Meteorus pyralivorus Aguirre and Shaw, 2014

Aguirre, Helmuth & Shaw, Scott R., 2014, Meteorus Haliday (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) parasitoids of Pyralidae: description and biology of two new species and first record of Meteorus desmiae Zitani, 1998 from Ecuador, Journal of Natural History (J. Nat. Hist.) 48 (39 - 40), pp. 2375-2388 : 2380-2383

Meteorus pyralivorus Aguirre and Shaw , sp. nov.

( Figure 4 )

Diagnosis

Mandible strongly twisted; occipital carina complete; wings slightly infuscated; propodeum rugose; hind coxa strigate to strigate-punctate; tarsal claw with large lobe; dorsopes absent; ventral borders of first tergite joined completely along basal half of

segment; ovipositor 1.9–2.1 × longer than first tergite; thorax colour alternating between white, black and small areas yellow ( Figure 4A ).

Description

Body colour. Antennae dark brown; head orange except frons, area between and around the ocelli, vertex behind the lateral ocellus, temples and occiput black; propleuron yellow; pronotum dorsally black, ventrally dark brown; mesonotum black with scutellum yellow; mesopleuron black; metapleuron white. Propodeum dorsally black; posteriorly, laterally and a small area adjacent to insertion of petiole white; a small yellow patch on the anterior area touching the metanotum ( Figure 4B ). Prothoracic legs yellow except tibia and tarsus light brown; mesothoracic legs yellow except coxa dorsally black, apex of trochanter, trochantellus and femur basally dark brown, tibia and tarsus light brown; metathoracic legs yellow except coxa dorsally, trochanter, trochantellus and femur basally black, apex of femur, tibia and tarsus brown; metasoma with T1 basally white, medially and apically black; T2–T7, T9 dark brown dorsally, T8 yellow, T2–T9 yellow laterally with small and scattered brown punctures; sterna light brown. Wings slightly infuscated.

Body length. 3.8 mm.

Head. Antenna with 28 flagellomeres; flagellar length/width ratios as follows: F1 = 2.6; F2 = 2.8; F3 = 2.6; F26 = 2.1; F27 = 1.7; F28 = 1.1; head 1.7 × wider than high; occipital carina complete; ocelli ocular distance 1.2 × ocellar diameter; head height 1.5 × eye height; temples length 0.6 × eyes length in dorsal view; frons smooth and polished; maximum face width 1.1 × minimum face width; face strigulate; minimum face width equal to clypeus width; clypeus with fine rugulose wrinkles; malar space length 0.8 × mandible width basally; mandible twisted.

Mesosoma . Pronotum in lateral view carinate to carinate-rugulose; propleuron puncticulate and polished; notauli not distinct and rugulose, with a broad and rugose posterior area; mesonotal lobes not well defined; central lobe of mesonotum slightly rugulose-puncticulate; scutellar furrow with one carina; mesopleuron puncticulate and polished to smooth and dull above the sternaulus; sternaulus long, narrow and foveate; metapleuron slightly rugulose-puncticulate; propodeum rugose; median longitudinal carina on propodeum absent; median depression on propodeum absent.

Legs. Hind coxa strigate to strigate-punctate; tarsal with a large lobe.

Wings. Forewing length 3.8 mm; vein r 0.6 × length of 3Rsa; vein 3RSa 0.8 × length of rm; vein m-cu postfurcal; vein 1M 1.4 × length of cu-a; vein 1M 0.9 × length of 1r-m.

Metasoma. Dorsope absent; laterope absent; ventral borders of first tergite joined completely along basal half of segment; first tergite with costae convergent posteriorly; ovipositor 1.9 × longer than first tergite and thickened at the base.

Cocoon. Elongate-oval, length 4.9 mm, width 1.7 mm; honey-brown translucent, loosely enveloped by thread, the edge of emergence hole and cap smooth and neat, posterior end nipple-shaped.

Female variation. Body length 4.1 mm; head 1.2 × wider than high; ocelli ocular distance 1.4 × ocellar diameter; forewing length 4.1 mm; vein 3RSa 0.9 × length of rm; vein 1M 1.5 × length of cu-a; vein 1M 1.2 × length of 1r-m; ovipositor bent, 2.1 × longer than first tergite.

Male variation. Males unknown.

Comments

Meteorus pyralivorus shares with Meteorus rugonasus Shaw and Jones , Meteorus oviedoi Shaw and Nishida , Meteorus restionis Shaw and Jones and Meteorus zitaniae Jones the following combination of characters: mandible twisted; carina occipital complete, notauli not distinct; tarsal claw with large lobe; ventral borders of first tergite joined completely along basal half of segment. However, M. pyralivorus can be separated from these species by it having vertex behind the lateral ocellus, temples and occiput, as well as the pronotum, black; the same areas are mostly or thoroughly pale yellow in the other three species. Additionally, M. pyralivorus lacks the coarsely rugose sculpturing present on the clypeus of M. rugonasus . Based on the mandibles being twisted, presence of a distinctive basal lobe in the tarsal claw and ventral margins of T1 completely joined along basal half of segment this species can be assigned to colon -IIA clade ( Maeto 1990; Stigenberg and Ronquist 2011. See discussion below).

Holotype

Female (point mounted), ECUADOR, Napo Province, Yanayacu Biological Station, Sendero de Macuculoma, 00°35.9' S, 77°53.4' W, 2163 m, 17 November 2007, host plant: Chusquea scandens (Poaceae) , host fourth instar caterpillar Pyralidae , solitary parasitoid.

Paratypes. One female, ECUADOR, Napo Province, Yanayacu Biological Station, 00°35.9' S 77°53.4' W, 2163 m, 19 September 2007, host third instar caterpillar Pyralidae , host plant: Chusquea scandens (Poaceae) , solitary parasitoid.

Distribution

ECUADOR, Napo province, Yanayacu Biological Station, High Andean Cloud Forest , 2163 m .

Biology

This species is a parasitoid of third and four instar larva of Pyralidae .

Etymology

The name of this species is derived from the Greek pyrali- relating to the host family Pyralidae , and meaning fire, and the Latin - vorare meaning ‘devour’.

Figures

Figure 4. Meteorus pyralivorus sp. nov. (A) Habitus female in lateral view; (B) habitus female in dorsal view; (C) cocoon; (D) head in frontal view.