A new species of Gonatocerus (Hymenoptera: Mymaridae) parasitic on proconiine sharpshooters (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) in the New World
Author
Triapitsyn, Serguei V.
Author
Vickerman, Danel B.
Author
Heraty, John M.
Author
Logarzo, Guillermo A.
text
Zootaxa
2006
1158
55
67
journal article
50572
10.5281/zenodo.172302
898efaa9-75cd-48a2-a6fa-107cc8614401
11755326
172302
Gonatocerus uat
S. Triapitsyn
,
sp. n.
(
Figs 1–5
)
Type
material
Holotype
female on slide [
UCRC
], labeled: 1."
MEXICO
, San Luis Potosí, Ciudad Valles,
28.iii.2001
, D. Morgan, C. Pickett, S. Myartseva, A. Ríos. Ex.
Homalodisca
sp. egg mass on hibiscus leaf. S & R
010510
A. Mounted by V. Berezovskiy 2001
Canada
balsam"; 2. (red) "
Gonatocerus uat
S. Triapitsyn
HOLOTYPE
female".
Paratypes
:
MEXICO
. San Luis Potosí, Ciudad Valles, same data as
holotype
[
1 female
on slide,
CNCI
]. Tamaulipas: Gómez Farías,
23°02’56’’N
,
99°09’24’’W
,
26.iii.2001
, D. J. W. Morgan, C. Pickett, S. N. Myartseva, A. Ríos (ex.
Oncometopia
sp. egg mass) [
1 female
in ethanol, kept in a freezer,
UCRC
];
28.iii.2001
, D. J. W. Morgan, C. Pickett, S. N. Myartseva, A. Ríos (ex.
Oncometopia
sp. egg mass) [
1 female
on slide,
UCRC
];
13.iii.2003
, S. V. Triapitsyn, E. Ya. Shouvakhina, S. N. Myartseva (ex.
Homalodisca
sp. or
Oncometopia
sp. egg masses on orange leaves; emerged
15.iii.
2003
in Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas) [
2 females
on slides (except mesosoma of one of them on stub for SEM), E
MUT
,
UCRC
;
2 females
on points,
UCRC
,
USNM
; and
1 male
on slide,
UCRC
].
Additional material examined [all in
UCRC
]
ARGENTINA
. Jujuy, Santa Clara:
24.i.2001
, G. Logarzo,
4 females
,
3 males
(ex. sentinel eggs of
Tapajosa rubromarginata
(Signoret)
on citrus);
12–21.ii.2002
, G. Logarzo,
4 females
,
1 male
(ex. sentinel eggs of
T. rubromarginata
, died on route to USDAAPHIS Mission quarantine laboratory in Edinburg, Texas,
USA
);
13.iv.2003
, G. Logarzo,
1 female
(ex. egg mass of an unidentified proconiine sharpshooter on mandarin). Originally from: Tucumán, Tafí Viejo,
1–18.iii.2002
, E. Virla (ex. sentinel eggs of
T. rubromarginata
on lemon), first generation progeny of an unfertilized female (
23 males
, emerged
17.iv.2002
) in USDAAPHIS Mission quarantine laboratory in Edinburg, Texas, on eggs of
H. coagulata
.
MEXICO
. Tamaulipas, Llera de Canales,
23°18’58’’N
,
99°01’30’’W
,
8.iii.2000
, L. G. Bezark, S. V. Triapitsyn,
1 female
,
1 male
(ex. proconiine sharpshooter (
Homalodisca
sp. or
Oncometopia
sp.) egg mass on hibiscus leaf, emerged
23.iii.
2000
in University of California, Riverside quarantine laboratory).
PERU
. Junín, Chanchamayo, Genova (near La Merced), Fundo farm, G. Logarzo, L. Varone,
8 females
,
1 male
(ex. eggs of
Oncometopia
n. sp.
,
Pseudometopia amblardii
(Signoret)
and
P. phalaesia
(Distant)
, caged
9–10.v.2002
on Satsuma mandarin (
Citrus reticulata
var.
satsuma
), emerged
17.v–3.vi.
2002
in University of California, Riverside quarantine laboratory).
Description
FEMALE (
holotype
and
paratypes
). Body length 1.6–2.0 mm. Head and mesosoma (
Fig. 2
) mostly dark brown except for face (light brown) and occiput (pale); mesosomal sternum with distinct, welldefined yellow streak between fore and middle coxae, very similar to those in
G. ashmeadi
, as described by
Huber (1988)
. Scape light brown, other antennal segments brown to dark brown. Legs mostly pale yellow, hind femur (distally only) and hind tibia notably darker (brown). Petiole light brown; gaster (
Fig. 2
) mostly pale, with 4 transverse brown bands on terga IV–VII and 2 brown spots on tergum VIII, tergum IX light brown; inner and outer ovipositor plates and cercal plates brown.
FIGURES 1–4.
Gonatocerus uat
(paratypes). (1) Scape, pedicel, and first two funicle segments of antenna (female); (2) Body (female); (3) Forewing (female); (4) Antenna (male).
Antenna with radicle about 2.3x as long as wide, scape (
Fig. 1
) about 2.7x as long as wide, almost smooth, with several rows of strong setae; pedicel (
Fig. 1
) shorter than F1 and almost smooth; F1F4 usually subequal in length but F1 and/or F3 sometimes a little shorter than F2, F5F8 each progressively shorter than preceding funicle segment; F1 (
Fig. 1
) almost always with 2 longitudinal sensilla, rarely with 1 sensillum, F2F8 each with 2 longitudinal sensilla; all funicle segments densely setose; clava with 8 longitudinal sensilla, about 2.8x as long as wide, a little wider than scape (in lateral view), and nearly as long as combined length of F1F3; its ventral surface covered with numerous minute, short setae and placoid sensilla, its dorsal surface densely covered with longer setae.
Pronotum divided medially, each lobe with 2 dorsal and 1 lateral setae. Mesoscutum much wider than long, a little shorter than scutellum; midlobe of mesoscutum with a pair of strong setae. Dorsellum of metanotum (
Fig. 5
) with posterior margin slightly angulate medially. Propodeum (
Fig. 5
) with welldeveloped lateral carinae and slightly curved submedial carinae (meeting near anterior and posterior margins of propodeum, notably wider anteriorly); propodeum almost smooth between submedial carinae but slightly wrinkled (posteriorly only) between submedial and lateral carinae. Foretibia with 3–7 conical sensilla. Forewing (
Fig. 3
) 3.4–3.7x as long as wide; marginal setae short, the longest marginal seta about 1/5 maximum wing width. Forewing disc notably infuscated beyond venation, bare behind submarginal vein, with several scattered setae behind marginal and stigmal veins, cubital row of setae complete, remainder of blade densely setose. Submarginal vein with 1 macrochaeta, marginal vein with 5 or 6 microchaetae between proximal and distal macrochaetae.
Hind
wing
16–17x
as long as wide, the blade bare except for the usual two complete rows of setae along margins and several scattered setae at apex and behind tip of venation.
FIGURES 5, 6.
Scutellum (posterior part only), metanotum, and propodeum (female, scanning electron micrographs, magnification 200x). (5)
Gonatocerus uat
(San Luis Potosí, Mexico); (6)
Gonatocerus ashmeadi
(Tamaulipas, Mexico).
Petiole almost as long as wide, subquadrate. Ovipositor about 3/4 length of gaster, barely exserted beyond its apex. Ovipositor:mesotibia ratio 1.0–1.1. Outer plates of ovipositor each with 1 distal seta.
Measurements of the
holotype
(in µm, as length, or length:width ratios). Body 2005; head 283; mesosoma 695; petiole 76; gaster 1027; ovipositor 558. Antenna: radicle 78; scape 191; pedicel 76; F1 97; F2 107; F3 95; F4 100; F5 92; F6 82; F7 76; F8 68; clava 276. Forewing 1596:474; longest marginal seta 97.
Hind
wing 1107:49; longest marginal seta 102.
FIGURE 7.
Forewing of
Gonatocerus ashmeadi
(California, USA).
MALE (
paratype
on slide). Body length (before slidemounting)
1.4 mm
. Similar to female in coloration. Antenna (
Fig. 4
) with scape and radicle fused, scape (excluding radicle) about
2x
as long as wide; pedicel very small, basal flagellomeres a little wider than distal ones, all flagellomeres with numerous longitudinal sensilla. Forewing about 3.6x as long as wide; infuscation of its disc perhaps slightly less conspicuous than in female. Genitalia very similar to those in
G. ashmeadi
.
Etymology
This species is named after the Universidad Autónoma de Tamaulipas in Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas,
Mexico
, which is commonly abbreviated there as U.A.T.
Diagnosis
In Huber’s (1988) key to the North American species of the
ater
group,
G. uat
would key to
G. ashmeadi
. The known distribution of
G. ashmeadi
is strictly within the Nearctic region (S. V. Triapitsyn, unpublished) whereas
G. uat
is mainly a Neotropical species; these two taxa might be sympatric only in the Ciudad Victoria area of Tamaulipas,
Mexico
. Although presently
G. ashmeadi
is not known South of Ciudad Victoria and
G. u a t
is not known North of Llera de Canales; both locations are formally placed within the Nearctic region but have many Neotropical elements. The specimens of
G. ashmeadi
from
Venezuela
, mentioned by
Huber (1988)
but not examined by us (material is not available), thus probably belong to
G. u a t.
The following morphological features distinguish this new species from
G. ashmeadi
: F1 of female antenna (
Fig. 1
) almost always (in specimens from
Mexico
and
Peru
) with 2 longitudinal sensilla, rarely with 1 sensillum (always none in
G. ashmeadi
); the propodeum (
Fig. 5
) is slightly wrinkled (distal half only) between submedial and lateral carinae and the submedial carinae meet near anterior margin of propodeum, whereas in
G. ashmeadi
the propodeum (
Fig. 6
) is almost smooth between submedial and lateral carinae and the submedial carinae do not meet near anterior margin of propodeum; the submedial carinae on the propodeum are notably wider anteriorly in
G. uat
than in
G. ashmeadi
(
Figs 5, 6
, respectively); the forewing disc is notably infuscated beyond the venation (
Fig. 3
), and more conspicuously so behind the tip of the marginal vein (hyaline or at most with a faint, uniform brownish tinge in
G. ashmeadi
,
Fig. 7
). Also, the female forewing of
G. u a t
from
Mexico
(length:width ratio 3.4–3.7,
3.5–3.6 in
most specimens) is somewhat narrower than that of
G. ashmeadi
(length:width ratio 3.0–3.4,
3.2–3.3 in
most specimens).
Gonatocerus uat
is morphologically very similar to and, as we conclude from the molecular evidence presented below, conspecific with the forms from
Argentina
and
Peru
, which were tentatively identified previously as
G.
sp. near
ashmeadi
by
Logarzo
et al.
(2003)
. Neither the Mexican nor
Argentine
nor Peruvian specimens of
G. u a t
match the descriptions and available
types
of any of the numerous species of
Gonatocerus
from
Argentina
and elsewhere in South
America
described by A. A. Ogloblin and others.
Var ia t io n
. The forewings of
G. uat
from
Argentina
and
Peru
are somewhat wider (length:width ratio about 3.1) than from
Mexico
(length:width ratio 3.4–3.7).
As
reported by
Logarzo
et al.
(2003)
, the Peruvian specimens of
G. uat
displayed a dramatic body size variability, which was apparently hostinduced; body length of drymounted females reared from the very large eggs of
Oncometopia
n. sp.
was
1.9–2.1 mm
whereas for individuals reared from the notably smaller eggs of
Pseudometopia amblardii
(Signoret)
and
P. phalaesia
(Distant)
it was
1.4–1.5 mm
(also very similar to the body size of females reared at the University of California, Riverside quarantine laboratory on a factitious host,
H. coagulata
). The body length of drymounted females from
Argentina
, reared from the even smaller eggs of
Tapajosa rubromarginata
(Signoret)
, was also significantly less (1.0–
1.2 mm
) than of those reared from all of the larger, aforementioned hosts. In the smaller specimens from
Argentina
, often F1 and sometimes F2 of the female antenna lack one or both longitudinal sensilla.