Apanteles auroralis 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 auroralis

description: Apanteles auroralis Slater-Baker, Fagan-Jeffries, Fernández-Triana, Portmann & Oestmann sp. nov.
Fig. 4 B (distribution), Fig. 24 (holotype)
Type material.
Holotype. Australia • ♀; QLD, Great Sandy NP, Bymien Picnic Area; - 25.9536, 153.102; 05 Dec. 2017; D. Yeates & X. Li leg.; By hand; BOLD Process ID: AUMIC 1526-24; QM. Paratypes. Australia • ♂; as holotype except: BOLD Process ID: AUMIC 1523-24; ANIC: 32-085571. • ♂; as previous except: BOLD Process ID: AUMIC 1524-24; ANIC: 32-085572. • ♂; as previous except: BOLD Process ID: AUMIC 1525-24; QM: 32-085573. • ♀; QLD, Lamington NP; - 28.148, 153.137; 13–23 Jan. 2007; C Lambkin, N. Starick leg.; Malaise trap; IBISCA Plot # IQ- 300 - A rainforest; BOLD Process ID: AUMIC 077-18; QM: T 208364.
Diagnostic description.
Size: Total body length: 2.1 mm; fore wing length: 2.2 mm. Head: anterior scape colour moderately paler than head colour; F 2 L / W ratio: 2.6; F 14 L / W ratio: 1.3. Mesosoma: scutoscutellar sulcus with 11 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): pale, pale, dark; metafemur colour mostly pale. Wings: centre of pterostigma pigmented to same degree as the outer edges; fore wing r vein length / 2 RS vein length ratio: 0.8. 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: 1.0.
Apanteles auroralis can be separated from most other species of Apanteles in Australia with a dark metacoxa, a completely pale metafemur and a uniformly pigmented pterostigma by the ovipositor sheath 0.8–1.0 × metatibia length and hypopygium with clearly defined ventral pleats. The species can be separated from A. apricus by the propodeum comparatively smoother, areola clearly defined and T 1 parallel-sided; A. apricus has the propodeum with much stronger sculpturing and T 1 slightly narrowing posteriorly.
Etymology.
The species epithet is an adjective formed from the Latin noun aurora meaning dawn / sunrise and relates to the strong colour contrast between the two yellow pro- and mesocoxae, and the dark metacoxa.
Distribution.
Apanteles auroralis is known from two sites in southern QLD.
Molecular information.
Apanteles auroralis contains sequences currently in BIN BOLD: ADL 4428. The COI sequences are at least 11 % divergent from any of the other species treated here, or any available sequence on BOLD. The wg sequence of the holotype is ≥ 3 bp different to any other species. Whilst the four COI delimitation methods separated Apanteles auroralis as a distinct species, there are two wg haplotypes within the species (1 bp difference), and the wg ASAP and PTP analyses grouped A. auroralis with A. darthvaderi.
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