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

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

Fig. 5 B View Figure 5 ( distribution), Fig. 55 (holotype View Figure 55 )

Type material.

Holotype. Australia • ♀; SA, Banrock site B ; - 34.1708, 140.319; 12–14 Dec. 2019; R. Glatz leg.; Malaise trap; BOLD Process ID: AUMIC 651-23 ; SAMA: 32-47762 . GoogleMaps

Diagnostic description.

Size: Total body length: 2.1 mm; fore wing length: 2.6 mm. Head: antennae slightly shorter than body length; anterior scape colour similar or only very slightly paler than head colour; F 2 L / W ratio: 2.6; F 14 L / W ratio: 1.0. Mesosoma: scutoscutellar sulcus with nine pits; mesoscutellar disc mostly smooth, or with very shallow scattered indentations; propodeal areola complete, or mostly so; propodeum mostly smooth posteriorly, mostly rugose anteriorly; coxae colour (pro, meso, meta): all dark; 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: 1.2. Metasoma: T 1 shape almost barrel shaped, very curved on lateral margins; T 1 medial length / anterior width between 1–2 × longer than wide; mostly rugose distal 1 / 2, mostly smooth basal 1 / 2; T 2 mostly smooth; ovipositor sheath length / metatibia length ratio: 1.2.

Apanteles ramsaris can be separated from most other described species of Apanteles in Australia that have a dark metacoxa and metafemur and the pterostigma without a pale centre, the ovipositor sheath length> 0.6 × metatibia length by the pterostigma having a small pale spot proximally, the metatibia displaying a gradient of colouration from pale to dark, the colours merging in the centre, T 1 with strong sculpture over at least most of posterior 1 / 2 of tergite, mesoscutellar disc with at most scattered punctures along margins, and fore wing vein 1 M much less pigmented (often transparent / pale) compared to pigmentation of vein 1 CUa. Compared to A. brockhedgesi , A. ramsaris has the scutoscutellar sulcus comparatively wider and with comparatively larger pits. The species can currently be best separated from A. insulanus by DNA barcoding, and placement of the unknown sequence in the context of a phylogeny with the holotype barcodes of both species (which are> 7 % divergent).

Etymology.

The species epithet is an adjective formed from the term ‘ Ramsar’ relating to the Ramsar accredited wetlands at Banrock Station, the collection locality.

Distribution.

Apanteles ramsaris is currently only known from the type locality in the Riverland region of SA.

Molecular information.

The holotype of Apanteles ramsaris is the only sequence in BIN BOLD: AFE 7524. The COI sequences are at least 7 % divergent from any of the other species treated here, or any available sequence on BOLD. The wg sequence of the holotype is at least 2 bp different to any other species. Most delimitation methods resolved A. ramsaris as a discrete species, except for wg ASAP and PTP, which grouped the species with A. insulanus .