Leucospis opalescens Weld, 1922

Lima, Alessandro Rodrigues & Dias, Priscila Guimarães, 2018, The New World species of Leucospis Fabricius, 1775 (Hymenoptera, Chalcidoidea, Leucospidae): an update of Bouček’s revision with description of two new species from Brazil, Zootaxa 4441 (1), pp. 1-45 : 28-31

Leucospis opalescens Weld, 1922

( Figs 18 , 19 )

Leucospis opalescens Weld 1922: 15 –17, fig. 9. Holotype ♀: Brazil, Chapada (USNM); Burks 1961: 540 (compared L. xylocopae ); Bouček 1974a: 77; figs 75, 81–86; De Santis 1980: 273 (catalog); Noyes 2017 (online catalog).

Diagnosis. Mesoscutum and scutellum posteriorly with yellow bands, pronotum often with anterior band weakly indicated in middle. POL about 1.3‒1.4× OOL; inner margin of the eyes emarginate; clypeus apically bilobate, without a conspicuous median tooth; pronotum without premarginal carina; dorsellum convex, margin carinate, moderately pilose; propodeum pilose, median carina present, plicae absent; hind coxal depression uniformly punctate, with a conspicuous translucent lobe dorso-laterally; hind femur about 2.2× as long as broad, teeth excluded; fore wing with apical fifth infuscate and apical process of stigmal vein about 0.8× as long as uncus; in female, tergite I with median ridge and diverging broad furrows; tergite VI with spiniform projection at posterior margin, below spiracle level; ovipositor reaching the dorsellum; in male, gaster petiolate, tergite I with yellow band, and two more narrow yellow bands on the carapace in dorsal view; in lateral view, tergite VI oblique relative to tergite V.

Description (Male, pinned). Head as broad as pronotum posteriorly, dorsally 2.5× as broad as long; temples half the longest breadth of median ocellus. Occipital carina high at ocellar region, dorsally complete, extending laterally to apical third of eyes height in lateral view. POL about 1.34× OOL, ocellar triangle 2.85: 1 (length: height); lateral ocelli touching occipital carina. Vertex densely punctate-reticulate, except for a smooth depression from posterior margin of median ocellus to scrobes. Scrobes not touching median ocellus; scrobal carina dorsally slightly raised. Frontal view, head 1.38× as broad as high; face finely vertically rugulose-punctate, with sparse white pubescence. Malar space 0.26× eye height in lateral view; glabrous adjacent to eye, vertically aciculate, with few sparse hairs. Clypeus in frontal view 0.85× as high as broad, 0.5 as broad as mouth, apically bilobate, without a median tooth. Mandibles with slender tooth separated from the upper border by narrow and shallow triangular notch. Occiput in posterior view concentrically rugulose-punctate.

Mesosoma dorsally with short pubescence. Pronotum and mesoscutum punctate-reticulate, with punctation very dense and transversely confluent, with transverse microsculpture, which is more evident on mesoscutum; scutellum punctate-reticulate, with very subtle longitudinal microsculpture. Pronotum without discal and premarginal carinae; posterior margin slightly concave, carinate centrally; lateral panel concave, its lower corner broadly rounded. Mesoscutum, in lateral view, bowed; notaulus absent. Tegula broadly smooth, with pale yellowish pubescence. Scutellum evenly convex in lateral view, 0.8× as long as maximum breadth in dorsal view. Dorsellum 3× as broad as long medially, margined with narrow upturned carina, alveolate along margin. Propodeum medially 2.24× as long as dorsellum; punctate-reticulate, posterior margin alveolate; median carina raised and thin, plicae present only anteriorly. Mesepisternum rugulose-punctate; subalar area and mesepimeron punctate, the latter with oblique microsculpture; mesopleural depression smooth, except for punctate antero-ventral region; anterior border with sparse pilosity.

Legs. Upper edges of fore femur and tibia strongly carinate. Hind coxa uniformly punctate; upper edge evenly convex, posteriorly with a large triangular translucent lobe; with dense white pilosity directed to meso-external edge. Hind femur 2.17× as long as broad, excluding teeth; densely regularly punctate, with short dense white pubescence directed to ventral edge which has a basal tooth (basally broader than long) and 11 other teeth ( Fig. 19E ). Hind tibia densely finely punctate, apically oblique with a long sharp outer spur.

Wings. Fore wing hyaline; slightly infumate along anterior and apical borders; uniformly pilose; veins light brown. Stigmal vein almost straight, forming an angle about 42° to R1; about as long as marginal vein. Uncus straight, directed towards apex of R1. Apical process of stigmal vein as long as uncus ( Fig. 18D ), rounded. Hind wing hyaline, sparsely pilose with glabrous regions basally; veins light brown.

Gaster 2.5× as long as maximum width in dorsal view; punctation sparse on sternites and almost inconspicuous on tergite II. All tergites distinct, though third to sixth fused into a carapace, but indicated by much sparser punctation at posterior margins. Tergite I 0.8× as broad as long; 0.4× as broad as maximum breadth of metasoma; dorsally with deep small triangular basal fovea. Epipygium sligthly convex in lateral view, with distal margin convex; densely punctate; no longitudinal keels. Last two sternites shallowly depressed in the midline; last one apically rounded.

Color. Body extensively black. Light brown on: scape, tegula, legs except tarsomeres. Yellow on: pronotum with tiny central spot and narrow transverse band posteriorly, interrupted centrally; posterior margin of mesoscutum; posterior margin of scutellum; entire dorsellum; posterior half of mesepisternum; dorsal edge and postero-ventral maculae on hind coxa; hind femur dorsal edge externally, ventral edge external and internally; posterior half of tergite I; entire sternite II; two lateral spots on sternite III; two yellow bands on carapace, at middle of tergites IV and V; two lateral spots on tergite VI, above the level of spiracle; green purple metallic shine scattered over entire body, although more evident in the face, mesopleuron and propodeum.

Measurements. See table I.

Distribution. Brazil (Pará, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Minas Gerais)

Comments. Leucospis opalescens is an endemic Brazilian species, which was previously recorded from the Amazon and Pantanal. The new records presented here extends its distribution southwestward to the Brazilian Savannah ( Figs 25 , 26 ). The presence of the lateral posterior projection of tergite VI in L. opalescens females ( Fig. 18J ) is a valuable character for differentiating it from females of L. signifera , a separation that was previously difficult ( Bouček, 1974a).

Biology. Unknown.

Material examined. (1♀, 1♂) Brasil, Minas Gerais, Paraopeba, Estação Florestal de Experimentação , 19°20'S, 44°20'W, 734m ‒ 750m, 14.x.1993, H.R. Pimenta leg. [1♀ UFMG–IHY–1305651; 1♂, UFMG–IHY– 1305653].

Figures

FIGURE 18. Leucospis opalescens ♀ A. Habitus, lateral view. B. Habitus, dorsal view. C. Forewing. D. Forewing, stigma region in detail. E. Hind wing. F. Head, frontal view. G. Head and mesossoma, dorsal view. H. Scutellum, dorsellum and propodeum, postero-dorsal view. I. Hind leg, lateral view. J. Posterior region of metasoma, lateral view. Arrow shows a spiniform projection on sixth tergite. Scale bar = 1 mm. UFMG–IHY–1305651

FIGURE 19. Leucospis opalescens ♂ A. Habitus, lateral view. B. Habitus, dorsal view. C. Metasoma, ventral view. D. Head and mesosoma, dorsal view. E. Hind leg, lateral view. Scale bar = 1 mm. UFMG–IHY–1305653

FIGURE 25. Geographic records of Leucospis in Brazil, based on literature.

FIGURE 26. New geographic records of Leucospis in Brazil A. Detail of the state of Minas Gerais. B. New records in Brazil.