Research Article |
Corresponding author: Lars Vilhelmsen ( lbvilhelmsen@snm.ku.dk ) Academic editor: Marko Prous
© 2016 Lars Vilhelmsen.
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Citation:
Vilhelmsen L (2016) A new species of Ophrella Middlekauff, 1985 (Hymenoptera, Orussidae) from French Guiana. Journal of Hymenoptera Research 51: 171-185. https://doi.org/10.3897/jhr.51.9075
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Ophrella seagi sp. n. is described and illustrated from a female and a male collected in French Guiana. Additional Orussidae from this country are listed in an Appendix. The new species differs from other members of Ophrella in a number of features, and the diagnosis of the genus is revised accordingly. A key to Ophrella species is included. The new species is included in a continuously updated morphological data set assembled for the Orussidae and its phylogenetic position discussed.
Parasitoid wasps, wood-living insects, taxonomy, phylogeny, biogeography
The Orussidae are a small family of parasitoid wasps, currently with about 90 extant described species. They have a worldwide distribution (
The genus Ophrella Middlekauff, 1985 is one of the smallest genera of Orussidae and until recently one of the least frequently collected. The first species was described from a single specimen from Panama as Ophrella lingulata by
Ophrella belongs to the ophrynopine clade (
The Société Entomologique Antilles Guyane (SEAG; see http://insectafgseag.myspecies.info/en) has for the past decade been inventorying the insect fauna in French Guiana. Various passive and active collecting techniques have been implemented in a series of projects in different localities around the country. These intensive collecting efforts aim, among other things, to produce and update checklists for the country (
Including the material reported in the present paper, about ten specimens of Ophrella species have been collected in French Guiana until now. This has led to substantial changes in the taxonomy of the genus.
All the material treated in the present paper (see also Appendix) is stored in the Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen (NHMD).
Specimens were examined with a Leica M205C dissection microscope both before (in ethanol) and after mounting and scored for the characters in the data set presented in
The following characters were added to the data set of
175. Shape of female antennomere 10: less than three times as long as wide = 0; at least three times as long as wide = 1.
State 1 is observed in all species of Ophrella (Fig.
176. Transverse carina dorsally on pronotum: at most weakly developed = 1; well developed, without median incurvation = 1; strongly developed, protruding anteriorly, with median incurvation = 2 (ordered).
Ophrella eldorado has been scored state 1, Ophrella seagi sp. n. state 2 (Fig.
The dataset produced in Mesquite (
Digital images were produced with a Visionary Digital imaging setup with flash lightning and P-51 Camlift Driver ver. 2.6.1 to control the camera. A cylinder of semitransparent plastic and a cone of semitransparent paper were placed around the specimen to disperse the light. Images were stored in Adobe Lightroom 2 and composite images were compiled from stacks with the software Zerene Stacker ver.1.04 by implementing the Pyramidal stacking method (PMax).
The phylogenetic analyses under various weighting schemes produced variable results, the shortest/most fit trees being retrieved in most in less than 10% of the replications. The results of the implied weights analyses with concavity constant k set to 7, 10 and 20 are shown in Figs
In all the analyses where the male and female of O. seagi were included as separate terminals, they were retrieved as a monophylum, corroborated by the presence of a prominent transverse carina dorsally on the pronotum with a median incurvation (char. 176:2). Ophrella is retrieved as monophyletic in the implied weighting analyses with k settings 1-15, usually with Ophrella seagi as sister to the two other Ophrella species (Figs
The position of Ophrella within the ophrynopine clade is somewhat unstable. When k = 1, 3, or 7-9 (Fig.
Even with the inclusion of the somewhat aberrant O. seagi, Ophrella remains well supported and diagnosable (see below for adjustments).
Female. ‘FRENCH GUIANA, Montagne des Chevaux: 4°44'56"N - 52°26'28"W, alt. 75 m, Window Trap, SEAG leg., 4.ix.2013/Ophrella seagi Vilhelmsen, 2016 female det. L. Vilhelmsen 2016/Holotype/NHMD000071774’. NHMD.
Male. FRENCH GUIANA, Montagne des Chevaux: 4°44'56"N - 52°26'28"W, alt. 75 m, Window Trap, SEAG leg., 28.xii.2013. NHMD000071775.
Female. Body length 9.2 mm, fore wing length 5.9 mm. Body predominantly black (Fig.
Ophrella seagi sp. n., female holotype, NHMD000071774. A Head and thorax, dorsal B Hind leg and abdomen, lateral. Yellow arrow = notch, pronotal transverse carina; red arrow = longitudinal furrow, top of head; black arrow = projection, tergum 8; blue arrow = hind tibial apical spur; green arrow = triangular projection on hind femur. c3 = hind coxa; f3 = hind femur; n1 = pronotum; n2 = mesoscutum; n3 = metanotum; sc2 = mesoscutellum; S7 = sternum 7; t3 = hind tibia; T[x] = tergum [x].
Ocellar corona narrow, distance between median ocellus and lateral coronal tooth subequal to ocellar width (Fig.
Pronotum with prominent transverse carina anterodorsally, carina medially with distinct notch (Fig.
Fore wing vein 2r arises 0.7 from base of pterostigma; vein cu-a inserts on Cu1 approx. 0.3 from proximal end of cell M (Fig.
Tergum 1 areolate (Fig.
Male. Body length 4.8 mm, fore wing length 3.2 mm. Body uniformly dark brown to black, even more so than female (Fig.
Ophrella seagi sp. n., male paratype, NHMD000071775. A Habitus lateral B Head, anterior C Fore wing. Black arrow = posterior projection on sternum 9; brown arrows = spines on sternum 9; blue arrow = pronotal transverse carina; green arrow = mesepisternal carina; red arrow = longitudinal furrow on top of head; yellow arrow = cross vein cu-a.
Less pilose on top of head and on hind coxa than in female. Mesoscutellar sulcus not interrupted medially. Hind tibia with 22–23 pegs in two rows dorsally. Fore wing vein 2r arises 0.63 from base of pterostigma (Fig.
Named to acknowledge the contributions of Société Entomologique Antilles Guyane (SEAG) to further the exploration of the diversity of Orussidae in the Neotropics.
The female and male that have been assigned to Ophrella seagi were collected in the same locality, albeit almost four months apart. There are some differences between the two specimens in the coloration of the body and appendages, and in the degree and pattern of infuscation of the fore wing (compare Figs
Ophrella seagi has a unique combination of characters that differs somewhat from the other members of Ophrella. The generic placement is based on the presence of a median longitudinal furrow between the posteriormost coronal teeth (Figs
Ophrella seagi is a very distinct species, especially when compared to the other two species in Ophrella. The most distinctive feature is the prominent, medially subdivided transverse carina on the dorsal part of the pronotum (Figs
Ophrella seagi also differs from the other Ophrella species in having slender setae on the frons and around the ocellar corona (Fig.
1 | Longitudinal furrow on top of the head separating the posteriormost coronal teeth present (Figs |
2 (Ophrella) |
– | Not with the character combination above | other Orussidae |
2 | Pronotum with distinct transverse carina anterodorsally, with median notch (Figs |
O. seagi Vilhelmsen, sp. n. |
– | Pronotum at most with low transverse carina anterodorsally ( |
3 |
3 | Setae on lower frons leaf-shaped ( |
O. amazonica (Westwood) |
– | Setae on lower frons elongate ( |
O. eldorado Vilhelmsen |
Yves Braet donated the specimens included in this study. Mikkel Høegh Post mounted them for study. Stephan Blank and Dave Smith provided useful comments to an earlier version of the paper.
Additional material from French Guiana
Ophrella amazonica (Westwood, 1874): FRENCH GUIANA. Montagne des Chevaux: 4°44'56"N - 52°26'28"W, alt. 75 m, Malaise Trap, SEAG leg., iii.2012; female, NHMD000071770.
Ophrynopus batesianus (Westwood, 1874): FRENCH GUIANA, Montagne des Chevaux: 4°44'56"N - 52°26'28"W, alt. 75 m, Malaise trap, SEAG leg., 23.x.2011; female, NHMD000071771.
Ophrynopus fulvostigma (Westwood, 1874): FRENCH GUIANA. Kourou, Savane Matiti, 5°5'N - 52°37'W, SEAG leg., 9.iii.2013; female, NHMD [ethanol]. Montagne des Chevaux: 4°44'56"N - 52°26'28"W, alt. 75 m, SEAG leg., window trap, SEAG leg., 16.vii.2012; male, NHMD000071773. Montagne des Chevaux: 4°44'56"N - 52°26'28"W, alt. 75 m, window trap, SEAG leg., 28.ix.2013; female, NHMD000071772. Regina, SEAG leg., vi.2012; female, NHMD [ethanol].