Arachnophaga picardi ( Bernard, 1936 )

Arachnophaga picardi ( Bernard, 1936) View in CoL

Figs 15, 16

Material examined. 23 ♀♀, 4 ♂♂: IRAN, West-Azarbaijan Province , Naqadeh, Solduz Wetland, 37º02′ N, 45º35′ E, 1277 m a.s.l., 21 July 2020, 29 April 2021, M. Razmi leg., ex Calamagrostis epigejos GoogleMaps .

Diagnosis (abstracted from Askew and Nieves-Aldrey 2004). Females ( Fig. 15A) exhibit brachyptery and are further distinguished by the following: position of the toruli, which are located entirely below the lower orbital margin ( Fig. 15B); antennal scape brown or yellow ventrally and metallic green dorsally ( Fig. 15E); tegula elongate, significantly longer than prepectus ( Fig. 15F); mesosoma light brown with purplish reflections, and with anterior and ventral part of mesopleuron covered with scattered short white setae ( Fig. 15D,F); scutellum relatively flat medially and striated, without a longitudinal line of dark setae, but otherwise covered with a dense layer of short white setae ( Fig. 15D); mid legs with relatively long mesotarsal pegs ( Fig. 15G); The outer surface of metacoxa densely covered with short white setae ( Fig. 15A,F); ovipositor sheath approximately 0.7‒0.8× as long as metatibia ( Fig. 15C).

The strongly sexually dimorphic male ( Fig. 16A) is distinguished by: body entirely dark blue-green with violet iridescence; legs predominantly yellow, except for metafemora and tarsal apices, which exhibit a metallic green coloration; toruli situated slightly above ventral ocular margin; antennal scape slender with dorsal surface slightly curved; both funiculars and clava elongated and covered with very short pubescence ( Fig. 16B).

Remarks. Minor morphological discrepancies were observed between our specimens and those previously described by Bernard (1936) for females and by Askew and Nieves-Aldrey (2004) for males. Specifically, Bernard described the female scape as uniformly metallic blue, whereas in our females the scape is brown or yellow ventrally and metallic green dorsally ( Fig. 15E). Also, prior descriptions describe the male femora and tibiae as metallic blue-green, whereas our males display predominantly yellow legs, with the metafemora being the sole exception, retaining metallic coloration ( Fig. 16A).

Distribution. IRAN: West Azarbaijan Province ( new record). EXTRALIMITAL: France, Italy, Romania, Spain ( Askew and Nieves-Aldrey 2004; Fusu 2009).

Biological association. The ecological significance of praying mantises ( Mantodea ) as apex insect predators is well-established in wetland ecosystems. Laboratory observations suggest that mantid oothecae (egg cases) likely served as parasitoid hosts and were inadvertently introduced into the lab via collected plant material. Arachnophaga picardi is known as a parasitoid developing within the oothecae of Mantodea , including species from Ameles Burmeister, 1838 , Iris Saussure, 1869 and Empusa Illiger, 1798 ( Askew and Nieves-Aldrey 2004).