Hecabolus Curtis, 1834

Castañeda-Osorio, Rubén, Belokobylskij, Sergey A. & Zaldívar-Riverón, Alejandro, 2022, Four new species of Hecabolus Curtis, 1834 (Braconidae, Doryctinae) from south and southwestern Brazil, with notes on the morphological variation and geographic distribution of H. mexicanus ZaldívarRiverón & Belokobylskij, 2009, European Journal of Taxonomy 846, pp. 126-151 : 128-130

Genus Hecabolus Curtis, 1834

Hecabolus Curtis, 1834: 507 .

Anisopelma Wesmael, 1838: 134

(type species: A. belgicum Wesmael, 1838 ).

Type species

Hecabolus sulcatus Curtis, 1834 .

Diagnosis

The main diagnostic characters that define the genus Hecabolus are an open first subdiscal cell, absence of vein r-m, antefurcal position of m-cu vein, and a distinctly wide hind femur ( Tobias 1971, 1976; Marsh 2002). Other diagnostic features that have been proposed for Hecabolus are the hind coxa distinctly protruding forward and without a ventro-anterior tooth, and a deep and wide mesosternal suture ( Belokobylskij & Tobias 1995).

Composition

Hecabolus acutus sp. nov. (NT); H. assis Sormus de Castro & Zaldívar-Riverón, 2013 (NT); H. chrisaxeli sp. nov. (NT); H. costaricensis (NT) ; H. gavinbroadi sp. nov. (NT); H. julianoi Sormus de Castro & Zaldívar-Riverón, 2013 (NT); H. mexicanus (NT) ; H. robustus Zaldívar-Riverón & Sormus de Castro, 2013 (NT); H. semiaridus Sormus de Castro, Zaldívar-Riverón & Briceño, 2013 (NT); H shimborii Sormus de Castro & Zaldívar-Riverón, 2013 (NT); H. sulcatus (NA, PA) ; H. sulmatogrossensis Sormus de Castro & Zaldívar-Riverón, 2013 (NT); H. transversalis sp. nov. (NT).

Hosts

The type species, H. sulcatus , has been recorded to be an idiobiont ectoparasitoid of coleopteran larvae of the families Anobiidae Fleming, 1821 (Elliot & Morley 1911; Györfi 1941; Thompson 1953; Starý 1957; Hickin 1961; Tobias 1976; Belokobylskij & Tobias 1986; Zaldívar-Riverón & Belokobylskij 2009); Buprestidae Leach, 1815 ( Halperin 1986) ; Cerambycidae Latreille, 1802 ( Kolubajiv 1962) ; Chrysomelidae Latreille, 1802 ( Belokobylskij & Tobias 1986); Curculionidae Latreille, 1802 ( Marshall 1897; Mantero 1904; de Gaulle 1907; Kleine 1909; Györfi 1943; Čapek 1960; Kolubajiv 1962; Belokobylskij & Tobias 1986; Hedqvist 1998); Lyctidae Billberg, 1820 ( Donisthorpe 1940) ; and Ptinidae Latreille, 1802 ( Rondani 1871; Marshall 1885; Mantero 1904; de Gaulle 1907; Elliot & Morley 1907, 1911; Rudow 1918; Leonardi 1926; Hellén 1927; Cotton & Good 1937; Telenga 1941; Thompson 1953; Stary 1957; Wegelius 1959; Tobias 1976; Čapek 1982; Belokobylskij & Tobias 1986; ZaldívarRiverón & Belokobylskij 2009).

Distribution

Nearctic, Neotropical and Palaearctic regions.

Key to all described species of Hecabolus Curtis, 1834

1. Basal sternal plate (acrosternite) of first metasomal segment ≤ 0.4 × length of tergite .................... 2

– Basal sternal plate (acrosternite) of first metasomal segment> 0.4 × length of tergite..................... 5

2. Vertex at least partially striate; hind femur of female moderately swollen, 2.7–3.5 × its maximum width .................................................................................................................................................. 3

– Vertex smooth; hind femur of female considerably swollen, 2.0–2.2 × its maximum width............ 4

3. Median lobe of mesoscutum without antero-lateral pointed edges above notauli; prescutellar depression with 3–5 carinae; propodeum without defined carinae; first metasomal tergite without defined lateral carinae; second metasomal tergite entirely striate, with wide and shallow baso-lateral subparallel depressions ................................................................................ H. sulcatus Curtis, 1834

– Median lobe of mesoscutum with antero-lateral pointed edges above notauli; prescutellar depression with 10–12 carinae; propodeum with a median irregular carinae; first metasomal tergite with two defined lateral longitudinal carinae; second metasomal tergite entirely smooth, without depression .............................................................................................................. H. acutus sp. nov.

4. First and second tergites entirely and third tergite partially striate, remaining area of third tergite and following tergites smooth and polished; lateral area of pronotum weakly rugose ............................. ........................................................................ H. assis Sormus de Castro & Zaldívar-Riverón, 2013

– First and second tergites striate, remaining tergites entirely acinose; lateral area of pronotum strongly rugose ....................................................... H. robustus Zaldívar-Riverón & Sormus de Castro, 2013

5. Vertex entirely smooth; mesoscutal lobes mainly smooth (except H. gavinbroadi sp. nov.) ........... 6

– Vertex at least partially striate; mesoscutal lobes coriaceous. ........................................................... 8

6. Mesoscutal lobes densely coriaceous; pterostigma wide, <3.0 × as long as wide; second metasomal tergite entirely striate; antennae with 12–14 flagellomeres .......................... H. gavinbroadi sp. nov.

– Mesoscutal lobes smooth; pterostigma narrow, 4.0 × as long as wide; second metasomal tergite partially striate; antennae with> 14 flagellomeres ........................................................................... 7

7. Vein 2CU of fore wing arising behind middle of subdiscal cell; first discal cell of fore wing short, 1.6 × as long as wide; veins 1M and m-cu of fore wing parallel ........................................................ .......................................... H. semiaridus Sormus de Castro, Zaldívar-Riverón & Briceño-G., 2013

– Vein 2CU of fore wing interstitial to vein 1CU; first discal cell of fore wing long, 2.5 × as long as wide; veins 1M and m-cu of fore wing slightly divergent posteriorly ............................................... .................................................. H. sulmatogrossensis Sormus de Castro & Zaldívar-Riverón, 2013

8. Pterostigma wide, <3.0 × as long as wide; first discal cell of fore wing short, <2.5 × as long as than wide ................................................................................................................................................... 9

– Pterostigma narrow, ≥ 3.3 × as long as wide; first discal cell of fore wing long, 2.7–2.8 × as long as wide ..................................................................................................................................................11

9. Second metasomal tergite entirely sculptured, longitudinally carinate-rugose .................................. .............................................................................................................. H. costaricensis Marsh, 2013

– Second metasomal tergite only anteriorly sculptured, remaining area smooth ............................... 10

10. Propodeum without distinct carinae; second metasomal tergite with two densely striate subparallel anterior depressions; vein 1M of forewing 1.7–1.8 × as long as vein 1RS, vein cu-a posfurcal to vein 1M; vein RS of hindwing weakly defined, almost spectral .............................. H. chrisaxeli sp. nov.

– Propodeum with distinct median and lateral carinae; second metasomal tergite densely striate transversally, without basal depressions; vein 1M of forewing 1.0–1.1 × as long as vein 1RS, vein cu-a interstitial to vein 1M; vein RS of hindwing absent ............................ H. transversalis sp. nov.

11. Basal sternal plate of first metasomal segment distinctly long, 0.5–0.6 × as long as tergite; fourth tergite partially basally sculptured (reticulate-punctate), remaining tergites smooth; ovipositor and sheaths long, 3.2–3.5 × as long as metasoma ..................................................................................... ....................... H. julianoi Sormus de Castro & Zaldívar-Riverón, 2013 [we reexamined specimens of this species and found that the fourth metasomal segment is partially sculptured, not the fifth].

– Basal sternal plate of first metasomal segment moderately long, about no more than 0.5 × as long as tergite; fourth tergite entirely smooth; ovipositor and sheaths short, 1.5–2.3 × as long as metasoma ........................................................................................................................................ 12

12. Vein 2CU of fore wing interstitial to vein 1CU; vein M+CU of hind wing 1.4 × as long as vein 1M; mesopleuron with coriaceous sculpture .............................................................................................. ................................................................ H. shimborii Sormus de Castro & Zaldívar-Riverón, 2013

– Vein 2CU of fore wing arising after middle of subdiscal cell; vein M+CU × as long as 1M; mesopleuron without coriaceous sculpture ......................................................................................... .................................................................... H. mexicanus Zaldívar-Riverón & Belokobylskij, 2009