of hind basitarsus. Legs: tarsal claws not pectinate but with 3–4 short spines at extreme base; inner spur of hind tibia less than 1/2 length of hind basitarsus; hind coxa coriaceous dorsally. Wings: fore wing with vein r 1/4 length of 3RSa and 1/3 length of m­cu, vein 1cu­a beyond 1M by distance slightly greater than length of 1cu­a, vein 1CUa about 1/2 length of 1CUb; hind wing with vein RS slightly arched in middle, marginal cell narrowest in middle, vein 1r­m slightly shorter than 1M, M+CU longer than 1M, vein m­cu indicated by short spectral vein.

Male. Essentially as in female, with 37–39 antennomeres, apical metasomal segments black.

Holotype female. WYOMING, Albany Co., Medicine Bow Nat. Forest,. 5 mi. SW Lincoln Monument, swept from pine shoots, July 12, 1990, Scott R. Shaw. Deposited in RMSEL.

Paratypes. COLORADO: 3 females, Fort Collins, October 1, 1976, H. E. Evans; 1 female, Douglas Co., Head of Highline Canal, May 24, 1976, J. T. Polhemus; 1 female, Larimer Co., Phantom Cyn., May 16, 1993, S. Fitzgerald; 2 females, Pawnee Grassland, 8 mi. NE Nunn, June 2, 1969, IBP Project. 5 females, Nunn, Pawnee Grassland Pasture, dates from October 25, 1971 to October 9, 1974. NEBRASKA: 1 female, Scott Bluff Co., June 13, 1990, H.R. Lawson, PREC­Sugarbeet yellow pans. WYOMING: 36 females, 4 males, same data as holotype. 118 females, 18 males, same data as holotype except collected by Malaise trap, meadow near mixed conifer/aspen forest, dates from June 8 to October 4, 1990. 125 females, 16 males, same data except 2 mi. N. on Forest Service Road 705, willow bog, Malaise trap, dates from May 14 to July 9, 1991. 9 females, same locality as holotype, except collected June 28, 1994, by net, Fortier, Shaw, and Zitani (colls.). 25 females, same data except collected 0.5 mi. NE Lincoln Monument, Malaise trap in pine forest near treefall, dates from June 8, 1990 to August 9, 1991. 25 females, 1 male, same data except 1 mi. N. Lincoln Monument, Malaise trap in mixed forest near sagebrush, dates from June 20 to August 26, 1990. 8 females, same data except 1.5 mi. S. Lincoln Monument, Malaise trap in meadow near forest margin, dates from 26 August to October 4, 1990, Mian Inayatullah. 5 females, same data as holotype except July 9, 1990, sweep net, S.R. Shaw. 13 females, same data except 0.5 mi. NE Lincoln Monument, Malaise trap in open sagebrush meadow, dates from May 28 to July 29, 1991. 8 females, same data except 1 mi. N. Lincoln Monument, Malaise trap in mixed forest near sagebrush, August 20 to September 24, 1990. 12 females, 2 males, same data except 0.4 mi. S. Lincoln Monument, Malaise trap in open meadow east of highway, dates from August 13 to October 4, 1990. 7 females, same data except Happy Jack Recreation Area, Malaise trap in mixed forest near sagebrush, dates from 11 July to August 20, 1990. 2 females, same data except Hidden Valley Recreation Area, Malaise trap, July 7–21, 1994, S.R. Shaw and N. Zitani. 1 female, Vedauwoo Recreation Area, pine forest, Malaise trap, June 26–30, 1990, Mian Inayatullah. 1 female, Vedauwoo Recreation Area, June 4, 1999, Michael J. Shaw, flew inside van window. 19 females, 4 males, Sherman Hills, C. Ferris homestead, Malaise trap on short grass prairie, dates from June 4 to October 4, 1990. 1 male, same data as holotype, July 28, 1994, J. Fortier. 9 females, 4 males, Laramie, 1059 Duna Drive, at ultraviolet light, dates from June 22, 1990 to June 9, 1991, S.R. Shaw. 1 female, Laramie, August 24, 1947, D.G. Denning. 1 female, Albany County, August 27, 1970, Fred A. Lawson. 5 females, same data except 1.5 mi. W. of Centennial, Snowy Range, Malaise trap in mixed forest, dates from June 16 to July 14, 1991, Mian Inayatullah. 1 female, same data except Snowy Range, 35 mi. W. Laramie, June 21, 1991, on snow drift, S.R.

Shaw. 1 female, Carbon Co., 17 miles east of Rawlins, 1.5 mi. N. Interstate­80 at North Platte River, mixed vegetation, Malaise trap, Mian Inayatullah. 1 female, Platte Co., May 25, 1949, R.E. Pfadt. 3 females, 5 males, Gillette, Wyodak Plant Station, June 1, 1976, D. Molnar. 3 females, 2 males, Glenrock, D. Johnston Pl. Station, May 18–20, 1974, R. Kumar. 1 female, 11.6 mi. S. Casper Mountain, June 22, 1980. 1 female, Sheridan, May 22, 1947, D.G. Denning. 1 female, same data except September 22, 1973. Deposited in USNM, RMSEL, CNC, and CSU.

Distribution. Known mostly from localities in eastern Wyoming and Colorado. There is one record from western Nebraska.

Biology. Adult wasps fly from late May to early October in the foothills and subalpine meadows of the mountains of southeastern Wyoming and northern Colorado. The host caterpillar remains unknown.

Comments. This species is similar to A. shenefelti , also from Wyoming, but differs by its shorter antennae. This species is probably the most abundant Aleiodes in southeastern Wyoming. It has been collected by a variety of methods including by net, aspirator, Malaise trap, yellow pans, and at ultraviolet lights. While quite common in the mountains and foothills, it has also been collected at a light on a back porch in Laramie, at high elevation on a snow drift, and it has even flown into the open window of a mini­van. In June it can be easily observed walking on pine shoots (where it may be feeding on pollen). Despite the relative abundance of this wasp species, its host caterpillar has remained elusive. One of us (SRS) has conducted field research in the Medicine Bow National Forest near Laramie for the last 17 years, and despite numerous attempts at rearing potential host caterpillars, the species has not yet been successfully reared. Hopefully the publication of this scientific name will encourage others to work on this problem, and eventually we can discover its host range.

Etymology. Named for the locality of most of the type­series in southeastern Wyoming.

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 8. Habitus illustrations of the Aleiodes coxalis species­group and mummy of A. aquilonius. 1, A. aquilonius; 2, A. aquilonius mummy; 3, A. brevis; 4, A. sanctihyacinthi; 5, A. dichromatus; 6, A. shenefelti; 7, A. wyomingensis; 8, A. itamevorus.

FIGURES 11 – 16. Head and mesosomal characters of the Aleiodes coxalis species­group. 11, A. aciculatus pronotum; 12, A. brevis pronotum; 13, A. aciculatus vertex; 14, A. wyomingensis vertex; 15, A sanctihyacinthi vertex (Arrow indicates yellow coloration around eye); 16, A. quadratus propodeum (Arrows indicate tubercles).