Pteromalus grisselli Gibson, 2013, n. sp.

Pteromalus grisselli n. sp. Figs 49–53, 55–60 Material examined. Holotype Ƥ (USNM): 5 mi. W. Clarkston, Asotin Co., WASH., VI-3-82 / G.S. Wheeler Collector / Reared from Dictyna egg sac, #13 / Catolaccus n. sp., det. E. Grissell, 1983, ID 82-7513 / Holotype Pteromalus grisselli Gibson. Paratypes (29Ƥ, 143). CANADA. Ontario: Ottawa, 2.VI.40, O. Peck (1Ƥ CNC). Yukon Territory: Klo-Kut, Old Crow area between Porcupine R. & Small lake, edge of open area, 3-7VII.75, REM, 7-7-75-1 (1Ƥ CNC, Photo 2011-97). USA. Idaho: Boise Co., Garden Valley, 11 mi. E, 5.VIII.82, reared from Dictyna egg sacs (13 WFBM). Kootenai Co., Atol, 5 mi. E, 10.VI.82, G.S. Wheeler, web sacs of Dictyna sp. (1Ƥ USNM). Reared from egg sacs of Dictyna sp., Centaurea maculosa, G.S. Wheeler—Athol, 1 mi. E, 25.VI.82, 6,11, 13, 29.VII.82 (3Ƥ, 23 CNC; 1Ƥ USNM; 9Ƥ, 33 WFBM (CNC Photo number 2011-117, 161, 163)); Farragut St. Pk., 25.VI.82 (2Ƥ, 13 WFBM); Rathdrum, 3 mi. S, 25.VI.82 (1Ƥ USNM; 13 WFBM); Salmon, 8.6 mi. S, 24.VII.82 (1Ƥ WFBM). Montana: Wheatland Co., Deadman’s Basin St. Rec. Area, 3600’, 5.VI.82, G. Gibson (2Ƥ CNC). Washington: Asotin Co., same data as holotype except some reared 3, 30.V, 6, 9, 15.VI and some labelled Sisymbrium altissimum (6Ƥ, 43, USNM; 1Ƥ, 23 WFBM (CNC Photo 2011-135, 136, 162)). Etymology. Named after Dr. Eric Grissell, who first realized the similarity between this species and those of Catolaccus. Description. FEMALE (habitus: Figs 55, 57). Length = 1.9–3.1mm. Head dark metallic green to bluish-green or bluish-purple (Figs 49, 50) and often with diffuse coppery lustre under some angles of light; setae mostly brownish on vertex, but more white on face and genae (Figs 49, 50); mandible yellow except for reddish-brown teeth; palpi yellowish-brown. Antenna with scape and ventral surface of pedicel yellow, but remainder of pedicel and flagellum dark brown (Fig. 53). Mesosoma (Figs 55, 57) similar in colour to head except tegula yellow to yellowish-brown; setae mostly brownish similar to vertex, but propodeal callus sometimes with more whitish setae. Legs (Fig. 57) with coxae similar in colour to mesosoma or dark brown with variably distinct metallic lustre; femora extensively dark brown, sometimes with slight metallic lustre, but lighter yellowish apically; tibiae or at least protibia sometimes yellowish similar to femora apically, but meso- and metatibiae usually variably distinctly brown medially except narrowly basally and somewhat more broadly yellowish apically; tarsi yellow except apical one or two tarsomeres brown. Gaster dark brown except usually for metallic green lustre basally and laterally under some angles of light (Fig. 57). Fore wing hyaline with venation yellow. Head in dorsal view transverse-rectangular, about 2× as wide as long; occiput not margined; OOL: POL: LOL: MPOD about 3.0: 3.4: 1.6: 1.0. Head in frontal view (Fig. 49) about 1.2× as wide as high; distance between eyes about 1.7× height of eye; face meshlike reticulate, including immediately ventral of toruli, but clypeus vertically striate and striae extending at least half distance to toruli dorsomesally and obliquely toward lower orbit somewhat more extensively lateral of toruli (Figs 49, 51); clypeus with lateral margin indicated by incision about as deep as emargination of anterior margin, hence more or less bilobed, but not protuberant, the clypeal lobes at same level as mouth laterally (Figs 49, 51). Head in lateral view (Fig. 57) with malar space about 0.7× height of eye, abruptly incurved along oral margin only along narrow band above base of mandible anterior to obscure malar sulcus (Fig. 51). Eye (Fig. 57) about 1.6× as high as wide, with very short and sparse, inconspicuous setae (best seen from strongly oblique view). Antenna (Fig. 53) with length of pedicel + flagellum about 0.75× width of head; scape about 0.9× height of eye with apex separated from ventral margin of anterior ocellus by about one ocellar diameter if appressed to head (Fig. 49); pedicel about 2× as long as apical width and almost as long as combined length of fl1–fl3; fl1strongly transverse, ringlike; fl2 transverse and about 1.5× as long as fl1; fl3 and fl4 slightly longer than wide, fl5 quadrate or fl5–fl8 slightly wider than long, and clava about 2× as long as wide. Mesosoma dorsally as in Fig. 55, and laterally as in Fig. 57. Fore wing with discal setae not reduced beyond speculum and with marginal fringe; costal cell dorsally with line of setae along anterior margin over about apical half and ventrally with 2 lines of setae along anterior margin over at least basal half, the setae becoming more numerous apically such that about apical third of cell completely setose (Fig. 59); basal fold with line of 2–10 setae, but at most with 1 seta apically within basal cell; mediocubital fold bare basal and distal to basal fold; disc with 1–9 setae on ventral surface adjacent to basal fold; smv: mv: stv: pmv about 3.0: 1.3: 1.0: 1.5; disc ventrally with about 5 or 6 rows of admarginal setae; speculum extending only slightly beyond base of marginal vein so as to mostly cover admarginal setae (Fig. 59). Propodeum (Fig. 60) with sinuate, carinate plica extending posteriorly to nucha, sometimes continuous through nuchal furrow but usually variably distinctly interrupted as separate carina within nuchal furrow; plical region and nucha similarly meshlike reticulate, the plical region with short longitudinal carinae along anterior margin and with variably developed, only sometimes complete median carina; paraspiracular area sparsely setose posteriorly (not visible in Fig. 60). Gaster ovate (Fig. 55) to subcircular, but pointed apically, about 1.2–1.4× as long as wide and only about 0.8–0.85× length of mesosoma (air-dried specimens, excluding ovipositor sheaths). MALE (habitus: Figs 56, 58). Length = 1.5–3.0 mm. Similar to female except as follows. Head and mesosoma often brighter green (Figs 50, 52, 58); pedicel sometimes and anelli usually yellowish, and funiculars often with at least extreme apices indistinctly yellowish (in smaller males) to distinctly bicolored, brown basally and yellow apically (Figs 51, 58); legs of smaller males somewhat lighter in colour though similar to female (Figs 56, 58), but entirely yellow beyond coxa in larger males except metafemur dark with metallic lustre; gaster with subbasal, transverse dorsal band and often larger yellowish-orange region ventrally. Sculpture similar to female except striae sometimes distinct only on clypeus. Structure similar to female except scape extending fully to ventral margin of anterior ocellus (Fig. 50); oral margin flat lateral to clypeus, and rounded into gena on same level (Fig. 52). Distribution. Map 1. MAP 1. Distribution of Pteromalus grisselli Gibson. Biology. The biology of this species was studied by Wheeler and McCaffrey (1989) who reared most of the specimens included in the type series as egg predators from the egg sacs of Dictyna coloradensi Chamberlin (Araneae: Dictynidae). Discussion. Evidence is lacking for the monophyly of Pteromalus, and P. grisselli and similar European species such as P. platyphilus Walker (1874) and P. crassicornis (Zetterstedt 1838) may eventually be shown to be more closely related to species of Catolaccus than to most other species currently classified in Pteromalus. However, I am describing it in Pteromalus based on current generic concepts. Pteromalus grisselli is similar to species classified in Catolaccus in several respects, including overall habitus (cf. Figs 3, 57). The head is comparatively thick with similar relative dimensions as for Catolaccus, the antenna is similar, including the scape not extending to the anterior ocellus in females (cf. Figs 6, 49), the right mandible is quadridentate and the left mandible tridentate (cf. Figs 6, 52) (though not all Catolaccus have this mandibular structure), the propodeum has a similar structure and sculpture pattern as for most Catolaccus (cf. Figs 11, 60), and the fore wings have a similarly broad costal cell, the same relative ratios of the veins, and a setal pattern typical of various Catolaccus (cf. Figs 10, 59). Individuals, particularly males of P. grisselli, are more distinctly metallic than typical Catolaccus, but individuals of C. cyanoideus are at least obscurely dark metallic blue (Figs 3–6) and some specimens have quite a distinct green lustre under some angles of light. Under current concepts, P. grisselli is differentiated from Catolaccus primarily by the absence of a broad, arch-like malar depression (cf. Figs 7, 51), though there is a very slender incurved region along the oral margin above the base of the mandible (cf. Fig. 135) (see further below). Different species I classify in Eurydinoteloides lack a malar depression entirely (Fig. 136) or have a variably slender (Fig. 135) to broad, arch-like depression (Figs 133, 134), and species I include in Lariophagus usually lack (Fig. 26) though sometimes have (Fig. 25) an arch-like malar depression. Hence, character-state distribution suggests that presence or absence and size of a malar depression can be a species rather than a generic feature. Pteromalus grisselli also differs from Catolaccus species in having the clypeus strongly striate and, even though distinctly bidentate (Figs 49–52), it is less distinctly protuberant than for Catolaccus species (cf. Figs 6, 49). Further, unlike Catolaccus, males of P. grisselli have a large subbasal yellowish region on the gaster (Figs 56, 58) like some, though not all, species classified in Pteromalus. The specimen of P. grisselli from Yukon (Map 1) might indicate a Holarctic species and I describe P. grisselli as a new species with some hesitation because at least females appear to be very similar to P. platyphilus. This latter species is widely distributed throughout the Palaearctic region (Noyes 2012) and is also a predator in spider egg sacs, including those of Dictyna species (see Noyes 2012 for references). Graham (1969

Fetched live from OpenAlex and de-inverted. Abstracts are not stored in this database: the inverted indexes are 8.6 GB of the frame’s 9.3 GB of text, and the host has 13 GB free.