Illidops rostratus ( Tobias, 1976 )

Höcherl, Amelie, 2025, Revision of Holarctic Illidops Mason (Hymenoptera, Braconidae): A first step towards resolving a dark taxon and descriptions of three new species, European Journal of Taxonomy 1031, pp. 1-121 : 68-69

Illidops rostratus ( Tobias, 1976)

Apanteles rostratus Tobias, 1976: 248 , pl. 67 fig. 4.

Species concept

Our species concept is based on the information available in Tobias (1976), Tobias & Kotenko (1986), and Papp (1988). → *.

Ecology / host information

Host unknown.

Distribution

PAL: Armenia, Russia (KDA), Uzbekistan.

Molecular data

No molecular data available.

Remarks

Holotype female, ZIN. Country of type locality: Russia. Type depository inferred from Tobias & Kotenko (1986) by Fernandez-Triana et al. (2020). We were unable to observe any identified or unidentified material matching this species, or the type. According to its original description, this species may resemble Napamus due to the enlarged mouthparts (“proboscis, the protruding part of which is approximately equal to the height of face with clypeus” ( Tobias 1976: 248)), however it lacks other diagnostic characters for the genus, such as the infumate wings, dark metatibial spurs, and more ( Ghafouri Moghaddam et al. 2021). We are not entirely sure about the difference between this species and I. mutabilis as we found that the specimens of BIN BOLD:AEI2559 which we consider to match I. mutabilis morphologically and also the paratype of A. szaboi have a rather enlarged glossa. Both species as well as A. szaboi should be reexamined and compared; additional differences that should be taken into account can be found in Tobias & Kotenko (1986).

Original description sensu Tobias (1976) (translated from Russian and with updated morphological terminology)

Female. 2.5 mm. Head elongated, with long malar distance and long proboscis, the protruding part of the proboscis approximately equal to the height of the face including the clypeus (fig. 67, 4); gena roundly narrowed, in lateral view half the width than the transverse width of eye; ocelli in strongly obtuse triangle; tangent to posterior margin of front ocellus crossing anterior margin of posterior ocelli; POL 4× OD, and 1.5× OOL; longitudinal diameter of eye 2.0× that of transversal, and 3.5 × that of malar distance, shape of eye oval; face slightly wider than high; clypeus slightly separated from face, straight along front margin, distance between tentorial pits 2.0× distance between tentorial pit and eye margin; malar distance 1,5× basal width of mandible; maxillary palps equal to height of face with clypeus, their two apical segments together slightly longer than 3 rd, and equal to length of 2 nd. Antennae bristly, shorter than body; scape slightly shorter than F1; segments in basal half of flagellum twice as long as their width, shortened towards apex of flagellum, so that F14 and F15 are more or less quadrate. Mesosoma length 1.25 × its height; notauli not developed; scutoscutellar suture narrow, weakly crenulated. Wings equal to length of meso- and metasoma taken together; fore wing vein R1 length equal to pterostigma length, slightly longer than distance from it to apex of wing; vein r slightly longer than vein 2 RS, forming angle with it; fore wing vein 1cu-a arising before middle of 1st discal cell. Length of metafemur 4.0 × its width; larger spur of metatibia noticeably shorter than half of basitarsus; fifth segment of metatarsus slightly shorter than third, and 0.67 × second tarsomere; T1 slightly longer than its width at the middle, roundly narrowed at apical third; T2 length 0.3× T3 length, with broadly spaced oblique grooves. Ovipositor with comparatively narrow sheaths, equal in length to metatibia.

Sculpture. Body with short setae, rather dense on mesonotum, concealing sculpture when viewed at an angle. Head, mesosoma and T1 with dense, uniform grained punctation, matt, other tergites of metasoma mildly scabrous, shining.

Coloration. Black; maxillary palps brown; tegulae yellow; apices of profemur, protibiae and tarsi, bases of meso- and metatibiae brownish-yellow; tibial spurs whitish; wings translucent, with light brown veins, pterostigma pale medially and brown at margins, veins C+SC+R yellowish, vein R1 dark brown.

Male. It differs from female by slightly longer R1 (1.5× distance from it to apex of wing), smoother sculpture posterolaterally on mesosoma, propodeum, and on basal half of T1. Glassy-transparent wings with mostly unpigmented veins (only few veins on posterior half of wing are pigmented, such as r, 2 RS, and 2M).

Holotype: female, Krasnodar Territory, Gelendzhik , 8 V 1973 (Tobias) . Paratype: male, Yerevan, Kanaker Garden, 16 V 1971 (Tobias).