Campoletis margaritae Vas 2019, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Vas, Zoltán
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2019
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Ichneumonidae
Campoletis
Campoletis margaritae

description: Campoletis margaritae sp. nov.
Material examined. Holotype: female, Romania, Satu Mare County, Hodod [on label: Hadad], date unknown, leg. E. Zilahi-Kiss [on label: Dr. Kiss], specimen pinned, antennae damaged, partly missing, Id. No. HNHM-HYM 111087.— Paratype: female, Armenia [on label: USSR Armenia], Tavush Province, Dilijan [on label: Dilizhan], 17.VIII.1976, leg. T. Vásárhelyi, specimen card-mounted, antennae damaged, partly missing, Id. No. HNHM- HYM 153077. The holotype and the paratype are deposited in the Hymenoptera Collection of the Hungarian Natural History Museum (Budapest, Hungary).
Diagnosis. The new species belongs to the morphological group of Campoletis Förster species which have no distinct median tooth on the apical edge of clypeus, but only a lamelliform, short median elevation. Within this morphological group, Campoletis margaritae sp. nov. most resembles to Campoletis rectangulator Aubert; they can be easily distinguished by the shape and carination of area superomedia, development of prepectal carina, and colouration. The new species differs from another superficially similar species, Campoletis viennensis (Gravenhorst), by the length of ovipositor sheath, and colouration.
Description. Female (Fig. 3). Body length ca 5–6 mm, fore wing length ca 4.5 mm.
Head: First flagellomere 2.3–2.7× as long as wide apically; preapical flagellomeres quadrate. Head transverse, granulose, matte, with relatively long, moderately dense, greyish hairs. Temple weakly narrowed behind eye, 0.6– 0.8× as long as eye width. Ocular-ocellar distance 1.2× as long as ocellus diameter, posterior ocellar length 1.8– 0.0× as long as ocellus diameter. Inner eye orbits weakly indented and parallel. Maximum face width as wide as frons below middle ocellus. Face almost flat, coarsely granulose. Clypeus very weakly separated from face, flat in profile, apical margin weakly convex and weakly, lamelliformly produced medially, without distinct median tooth. Gena ventrally almost straight, genal carina bent out to reach hypostomal carina at mandibular base, but ventrally indistinct. Malar space 0.8× as long as basal width of mandible. Lower margin of mandible with wide flange from teeth toward base, mandibular teeth of equal length.
Mesosoma: Mesosoma with dense, short, greyish hairs. Pronotum granulose, lower half with transverse wrinkles; epomia distinct. Mesoscutum coarsely granulose with indistinct to weak punctures, matte, convex in profile, about as long as wide; notaulus not developed. Prescutellar (scuto-scutellar) groove wide, deep, granulose, matte. Scutellum wide, granulose, matte, convex in profile, without lateral carina. Mesopleuron matte, granulose with indistinct punctures; speculum rather smooth to weakly shagreened and/or very finely granulose; mesopleural suture with strong, short transverse costae. Pleural part and ventral part of prepectal carina (epicnemial carina) complete, transverse part (i.e. part at the level of sternaulus running through the epicnemium to the ventral edge of pronotum) present but weak; pleural part obliquely bent to anterior margin of mesopleuron reaching it below its middle height; ventral part of prepectal carina not elevated. Sternaulus weak, reaching only about anterior onequarter of mesopleural width. Posterior transverse carina of mesosternum complete. Metanotum granulose, matte. Metapleuron granulose, matte; coxal carina (juxtacoxal carina) basally weakly developed, short; submetapleural carina complete. Pleural carina of propodeum strong; propodeal spiracle oval, separated from pleural carina by about its length. Propodeum short in profile, granulose, propodeal carinae distinct. Area basalis trapezoidal, wide, its basal width 1.5–2.0× as long as its length, and 1.3–1.4× as long as its apical width. Area superomedia wider than long, not closed apically. Costula short, incomplete, weakly before middle of area superomedia. Area petiolaris weakly impressed, with transverse wrinkles.
Fore wing with relatively long-stalked, small areolet, second recurrent vein (2 m-cu) distinctly proximal to its middle; distal abscissa of Rs straight, pigmented; distal abscissa of M weakly pigmented; nervulus (cu-a) weakly postfurcal, inclivous; postnervulus (abscissa of Cu 1 between 1 m-cu and Cu 1a + Cu 1b) intercepted distinctly below middle by Cu 1a; lower external angle of discoidal cell (second discal cell) acute (ca 75–80°). Hind wing with nervellus (cu-a + abscissa of Cu 1 between M and cu-a) weakly reclivous, intercepted at about lower 0.2–0.3 of its length; discoidella (distal abscissa of Cu 1) complete, spectral.
Coxae granulose. Hind femur 5.0–5.5× as long as high. Inner spur of hind tibia 0.5× as long as metatarsus. Tarsal claws small, slightly longer than arolium, with few basal pecten.
Metasoma: Metasoma granulose, matte, with dense, very short, greyish hairs. First tergite 1.2–1.5× as long as second tergite, glymma moderately deep; dorsomedian carina of first tergite weak, on postpetiolus hardly distinct to indistinct. Second tergite 0.9–1.0× as long as its apical width; thyridium small, oval, its distance from basal margin of tergite about 1.5–2.0 as long as its length. Epipleurum of second and third tergites separated by a crease. Third tergite 0.7–0.8× as long as its apical width; all following tergites wider than long. Ovipositor sheath 1.25– 1.35× as long as first tergite (0.7–0.8× as long as hind tibia), almost straight to weakly upcurved, dorsal preapical notch deep.
Colour: Antenna blackish to brownish. Head black except yellowish palpi and yellow mandibles, mandibular teeth dark reddish brown. Mesosoma black except tegula yellow. Metasoma black, apical edges of second and following tergites narrowly brownish, apical tergites laterally more or less yellowish brown; ventral plica yellowish; ovipositor sheath dark brown. Wings hyaline, wing veins brown, pterostigma lighter or darker ochre yellow, brownish along anterior edge. Fore leg: coxa black; trochanter black; trochantellus yellow; femur reddish, basally dark brown, dark brown patch reaches about one-third to middle of femur on ventral side; tibia reddish, externo-medially yellowish red; tarsus brownish. Middle leg: coxa black; trochanter black; trochantellus yellow; femur reddish brown, basally dark brown, dark brown patch reaches about middle of femur on ventral side; tibia reddish brown, subbasally brown, basally and externo-medially somewhat paler; tarsus brown. Hind leg: coxa black; trochanter black; trochantellus dark brown, apically narrowly yellowish; femur reddish brown, apically brownish, basally extensively dark brown, dark brown patch reaches about middle of femur on inner sides; tibia subbasally and in apical third brown to dark brown, basally narrowly and externo-medially yellowish, internomedially reddish brown; tarsus brown, basal 0.1 of metatarsus yellowish to reddish brown. Hind tibial spurs yellowish to reddish brown. Claws brown.
Male: Unknown.
Distribution. Currently known from Romania and Armenia.
Ecology. No host is known. The new species might be a koinobiont endoparasitoid of lepidopterous hosts, similarly to other Campoletis species with known hosts.
Etymology. The specific epithet is the genitive singular form of the Hungarian feminine forename Margit, Latinised to Margarita. This species is dedicated to my mother, Margit Nagy for giving me "life, the universe and everything 1 "
1. Quote from Douglas Adams: Life, the Universe and Everything (Pan Books, 1982).
Remarks on identification. In the identification key of the most recent revision of Western Palaearctic Campoletis species (Riedel 2017), Campoletis margaritae sp. nov. would key out at couplet 5 with Campoletis rectangulator Aubert; or, alternatively, depending on the choice at couplet 4, the new species may also run to couplet 8 with Campoletis viennensis (Gravenhorst). The distinctive characteristics from these species are given in the Diagnosis section; however, for sake of quick identification, here I provide two couplets separating Campoletis margaritae sp. nov. (females) from these species.
Affix to couplet 5 in Riedel (2017):
- Area superomedia closed apically, as long as or longer than wide; transversal part of prepectal carina not developed; hind femur predominantly dark brown; hind tibia basally and externo-medially whitish, otherwise black; pterostigma brown................................................................................ Campoletis rectangulator Aubert
- Area superomedia opened apically, wider than long [similar to Fig. 41 in Riedel (2017)]; transversal pert of prepectal carina developed but weak; hind femur reddish brown, apically brownish, basally extensively dark brown, dark brown patch reaches about middle of femur on inner sides; hind tibia subbasally and in apical third brown to dark brown, basally narrowly and externo-medially yellowish, interno-medially reddish brown; pterostigma lighter or darker ochre yellow, brownish along anterior edge.................................................................... Campoletis margaritae sp. nov.
Affix to couplet 8 in Riedel (2017):
- Ovipositor sheath 0.95–1.1×as long as first tergite............................... Campoletis viennensis (Gravenhorst) - Ovipositor sheath longer, 1.25–1.35× as long as first tergite........................... Campoletis margaritae sp. nov.
description: Published as part of Vas, Zoltán, 2019, Contributions to the taxonomy, identification, and biogeography of the Western Palaearctic species of Campoletis Förster (Ichneumonidae: Campopleginae), pp. 373-382 in Zootaxa 4565 (3) on pages 377-379, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4565.3.4, http://zenodo.org/record/2590307