Dolichomitus irritator ( Fabricius, 1775 )

Khalaim, Andrey I. & Ruíz-Cancino, Enrique, 2022, Darwin wasps of the subfamily Pimplinae (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) of Mexico: Ephialtes genus-group, Zootaxa 5169 (3), pp. 201-251 : 216-217

3. Dolichomitus irritator ( Fabricius, 1775)

( Figs 22–26 )

Ichneumon irritator Fabricius 1775: 336 [type ♀ (BMNH), “America”].

Synonym:

Ephialtes nigricans Cameron, 1886 ( Morley 1914: 17–18; Gauld 1991: 215).

References. Cameron 1886: 263 [ Ephialtes nigricans (description)]. Morley 1914: 17–18 [ Ephialtes irritator ; E. nigricans (syn.); remarks]. Champlain 1922: 98 [ Ichneumon ; USA (Pennsylvania); host]. Kaston 1937: 359 [ Ichneumon ; USA (Connecticut); host]. Townes & Townes 1951: 189 [ Pimpla ; catalogue]. Townes & Townes 1960: 129 [ Dolichomitus nigricans (ex syn.); Guatemala], 137 [ Dolichomitus ; Canada (Ontario), USA; host]. Townes & Townes 1966: 13 [catalogue; D. nigricans ; Guatemala, Mexico (Guerrero)], 14 [misdet.]. Ruíz-Cancino & Tejada 1986: 39 [ Mexico (Nuevo León)]. Gauld 1991: 214 [description; Canada (Ontario), USA, Mexico (Guerrero), Guatemala, Costa Rica]. Gauld et al. 1998: 24, 25 [in key; Costa Rica]. Ruíz-Cancino et al. 2002: 645 [checklist; Mexico]. Gauld et al. 2002: 36 [ El Salvador]. Kasparyan & Ruíz-Cancino 2004: 723 [ Mexico (Oaxaca)]. Hernández-Aguilar et al. 2005: 470 [ Mexico (Tamaulipas)]. Ruíz-Cancino et al. 2010: 64 [checklist; Mexico (Tamaulipas)]. Tindall & Fothergill 2012 [ USA (Missouri); host]. Sánchez-García et al. 2015: 827 [checklist; Mexico (Oaxaca)].

Material examined. MEXICO. Nuevo León: 1 ♀ ( UAT) Cola de Caballo (waterfall), 1.iv.1981, coll. H. González. Tamaulipas: 15 km SSW of Cd. Victoria, El Madroño, 1400–1450 m, coll. E. & J. Ruíz-Cancino (all in UAT): v.1984 (1 ♂), vi.1984 (2 ♂), i.1985 (1 ♀), v.1985 (1 ♀, 1 ♂), vii.1985 (1 ♀, 1 ♂), ix.1985 (1 ♀). 1 ♂ ( ZISP) same locality, 12.i.2013, coll. A. I. Khalaim. 1 ♀ ( UAT) same locality, 10.vii.1985, coll. S. Arrambide. 1 ♂ ( UAT) Ocampo, Manantiales, 13.v.1995, coll. S. Niño M., H. Hernández & C. Hernández. 2 ♀ ( UAT) Cd. Victoria, Cañón de la Libertad, 1000–1100 m, 5.ii and 26.iii.1988, coll. R. Meza V. 2 ♀ ( UAT) Cd. Victoria, Cañón del Novillo, 850 m, 12.xii.1987, coll. R. Meza V. 1 ♀ ( UAT) same data, but 900 m, 20.iii.1988. Hidalgo: 1 ♀ ( ZISP) 8 km N of Pachuca de Soto, National Park El Chico, 20°11.4’N, 98°44.55’W, 2800–2900 m, 18–22.xii.2014, coll. A. I. Khalaim. 1 ♀ ( UNAM) Huasca, Rancho Santa Elena, 20º07’53”N, 98º31’38”W, 2500 m, 26.ii–26.iii.2003, coll. Menchaca & A. Contreras. Morelos: 1 ♀ ( UAT) N of Cuernavaca, Chamilpa, 20.ix.1991, coll. G. Peña. 1 ♂ ( UAT) same data, but 25.i.1991. 1 ♀ ( CIUM) Tlayacapan, San José de los Laureles, 18.98034°N, 99.01328°W, 1500 m, bosque templado, on herbs, 4.x.2013, coll. V.H. Toledo. Puebla: 1 ♀ ( EMEC) 7 km SE of Morelos Canadá, 4–5.vii.1974, coll. J. A. Chemsak & J. Powell. Guerrero: 1 ♀ ( TAMU) 4 mi. W of Chilpancingo, 15.vii.1984, coll. Carroll, Schaffner & Friedlander. Oaxaca: 1 ♀ ( IPN) Cuilapam, Nogal, Malaise trap, 19.iii.2005, coll. J. M. Maldonado. 1 ♀ ( TAMU) 10 mi. N of Miltepec, 26.vii.1974, coll. Clark, Murray, Ashe & Schaffner. 1 ♀ ( UNAM) “ C. V. Mexico ”, 26.vi.1980, coll. I. Gutierez. Chiapas: 1 ♀ ( ZISP) 10 km ESE of San Cristóbal de las Casas, 16.668022, -92.550506, 2400 m, pine forest, 6–7.viii.2021, coll. A. I. Khalaim. HONDURAS. 1 ♂ ( AEIC) Cerro Monserrat, 1800 m, 30.v.1994, coll. H. & A. Howden.

Variation. The male from Morelos has lower part of mesopleuron extensively yellowish.

Distribution. Canada (Ontario), USA (northeast and east), Mexico (Nuevo León, Tamaulipas, Hidalgo, Morelos, Puebla, Guerrero, Oaxaca, Chiapas), Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Costa Rica. First record from Honduras.

Biology. There are many host records from wood boring insects, especially from branches lying on the ground ( Townes & Townes 1960; Gauld 1991). Most records are from Cerambycidae (Coleoptera) , and less commonly from Buprestidae , Curculionidae , Melandryidae , Synchroidae (Coleoptera) and Sesiidae (Lepidoptera) . All parasitoids were reared in North America . Complete list of insect and plant hosts of D. irritator was published by Tindall & Fothergill (2012).

Most host records were provided by Townes & Townes (1960): Anelaphus parallelus (Newman) , A. villosus (F.) on the American chestnut Castanea dentata (Marsh.) Borkh. and Quercus sp. , Elaphidion sp. on Quercus sp. , Graphisurus sp. , “ Leptura ” on Quercus sp. , Megacyllene robiniae (Forster) (= pictus Drury) on Carya sp. , Obrium rufulum Gahan on Fraxinus sp. , Pachyta lamed (L.), Parelaphidion incertum (Newman) on Carya sp. , Rhagium inquisitor (L.) (= lineatus Oliver), Saperda discoidea F. and Trigonarthris proxima (Say) on Acer sp. , Xylotrechus annosus (Say) (Cerambycidae) , Melandrya striata Say (Melandryidae) on Fagus sp. , Synchroa punctata Newman (Synchroidae) , and Synanthedon tipuliformis (Clerck) ( Lepidoptera : Sesiidae ).

Other host records are from Astyleiopus variegatus (Haldeman) on Acer negundo L. ( Chittenden 1893; Kaston 1937), Megacyllene robiniae (Forster) (= pictus Drury) ( Champlain 1922) and Graphisurus fasciatus (DeGeer) (Cerambycidae) on hickory ( Kaston 1937), Chrysobothris sp. (Buprestidae) on Cercis canadensis L. ( Champlain 1922) and Cryptorhynchus lapathi (L.) ( Curculionidae ) on Salix sp. ( Pierce 1908; Kaston 1937).

Recently, D. irritator was reared from Dectes texanus LeConte (Curculionidae) on soybean Glycine max (L.) ( Fabaceae ); this is the first record of D. irritator utilizing hosts within an annual, herbaceous plant ( Tindall & Fothergill 2012).

Figures

FIGURES 22–26. Dolichomitus irritator, ♀ from Hidalgo (22–24), ♂ from Tamaulipas (25, 26): 22, 25—habitus, lateral; 23—head, front; 24—apex of ovipositor, lateral; 26—mid coxa, posterior.