Lytopylus Foerster (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Agathidinae) species from Costa Rica, with an emphasis on specimens reared from caterpillars in Area de Conservacion Guanacaste
Author
Sharkey, Michael J.
Author
Clutts, Stephanie
Author
Tucker, Erika M.
Author
Janzen, Daniel
Author
Hallwachs, Winnie
Author
Dapkey, Tanya
Author
Smith, M. Alex
text
ZooKeys
2011
130
379
419
http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.130.1569
journal article
http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.130.1569
1313-2970-130-379
Lytopylus sandraberriosae Sharkey
sp. n.
Figs 2728
Description.
Body length 8.9 mm (sole female) 7.9 - 8.2 (2 males). Ovipositor length 8.9 mm. Gena rounded or with an obtuse angle posterolaterally. Longitudinal groove on interantennal prominence absent. Protuberances on occiput absent. Propodeum with carinae forming areolae, median areola rounded anteriorly, or with carinae forming areolae, median areola not rounded anteriorly. Notauli well-impressed, smooth without crenulae, or with one or two crenulae restricted to extreme anterior apex along border of mesoscutum. Posterior margin of syntergum 2+3 straight. Median syntergite 2 + 3 mostly weakly rugose with fine transverse striae apically. Forewing banded yellow and infuscate. Color as in Figs 27, 28. Color variation: There is little color variation across the three specimens examined.
Figure 27.
Lytopylus sandraberriosae
sp. n. Holotype a lateral habitus b dorsal habitus c wings.
Figure 28.
Lytopylus sandraberriosae
sp. n. Holotype a anterior head b dorsal propodeum c lateral head and mesosoma d dorsal head and mesosoma e dorsal metasoma.
Molecular data.
BOLD process ID/ Janzen parasitoid voucher/GenBank accession:
ASBC960-07/DHJPAR0021148/JN034729.
Distribution.
Guanacaste province, Costa Rica.Click here for a distribution map.
Biology.
All three rearings are from
Pyralidae
(
Epipaschiinae
) gregarious leaf webbers (
Deuterollyta oediperalis
) that live in conspicuous groups of 2-50 sib larvae moving freely through the silk and leaf mass in the crowns of rain forest understory
Lauraceae
(in this case,
Nectandra hihua
and an unidentified species of
Lauraceae
). Ovipositio
n
into one of the unrestrained caterpillars in the silk and leaf tangle will be a quite different challenge from oviposition into a single larva in its nest between two silked-together leaves (as is the case with other
Lytopylus
). Only DHJPAR0021148 has successfully barcoded, so the grouping of these three individuals as one species is based solely on their morphology. Their host records give credence to this grouping.
The wasp cocoon is spun in the
caterpillar's
prepupal chamber on the leaf surface (Fig. 29). The inventory has reared 5,422 epipaschiine pyralids from various food plants in ACG rain forest and dry forest (about half in the
Lauraceae
) during 33 years, to yield these three
Lytopylus
specimens (plus one
Alabagrus
and two
Austroearinus
).
Figure 29.
Lytopylus sandraberriosae
cocoon.
Lytopylus sandraberriosae
is a strange agathidine morphologically, biologically, and in COI composition. When we included another outgroup, a species of
Alabagrus
, in parsimony and NJ analyses (not shown),
Lytopylus sandraberriosae
did not nest with the other
Lytopylus
. Rather,
Braunsia
was positioned as the sister to the remaining
Lytopylus
. The species could well represent a new genus, but more molecular data is needed to confirm this suspicion.
Etymology.
Named in honor of Sandra Berrios Torres of Atlanta, Georgia, who has enthusiastically supported the conservation of the ACG forest occupied by this parasitoid wasp.
Material examined.
Holotype: ♀, H6432 (DHJPAR0040220) Costa Rica: Alajuela: Area de
Conservacion
Guanacaste: Sector Rincon Rain Forest: Conguera, 2.vii.2010,
10.9159N
,
85.2663W
, 420m [AEI].
Paratypes [AEI, HIC, INBio]: Costa Rica: Guanacaste: Area de
Conservacion
Guanacaste: Sector Rincon Rain Forest: Conguera,
10.9159N
,
85.2663W
, 420m: ♂ H6428 (DHJPAR0040219) 4.vii.2010. Camino Rio Francia,
10.9042N
,
85.2865W
, 410m: ♂ H6628 (DHJPAR0021148) 7.vii.2007.