Opius michaeli Fischer

Wharton, Robert, Daniels, Sophia, Shirley, Xanthe & Restuccia, Danielle, 2013, An opiine Braconidae (Hymenoptera) reared from Richardiidae (Diptera) and recognition of a new species group of Opius s. l., ZooKeys 289, pp. 65-101 : 87

Opius michaeli Fischer Figs 22, 2433

Opius michaeli Fischer, 1968a: 77-78 (key); 92-95 (description). Holotype female in AEIC (examined).

Opius michaeli : Fischer 1971: 87 (catalog).

Opius (Merotrachys) michaeli : Fischer 1977: 655-657, 687-689 (key, redescription); Fischer 1979a: 264-266 (key); Fischer 1983b: 83 (diagnosis in couplet of key); Yu et al. 2005, 2012 (electronic catalogs).

Type locality.

Brazil, Teresópolis.

Type material.

Holotype. Female (AEIC), first label, first line: Teresópolis second line: III–12– 66 Braz. third line: H. & M. Townes

Paratypes.

One male (not seen), same data as holotype; one female (not seen), Brazil, Campina Grande, near Curitiba, 22.ii.1966, H. & M. Townes.

Diagnosis.

Face faintly punctate, otherwise smooth. Eye in lateral view about 4 × longer than temple; temples in dorsal view weakly receding. Female antenna with 46-48 flagellomeres, male with 45 flagellomeres; setae on basal flagellomeres thin, pale. Mesoscutum anteriorly with shallow but distinct declivity; notaulus extending laterally towards tegula as groove bordered by distinct supramarginal carina. Propodeum coarsely carinately rugose on posterior 0.6, nearly smooth anteriorly, with deep median trough anteriorly, areola obscured by sculpture posteriorly. Fore wing 3RSa straight or nearly so, 1.4 × longer than 2RS; m-cu postfurcal. T1 sharply declivitous anteriorly, pit delimited posterior-medially; surface rugose to rugulose; dorsal carinae weakly sinuate, nearly parallel-sided, broadening subapically, narrowing apically, weakly transversely carinate between dorsal carinae. T2 faintly shagreened, T3 mostly smooth. Ovipositor moderately short, but longer than most other species in this species group; ovipositor sheath about 0.5-0.6 × length of mesosoma. Head, prothorax, propodeum, and T1 yellow-orange; meso- and metathorax, T2 and T5-6 mostly brown, T3-4 yellow-brown; hind coxa and femur yellow; antenna without pale subapical ring; wing weakly infumate.

Remarks.

This species was originally described from the female holotype plus a male and a female paratype. The female is readily distinguished from all others included here in the ingenticornis species group by the slightly longer ovipositor and mottled color pattern (Fig. 33). The species with longer ovipositors treated below have all been excluded from this species group on the basis of other features and thus, where known, members of the ingenticornis species group all have relatively short ovipositors, with the ovipositor sheath distinctly shorter than the mesosoma. The propodeum of Opius michaeli is generally similar in sculpture to those species in the subgroup discussed under the remarks section for Opius gabrieli , but is nearly smooth anteriorly. Fischer (1983b) compared Opius michaeli to Opius monsonicus from Peru and both have similarly long ovipositors. Although Opius monsonicus has antennae that are very long as in members of the ingenticornis species group, we have excluded this species primarily on the basis of the propodeum, which is described as having a basal keel or midridge.