Opius dablus Wharton, 2013

Taxonomic History / Nomenclature
Opius dablus Wharton, 2013 ZooKeys 349: 16-18, 36-37.
Remarks
This species is thus far known only from the female holotype (deposited in UNAM). Five female specimens collected with sweep net in Guerrero and Oaxaca (TAMU) are nearly identical to this species. Although varying slightly in pattern, they all have the wedge of white color extending along the eye margin dorsally from the lateral margin of the clypeus and an orange mesoscutum with a dark median blotch. All of these, however, differ in having a slightly shorter ovipositor and sheath and thus are hypothesized to represent a separate but closely related species.

The fore wing 1RS is longer in this species than in others of this species group, at the lower end of the range for the 1M/1RS ratio given in the species group diagnosis in Wharton and Norrbom (2013). In other species in this group, the ratio is near the upper end of the range. Similarly, fore wing m-cu is more strongly postfurcal in O. dablus, resulting in a lower 3RSa/2RS ratio than in most other members of this species group.

Diagnosis and Relationships
This species most closely resembles Opius baderae , Opius baeblus , and Opius cablus based on the color pattern of the head (dark above, white below) relative to the other members of the baderae species group. In O. dablus, there is a wedge of white that extends more dorsally along the inner eye margin than in the other three species (Fig. 1), the hind tibia tends to be a little more evenly infumate, and T1 is not as heavily sculptured. Opius baeblus is larger and the mesosoma is more extensively pale than in the other three species, and in O. dablus the lateral lobes of the mesoscutum are orange but mostly dark brown to black in O. baderae and O. cablus . The ovipositors of O. dablus and O. baderae are similar in length and shorter than in O. cablus .

Members of the Opius baderae species group (to which this species belongs) will key to Opius (Opius) in the subgeneric keys of Fischer (1972), 1977, (1999) because of the completely concealed labrum, unsculptured precoxal sulcus, and absence of a midpit on the mesoscutum. They differ from the type species of Opius (i.e., Opius s.s.) in lacking a basal lobe ventrally on the mandible, and thus would key to Phaedrotoma Foerster in the classification of van Achterberg and Salvo (1997) and Li et al. (2013) and the key to genera in Fischer (1999). In members of the baderae group the propodeum is also almost completely unsculptured.

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1. Opius dablus showing cha...
 
Description
Habitus (Figs 1-2). Eyes in dorsal view (Fig. 3) slightly bulging beyond temples, temples weakly receding. Clypeus (Fig. 5) 1.65 x wider than high, weakly punctate throughout; completely concealing labrum when mandible closed, ventral margin of clypeus evenly convex, slightly overlapping dorsal margin of mandible when mandible closed. Antenna with 40 flagellomeres. Malar sulcus (Fig. 4) weak, barely indicated near eye margin. Mesosoma (Figs 6-8) 1.3 x longer than high. Pronotum laterally with vertical groove weakly crenulate dorsally, more distinctly crenulate ventrally, otherwise smooth and unsculptured. Propodeum unsculptured, with a few weak carinulae along posterior margin. Fore wing 3RSa 1.6 x longer than strongly sinuate 2RS; (RS+M)a straight. T1 (Fig. 8) 2.35 x wider at apex than at base, 0.95 x as long as apical width; smooth, unsculptured; dorsal carina low not distinctly elevated basally, absent over apical 0.7. Ovipositor (total length) approximately 2.0 x longer than mesosoma; ovipositor sheath approximately 1.5 x longer than mesosoma. Color (Figs 2-8): Head entirely black to dark red-brown above, entirely white below horizontal line extending from dorsal margin of clypeus through ventral margin of eye to occipital carina, with triangular wedge extending dorsally above this line between clypeus and eye; base of mandible and all remaining mouthparts also white. Mesosoma black to dark red-brown except propleuron, tegula and basal wing sclerite pale white; axilla and most of mesoscutum orange, with very narrow median black stripe ending posteriorly in large shield-shaped black spot. T1 black, T2–T6 dark reddish brown medially, T3–T6 with narrow hyaline margin posteriorly; T4–T6 also with median white band anteriorly. Fore and mid tibiae and all femora pale yellow; hind tibia mostly brown, darker brown over basal 0.2, with yellow band on middle 0.4 dorsally and dorsal-posteriorly, variegated anteriorly. Body length 3.0 mm; wing length 4.0 mm; mesosoma length 1.3 mm.
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1.Opius dablus habitus
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2.Opius dablus habitus
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3. Opius dablus head dorsal...
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4. Opius dablus head latera...
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5.Opius dablus face
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6. Opius dablus mesosoma la...
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7. Opius dablus mesosoma do...
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8. Opius dablus metasoma do...
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9.Opius dablus wings
 
Distribution
Type locality: Mexico, Morelos, 5 km N El Vigia
Distribution
No referenced distribution records have been added to the database for this OTU.
Biology / Hosts
A parasitoid of Eutreta margaritata (Tephritidae) reared from stem galls of Penstemon kunthii G. Don. Ten specimens of Eutreta margaritata were reared from the same collection of stem galls on P. kunthii G. Don that produced the holotype, resulting in a parasitism rate of 9%. This is a new host plant record for this tephritid and the first record for any tephritid from Penstemon and the Plantaginaceae.
Map

There are no specimens currently determined for this OTU, or those specimens determined for this OTU are not yet mappable.

Label data
Holotype labels:
MEXICO: Morelos, Rt.
142, Km 48-50, 5 km N
El Vigia, 28.ix.–1.×.1991
A. L. Norrbom, #49

Second label:
reared ex. Eutreta
margaritata ex. stem gall
on Penstemon kunthii
C. Don. (91M13A)

Third label:
reared ex. puparium
ex. gall 91M13A
emg. 30.v.1992

Acknowledgements
This page was assembled largely by Bob Wharton and Andrew Ly. It is part of a revision of New World, mostly neotropical, opiines reared from non-frugivorous Tephritidae conducted by Wharton and Norrbom (2013). We are particularly grateful to Danielle Restuccia, Patricia Mullins, Trent Hawkins, Lauren Ward, and Gabriella Vasquez, who did all of the imaging and especially Danielle for preparing the plates. Paul Marsh initially made much of this material available to the senior author. Matt Yoder and Istvan Miko provided guidance on databasing issues associated with our use of mx and HAO respectively. We thank David Wahl (AEIC), Norm Penny and Bob Zuparko (CAS), Andrew Bennett and Henri Goulet (CNC), Max Fischer and Dominique Zimmermann (NHMW), and Paul Marsh and Robert Kula (Systematic Research Laboratory, USDA; USNM) for facilitating loans and general assistance associated with examination of holotypes and other material in their care. This work was supported largely by NSF DEB 0949027, with REU supplement 1313933 (to Wharton) and partly by NSF/PEET DEB 0328922 (also to Wharton). Page last updated January, 2014.

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant Numbers DEB 0949027 and DEB 0328922 with REU supplement 1313933.
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.