Glyptapanteles kingae Fagan-Jeffries, Bird & Austin, 2022

Fagan-Jeffries, Erinn P., McCLELLAND, Alana R., Bird, Andrew J., Giannotta, Madalene M., Bradford, Tessa M. & Austin, Andrew D., 2022, Systematic revision of the parasitoid wasp genus Glyptapanteles Ashmead (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Microgastrinae) for Australia results in a ten-fold increase in species, European Journal of Taxonomy 792 (1), pp. 1-116 : 74-77

Glyptapanteles kingae Fagan-Jeffries, Bird & Austin sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:9FC2A388-3A78-47E5-99BE-789CD56291CE

Figs 14B , 39

Diagnosis

Glyptapanteles kingae sp. nov. is in the G. austini species group. Despite the large molecular divergence in both the COI and wingless genes (see Remarks section), the only morphological character found to differentiate G. kingae sp. nov. from G. guzikae sp. nov. is the femur being completely dark ( G. guzikae sp. nov. has the femur pale with a dark area posteriorly). Glyptapanteles kingae sp. nov. can be separated from G. austini sp. nov. as follows: G. kingae sp. nov. has the propodeum with stronger sculpturing in the centre, whilst G. austini sp. nov. has the propodeum smoother in the centre. However, we note that there are limited specimens available and the variability of propodeal sculpturing could broaden as more populations of these species are identified and we recommend confirming identifications with DNA barcodes.

Etymology

This species is named for Dr Rachael King, who first introduced the concepts of taxonomy and systematics to EPF-J during an honours project on amphipods in the Pilbara. Fittingly, this species is the only member of Glyptapanteles currently described from the Pilbara region.

Material examined

Holotype AUSTRALIA • ♀; South Australia, Witchelina Stn ; -30.1211, 137.923; 19 Oct. 2010; F. Colombo leg.; Bush Blitz Svy FC055 sweeping; Extraction508, BOLD: AUMIC309-18; SAMA 32-46154 .

Paratypes AUSTRALIA – Australian Capital Territory • 1 ♀; Black Mountain Res, W side; -35.2764, 149.0897; 610 m a.s.l.; 31 Mar. 2020; K.M. Bayless leg.; sweep over grass, rocks and Callistemon; Extraction1591, BOLD: AUGLY113-21; ANIC 32 130331 . – South Australia • 1 ♀; Witchelina Stn ; -30.1853, 137.977; 18–22 Oct. 2010; S. Mantel, F. Colombo and R. Kittel leg.; Bush Blitz Svy, Malaise 2 in dry creek bed [with] Eremophila freelingi and Acacia tetragonophila ; Extraction22, BOLD: AUMIC101-18; SAMA 32-46155 . – Western Australia • 1 ♂; Western Pilbara, Hamersley Stn, Nanutarra-Wittenoom Rd. , approx. 13 km NE of Railway Rd. crossing, near fence line; -22.435556, 117.832222; 22–27 Sep. 2005; Conservation Volunteers Australia leg.; Extraction1354, BOLD: AUGLY080-21; AM K.247607 .

Description

Female

COLOURATION. Gena without a pale spot; labrum mostly dark; scape colour in ventral half same colour as flagellomeres; flagellomeres all dark; tegula pale; wing veins uniformly dark, or with small lighter area proximally; anteromesoscutum all dark; scutellar disk and metanotum dark; propodeum dark; fore coxa dark; mid coxa dark; hind coxa dark; fore femur orange to light brown; mid femur orange to light brown; hind femur dark; fore tibia orange to light brown; mid tibia orange to light brown; hind tibia darkening posteriorly; hind basitarsus dark; T1 dark; T2 sclerotised area black; T2 lateral area same colour as sclerotised area, or only slightly paler, or dark extends past indentation, but then pale; T3 dark; T4+ dark.

BODY MEASUREMENTS. Body length 2.0 mm; fore wing length 2.2 mm; antennal length slightly longer than body length.

HEAD. Face with fine punctures associated with setae; flagellomere 14 length/width 1.43–1.83; flagellomere 2 length/width 2.86–3.80; OOD/POD 1.86–2.00; IOD/POD 1.43.

MESOSOMA. Anteromesoscutum sculpturing with shallow punctures, space between punctures generally smaller than diameter of punctures, slightly denser and deeper punctures anteriorly, smoother in posterior centre; scutellar disk sculpturing with only very shallow punctures; 8–11 pits in scutellar sulcus; propodeum with median carina absent and indistinct sculpturing present in centre, with rest of propodeum smooth, or propodeum with median carina present in posterior third, with indistinct sculpturing present in centre, with rest of propodeum smooth.

WINGS. Pterostigma length 0.5 mm; pterostigma width 0.17 mm; r 0.13 mm; 2RS 0.14 mm; 2m 0.07 mm; (RS+M)b 0.08 mm.

METASOMA. T1 broadest at centre of length, narrowing both posteriorly and anteriorly from mid-point; T1 smooth; T1 length 0.31 mm; T1 width at posterior edge 0.11 mm; T2 an isosceles trapezoid, lateral edges straight; T2 smooth and shiny; T2 length 0.14 mm; T2 width at posterior edge 0.23 mm; ovipositor slightly protruding from end of metasoma.

Male

As female, eight pits in scutellar sulcus.

Remarks

Glyptapanteles kingae sp. nov. constitutes BIN BOLD:ADL5629 and is 9.94% (p-dist.) divergent from the closet BIN in the database (BOLD:ADL2952; Glyptapanteles guzikae sp. nov.).

Using the BOLD Batch ID engine, the COI barcode of the holotype is 10.1% different from the most similar COI sequence from an Australian specimen (AUMIC524-18; Glyptapanteles guzikae sp. nov.). All four specimens of the type series were sequenced for the wingless gene, which is identical amongst all specimens (although there is a single ambiguity in the WA specimen sequence). The wingless sequences differ by a minimum of 19 bp from all other species with available sequence data.

Distribution

This species has a wide distribution, from the Pilbara in WA, through to the arid region of SA and in the ACT at Black Mountain Reserve.

Figures

Fig. 14. A. Glyptapanteles kurandaensis Fagan-Jeffries, Bird & Austin sp. nov., paratype, ♀ (QM T250969), fore wing, arrow indicating vein r. B. G. kingae Fagan-Jeffries, Bird & Austin sp. nov., holotype (SAMA 32-46154), arrow indicating vein r.

Fig. 39. Glyptapanteles kingae Fagan-Jeffries, Bird & Austin sp. nov. A, C–D, F. Paratype, ♀ (SAMA 32-46155). B, E, G. Holotype, ♀ (SAMA 32-46154) A. Lateral mesosoma. B. Fore wing. C. Dorsal mesosoma. D. Anterior head. E. Dorsal metasoma. F. Lateral head. G. Dorsal head.