Eupelmus, Dalman, 1820

EUPELMUS View in CoL (MACRONEURA) MACULATUS (FERRIÈRE)

FIGS 53 View Figures 51–55 , 66 View Figures 56–67 (♀)

Eupelmella maculata Ferrière, 1954: 9 View in CoL . Lectotype ♀ (present designation), MNHN, examined. Type locality: France, Var , Fréjus.

Macroneura (Euronmacra) maculata View in CoL – Kalina, 1981: 93, 105–106 (misidentification of E. impennis View in CoL ).

Macroneura nirupama Narendran, 1996: 85 View in CoL . Holotype ♀, QMB, not examined. Type locality: India, Kerala, Kumarakam. Syn. nov.

Eupelmus (Macroneura) nirupama Narendran View in CoL in Narendran & Anil, 1998: 2. Unstated type status ♀, not examined. Type locality: India, Kerala. Syn. nov. Previously synonymized with Macroneura nirupama View in CoL by Narendran & Sudheer, 2004: 65.

Eupelmus (Macroneura) maculatus – Askew & Nieves-Aldrey, 2000: 57.

Description: Female. Length = 1.7–3.2 mm. Body almost uniformly dark, with hardly lighter mesosoma and comparatively strong metallic luster ( Fig. 53 View Figures 51–55 ). Head dark; frontovertex metallic dark violet, frequently with golden-green luster along orbit and on occiput, parascrobal area usually coppery-red, lower face, gena, and scrobal depression golden-green to coppery-red. Some specimens including lectotype with bright magenta and blue metallic luster on lower part of the gena, interantennal prominence, parascrobal region and vertex mostly around and in front of anterior ocellus. Antenna with scape yellow to brownish-yellow with faint metallic luster on inner surface in larger specimens, pedicel and flagellum dark brown with bluish-green luster on pedicel and variably distinct greenish to coppery-red lusters on basal funiculars. Mesosoma slightly lighter than head, brown to reddish-brown except tegula white to yellowish-white with brownish apex; with strong multicoloured metallic luster on some areas, especially on pronotal collar, parts of mesoscutum, scutellar-axillar complex, acropleuron, and propodeum; mesoscutal plate sparsely setose, with posteromedial concave region asetose or with one to two setae, reddish-brown with faint golden-green to bluish-green metallic luster mostly on anteromedial lobe; posterior depressed area with a wide-triangular violet spot bordered anteriorly by blue and greenish-blue, covering about one-fourth of mesoscutum length; axillae and scutellum dark brown with dark green, coppery and bronze luster; axilla covered with brown hair-like setae only on outer surface and scutellum setose only on perimeter, with a pair of slightly lanceolate white setae toward frenal line ( Fig. 66 View Figures 56–67 ). Front leg nearly uniformly reddish-brown to dark brown with faint metallic luster. Middle leg similar in colour to front leg except knee, about apical fourth to third of tibia and basal four tarsomeres yellowish-white and anterodorsal angle of femur with a whitish spot or femur more extensively pale along anterior edge of dorsal and ventral surfaces; mesotibial and mesotarsal pegs dark. Hind leg similar in colour to front leg except apex of coxa, trochanter and extreme base of tibia contrasting white to yellowish-white and knee, apical fourth of tibia, and basal tarsomeres yellowish. Metasoma with long and sparse hair-like setae, on Gt2–Gt4 distance between sockets of two adjacent setae about equal to seta length; black to dark brown with some metallic luster, including Gt1 uniformly black with metallic green to violet luster. Ovipositor sheaths comparatively light, only narrowly dark brown basally, otherwise almost uniformly pale in rest or more frequently gradually darker to light brown apically and along ventral margin; apical brownish band usually not reaching dorsal margin of sheath but in some specimens sheaths comparatively abruptly dark brown in about apical third to apical half ( Fig. 53 View Figures 51–55 ).

Head in lateral view hemispherical, 1.5–1.7× as high as long, transverse in dorsal view, 1.7–1.9× as broad as long. Frontovertex coriaceous-imbricate to reticulate. Pedicel plus flagellum 1.2–1.3× head width. Pronotal ridge with two paramedial tufts with three to six setae each and about 0.8× as long as pronotal collar. Mesosoma ( Fig. 66 View Figures 56–67 ) as described for E. impennis . Middle leg with row of three or four mesotibial apical pegs; mesotarsus without pegs (cf. Fig. 84 View Figures 68–87 ). Metasoma ovoidal and comparatively narrow, 2.4–2.6× as long as wide, Gt5 coriaceous. Posteroventral margins of syntergum obliquely angled inward between anal plate and ovipositor sheaths so in posterior view appearing depressed over sheath. Gaster extending over base of third valvula hence ovipositor appearing very short. Ovipositor sheaths 0.55–0.6× as long as metatibia and 0.3–0.4× as long as metasoma.

Male. Unknown. Judging from the distribution of E. maculatus in several ecozones – a distribution pattern similar to that of E. messene , the only other cosmopolitan species of E. ( Macroneura ) – this species is also very likely thelytokous (females only). For details see under discussions.

Comparative diagnosis and variability: Females of this species are most similar to those of E. impennis . Besides the colour differences mentioned in the key, females of E. maculatus also have darker legs, most markedly the mid- and hind tibiae being dark brown with contrastingly whitish apices. Females of E. impennis have the legs rather uniformly orangish-brown with the apices of the tibiae gradually paler (cf. Figs 53 View Figures 51–55 with 51). The mesotibial apical pegs are reddish and inconspicuous in E. impennis , although this not apparent in Fig. 84 View Figures 68–87 , whereas in E. maculatus they are dark brown, contrasting with the apex of the tibia.