Ophion scutellaris Thomson 1888
Creators: name: Johansson, Niklas
name: Cederberg, Björn
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2019
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Ichneumonidae
Ophion
Ophion scutellaris

description: Ophion scutellaris Thomson, 1888
Figs 10A, 16A
Ophion scutellaris Thomson, 1888: 1192.
Ophion longicornis Brauns, 1889: 92.
Ophion stigmaticus Morley, 1915: 271.
Material examined
Lectotype, ♀, of Ophion scutellaris (MZLU); syntype, ♂, of Ophion longicornis (ZMHB); lectotype, ♀, of Ophion stigmaticus (BMNH); 161 ♀♀, 54 ♂♂ (Sweden); 2 ♀♀, 2 ♂♂ (Estonia); 8 ♀♀, 11 ♂♂ (Norway).
Diagnosis
Fore wing length 15–19 mm. Antenna in both sexes with 60–71 flagellomeres. First flagellomere 4.0–4.5 times as long as wide. Central flagellomeres 2.0 times as long as wide. Head in females narrowed behind eyes. Temples more buccate in males. Face in anterior view slightly narrower than in O. wuestneii. Malar space about 0.2 times as long as mandibular base in female and about 0.3 times in male. Mandibular gape right-angled, with internal angles. Wing membrane clear. Pterostigma elongate, about 3.5 times as long as wide. Ramellus distinct, reaching about 0.3 times the width of the discosubmarginal cell (Fig. 16A). Radius sinuous. Mesopleuron polished and weakly punctate. Interstices between punctures about 1.5–2.0 times their diameter. Pleurosternal angles obtuse, well defined, obviously anterior to sternal angles. Scutellum with distinct lateral carinae (as in Fig. 6C). Propodeum shagreened-coriaceous, often quite shiny with anterior transverse carina partly absent laterally. Posterior transverse carina often widely interrupted centrally. Area superomedia usually absent, only weakly indicated posteriorly (Fig. 10A). Hind trochantellus shorter than wide in dorsal view. Hind femur strongly elongate about 9.0 times as long as wide (as in Fig. 16C). Sclerotised part of first sternite ending distinctly posterior to spiracle. Inner spur of hind tibia as long as 0.3 times metatarsus.
Colour
Body testaceous. Mesoscutum, especially in males frequently with three brownish longitudinal stripes. Head with inner and outer orbits yellow. Mandibular teeth black. Ovipositor sheath testaceous, concolourous with posterior metasomal segments.
DNA barcode
The DNA barcode sequences of four Swedish specimens of Ophion scutellaris are available at the BOLD systems database (www.boldsystems.org, BIN. BOLD: AAW9169. Specimen codes: STI-NJBC: 126–129).
Ecology
Ophion scutellaris occurs in early spring, sometimes as early as late March, and is active to early June. It has been reared from Noctuidae larvae which overwinter in their larval stage (Brock 1982).
Distribution in Sweden
A common species in Southern and Central Sweden.
Remarks
The series under the label “ Ophion scutellaris ” in the Thomson collection in the ZMLU contains at least four different Ophion species. Apart from the lectotype only one specimen belongs to O. scutellaris.
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 page 95, DOI: 10.5852/ejt.2019.550, http://zenodo.org/record/3476402