Apanteles sinusulus Slater-Baker, Fagan-Jeffries, Fernandez-Triana, Portmann & Oestmann 2025, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Slater-Baker, Mollie-Rosae
name: Fagan-Jeffries, Erinn P.
name: Oestmann, Katherine J.
name: Portmann, Olivia G.
name: Bament, Tiahni M.
name: Howe, Andy G.
name: Guzik, Michelle T.
name: Bradford, Tessa M.
name: McClelland, Alana R.
name: Woodward, Alice
name: Clarke, Sylvia
name: Ducker, Nathan
name: Fernández-Triana, José
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2025
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Braconidae
Apanteles
Apanteles sinusulus

description: Apanteles sinusulus Slater-Baker, Fagan-Jeffries, Fernández-Triana, Portmann & Oestmann sp. nov.
Fig. 6 A (distribution), Fig. 57 (holotype)
Type material.
Holotype. Australia • ♀; WA, Western Pilbara, Hamersley station, Nanutarra-Wittenoom Rd., approx. 25 km NE of Railway Rd. crossing, North side of hill on East ridge; - 22.3558, 117.915; 15–19 May. 2006; Conservation Volunteers Australia leg.; Malaise trap; BOLD Process ID: AUMIC 1313-24; WAM: 130561. Paratypes. • 1? (missing metasoma); NSW, Canterbury-Bankstown region, Little Salt Pan Creek; - 33.9606, 151.027; 08 Feb. 2006; K. Harvey & J. Lee leg.; vacuum sampler; BOLD Process ID: AUMIC 1338-24; AM: K. 379883. • ♀; NSW, Canterbury-Bankstown region, Little Salt Pan Creek; - 33.9606, 151.027; 08 Feb. 2006; K. Harvey & J. Lee leg.; vacuum sampler; BOLD Process ID: AUMIC 1337-24; AM: K. 646432. • ♂; QLD, Townsville, Hermit Park; - 19.2829, 146.801; 10 m; 14 Feb. 2017; Graeme Cocks leg.; UV Light trap; BOLD Process ID: GCQT 658-17; WAM: 130562. • ♂; as previous except: 22 Feb. 2017; BOLD Process ID: GCQT 712-17; WAM: 130563. • ♀; SA, Andamooka Station; - 30.727, 137.204; 31 Aug. 2016; R. Leijs leg.; Vehicle net; Bush Blitz Lake Torrens, from - 30.8198802, 137.1783585 to - 30.6998403, 137.1574435; BOLD Process ID: AUMIC 126-18; SAMA: 32-035446. • ♀; as previous except: BOLD Process ID: AUMIC 359-18; SAMA: 32-035447. • ♂; as previous except: BOLD Process ID: AUMIC 1252-24; SAMA: 32-035788. • ♀; as previous except: BOLD Process ID: AUMIC 136-18; SAMA: 32-035456. • ♀; SA, Andamooka Station, 3.1 km ESE Andamooka HS; - 30.7394, 137.229; 31 Aug. – 3 Sep. 2016; B. A. Parslow & G. Taylor leg.; Malaise trap; chenopods on gibber BS 1097 AND 002, Bushblitz Lake Torrens; BOLD Process ID: AUMIC 132-18; SAMA: 32-035790. • ♀; SA, Australian Arid Land Botanic Gardens; - 32.4618, 137.744; 72 m; 15 Sep. 2020; E. Fagan-Jeffries leg.; Sweeping; BOLD Process ID: OZBOL 401-21; WAM: 130564. • ♀; SA, Streaky Bay; - 32.798, 134.2; 22–29 Mar. 2022; Streaky Bay Area School students leg.; Malaise trap; Insect Investigators; BOLD Process ID: ASMII 8316-22; SAMA: 32-47749.
Diagnostic description.
Size: Total body length: 2.2 mm; fore wing length: 2.4 mm. Head: anterior scape colour similar or only very slightly paler than head colour; F 2 L / W ratio: 2.5; F 14 L / W ratio: 1.7. Mesosoma: scutoscutellar sulcus with eight pits; mesoscutellar disc mostly smooth, or with very shallow scattered indentations; propodeal areola complete, or mostly so; propodeum mostly smooth; coxae colour (pro, meso, meta): all dark; metafemur colour mostly dark. Wings: centre of pterostigma pigmented to same degree as the outer edges; fore wing r vein length / 2 RS vein length ratio: 1.4. Metasoma: T 1 shape narrowing distally, T 1 medial length / anterior width between 1–2 × longer than wide; T 1 mostly smooth; T 2 mostly smooth; ovipositor sheath length / metatibia length ratio: 0.6.
Apanteles sinusulus can be separated from most of the other species of Apanteles with dark metacoxa and metafemur, ovipositor sheaths> 0.6 × metatibia length, and antenna similar length or longer than body length, by having the metatibia mostly pale, the pterostigma uniformly coloured without a paler centre or pale spot on the proximal corner, and T 1 mostly smooth with only a small rugose area in the centre. We do not morphologically diagnose this species against A. focusalis, but as the species are not closely related based on molecular data, they can be identified through DNA barcoding and the placement of the sequences on a phylogeny in the context of the holotype barcodes.
Etymology.
This species was named by students at Streaky Bay Area School (SA) who collected one of the paratypes. The epithet is a noun in apposition and means ‘ little bay’, formed from the Latin ‘ sinus’ (bay).
Distribution.
Apanteles sinusulus has a broad distribution, with collection records in WA, SA, and NSW.
Molecular information.
Sequences of Apanteles sinusulus are currently in BIN BOLD: ADH 8678. The COI sequences are at least 8 % divergent from any of the other species treated here, or any available sequence on BOLD. The wg sequences of the species are at least 24 bp different to any other species. All delimitation methods resolved A. sinusulus as a discrete species.
description: Published as part of Slater-Baker, Mollie-Rosae, Fagan-Jeffries, Erinn P., Oestmann, Katherine J., Portmann, Olivia G., Bament, Tiahni M., Howe, Andy G., Guzik, Michelle T., Bradford, Tessa M., McClelland, Alana R., Woodward, Alice, Clarke, Sylvia, Ducker, Nathan & Fernández-Triana, José, 2025, DNA barcoding, integrative taxonomy, citizen science, and Bush Blitz surveys combine to reveal 34 new species of Apanteles (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Microgastrinae) in Australia, pp. 1-128 in ZooKeys 1227 on pages 1-128, DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1227.130467