Therophilus malignus
Creators: name: Stevens, Nicholas B.
name: Austin, Andrew D.
name: Jennings, John T.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2011
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Braconidae
Therophilus
Therophilus malignus

description: <i>Therophilus malignus</i> (Turner) (Figs 7B, 12B, 18B) <i>Agathiella maligna</i> Turner, 1918a: 112 [examined]. Holotype BMNH &amp;female;; Type locality: Yallingup, Western Australia. Parrott, 1953: 198 [catalogue]. <i>Agathis maligna</i> (Turner); Shenefelt, 1970b: 342 [catalogue, generic transfer]. <i>Bassus malignus</i> (Turner); Yu <i>et al.</i>, 2005 [catalogue, generic transfer]. <i>Therophilus malignus</i> (Turner); Stevens <i>et al.</i>, 2010: 20 [catalogue, generic transfer]. <b>Diagnosis.</b> Broad rounded elevation between antennae; notauli absent anteriorly; gena slightly expanded ventroposteriorly; sternalus unsculptured; with BROW colour pattern. <b>Description (female)</b>. Body length 8.0 (6.0–8.0) mm; ovipositor 6.5 (4.9–6.5) mm; head orange, except antenna dark brown; metanotum, propodeum, metapleuron and dorso-posterior margin of mesopleuron black, rest of mesosoma orange (mesosoma sometimes mostly black to dark brown except orange on pronotum and propleuron); fore leg orange except claws and trochantellus dark brown; mid and hind legs black except white band on basal tibia (mid leg sometimes orange except for coxa and basal femur dark); median T1 black except white band along posterior margin and white patches laterally about each spiracle; S1 and S2 white except black patch medially; anterior and lateral margins of T2 white, remainder black; T3 black except white along antero-lateral margin; remainder of metasoma black. Head width 1.8 mm, length 0.8 mm, height 1.2 mm; eye width 0.3 mm, length 0.5 mm, height 0.7 mm; interorbital distance 1.1 mm; median ocellus diameter 0.1 mm; distance between lateral ocelli and medial ocellus 0.15 mm; distance between lateral ocelli 0.2 mm; broad rounded elevation between antennae; ante-ocular pit triangular, but not well defined; antenna with 41 flagellomeres; clypeus width 0.4 mm, height 0.15 mm; malar space height 0.4 mm; distance from ventral eye margin to latero-ventral mouth margin 0.45 mm; labial palpomere 3 length 0.35x labial palpomere 4 length (lengths 0.2 and 0.07 mm, respectively); posterior margin of head, when viewed dorsally, excavated (incursion 0.1 mm); posterior genal margin distinctly carinate, gena with slight expansion ventro-posteriorly. Mesosomal width 1.5 (1.1–1.5) mm, length 3.2 (2.4–3.2) mm; height 1.9 mm; pilosity mostly short and sparse, particularly dorsally, except distinct dense setal field on metapleuron and mesepimeron, extending marginally onto mesopleuron; subpronope large and distinct, bordered posteriorly by carina that extends to anterior margin of pronotum; notauli absent anteriorly; scutellar sulcus distinctly divided into 2 main pits by medial longitudinal carina, indistinct carinae on each side of medial carina, posterior sulcus margin curved; propodeum smooth except for short, longitudinal rugose carinae medially; suture line between metapleuron and propodeum delineated by longitudinal carina, not scrobiculate groove; propodeal spiracle oval-shaped; hind coxal cavities closed to metasomal foramen; sternalus short, straight, shallow, broad, and smooth; metapleuron with distinct setal field, surface smooth except for fine punctation associated with setae. Legs with all claws with large quadrate basal lobe; mid tibia with 5 apical spines and 7 preapical spines; preapical spines spaced along anterior surface in distal half of tibia; hind tibia with 4 apical and 11 preapical spines; preapical spines clumped just basal to apical spines. Both fore and hind wings marginally infuscate, particularly distally, paler basally; fore wing maximum width 2.4 (1.2–2.4) mm, length 6.8 (4.8–7.0) mm; cell 1-Rs highly reduced to small circle only (diameter 0.02 mm) (cell 1-Rs sometimes triangular, maximum distance across cell 0.1 mm); cell petiole length 0.1 (0.07–0.1) mm, width 0.1 (0.04–0.1) mm; M+Cu entirely pigmented; hind wing maximum width 1.4 (1.0–1.4) mm, length 5.6 (3.9–5.6) mm. Metasomal length 3.6 (3.0–3.6) mm, maximum width 1.3 (1.1–1.3) mm; entire dorsal surface smooth; T1 median area length 1.2 mm (1.0–1.2), anterior width 0.5 mm, posterior width (maximum) 0.8 mm; T2–3, with only one complete transverse groove, occurring at T2–T3 boundary, slight lateral impressions where T2 medial groove would occur. <b>Male.</b> Unknown. <i>Holotype</i>: &amp;female;, ‘ S.W. Australia. Yallingup. Nov. 1913, R.E. Turner. 1914–190’ (BMNH). Other material examined. <b>New South Wales:</b> 1 &amp;female;, Mount Bunganbil, 37 km NNE of Narrandera, em. IX.1972, E.D. Edwards (ANIC); <b>South Australia:</b> 1 &amp;female;, 32.39S 138.06E, 2 km SSE Wilmington, 11.XI.1987, I. Naumann &amp; J.C. Cardale (ANIC). <b>Comments.</b> <i>Therophilus malignus</i> belongs to the BROW mimicry complex and is similar in colour pattern to <i>T. meridionalis</i> and <i>T. unimaculatus</i>. However, <i>T. malignus</i> is easily distinguished from the other two species by the slight expansion of the gena ventro-posteriorly, the presence on the propodeum of several longitudinal rugose carinae medially, and the curved posterior scutellar sulcus margin. It is known from the south-west and the south-east of the Australian mainland (Fig. 18B). The holotype is damaged as follows: all the right legs from the femur are missing; both antennae are missing apical flagellomeres; propleuron still connected to the mesosoma even though pinning of the specimen has caused partial dislocation of these two body regions.
description: Published as part of <i>Stevens, Nicholas B., Austin, Andrew D. &amp; Jennings, John T., 2011, Diversity, distribution and taxonomy of the Australian agathidine genera Camptothlipsis Enderlein, Lytopylus Foerster and Therophilus Wesmael (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Agathidinae), pp. 1-49 in Zootaxa 2887 (1)</i> on pages 25-26, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.2887.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/5285497
description: {"references": ["Turner, R. E. (1918 a) Australian Braconidae in the British Museum. Transactions of the Royal Entomological Society in London, 1918, 91 - 114.", "Parrott, A. W. (1953) A systematic catalogue of Australian Braconidae. Pacific Science, 7, 193 - 202.", "Shenefelt, R. D. (1970 b) Braconidae 3. Agathidinae. In: van der Vecht, J. &amp; Shenefelt, R. D. (eds) Hymenopterorum Catalogus (nova editio). Dr W. Junk, Gravenhage, pp. 307 - 428.", "Yu, D. S., van Achterberg, C. &amp; Horstmann, K. (2005) World Ichneumonoidea 2004. Taxonomy, Biology, Morphology and Distribution. CD / DVD. Taxapad, Vancouver, Canada. www. taxapad. com", "Stevens, N. B., Austin, A. D. &amp; Jennings, J. T. (2010) Synopsis of Australian agathidine wasps (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Agathidinae). Zootaxa, 2480, 1 - 26."]}