Cubus
Creators: name: Zuñiga, Ronald
name: Valerio, Alejandro A.
name: Hanson, Paul
name: Hallwachs, Winnie
name: Janzen, Daniel H.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2025
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Ichneumonidae
Cubus

description: Key to Costa Rican species of Cubus
(all of the following are new species)
1. Legs without black marks (Fig. 1); tergite I usually without black, or with very little (Figs. 23, 25); ventral mesothorax with at least some black (Fig. 3)............................................................................... 2
– Legs with at least some black marks (Fig. 2); tergite I nearly always with black mark (Figs. 16–22, 24, 26); ventral mesothorax completely yellow (Fig. 4)............................................................................. 3
2. Propodeum with narrow, longitudinal black line in center (Fig. 23)................................. C. johnstiremani
– Propodeum with chalice-shaped black mark (Fig. 25)............................................. C. montywoodi
3. Black area on occiput relatively small, barely reaching or not reaching the area behind the eyes, i.e. not extending laterally beyond the level of the inner eye margin on top of the head (Fig. 5).............................................. 4
– Black area on occiput relatively large, reaching the area behind the eyes, i.e. extending laterally beyond the level of the inner eye margin on top of the head (Figs. 6–8).................................................................. 5
4. Posterior projections of ventral mesothorax flattened, relatively narrow and sharply pointed (as in Fig. 11); side of pronotum with ventral black area reaching beyond half the pronotal height (Fig. 10)........................... C. jeffcummingi
– Posterior projections of ventral mesothorax more robust, wider (as in Fig. 12); side of pronotum predominantly yellow, ventral black area not extending dorsally beyond mid height (Fig. 9).................................. C. manuelzumbadoi
5. Posterior projections of ventral mesothorax robustly conical and relatively wide (Fig. 12); black area on propodeum chalice-shaped or triangular, widest anteriorly (Fig. 18); side of pronotum with ventral black area extending dorsally along posterior margin, sometimes with a small black lobe extending anteriorly.................................. C. curtsabrowskyi
– Posterior projections of ventral mesothorax flattened, narrower and more sharply pointed (Fig. 11); black area on propodeum either a simple line or chalice-shaped; side of pronotum with ventral black area not extending dorsally along posterior margin ................................................................................................... 6
6. Side of pronotum predominantly yellow, ventral black area not extending dorsally beyond mid height (as in Fig. 9); hind coxa without internal black mark, or with very little black (Fig. 13)........................................ C. jimoharai
– Side of pronotum with ventral black area reaching beyond half the pronotal height (as in Fig. 10); hind coxa with internal black mark (Figs. 14–15)................................................................................... 7
7. Hind coxa with black spot on internal surface only (Fig. 14); propodeum with chalice-shaped black mark (Fig. 19)............................................................................................. C. duvalierbricenoi
– Hind coxa with black spot on both external and internal surface (Fig. 15); propodeum with a black line, at most only slightly chalice-shaped....................................................................................... 8
8. Occiput with dorsal margin of black mark divergent from eye margin (as in Fig. 6); propodeum with a black line that may be slightly chalice-shaped (Fig. 20)............................................................ C. gracewoodae
– Occiput with dorsal margin of black mark parallel to eye margin (as in Figs. 7–8); propodeum with a black line (Figs. 16–17, 26)................................................................................................ 9
9. Propodeum with longitudinal black line narrower than propodeal orifice, although slightly wider at both ends (Fig. 26)........................................................................................... C. normwoodleyi
– Propodeum with black line that is about as wide as propodeal orifice (Figs. 16–17)................................ 10
10. Tergite I with a longitudinal black line extending from anterior margin to middle of the tergite where it becomes wider, often comprising a black band across the tergite (Fig. 17)........................................... C. christhompsoni
– Tergite I with a longitudinal black line extending from anterior margin to middle of tergite where it does not become very wide, black line sometimes weak anteriorly (Fig. 16)................................................. C. alanflemingi
description: Published as part of Zuñiga, Ronald, Valerio, Alejandro A., Hanson, Paul, Hallwachs, Winnie & Janzen, Daniel H., 2025, Endoparasitoid wasps of the genus Cubus (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae, Metopiinae) reared from caterpillars of Área de Conservación Guanacaste, Costa Rica, pp. 365-385 in Zootaxa 5590 (3) on pages 369-370, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5590.3.4, http://zenodo.org/record/14953270