Apanteles alatomicans 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 alatomicans

description: Apanteles alatomicans Slater-Baker, Fagan-Jeffries, Fernández-Triana, Portmann & Oestmann sp. nov.
Fig. 4 B (distribution), Fig. 17 (holotype)
Type material.
Holotype. Australia • ♀; QLD, Masthead Island; - 23.537, 151.723; 5–7 Oct. 2008; QM / QPWS party leg.; Malaise trap; site 6 Casuarina camp site; BOLD Process ID: AUMIC 430-18; QM: T 208349. Paratypes. Australia • ♀; NSW, Bendemeer; - 30.819, 151.142; 19 Dec. 2020 – 4 Jan. 2021; A. Goodwin, R. Noakes leg.; Malaise trap; BOLD Process ID: AUMIC 628-23; AM: K. 647425. • ♀; as previous except: BOLD Process ID: AUMIC 630-23; AM: K. 647426. • ♀; as previous except: BOLD Process ID: AUMIC 631-23; QM: T 261232. • ♀; as previous except: BOLD Process ID: AUMIC 632-23; QM: T 261233. • ♂; QLD, Chinchilla Botanic Parkland; - 26.7393, 150.629; 08 Oct. 2020; E. Fagan-Jeffries leg.; Sweeping; BOLD Process ID: OZBOL 414-21; QM: T 261234. • ♀; QLD, Masthead Island; - 23.537, 151.721; 5–7 Oct. 2008; QM / QPWS party leg.; Malaise trap; site 7 Casuarina forest; BOLD Process ID: AUMIC 074-18; QM: T 208348. • ♀; QLD, Prospect Creek State School; - 24.4218, 150.43; 6 Oct. – 4 Nov. 2020; E. Fagan-Jeffries & Prospect Creek State School leg.; Malaise trap; BOLD Process ID: AUMIC 640-23; QM: T 261235. • ♀; as previous except: BOLD Process ID: AUMIC 641-23; QM: T 261236. • ♀; as previous except: BOLD Process ID: AUMIC 643-23; QM: T 261237. • ♀; as previous except: BOLD Process ID: AUMIC 644-23; QM: T 261238. • ♀; as previous except: BOLD Process ID: AUMIC 645-23; QM: T 261239. • ♀; as previous except: BOLD Process ID: AUMIC 646-23; AM: K. 647427. • ♀; as previous except: BOLD Process ID: AUMIC 647-23; QM: T 261240. • ♀; as previous except: BOLD Process ID: AUMIC 648-23; QM: T 261241. • ♀; as previous except: BOLD Process ID: AUMIC 649-23; QM: T 261242. • ♀; as previous except: BOLD Process ID: AUMIC 667-23; QM: T 261243. • ♀; as previous except: BOLD Process ID: AUMIC 669-23; QM: T 261244. • ♀; as previous except: BOLD Process ID: AUMIC 670-23; AM: K. 647428. • ♀; as previous except: BOLD Process ID: AUMIC 671-23; QM: T 261245. • ♀; as previous except: BOLD Process ID: AUMIC 657-23; QM: T 261246. • ♀; as previous except: BOLD Process ID: AUMIC 660-23; QM: T 261247. • ♀; as previous except: BOLD Process ID: AUMIC 661-23; QM: T 261248. • ♀; as previous except: BOLD Process ID: AUMIC 663-23; QM: T 261249. • ♀; as previous except: BOLD Process ID: AUMIC 633-23; QM: T 261250. • ♀; as previous except: BOLD Process ID: AUMIC 635-23; QM: T 261251. • ♀; as previous except: BOLD Process ID: AUMIC 636-23; QM: T 261252. • ♀; as previous except: BOLD Process ID: AUMIC 638-23; QM: T 261253. • ♀; as previous except: BOLD Process ID: AUMIC 639-23; QM: T 261254. • ♂; as previous except: BOLD Process ID: AUMIC 673-23; AM: K. 647429. • ♀ (head detached); QLD, Springsure; - 24.115, 148.087; 8–15 Mar. 2022; Springsure State School students leg.; Malaise trap; Insect Investigators; BOLD Process ID: ASMII 486-22; QM: T 261184. • ♂; as previous except: BOLD Process ID: ASMII 482-22; QM: T 261186. • ♂; as previous except: 22–29 Mar. 2022; BOLD Process ID: ASMII 550-22; QM: T 261185.
Diagnostic description.
Size: Total body length: 3.0 mm; fore wing length: 2.6 mm. Head: anterior scape colour similar or only very slightly paler than head colour; F 2 L / W ratio: 2.2; F 14 L / W ratio: 1.1. Mesosoma: scutoscutellar sulcus with nine pits; mesoscutellar disc mostly smooth, or with very shallow scattered indentations; propodeal areola complete, or mostly so; propodeum mostly rugose; coxae colour (pro, meso, meta): dark all; 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 mostly parallel, T 1 medial length / anterior width between 1–2 × longer than wide; mostly rugose; T 2 mostly smooth; ovipositor sheath length / metatibia length ratio: 1.1.
Apanteles alatomicans can be separated from most species of Apanteles in Australia that have a dark metacoxa and metafemur, and uniformly pigmented pterostigma by having the hind tibia mostly dark with a bright, discrete pale band in the proximal 1 / 3, and by having infuscation on the fore wing which is restricted to area around veins r and 1 CUb, and the basal cell of fore wing comparatively less densely setose than found in A. lamingtonensis and A. ferripulvis. We recommend separating A. alatomicans from A. hades and A. magicus using COI or wg barcodes and evaluating the placement of the sequence in a phylogeny amongst the validated references provided here.
Etymology.
This species was named by students in year 9 at Springsure State School in QLD, who in year 7 ran the Malaise trap that collected several of the paratype specimens. The epithet should be treated as an adjective and is formed from the Latin ‘ alatus’ (furnished with wings) and ‘ micans’ (twinkling) and the wasp was affectionately given the nickname “ Mr Twinkle Wings ” in the taxonomy workshop. In the words of the class teacher, Peter Spencer: “ The reason for naming refers to the beauty of the wasp and the shiny / twinkle of its wings particularly, and the fact the students also believe it is found in a place representing Australian beauty – the outback. ”
Distribution.
Apanteles alatomicans is known from multiple locations in eastern QLD.
Molecular information.
Sequences of Apanteles alatomicans currently form BIN BOLD: ADL 2797. The COI sequences are at least 5 % divergent from any of the other species treated here, or any available sequence on BOLD. Other than the wg sequence of AUMIC 673-23, which is likely a lab contamination, the wg sequence of the holotype is ≥ 3 bp different to any other species and is identical within A. alatomicans. Ignoring the likely contaminant, six species delimitation methods delimited A. alatomicans as a discrete species, however wg ASAP analysis grouped the sequences with A. hades.
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