Pergaphaga xanthops Wharton, 2010

Wharton, Robert, Cammack, Jonathan & Mullins, Patricia, 2010, A revision of the westwoodiine genus Pergaphaga (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae, Ctenopelmatinae), ZooKeys 37 (37), pp. 35-68 : 64-66

Pergaphaga xanthops Wharton , sp.n.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:63AFE351-ADC6-48FF-A095-93601A1D9691

Figs 8, 12, 20, 22, 25, 30, 40, 44

Type locality. Australia, ACT, Canberra, - 35.283S, 149.217E

Type material. Holotype. Female ( ANIC), with labels as follows: “Canberra ACT/ 11 Apr 1958 / E F Riek” [printed] “ Pergaphaga / det. I.D. Gauld, 198” [partially printed] “ HOLOTYPE / Pergaphaga / xanthops/ Wharton” [red, handwritten]

Paratypes: 1 female, same data as holotype except 15.IV.1958 ( BMNH); 1 male, New South Wales, Dainers Gap, 36.12S, 148.43E, 1585 m, 6.III.1974, P Morrow, Eucalyptus pauciflora , stellulata, and perriniana forest, Ex Eucalyptus pauciflora ( ANIC).

Description. Female (Figs 8, 12). Length of body (exclusive of antenna) 10.7– 11.0mm; of fore wing 9.7–10.5mm; of antenna 12.0– 12.8mm.

Head. Clypeus (Fig. 20) 2.5–2.6 times as broad as long; weakly and uniformly convex to nearly flat in profile; ventral margin broadly truncate to very weakly concave, broadly but weakly thickened medially; surface punctate on weakly shagreened background, punctures deep, separated from one another by their diameter dorsally, nearly coalescing ventrally; epistomal sulcus distinct. Malar space 0.40–0.45 times basal width of mandible, shagreened or polished, punctate near mandible, weakly granular near eye. Gena weakly to distinctly shagreened and punctate ventrally, polished or nearly so dorsally, punctures separated by 0.5–1.0 times their diameter ventrally, more finely punctate dorsally with punctures 1–2 times their diameter. Face (Fig. 20) deeply punctate laterally, densely granular punctate to granular rugose medially, surface very slightly undulating transversely, weakly elevated medially, weakly depressed near ventrolateral margin of toruli, nearly flat between anterior tentorial pit and eye. Frons with median flange (Fig. 22) extending posteriorly beyond posterior margin of toruli, indistinctly bifurcating posteriorly, the resulting depressions between flange and toruli polished; frons rugose between posterior end of flange and median ocellus, strigose and finely granular to partly polished on flattened portion between ocellar field and eye, punctate on weakly elevated portion between antenna and eye. Antennal flagellum with 36 flagellomeres; first flagellomere 1.1 times longer than second, 3.1 times longer than wide, second flagellomere 2.6 times longer than wide, tenth 2.2 times longer than wide; tyloid of first flagellomere large, oval, extending 0.4 length of first flagellomere.

Mesosoma . Pronotum laterally densely punctate around margins, finely granularmatt to granular rugulose medially. Mesopleural depression more densely punctate ventrally (Fig. 30) than in P. leaski , but punctures discrete, not coalesing to form either strigose or rugulose sculpture as in P. nigra , and anteroventrally as in P. iangauldi ; rounded lobe forming anterodorsal margin of mesopleural depression very finely, densely punctate, the punctures discrete but often touching or nearly so. Scutellum finely punctate. Posteromedian plate of metanotum sparsely punctate, polished. Metapleuron medially granular-matt. Propodeum weakly convex in profile, anterior and posterior fields very weakly differentiated; base of propodeum, on either side of median depression, smooth, polished (as in Fig. 34); pleural carina incomplete in one specimen, complete in the other: sharply defined anteriorly, extending to propodeal spiracle, absent or very weak posteriorly; anterior transverse carina not readily distinguishable within band of transversely strigose sculpture; posterior portion of lateral longitudinal carina arched medially to form nearly complete apicolateral area with portions of posterior transverse carina, junction of lateral longitudinal and posterior transverse carinae not tuberculate. Hind basitarsus 11.6–14.0 times longer than wide. Fore wing areolet absent (Fig. 40). Hind wing with 1st abscissa of Cu1 0.70 times length of cu-a; cu-a reclivous.

Metasoma. Petiole with S1 almost extending to level of spiracle. Apical 0.5 of postpetiole (posteriad spiracle) sparsely punctate and setose. T2–4 very faintly punctate; T2 setose throughout, T3 and T4 with a few, scattered setae medially, sparsely setose laterally.

Color (Figs 8, 12, 20, 44). Mostly dark brown to black; mandible (except dark apical teeth), face (except small triangle extending anteriorly from between antennae), clypeus, malar space, broad band on gena adjacent eye, fore and mid legs (except coxae and apical tarsomere), and subapical flagellomeres 19–31 bright yellow; mid and hind coxae dark brown dorsally, brown ventrally, fore coxa partly yellow ventrally; hind legs distad coxa light yellow brown, a little darker dorsally, with hind basitarsus and apical tarsomeres on all legs a little darker; gaster and apical margin of petiole orange.

Male. Essentially as in female except as follows: Clypeus punctate, polished, without shagreened sculpture; antenna with 39 flagellomeres; face with black vertical band, the band narrower than adjacent yellow orbital bands; frons more polished, with less extensive rugose sculpture medially between median ocellus and most elevated portion of flange; apical flagellomere weakly infumate, otherwise yellow from flagellomere 19 to apex.

Distribution and biology. Australia; known only from ACT and a nearby locality in NSW. Eucalyptus pauciflora is listed on the label as the host plant for the male paratype from NSW. Morrow et al. (1976) collected four species of Perginae (Pergidae) , representing four different genera, from this plant host at this locality. It is unclear from the label data whether this specimen was reared or simply collected from this plant, but no parasitoid rearings were indicated in Morrow et al. (1976).

Diagnosis. This species is readily recognized by the absence of a fore wing areolet and the bicolored antenna which is dark basally and pale apically/subapically. As in P. nigra and unlike the other two species, there is an elevated, Y-shaped flange extending between the antenna and onto the frons in P. xanthops .

Remarks. The apical teeth of the mandible are slightly shorter and more bluntly rounded in this species relative to the other three. This may be due to wear, however, as indicated by slight variation in size and shape of the teeth in the longer series of P. nigra available for study. Additionally, the epipleura are not as fleshy in appearance in this species as they are in P. nigra and P. iangauldi . It is difficult to determine whether this is a true difference or a preservation artifact. The epicnemial carina is also weaker in this species than in the other three, and the dorsal extent is particularly difficult to discern. The clypeus appears somewhat different in shape when Fig. 20 is compared to the figures of the other three species shown on the same plate. This is almost entirely due to the angle of view, with the face angled more ventrally in Fig. 20.

The underlying sculpture of the female paratype is not as finely granular or shagreened as it is in the holotype. This is especially noticeable on the malar space, lower gena and area extending between the eye and ocellar field.

The species name is in reference to the extensively yellow face of the females.