Ephuta icema Casal, 1969

Cambra, Roberto A., Buschini, Maria Luisa Tunes, Arias, Diomedes Quintero, Brozoski, Fanciele & Lustosa, Priscila Rudiak, 2017, Ephuta icema Casal, 1969 and its host Auplopus subaurarius Dreisbach, 1963 (Hymenoptera: Mutillidae, Pompilidae) from Brazil, Zootaxa 4272 (2), pp. 285-290 : 286-287

Ephuta icema Casal, 1969 ( Figs 1–7 )

Ephuta icema Casal, 1969: 104 –105, ♀, holotype, "Nova Teutonia, S. Catarina, Brasil, 6.iii.1954, F. Plaumann / Holotypus / Ephuta ♀

icema O. Casal sp. n. O.H. Casal 1968 " [AMNH], examined the photos of holotype.

Diagnosis. The male of Ephuta icema Casal runs in Casal’s key (1968: 83) to couplet 41. It is most related to E. guasuncha Casal, 1968 , which distributed in Brazil, Bolivia and Argentina. The two species can be separated as follows: in E. icema the dorsum and posterior face of the propodeum are not separated by a transverse carina; the posterior margin of T2 and T3–T7 are totally clothed with dense golden setae concealing most of the integument ( Fig. 1 ); S7 integument mostly yellow. Ephuta guasuncha has the dorsum and posterior face of the propodeum separated by a transverse carina; white setae on the posterior margin of T2 are dense and on T3–T7 are sparse; the S7 integument is black.

Description. MALE (hitherto unknown). ( Figs 1–4 ). Body length 7.3–7.5 mm. Color. Integument black, except red mandible tip, S7 yellow except black apex, tibial spurs pale whitish; wings subhyaline, weakly infuscated; frons with dense, erect and decumbent, pale golden setae; vertex with sparse and erect pale golden setae; clypeus with white setae; pronotum with erect and decumbent pale golden setae, mesoscutum and tegula with black setae; scutellum basal half with long erect black setae, apical half with long erect pale golden setae; metanotum, propodeum, meso- and metapleuron with erect and decumbent white setae; T1 with long erect and decumbent white setae; T2 lateral margin with sparse white setae, disc area with sparse golden setae, posterior margin of T2 and T3–T7 totally with dense long, decumbent and semi-erect, golden setae concealing most of integument; S1–S3 with sparse erect and decumbent white setae; S4–S7 with sparse erect and decumbent golden setae. Head. Transverse in dorsal view, frons, vertex and gena with medium-sized, very close punctures; ocelli small, distance between eye margin and lateral ocellus 4.0 × as long as diameter of ocellus; clypeal carinae subparallel, slightly diverging anteriorly, terminating before anterior margin in a pair of small tubercles; mandible slender, with a small tooth within near tip; ventral margin smooth, without a process or tooth; scape with two longitudinal carina below; first flagellomere approximately as long as second. Mesosoma . Dorsum of pronotum and mesoscutum with large, contiguous punctures, sides of pronotum closely micropunctate; scutellum with medium-sized, very close punctures, evenly convex from anterior to posterior margins, without either posterior face, emargination or projections; tegula with small separated punctures, basal third with a median longitudinal ridge, lateroposterior border convex; dorsum and posterior face of propodeum broadly reticulate, not separated by a transverse carina, without median tubercle, lateral area rounded, not angulate or tuberculate; mesopleuron with medium-sized contiguous punctures, evenly convex throughout; metapleuron with a small area of medium-sized close punctures at ventral margin, otherwise impunctate; forewing ( Fig. 2 ) with three submarginal and two discal cells, veins 3rs-m and 2mcu faintly indicated; coxae without denticle, tubercle or carina. Metasoma. First segment cylindrical, T1 dorsal face, 0.85 × as long as wide; T1 with large close punctures, T2 evenly convex throughout, not at all flattened, with medium-sized close punctures; T3–T7 with small, close punctures; S1 with a median longitudinal keel, only slightly elevated; S2 mostly with medium-sized close punctures; S3–S6 with small, sparse punctures; S7 mainly with small, close punctures; hypopygium apex slightly concave, without denticles or tubercles; paramere ( Fig. 3 ) curved, with apex simple, basal half broad, distal half gradually narrowing toward apex, with a few setae; cuspis ( Fig. 3 ) broad and with many setae; penis valve ( Fig. 4 ) without projections on ventral edge, with large setae on apical margins.

Material examined. BRAZIL: Paraná, Guarapuava , 25°21’06”S 51°28’08”W, nest 590a (1.3) cel. 2, 28.iii.2015 – 7.i.2016, (P.R. Lustosa), 1 ♂ ( MIUP); same data but: nest 502 (1.3) cel. 3, 7.xii.2015 – i.2016, 1 ♂ (MIUP); nest 502 (1.3) cel. 1, 7.xii.2015 – 9.i.2016, 1 ♀ (MIUP); nest 502 (1.3) cel. 2, 7.xii.2015, 1♂ (UNICENTRO); nest 590a (1.0) cel. 2, 7.xii.2015 – 1.i.2016, 1♂ (UNICENTRO).

Distribution. Brazil (Santa Catarina, Paraná).

Comments. Ephuta icema Casal was previously known only from the holotype female from Santa Catarina ( Figs 5– 7 ). We reared 4♂ and 1♀ of E. icema from trap-nests placed in Paraná with cells of Auplopus subaurarius Dreisbach, 1963 [♀ 10.6 mm body length, species known only from the original description from Nova Teutonia, Santa Catarina , Fritz Plaumann col., the same locality data and collector as that of E. icema type female, except for collection dates]. Straight line distance between Teutonia (Santa Catarina) and Guarapuava (Paraná) is 220 km and these two municipalities had an original vegetation cover of Araucaria forests, with Araucaria angustifolia forming a stratum of dominant trees ( Veloso et al. 1991; Silva & Silvestre 2004).

During the study year the following 101 nests were captured: 8 of Trypoxylon sp. ( Crabronidae ), 10 of Pisoxylon sp. ( Crabronidae ), 20 of Ancistrocerus sp. ( Vespidae ) and 63 of A. subaurarius . Six nests of A. subaurarius were built at 980 m, 17 at 100 m, 14 at 1020 m and 26 at 1050 m. A total of 141 cells (100%) were provisioned by A. subaurarius of which 48 (34%) died. Dead adults, which emerged but did not break through the nest plug, were found in seven cells (5%), and dead immatures in 13 (9.1%), probably due to developmental failure. The most important mortality factor was parasitism that occurred in 28 cells (19.9%): Ichneumonidae the most frequent (12%), followed by Mutillidae (3.6%), Eulophidae (3.6%) and Chrysididae (0.7%). Of the 63 A. subaurarius nests, two were parasitized by E. icema ( Fig. 8 ). These nests were founded in summer, December, at 1050 m and in traps with 1.0 and 1.3 cm diameters. Two males emerged from one of them and two males and a female (dead inside the nest) from the other. The mean weight of the males was 10.53 mg (n = 4; s = 3.46 mg). Ephuta icema did not enter into diapause during completion of its development, approximately in 21 days.

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 4. Ephuta icema Casal, ♂. 1. Lateral view, left wings removed. 2. Fore and hind wings. 3. Genitalia, lateral view, c = cuspis, p = paramere. 4. Penis valve.

FIGURES 5 – 8. 5 – 7. Ephuta icema Casal, holotype, ♀. 5. Dorsal view. 6. Lateral view. 7. Labels. 8. Auplopus subaurarius Dreisbach, nest collected in Guarapuava (PR), Brazil, parasitized by Ephuta icema.