Macreupelmus aurantispina Gibson, 2016, n. sp.
Creators: name: Gibson, Gary A. P.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2016
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Eupelmidae
Macreupelmus
Macreupelmus aurantispina

description: Macreupelmus aurantispina n. sp.
Figs 8, 24–33
Type material. Holotype ♀ (USNM). BOLIVIA: Santa Cruz Dept. | Florida Prov., Refugio Los Vol- | canes, 4 km N of Bermejo | 18º06'S, 63º36'W, 1045- | 1350m, 10 December 2011 | Norman E. Woodley / HOLOTYPE ♀ | Macreupelmus | aurantispina | Gibson. Holotype minutien-mounted through right acropleuron; entire, but right fore wing torn, small apical portion of left wing missing, and Gt6 partly detached from syntergum; uncontorted.
Paratypes. BRAZIL. ES [Espirito Santo], Pancas, Faz. Juliberto Stur—Area 1, 19º13'10.5"S 40º46'23.8"W, 31.I–7.II.2003, Malaise T 1, Taveres, Azevedo & eq. col., UFES nº 99414, CNC Photo 2016-14 (1 UFES). Rio de Janeiro, Mus. [undecipherable handwriting], CNC Photo 2016-13 (1 ZMUC). PERU. Monson Valley, Tingo Maria, 23.IX.1954, E.I. Schlinger & E.S. Ross (1 CASC).
Etymology. From the Latin words aurantium (orange) and spina (thorn) in reference to the orangish mesotibial spur of females.
Description. FEMALE (habitus: Fig. 24). Head (Fig. 8) with lower face and interantennal prominence green with coppery to reddish-violaceous lusters, at least on interantennal prominence ventrally between toruli and on lower face between torulus and malar sulcus, and sometimes more extensively; gena green but with distinct though variably large coppery to reddish-violaceous region posterior to malar sulcus ventrally, the region not extending to outer orbit (Fig. 29); parascrobal region variably green to reddish-violaceous, with inner margin and lateral surface of depression sometimes purple ventrally; scrobal depression mostly green to partly violaceous-purple dorsally or extensively dark with similar metallic lusters as frons; frons dark with coppery luster at least mesally below anterior ocellus and often mostly dark with coppery or purple to reddish-violaceous lusters to level slightly behind posterior ocelli, but at least inconspicuously greenish along inner orbit (Fig. 25); vertex and occiput mostly green to bluish-green with some coppery luster; vertex with dark setae mesally between inner orbits. Head with interorbital distance about 0.2–0.28× head width; OOL: POL: LOL: MPOD = 0.2–0.45: 0.7–1.1: 1.2–1.3: 1.0; distance between anterior ocellus and inner orbit about 0.8–1.3× MAOD; frons with anterior ocellus about 1.0–1.5× MAOD from dorsal limit of scrobal depression and with sulcus extending from anterior ocellus to within depression dorsally; frons distinctly roughened, punctulate-reticulate to reticulate-rugulose between posterior ocelli and scrobal depression compared to more uniformly meshlike reticulate vertex. Antenna (Fig. 29) dark brown or pedicel and basal flagellomeres somewhat lighter orangish-brown, but extreme apex of scape and apical two clavomeres with micropilose sensory regions paler; scape robust-compressed, about 3.2–4.0× as long as medial width, and in lateral view apex of pedicel extending to or slightly beyond ventral margin when at right angle to scape (Fig. 29).
Mesoscutum not or variably distinctly carinate mediolongitudinally from posterior of anteromedial lobe through about anterior half of posteromedial depressed region; scutellar-axillar complex with axillae and scutellum similarly coarsely meshlike reticulate but reticulations on scutellum aligned more longitudinally. Front leg orangish-brown to dark brown with tarsus or at least basitarsus apically often somewhat more distinctly orangish and knee sometimes very narrowly orangish. Middle leg (Fig. 28) with trochantellus at least ventroapically and sometimes dorsally variably paler than femur, and femur apically pale, but tibia and tarsus variably extensively orangish-brown (Fig. 33) to dark brown except for orangish tibial spur (Fig. 32); posterior surface uniformly setose with comparatively long white setae over about apical half (Fig. 28); tibia with 5–7 pegs in straight or only slightly offset row (Fig. 32). Hind leg dark except apex of coxa and trochanter and trochantellus at least mostly white (trochanter and trochantellus sometimes darker ventrally); femur (Fig. 27) dorsoapically with elongate, yellowish to orangish region not extending to apicolateral margin though sometimes virtually to dorsoapical margin, with the region at least obviously longer than wide and sometimes extending over about dorsoapical two-thirds, and tibia with similarly pale region basally. Fore wing (Fig. 31) with dark setae continuously through hyaline basal cell and infuscate part of disc basal to anterior hyaline region, without any white setae on mediocubital fold distal to basal cell or on hyaline region along posterior margin of wing opposite anterior hyaline region; anterior hyaline region behind marginal vein tapered posterobasally and distant from mediocubital fold; costal cell dorsally entirely setose along length, with several rows basally becoming less apically (Fig. 30). Propodeum (Fig. 26) with plical region medially very short, with foramen broadly ∩-like incurved almost to V-like incised anterior margin, the transversetriangular panels otherwise mostly obliquely strigose.
Gaster (Fig. 24) mostly brown dorsally, but under some angles of light with purple to reddish-violaceous lusters basally on Gt1 and laterally on Gt1–Gt5, with Gt6 and syntergum sometimes darker brown and Gt6 sometimes with slight greenish luster; Gt6 shallowly meshlike reticulate to imbricate. Ovipositor sheaths obviously longer than metatibia (Fig. 24), about 1.2–1.33× metatibia length.
Distribution (Map 1A). Bolivia, Brazil, Peru.
Remarks. Females differ somewhat in leg color pattern, with the Brazilian paratypes having the mesotibia at least apically and the mesotarsus orangish in addition to a more or less distinctly orangish mesotibial spur (Fig. 33). All females have the same fore wing color pattern and are very similar in structure except the Brazilian females also have a narrower interorbital distance, which is correlated with shorter POL and OOL distances relative to the MPOD and a shorter distance between the anterior ocellus and inner orbit compared to the MAOD. However, like other females, the mesotibial pegs are essentially in a single row (Fig. 32) rather than an obvious patch, Gt6 is reticulate rather than granular, and the ovipositor sheaths are obviously longer than the metatibia (Fig. 24).
Females of M. aurantispina, M. crassicornis and M. nigrispina comprise a species trio differentiated from other Macreupelmus by the presence of a very short propodeal plical region (Figs 26, 58, 114) in combination with a fore wing that has dark setae continuously through the basal cell onto the basally infuscate part of the disc (Figs 31, 54, 107). Females of all three species differ in mesofemoral color pattern. Those of M. crassicornis have a short white region apically on the mesofemur that extends to both the dorsoapical and apicolateral margins (Fig. 59). Females of M. nigrispina have a similarly short white region, but it is obviously preapical, not extending to either the dorsoapical or apicolateral margins (Fig. 109). Females of M. aurantispina have a longer and more orangish to yellowish region that is preapical, although dorsally it sometimes extends virtually to the apical margin (Fig. 27). Females of M. aurantispina and M. nigrispina are additionally similar in fore wing setal color pattern and mesofemoral setal pattern as stated in the key, and have somewhat longer ovipositor sheaths than M. crassicornis females. In contrast, females of M. aurantispina and M. crassicornis have more similar propodeal structures, but differ additionally in the costal cell being entirely setose dorsally in M. aurantispina and bare in M. crassicornis. Setation of the costal cell is variable for M. nigrispina, most often being setose basally and apically but broadly bare mesally, but sometimes entirely bare or with a single line of setae mesally.
description: Published as part of Gibson, Gary A. P., 2016, Revision of the Neotropical genus Macreupelmus Ashmead (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea: Eupelmidae), pp. 81-115 in Zootaxa 4161 (1) on pages 90-92, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4161.1.3, http://zenodo.org/record/256050