Labena tarsata Gauld, 2000

Khalaim, Andrey & Ruiz-Cancino, Enrique, 2009, Mexican species of Labena Cresson (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae) with description of a new species, ZooKeys 5 (5), pp. 65-74 : 72-73

Labena tarsata Gauld, 2000

Material examined. México, Tamaulipas, Gómez Farías, Los Cedros and Alta Cima , Malaise trap, 20.III-12.VI.1999, coll. S. Hernández A., 3 ♀♀ , 8 ♁♁. Cd. Victoria, Cañón del Novillo , 27.IV, 13.VIII.1985, 2 ♀♀ . Jalisco, Est. Biol. Chamela, Malaise trap, 4-5.VII.1993, coll. Wharton and Sharkey, 1 ♀ .

Distribution. Costa Rica, México (Tamaulipas, Jalisco).

Variation. Two females from Cañón del Novillo have a conspicuously darker metasoma. In the specimen from 13.VIII, tergite 1 is yellow and tergites 2-4 are reddish brown. In the specimen from 27.IV, tergites 1-6 (tergite 1 blackish in anterior 0.4) are dark reddish brown ( Fig. 8 ), and in both specimens the metasoma is yellowish posteriorly ( Fig. 8 ). The specimen from 27.IV, mentioned as “ Labena sp. n.” by Hernández et al.

(2000), also has the propodeum with the area superomedia widely open posteriorly ( Fig. 6 ). This area is more or less defined in the other Mexican specimens, but is very variable in the Costa Rican material, in which sometimes the posterior carina is only very faintly present (G. Broad, pers. comm.). Both specimens are structurally similar to L. tarsata and have no other differences from typical specimens of this species in our material, excepting this one very variable character (area superomedia open posteriorly in female from 27.IV). Thus we consider these specimens to be a darker variation of L. tarsata .

Figures

Figs 7-9. Labena tarsata Gauld, ♀, var. (Cañón del Novillo, 27.IV.1985): 7 − head, dorsal view; 8 – forewing; 9 − hind legs and metasoma with ovipositor, dorsolateral view.

Figs 5-6. Labena spp., areolation of propodeum, dorsoposterior view: 5 – L. acerba sp. n., ♀ (holotype); 6 – L. tarsata Gauld, ♀, var. (Cañón del Novillo, 27.IV.1985).