Loxopus multicolor Kasparyan et Ruíz-Cancino 2005

Santos, Bernardo F. & Aguiar, Alexandre P., 2014, Review of Loxopus Townes (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae, Cryptinae), with descriptions of six new species, Journal of Natural History 49 (31), pp. 1905-1935 : 1928-1930

Loxopus multicolor Kasparyan et Ruíz-Cancino 2005 (Figures 4B, 6B, 7H, 8F)

Loxopus multicolor Kasparyan et Ruíz-Cancino, 2005: 248–249 Description, figure, keyed. Holotype ♀ ( Universidad Autónoma Tamaulipas, not examined). Type data: MEXICO: Yucatán, Sudzal Chico, SMSP, VI-1999, H. Delfín G.

Loxopus multicolor honduras Kasparyan et Wharton, 2007: 59–60 Description, figure, keyed. Holotype ♀ (Texas A & M University, not examined). Type data: HONDURAS: Atlanida Tela , trop. Forest, Lancetilla Botanical Garden, 26 December 1986 (R. Jones).

Female

Fore wing 6.56 mm long. Head. Antenna with 27 flagellomeres. CWH 1.71; CWW 2.09; MLW 1.78; MWW 0.56; MSM 0.65. Median line on supra-antennal area distinct. Mesosoma . Pronotum with delicate striae along posterior margin of collar, elsewhere coriarious–rugulose. Scutellar carina in lateral view distinct on about 0.7 of scutellum. Subalar ridge very narrow, dash-like; epicnemial carina restricted to ventral 0.5 of mesopleuron, somewhat uniformly arched. Transverse furrow at base of propodeum with delicate striae. Metapleuron minutely rugulose; juxtacoxal carina absent; pleural carina vestigial. Fourth tarsomeres lateral lobe 3.3 × as long as mesal lobe. Anterior margin of propodeum laterally slightly projecting, medially approximately straight; SWL 1.33; posterior transverse carina represented only by distinct, conical crests, elsewhere indistinct. Fore wing vein 1-Rs + M approximately straight; crossvein 1m-cu uniformly curved, slightly shorter than 1-Rs + M; crossvein 1cu-a arising basad to base of 1M + Rs by about 0.2 of its own length; veins 2cu-a and 2-Cu aligned, continuous; APH 0.58; AWH 1.00. Hind wing vein 2-1A reaching about 0.5 of distance to wing margin; entirely absent; HW1C 1.60. Metasoma. T1LW 2.00; T1WW 2.21; T1 ventrolaterally angled; coarsely coriarious; dorsolateral and ventrolateral carinae distinct. T2LW 0.86; T2WW 1.75; T2–8 coriarious, glabrate. OST 0.57; ovipositor straight, slender ( Figure 7H ); dorsal valve without nodus, preapical notch very delicate, ventral valve tip with 13 oblique ridges, basal ones very shallow, apical ones minute ( Figure 6B ).

Colour. Head blackish and whitish, mesosoma mostly ferruginous, metasoma black and whitish. Head: blackish; mandible except apex, palpi, clypeus, malar space, supra-clypeal area and complete orbital band, whitish to pale yellow (208,143,083); scape light orange (176,105,048); pedicel and flagellum dark brown, pedicel with dorsal whitish spot; f5–11 dorsally white; area between ocelli ferruginous. Mesosoma : ferruginous (117,065,026), mesopleuron distinctly lighter (147,083,035) than elsewhere; propleuron, collar, posterior portion of tegula, small mark on dorsal division of metapleuron and small transverse marks over propodeal crests, whitish (205,152,095). Legs mostly fuscous (134,081,041); all coxae and trochanters whitish; fore and mid coxae with apical brown spots, hind coxa with wide blackish stripe on lateral face, mesal face with basal and apical blackish spots; mid and hind trochanters and all trochantelli with blackish marks; fore and mid femora and all tibiae with sparse brownish marks; hind femur with brown stripe along anterior face; basal 0.8 of mid t1 and 0.25 of hind t1 brownish; apex of t1 and t2–4 white, t5 blackish. Wings hyaline, fore wing with brownish spot covering apical portions of cells 2 + 3M and 1 + 2R1. Metasoma: T1 dorsally black, laterally dark brown, with posterior whitish mark; S1 dark brown; T2 black, T3 whitish, anteriorly with semicircular blackish spot; T4 anterior half whitish, posterior half black; T5–6 black with lateral whitish marks; T7–8 whitish; S2–6 whitish, S2 with lateral blackish mark. Ovipositor reddish orange, its sheaths brown.

Male

Similar to the female, except for the following: posterior portion of vertex and occiput orange; antenna with 25 flagellomeres; f7–14 lighter than remaining flagellum but not quite white; fore and mid coxae without brown marks; hind femur without distinct brown stripe; hind tibia and basal 0.5 of T1 blackish; S1 ferruginous; anterior blackish mark on T3 covering 0.6 of its area, anterior whitish area of T4 covering 0.8 of its area; SWL 1.46; T1LW 2.62; T1WW 1.50.

Variation

Holotype and paratypes described by Kasparyan and Ruíz-Cancino (2005) with the following variation: antenna with 25 flagellomeres; scutellar carina distinct on about 0.4 of scutellum; white band on flagellum starting on f4. The illustration provided by those authors does not show the conical shape of the sublateral crests, but they are described as being ‘rather strong’. The female described as L. m. honduras has T3 completely whitish; T4 predominantly black, laterally and on basal 0.2 whitish; T5–6 entirely blackish; hind tarsus white with t5 brownish dorsally; and fore wing vein 2-M distinctly shorter than 3-M.

Comments

Quite distinctive among other species of the genus by its generally stout body structure (see Figure 4B), posterior transverse carina of propodeum represented only by conical apophyses (versus well developed, complete or almost so in all other species), and ovipositor quite slender (versus moderately stout in other species – see Figure 7H ). It is also one of the two species with a complete orbital band, along with L. venezuelanus , from which it can be readily distinguished by the shape of the posterior transverse carina of the propodeum and by the hind femur with a brown stripe along the anterior face (versus fuscous with brownish marks on base and apex); T1 anteriorly black (versus orange); and T4 anteriorly whitish (versus entirely blackish).

Material examined

1 ♀, 1 ♂. COSTA RICA : 1 ♀ from San Vito de C.B., Las Cruces , 1200 m, 7–14 August 1982, B. Gill. Labelled ‘ Loxopus sp. 3/ Tow. 1967 ’. MEXICO: 1 ♂ from Quintana Roo, Xel-Há resort, 7 December 1993, L. Masner, coastal forest ( AEIC) .

Distribution

Mexico, Honduras, Costa Rica ( Figure 8F)

Figures

Figure 6. Ovipositor apex. (A) L. ichilus. (B) L. multicolor; (C) L. tenuis; (D) L. venezuelanus.

Figure 7. (A,B) Head, frontal view. (A) L. dodecius; (B) L. ichilus (C-E, G) Mesosoma, lateral view. (C) L. duckei; (D) L. australis; (E) L. ichilus; (F) L. docedius male, propodeum; (G) L. exius; (H) L. multicolor, metasoma.