Hymenoepimecis cameroni Townes, 1966

Gaione-Costa, Alexander, Pádua, Diego Galvão De, Delazari, Ítalo Mendes, Santos, Anderson Raimundo Souza & Kloss, Thiago Gechel, 2022, Redescription and oviposition behavior of an orb-weaver spider parasitoid Hymenoepimecis cameroni Townes, 1966 (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae), Zootaxa 5134 (3), pp. 415-425 : 418-421

Hymenoepimecis cameroni Townes, 1966

(Figs 2,3)

Epimecis fuscipennis Cameron, 1911: 176 . Type: ♂, British Guyana (BMNH). Name preoccupied by Cresson, 1865: 33.

Hymenoepimecis cameroni Townes, 1966: 20 . Replacement name.

Diagnosis. This species can be distinguished from other Hymenoepimecis species by the combination of the following characters: 1) wings blackish; 2) epicnemial carina present only ventrally; 3) metasoma orange, with posterior margins of tergites II‒V with black large bands, tergites VI+ black; 4) ovipositor about 1.2 × as long as hind tibia; 5) submetapleural carina absent.

Redescription. Male (holotype) ( Fig. 2A,C,D,F,G ). Body [11.0 (without head)] 7.5‒12.0 mm. Head. Missing.

Mesosoma. Pronotum long, smooth and polished, with distance from tegula to anterior margin of pronotum greater than [0.6] 0.5‒0.7 × the distance from tegula to posterior margin of propodeum, with an anteriorly opening pocketlike structure medially, not reduced longitudinally; mesoscutum smooth and polished; scutellum, in profile, convex; mesopleuron smooth and polished, with spaced fine setiferous punctures present ventrally; epicnemial carina present only ventrally ( Fig. 2G ); metapleuron smooth and polished, with a few sparse, fine setiferous punctures, with submetapleural carina absent; propodeum smooth and polished, convex in lateral view. Fore wing length about [9.0] 4.5‒9.0 mm; cu-a more or less interstitial to the base of Rs&M; 2 rs-m about [0.5] 0.35‒0.5 × as long as abscissa of M between 2 rs-m and 2 m-cu, abscissa of Cu 1 meeting 1 m-cu equidistant between Cu 1 a and Cu 1 b; hind wing with abscissa of Cu 1 between M and cu-a [0.4] 0.4‒0.6 × length of cu-a. Hind leg with tibia + tarsus [0.6] 0.5‒0.6 × the fore wing length. Metasoma. Slender; tergite I [1.25] 1.2‒1.3 × as long as posteriorly breadth, centrally evenly convex, with lateral carinae only present at extreme anterior end flanking the anterior concavity; sternite I with a low, rounded swelling posteriorly ( Fig. 2F ); tergite II [1.0] 1.0‒1.15 × as long as posteriorly breadth; tergite III [0.9] 0.9‒1.15 × as long as posteriorly breadth.

Coloration. Antenna blackish brown. Mesosoma entirely orange. Fore and mid leg orange, hind leg blackish brown, except base of coxa orange. Wings blackish; pterostigma blackish brown. Metasoma orange, with posterior margins of tergites II‒V with large black bands, tergites VI+ black. Some male specimens presented a blackish hind leg, with tibia and tarsus brownish orange.

Additional characters to the original description (♂). Face about 1.1‒1.2 × as broad as high, smooth, slightly convex, with few spaced bristles ( Fig. 2B ); head in dorsal view with gena convex behind eyes; margin of gena 0.5‒0.7 × length of eye in dorsal view; posterior ocelli separated from eyes by 1.2‒1.5 × its own maximum diameter; occipital carina projected, slightly curved upwards in the mediodorsal part ( Fig. 2E ). Sternite IX ( Fig. 2I ) longer than high, with few bristles widely spaced, except in anterior margin. Genital capsule ( Fig. 2J,K ): Paramere rounded apically, of the same width the parameral lamina, with bristles except in posterior margin; volsellar lamina with few bristles anteroapically spaced in anterior margin; cuspis robust with about four queued teeth in the middle part until apex and with two to three few bristles spaced in apical region; digitus with teeth in apex, rounded distally and angulated ventrally, with the margins of the anterior region slightly narrower than posterior region, anterior margin of posterior region with a weak projection; aedeagus (including aedeagal apodeme) about 1.1 × the length of paramere plus parameral lamina (including parameral apodeme), with few teeth in apex.

Female ( Fig. 3A–D ). Similar the male in coloration and morphology, but the follows are different: body 11.0‒ 12.0 mm; face about 0.8 × as broad as high; ocelli separated from eyes by 1.3 × its own maximum diameter; distance from tegula to head is greater than 0.6 × distance from tegula to hind margin of propodeum; fore wing length 6.5 mm; 2 rs-m 0.4 × as long as abscissa of M between 2 rs-m; hind wing with abscissa of Cu 1 between M and cu-a about 0.8 × length of cu-a; hind leg with tibia + tarsus 0.3 × the fore wing length; tarsal claw with more or less quadrangular, with apex slightly overtaking the lobe; tergite I 1.3 × as long as posteriorly broad; tergite II about 1.1 × as long as posteriorly broad; tergite III about 1.1 × as long as posteriorly broad; ovipositor about 1.2 × as long as hind tibia.

Cocoon ( Fig. 2H ). Fusiform, with a caudal orifice, about 9.5‒11.0 mm long and 2.8–3.1 mm at its maximum diameter. Golden orange color.

Material examined. BRITISH GUIANA: Holotype, ♂ [without head], deposited in BMNH, “ P. Cameron Coll., 1914‒110”, “ BMNH (E) #962214”, “413”, “B.M. TYPE, HYM., 3.G.946”, with QR code “ NHMUK 010880498 ”, “ Epimecis fuscipennis Cam. Type, Fr. Guyana”, “Type” in orange circle. BRAZIL: MG [= Minas Gerais], Marliéria, Parque Estadual Rio Doce, 13.VII.2017, emerged from Leucauge volupis ( T. G. Kloss leg.), 1♀ and 5♂ (two with last metasomal tergites extracted), INPA; ES [= Espírito Santo], Aracruz , Est. [= Estação] Biol. [= Biológica] Marinha Ruschi , Access trail to Praia da Baleia , 19°58’18’’S, 40°08’12’’W, 15.XI.2019, Manual collection of a pupa in a web of Leucauge sp. , emerged in 24.XI.2019 ( T. G. Kloss leg.), 1♀, INPA.

Distribution. Guyana and Brazil.

Comments. Hymenoepimecis cameroni closely resembles H. argyraphaga Gauld, 2000 mainly by having blackish wings and present epicnemial carina, but differs from it by having absent submetapleural carina (present, extending at least 0.5 of length of pleuron or more or less complete in H. argyraphaga ).

Figures

FIGURE 2. Hymenoepimecis cameroni Townes, ♂. (A) habitus (holotype); (B) face, frontal view; (C) wings, lateral view; (D) habitus, dorsal view (holotype); (E) head, dorsal view; (F) sternite I, lateral view; (G) mesosoma, lateral view, arrow pointing to epicnemial carina; (H) cocoon ♂; (I) sternite IX, dorsal view. Scale bar, 0.2 mm; (J) genital capsule, lateral view. Scale bar, 0.2 mm; (K) genital capsule, ventral view. Scale bar, 0.2 mm.

FIGURE 3. Hymenoepimecis cameroni Townes, ♀. (A) habitus; (B) head, dorsal view; (C) face, frontal view; (D) head and pronotum, lateral view.