Ophion crassicornis Brock 1982
Creators: name: Johansson, Niklas
name: Cederberg, Björn
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2019
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Ichneumonidae
Ophion
Ophion crassicornis

description: Ophion crassicornis Brock, 1982
Figs 9G, 10E, 14D, F, 30 A–B
Ophion crassicornis Brock, 1982: 84–85.
Material examined
Holotype, ♂ (BMNH); 18 ♀♀, 14 ♂♂ (Sweden); 8 ♀♀ (Croatia); 3 ♀♀ (Great Britain); 4 ♀♀, 3 ♂♂ (France).
Diagnosis
Fore wing length 15–16 mm. Antenna in both sexes with (55) 57–61 flagellomeres. First flagellomere 3.0 times as long as wide. Central flagellomeres stout, about 1.2–1.3 times as long as wide. Subapical flagellomeres approximately 1.5 times as long as wide. Temple in female and male strongly buccate (Fig. 30 A–B). Head in lateral view with temple 0.9–1.0 as long as compound eye. Gap between lateral ocellus and inner margin of compound eye distinct, about 0.1–0.2 times the diameter of ocellus. Face below antennal sockets quite polished with distinct interstices between punctures. Malar space about 0.2 times as long as mandibular base in female and about 0.2–0.3 times in male. Mandibular gape right-angled, with internal angles. Wing membrane clear to slightly yellowish. Ramellus distinct, reaching about 0.5 times the width of the discosubmarginal cell. Radius sinuous. Mesopleuron shagreened with very dense, large punctures that often merge centrally. Epicnemial carina, in antero-ventral view, with pleurosternal angles slightly anterior to sternal angles (Fig. 9G). Pleurosternal angles acute to slightly obtuse. Scutellum occasionally with distinct lateral carinae in basal half, but sometimes only in basal 0.2 (as in Fig. 6A). Propodeum distinctly punctate and coriaceous in front of anterior transverse carina. Between transverse carina more often quite shiny, weakly rugose. Anterior transverse carina often absent laterally in Nordic specimens, evenly and rather strongly curved (Figs 10E, 14D) and posterior transverse carina often widely interrupted centrally. Central longitudinal carinae delimiting area superomedia and area petiolaris often strong but sometimes weaker before joining the anterior transverse carina. Area superomedia usually quite narrow (Fig. 14D). Hind trochantellus shorter than wide in dorsal view. Legs normal with hind femur about 7.0 times as long as wide. Sclerotised part of first sternite ending level to spiracle. Inner spur of hind tibia as long as 0.4 times hind metatarsus.
Colour
Body testaceous. Head with inner and outer eye margins yellow. Mandibular teeth black. Ovipositor sheath black or dark brown, contrasting in colour with posterior metasomal segments. Posterior abdominal segments and apical half of antennae in males frequently infuscate. Scutellum laterally in basal part usually pale in females.
DNA barcode
The DNA barcode sequences of 11 Swedish specimens of Ophion crassicornis are available at the BOLD systems database (www.boldsystems.org, BIN. BOLD: ACI6839. Specimen codes: STI-NJBC: 46, 70, 80–82, 183–184, 217, 300, 309, 331).
Ecology
Brock (1982) refers to a reputed rearing from Aporophyla nigra (Haworth, 1809), a species not known from the Swedish fauna. The population on the Swedish mainland is active primarily during June and the species mainly occurs in open or semi-open environments.
Distribution in Sweden
Quite rare but widespread in the southern and central parts of the country.
Remarks
According to BOLD the species also probably occurs in central Europe (France, Britain, Germany and Bulgaria) and Croatian specimens have also been studied by the first author. Brock (1982) also refers to the existence of a ‘northern morph’ occurring in the northern parts of the British islands. No such northern crassicornis morph has been detected in this study, but through British material kindly provided by Gavin Broad at the BMNH it might be suspected that Brock’s observations refer to Ophion kevoensis as interpreted in this study or Ophion broadi Johansson sp. nov., a conclusion also supported by the statement that O. crassicornis is said to have the hind trochantellus “sometimes agreeing with luteus” (Brock 1982). Ophion crassicornis is very similar to and easily confused with Ophion borealis Johansson sp. nov., but is distinguished by the less transverse head in anterior view, the wider clypeus, the larger punctures on the mesopleuron, the more densely punctate face and the shape of the anterior transverse carina of the propodeum. Also similar to Ophion angularis Johansson & Cederberg sp. nov., but with less prominent pleurosternal angles, usually fewer flagellomeres, slightly more buccate temples, partly carinated scutellum and face less densely punctate.
description: Published as part of Johansson, Niklas & Cederberg, Björn, 2019, Review of the Swedish species of Ophion (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae: Ophioninae), with the description of 18 new species and an illustrated key to Swedish species, pp. 1-136 in European Journal of Taxonomy 550 on pages 60-62, DOI: 10.5852/ejt.2019.550, http://zenodo.org/record/3476402