Aspilota murieli Peris-Felipo 2025, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Peris-Felipo, Francisco Javier
name: Villar, Camila Noemí
name: Forte, Sofía Belén
name: Lentini, Joel Nazareno
name: del Pilar Medialdea, María
name: Bustos, Analí
name: Pandol-Avalos, Federico
name: Gayan-Quijano, Ana Lia
name: Poggio, Santiago L.
name: Belokobylskij, Sergey
name: Devoto, Mariano
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2025
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Braconidae
Aspilota
Aspilota murieli

description: Aspilota murieli Peris-Felipo sp. nov.
Figs 2, 3
Type material.
Holotype: Argentina • ♀; Buenos Aires Province, Partido de Baradero; 33°55'13"S, 59°37'26"W; 24 m; 10.xi.2022; Malaise trap (Peris-Felipo leg.) (MACN -En).
Paratypes: Argentina • 7 ♀♀; same location than holotype but: 2 ♀♀; 8.ix.2022; 33°56'16"S, 59°37'4"W; 16 m (MACN -En; ZISP); 1 ♀; 5.x.2022; 33°55'16"S 59°37'42"W; 16 m (MACN -En) • 1 ♀; 24.x.2022; 33°55'13"S, 59°37'26"W; 99 m (NMB) • 1 ♀; 23.xi.2022; 33°56'15"S, 59°36'40"W; 19 m (NMB) • 2 ♀♀; 3.x.2023; 33°55'16"S, 59°37'42"W; 18 m (PFEC) • 1 ♀; Buenos Aires Province, Partido de Solis; 5.x.2022; 34°12'10"S, 59°13'22"W; 31 m; Malaise trap (Peris-Felipo leg.) (MACN -En) • 1 ♀; Buenos Aires Province, Partido de Solis; 7.ii.2024; 34°11'29"S, 59°13'44"W; 29 m; Malaise trap (Peris-Felipo leg.) (PFEC) • 2 ♀♀; Santa Fé Province, Partido de Teodelina; 13.x.2022; 34°06'18"S, 61°27'25"W; 97 m; Malaise trap (Peris-Felipo leg.) (PFEC; ZISP) • 1 ♀; Buenos Aires Province, Partido de Vedia; 12.x.2022; 34°27'35"S, 61°48'46"W; 99 m; Malaise trap (Peris-Felipo leg.) (MACN -En) • 1 ♀; Buenos Aires Province, Partido de Vedia; 31.x.2022; 34°29'10"S, 61°47'12"W; 99 m; Malaise trap (Peris-Felipo leg.) (MACN -En) • 1 ♀, 1 ♂, Buenos Aires Province, Partido de Vedia; 10.i.2024; 34°29'10"S, 61°47'12"W; 99 m; Malaise trap (Peris-Felipo leg.) (PFEC) • 1 ♀, Buenos Aires Province, Partido de Vedia, 18.vii.2024; 34°29'25"S, 61°47'45"W; 99 m; Malaise trap (Peris-Felipo leg.) (NMB).
Description.
Female (holotype). Length. Body 1.4 mm; fore wing 1.6 mm; hind wing 1.2 mm.
Head. In dorsal view, 1.85 × as wide as its median long, 1.5 × as wide as mesoscutum, smooth, with temple rounded behind eyes (Fig. 3 B). Eye in lateral view 1.6 × as high as wide and 0.9 × as wide as temple medially (Fig. 2 C). POL 1.6 × OD; OOL ~ 3.0 × OD (Fig. 3 B). Face 1.7 × as wide as high; inner margins of eyes subparallel (Fig. 3 A). Clypeus 2.3 × as wide as high, slightly curved ventrally (Fig. 3 A). Paraclypeal fovea reaching inner margin of eye (Fig. 3 A). Mandible tridentate, weakly widened towards apex, 1.3 × as long as its maximum width (Fig. 2 D). Upper tooth distinctly shorter than lower tooth, small and rounded; middle tooth rather long and narrow, longer than lower tooth, acuminate apically; lower tooth widest, obtuse, subrounded distally, weakly curved downwards (Fig. 2 D). Antenna (Fig. 2 E) 15 - segmented, 0.8 × as long as body. Scape 2.0 × longer than pedicel. First flagellar segment 3.7 × as long as its maximum width, 1.2 × as long as second segment. Second flagellar segment 2.6 × as long as its maximum width; third to eleventh segments 1.7–1.8 × as long as their maximum width, 12 th segment 1.45 ×, and 15 th (apical) segment 2.0 × as long as their wide accordingly (Fig. 2 E).
Mesosoma. In lateral view, 1.2 × as long as high (Fig. 2 C). Mesoscutum (dorsal view) 0.75 × as long as its maximum width, smooth, without setae along tracks of notauli (Fig. 3 B). Notauli mainly absent on horizontal surface of mesoscutum (Fig. 3 B). Mesoscutal pit absent (Fig. 3 B). Prescutellar depression smooth, with three carinae (Fig. 3 B). Precoxal sulcus present, crenulate, short, not reaching anterior and posterior margins of mesopleuron (Fig. 2 C). Posterior mesopleural furrow crenulate in upper half, smooth in lower half (Fig. 2 C). Propodeum largely smooth, with pentagonal areola delineated by distinct carinae (Fig. 3 C). Propodeal spiracles weakly enlarged, its diameter 0.5 × distance from spiracle to anterior margin of propodeum. (Fig. 3 C).
Wings (Fig. 3 F). Length of fore wing 2.5 × as long as its maximum width. Radial (marginal) cell ending at apex of wing, 3.7 × as long as its maximum width. Vein r 2 (3 - SR) 2.3 × as long as vein cuqu 1 (2 - SR); vein r 3 (SR 1) 3.1 × as long as vein r 2 (3 - SR). Nervulus (cu-a) distinctly postfurcal. Brachial (first subdiscal) cell closed distally, 2.6 × as long as its maximum width. Hind wing 6.7 × as long as its maximum width.
Legs (Fig. 3 D). Hind femur subclaviform, 3.8 × as long as its maximum width. Hind tibia weakly widened towards apex, 9.2 × as long as its maximum subapical width, 1.05 × as long as its hind tarsus. First segment of hind tarsus 2.4 × as long as second segment.
Metasoma. First tergite long, slightly widened towards apex, 2.0 × as long as its apical width, completely smooth (Fig. 3 E). Ovipositor sheath (Fig. 3 D) 1.3 × as long as first tergite, 0.4 × as long as metasoma, 0.5 × as long as hind femur, 0.3 × as long as fore wing.
Colour. Body and antenna dark brown. Mandibles, palpi, pterostigma and legs yellowish brown. First metasomal tergite paler than second and third tergites. Wings hyaline.
Variation. Body length 1.3–1.7 mm; fore wing length 1.5–1.9 mm; hind wing length 1.1–1.5 mm. Face 1.60–1.75 × as wide as high. Mandible 1.3–1.4 × as long as its maximum width. Antenna 14–16 - segmented. First flagellar segment 3.6–3.7 × as long as its maximum width. Sixth flagellar segment 1.6–1.8 × as long as its maximum width. Vein r 3 (SR 1) 2.9–3.2 × as long as vein r 2 (3 - SR). Hind femur 3.65–3.80 × as long as its maximum width.
Male (Fig. 2 B, F). Body length 1.2 mm; fore wing length 1.9 mm; hind wing length 1.2 mm. Antenna slender, 18 - segmented, about as long as body. First flagellar segment 3.8 × as long as its maximum width. Second flagellar segment 2.6 × as long as its maximum width. Third and fourth segments 3.15 ×, 5 th – 11 th segments 2.8 ×, 12 th – 14 th segments 2.5 ×, and 15 th segment 3.0 × as long as its maximum width. Vein r 3 (SR 1) 3.0 × as long as vein r 2 (3 - SR). Otherwise similar to female.
DNA sequence data.
Sequences obtained as part of this study are deposited in GenBank, accession numbers PV 097239 and PV 097240.
Etymology.
This species is named in honour of Julio Muriel, for his motivational influence, visionary inspiration and his key role as the driving force behind the success of this project.
Comparative diagnosis.
This new species is similar to A. stigmalis from Colombia (Papp 2012) (Neotropical) and A. spiracularis from Mexico (Nearctic) (Fischer 1970). Aspilota murieli sp. nov. differs from A. stigmalis on having the eye in dorsal view as wide as temple medially (0.8 × as wide as in A. stigmalis) and in lateral view 0.9 × as wide as temple medially (1.1 × in A. stigmalis), mandible 1.3–1.4 × as long as its maximum width (1.6 × in A. stigmalis), scape 2.0 × longer than pedicel (2.5 × in A. stigmalis), and vein r 3 (SR 1) 2.9–3.2 × as long as vein r 2 (3 - SR) (2.3 × in A. stigmalis). On the other hand, this new species differs from A. spiracularis on having the head in dorsal view 1.85 × as wide as its median long (1.33 × in A. spiracularis), first flagellar segment 3.6–3.7 × as long as its maximum width (5.0 × in A. spiracularis), vein r 2 (3 - SR) 2.3 × as long as vein cuqu 1 (2 - SR) (1.4 × in A. spiracularis), hind femur 3.65–3.80 × as long as its maximum width (4.0 × in A. spiracularis), and first metasomal tergite 2.0 × as long as its apical width (1.7 × in A. spiracularis).
description: Published as part of Peris-Felipo, Francisco Javier, Villar, Camila Noemí, Forte, Sofía Belén, Lentini, Joel Nazareno, del Pilar Medialdea, María, Bustos, Analí, Pandol-Avalos, Federico, Gayan-Quijano, Ana Lia, Poggio, Santiago L., Belokobylskij, Sergey & Devoto, Mariano, 2025, First record of the genus Aspilota Foerster, 1863 in Argentina (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Alysiinae), with the description of the new species Aspilota murieli sp. nov. and a key to the Neotropical taxa, pp. 41-50 in ZooKeys 1236 on pages 41-50, DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1236.150605