The Wharton Lab

Opius ingenticornis Fischer, 1965: 233–236. Holotype female in AEIC (examined).
Opius ingenticornis: Fischer 1965: 420 (key); Fischer 1971: 76 (catalog).
Opius (Merotrachys) ingenticornis: Fischer 1977: 655–657, 679–680 (key, redescription); Fischer 1979: 264–266 (key); Yu et al. 2005, 2012 (electronic catalogs).

This species was originally described from the female holotype plus two female and three male paratypes, all from Peru.

Face (Fig. 2) shagreened throughout. Eye in lateral view (Figs 4, 5) 2–3 x longer than temple; temples in dorsal view not receding. Female antenna with 47–49 flagellomeres, male with up to 62 flagellomeres; setae on basal flagellomeres (Fig. 4) thin, pale. Mesoscutum anteriorly on nearly same plane as pronotum (Fig. 5) , without distinct anterior declivity; notaulus (Fig. 6) extending laterally towards tegula as groove bordered by distinct supramarginal carina. Propodeum (Figs 9, 10) coarsely, carinately rugose and shagreened, with short median trough anteriorly, areola largely obscured by sculpture posteriorly. Fore wing (Fig. 2) with 3RSa very weakly curved, nearly straight, 1.25 x longer than 2RS; m-cu interstitial to very weakly postfurcal. T1 sharply declivitous anteriorly (Fig. 8), pit delimited posterior-medially; surface very intensely shagreened (Fig. 7); dorsal carinae distinctly elevated, nearly parallel-sided throughout (Fig. 7), weakly converging near apex, not sinuate, not obviously transversely carinate between dorsal carinae. T2+T3 distinctly shagreened. Ovipositor short; ovipositor sheath about 0.3–0.4 x length of mesosoma. Color as in Figs 1, 2: head, body, hind coxa and femur orange; antenna without pale subapical ring; wing infumate.

Opius ingenticornis is characterized by the extensively shagreened facial sculpture and pale body. This species is very similar to O. rojam , based on coloration, relatively small second submarginal cell of the fore wing, and propodeal sculpture. Opius ingenticornis is somewhat smaller, with T1 more intensively shagreened (Fig. 7) whereas O. rojam is more rugose (Figs 11, 12). O. ingenticornis is nearly identical to O. gabrieli , O. melchioricus , and O. rojam . All four species have very short ovipositors (Fig. 1), heavily sculptured propodea (Figs 9, 10), thinner, pale setae on the basal flagellomeres (Fig. 4), and are predominantly orange. O. gabrieli is most readily recognized by the black apical metasomal terga relative to O. ingenticornis, O. melchioricus , and O. rojam . Opius ingenticornis and O. rojam are more uniformly orange and the face is more completely shagreened than in the other two species whereas O. melchioricus has the tegula black with dark transverse lines across the posterior margins of the meso- and metathorax.

Additionally, as in all other members of the ingenticornis species group, this species can be further characterized as follows: Mandible short, broadly triangular, dorsal margin strongly angled ventrally, broadly exposing labrum. Clypeus shaped as a broad crescent, nearly hemispherical, flat to weakly protruding ventrally, ventral margin shallowly concave, rarely appearing truncate. Malar sulcus distinct, complete. Antenna unusually long, approximately twice longer than body; first flagellomere slender, longer than second, with long, narrow plate sensilla. Occipital carina broadly absent dorsally, the gap in dorsal view at least as wide as distance between eyes; carina well developed laterally and ventrally, widely separated from hypostomal carina ventrally. Pronope deep, wide, posterior margin at least weakly overlapping base of mesoscutum, thus obliterating posterior transverse sulcus medially; vertical carina absent on pronotum laterally. Mesoscutum without midpit; notaulus short, curved, pit-like anteriorly, narrowing and evanescent posteriorly. Propodeum with median depression at least anteriorly, never with median longitudinal carina. Mesopleuron without sternaulus, precoxal sulcus unsculptured, absent or very faintly indicated; hind margin of mesopleuron not obviously crenulate on dorsal 0.5. Fore wing 2CUb arising from or near middle of first subdiscal cell. Hind wing with RS distinctly infumate; m-cu absent. T1 with dorsal carinae parallel or nearly so, extending from base to apex; laterope large, deep; dorsope absent.

Peru, Quincemil, near Marcapata

Holotype data label is shown in Fig. 1

This page was assembled largely by Bob Wharton. It is part of a revision of the Opius ingenticornis species group conducted by Sophia Daniels, Xanthe Shirley, Danielle Restuccia and Bob Wharton, published by Wharton et al. (2013). We thank David Wahl (American Entomological Institute, Gainesville, FL) and Norm Penny and Bob Zuparko (CAS) for loans and general assistance associated with examination of holotypes, as well as Max Fischer and Dominique Zimmermann (NHMW), Henri Goulet (CNC) and Paul Marsh (formerly USDA, Washington, D. C.) for facilitating other loans and work with material in their care. We are also sincerely grateful to Jim Woolley and Aaron Tarone for making available their imaging systems when ours crashed. Matt Yoder provided guidance on databasing issues associated with our use of mx. This work was conducted at Texas A&M University and was supported in part by NSF DEB 0949027, with REU supplement 1213790. Page last updated May, 2013.

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant Number DEB 0949027 and associated REU supplement 1213790.
Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.