Apanteles alatomicans Slater-Baker, Fagan-Jeffries, Fernández-Triana, Portmann & Oestmann, 2025

Slater-Baker, Mollie-Rosae, Fagan-Jeffries, Erinn P., Oestmann, Katherine J., Portmann, Olivia G., Bament, Tiahni M., Howe, Andy G., Guzik, Michelle T., Bradford, Tessa M., McClelland, Alana R., Woodward, Alice, Clarke, Sylvia, Ducker, Nathan & Fernández-Triana, José, 2025, DNA barcoding, integrative taxonomy, citizen science, and Bush Blitz surveys combine to reveal 34 new species of Apanteles (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Microgastrinae) in Australia, ZooKeys 1227, pp. 1-128 : 1-128

publication ID	https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1227.130467
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:627B3463-87D6-4CA6-AAE1-B6F3CB412D75
DOI	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14852439
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/25D29275-3B97-5F75-92C6-B07BE1D0069B
treatment provided by	ZooKeys by Pensoft
scientific name	Apanteles alatomicans Slater-Baker, Fagan-Jeffries, Fernández-Triana, Portmann & Oestmann
status	sp. nov.

Treatment

Apanteles alatomicans Slater-Baker, Fagan-Jeffries, Fernández-Triana, Portmann & Oestmann sp. nov.

Fig. 4 B View Figure 4 ( distribution), Fig. 17 (holotype View Figure 17 )

Type material.

Holotype. Australia • ♀; QLD, Masthead Island ; - 23.537, 151.723; 5–7 Oct. 2008; QM / QPWS party leg.; Malaise trap; site 6 Casuarina camp site; BOLD Process ID: AUMIC 430-18 ; QM: T 208349 GoogleMaps . Paratypes. Australia • ♀; NSW, Bendemeer; - 30.819, 151.142; 19 Dec. 2020 – 4 Jan. 2021; A. Goodwin, R. Noakes leg.; Malaise trap; BOLD Process ID: AUMIC 628-23 ; AM: K. 647425 GoogleMaps . • ♀; as previous except: BOLD Process ID: AUMIC 630-23 ; AM: K. 647426 GoogleMaps . • ♀; as previous except: BOLD Process ID: AUMIC 631-23 ; QM: T 261232 GoogleMaps . • ♀; as previous except: BOLD Process ID: AUMIC 632-23 ; QM: T 261233 GoogleMaps . • ♂; QLD, Chinchilla Botanic Parkland ; - 26.7393, 150.629; 08 Oct. 2020; E. Fagan-Jeffries leg.; Sweeping; BOLD Process ID: OZBOL 414-21 ; QM: T 261234 GoogleMaps . • ♀; QLD, Masthead Island ; - 23.537, 151.721; 5–7 Oct. 2008; QM / QPWS party leg.; Malaise trap; site 7 Casuarina forest; BOLD Process ID: AUMIC 074-18 ; QM: T 208348 GoogleMaps . • ♀; QLD, Prospect Creek State School ; - 24.4218, 150.43; 6 Oct. – 4 Nov. 2020; E. Fagan-Jeffries & Prospect Creek State School leg.; Malaise trap; BOLD Process ID: AUMIC 640-23 ; QM: T 261235 . • ♀; as previous except: BOLD Process ID: AUMIC 641-23 ; QM: T 261236 . • ♀; as previous except: BOLD Process ID: AUMIC 643-23 ; QM: T 261237 . • ♀; as previous except: BOLD Process ID: AUMIC 644-23 ; QM: T 261238 . • ♀; as previous except: BOLD Process ID: AUMIC 645-23 ; QM: T 261239 . • ♀; as previous except: BOLD Process ID: AUMIC 646-23 ; AM: K. 647427 . • ♀; as previous except: BOLD Process ID: AUMIC 647-23 ; QM: T 261240 . • ♀; as previous except: BOLD Process ID: AUMIC 648-23 ; QM: T 261241 . • ♀; as previous except: BOLD Process ID: AUMIC 649-23 ; QM: T 261242 . • ♀; as previous except: BOLD Process ID: AUMIC 667-23 ; QM: T 261243 . • ♀; as previous except: BOLD Process ID: AUMIC 669-23 ; QM: T 261244 . • ♀; as previous except: BOLD Process ID: AUMIC 670-23 ; AM: K. 647428 . • ♀; as previous except: BOLD Process ID: AUMIC 671-23 ; QM: T 261245 . • ♀; as previous except: BOLD Process ID: AUMIC 657-23 ; QM: T 261246 . • ♀; as previous except: BOLD Process ID: AUMIC 660-23 ; QM: T 261247 . • ♀; as previous except: BOLD Process ID: AUMIC 661-23 ; QM: T 261248 . • ♀; as previous except: BOLD Process ID: AUMIC 663-23 ; QM: T 261249 . • ♀; as previous except: BOLD Process ID: AUMIC 633-23 ; QM: T 261250 . • ♀; as previous except: BOLD Process ID: AUMIC 635-23 ; QM: T 261251 . • ♀; as previous except: BOLD Process ID: AUMIC 636-23 ; QM: T 261252 . • ♀; as previous except: BOLD Process ID: AUMIC 638-23 ; QM: T 261253 . • ♀; as previous except: BOLD Process ID: AUMIC 639-23 ; QM: T 261254 . • ♂; as previous except: BOLD Process ID: AUMIC 673-23 ; AM: K. 647429 . • ♀ (head detached); QLD, Springsure; - 24.115, 148.087; 8–15 Mar. 2022; Springsure State School students leg.; Malaise trap; Insect Investigators; BOLD Process ID: ASMII 486-22 ; QM: T 261184 GoogleMaps . • ♂; as previous except: BOLD Process ID: ASMII 482-22 ; QM: T 261186 GoogleMaps . • ♂; as previous except: 22–29 Mar. 2022; BOLD Process ID: ASMII 550-22 ; QM: T 261185 GoogleMaps .

Diagnostic description.

Size: Total body length: 3.0 mm; fore wing length: 2.6 mm. Head: anterior scape colour similar or only very slightly paler than head colour; F 2 L / W ratio: 2.2; F 14 L / W ratio: 1.1. Mesosoma: scutoscutellar sulcus with nine pits; mesoscutellar disc mostly smooth, or with very shallow scattered indentations; propodeal areola complete, or mostly so; propodeum mostly rugose; coxae colour (pro, meso, meta): dark all; metafemur colour mostly dark. Wings: centre of pterostigma pigmented to same degree as the outer edges; fore wing r vein length / 2 RS vein length ratio: 1.4. Metasoma: T 1 shape mostly parallel, T 1 medial length / anterior width between 1–2 × longer than wide; mostly rugose; T 2 mostly smooth; ovipositor sheath length / metatibia length ratio: 1.1.

Apanteles alatomicans can be separated from most species of Apanteles in Australia that have a dark metacoxa and metafemur, and uniformly pigmented pterostigma by having the hind tibia mostly dark with a bright, discrete pale band in the proximal 1 / 3, and by having infuscation on the fore wing which is restricted to area around veins r and 1 CUb, and the basal cell of fore wing comparatively less densely setose than found in A. lamingtonensis and A. ferripulvis . We recommend separating A. alatomicans from A. hades and A. magicus using COI or wg barcodes and evaluating the placement of the sequence in a phylogeny amongst the validated references provided here.

Etymology.

This species was named by students in year 9 at Springsure State School in QLD, who in year 7 ran the Malaise trap that collected several of the paratype specimens. The epithet should be treated as an adjective and is formed from the Latin ‘ alatus’ (furnished with wings) and ‘ micans’ (twinkling) and the wasp was affectionately given the nickname “ Mr Twinkle Wings ” in the taxonomy workshop. In the words of the class teacher, Peter Spencer: “ The reason for naming refers to the beauty of the wasp and the shiny / twinkle of its wings particularly, and the fact the students also believe it is found in a place representing Australian beauty – the outback. ”

Distribution.

Apanteles alatomicans is known from multiple locations in eastern QLD.

Molecular information.

Sequences of Apanteles alatomicans currently form BIN BOLD: ADL 2797. The COI sequences are at least 5 % divergent from any of the other species treated here, or any available sequence on BOLD. Other than the wg sequence of AUMIC 673-23 , which is likely a lab contamination, the wg sequence of the holotype is ≥ 3 bp different to any other species and is identical within A. alatomicans . Ignoring the likely contaminant, six species delimitation methods delimited A. alatomicans as a discrete species, however wg ASAP analysis grouped the sequences with A. hades .