The Wharton Lab

Opius gabriellae Wharton, 2013 ZooKeys 349: 16-18, 40-42.

The single female reared from a capitulum of M. frutescens appears identical to the material reared from S. iodanthus except for a slightly smaller brown spot medially on the upper face. We explicitly excluded the wasp reared from M. frutescens from the paratype series because the host fly and plant differ.

Ovipositor lengths given in the description are reasonable approximations since the base of the ovipositor is evident in both females, protruding against the sternites. The second submarginal cell of the male specimen is shorter and taller than in the females, but more specimens are needed to confirm this as evidence of sexual dimorphism. In O. gabriellae, the male is smaller than the females but in Opius danielsae , the females are smaller.

Holotype: Female, deposited in UNAM.

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. Within the baderae species group, this species is nearly identical to Opius danielsae , most notably in head coloration pattern, but is smaller and the metasomal color pattern differs, with distinctive transverse dark and white bands in O. gabriellae, as shown in the figures above.

Habitus (Figs 1-2). Eyes in dorsal view (Fig. 3) not or only slightly bulging beyond temples, temples not receding. Clypeus (Figs 5-6) 1.55–1.65 x wider than high, faintly punctate throughout, nearly smooth; completely concealing labrum when mandible closed, ventral margin of clypeus evenly convex, slightly overlapping dorsal margin of mandible when mandible closed. Antenna with 31–33 flagellomeres. Malar sulcus (Figs 4, 7) shallow, weak to indistinct, especially ventrally. Mesosoma (Figs 8-13) 1.3 (male) and 1.2 (female) x longer than high. Pronotum laterally (Fig. 8) with vertical groove usually weakly crenulate dorsally, distinctly crenulate ventrally, varying from smooth to weakly wrinkled medially, only faintly and incompletely margined anteriorly by carina. Propodeum (Fig. 12) unsculptured, with a few weak carinulae along posterior margin, especially medially. Fore wing (Fig. 14) 3RSa/2RS ratio highly variable, 1.6 (male) and 1.75–1.9 (female) x longer than sinuate 2RS; (RS+M)a varying from weakly sinuate to nearly straight. T1 (Figs 13, 15, 16) 2.3–2.4 (female) x wider at apex than at base, 1.1 (male) and 0.85–1.0 (female) x as long as apical width; smooth, unsculptured basally, densely and distinctly striate to strigose over apical 0.75 in female, sculpture weaker and less extensive in male; dorsal carina distinct basally, extending to apex but weaker and largely obscured by sculpture posteriorly. Ovipositor (total length) approximately 3.2–3.4 x longer than mesosoma; ovipositor sheath approximately 2.5–2.6 x longer than mesosoma. Color (Figs 1-13, 15-17): Head color as in O. danielsae. Mesosoma nearly identical in color to O. danielsae except with two orange spots on either side of metascutellum, an orange spot immediately dorsad midcoxa, and the subalar ridge entirely orange. T1 black; remaining terga mostly brown in male; female with most of T2+3 dark brown, T2 with anterior-lateral corner containing spiracle yellow, T3 with narrow yellow band along posterior margin; T4–6 dark brown anteriorly, yellow posteriorly, with median hyaline patch along anterior margins and narrow hyaline margin posteriorly. Fore and mid tibiae and all femora pale yellow; hind tibia anteriorly mostly yellow tending to infumate dorsal-anteriorly, basal 0.2 dark brown, and apical 0.5–0.6 posteriorly brown. Body length 2.75 mm (male), 2.9–3.0 mm (female); wing length 3.4 mm (male), 3.7–3.9 mm (female); mesosoma length 1.05 mm (male), 1.1–1.15 mm (female).

Type locality: Mexico, Mexico, 6 km West Lago de Zempoala. One additional specimen was collected 5 km N El Vigia in the state of Morelos.

A parasitoid of tephritids reared from flower heads of Montanoa frutescens Mairet ex. DC and Senecio iodanthus Greenm (both members of the Asteraceae). The fly host reared from Senecio iodanthus. is an apparently undescribed species of Campiglossa Rondani (a senior synonym of Paroxyna Hendel). The rate of parasitism by the opiine was 15%, but many chalcidoids were also reared from this sample of flower heads and at least some of them likely attacked the tephritid. One of the opiines was reared from a segregated puparium of Campiglossa, while the remaining two were reared from flower heads. The single non-paratype specimen from Montanoa frutescens was reared from an undescribed species of Neotephritis Hendel along with 17 flies of this tephritid species.

Holotype labels:

MEXICO: Edo. de
Mexico
Rt. 890, Km 9 area
6km W Lago de Zempoala
2–x–1991 A. Norrbom

Second label:
reared ex capitulum
Senecio iodanthus
Greenm. 91(M)33 f
Probably ex. puparium
Paroxyna (Tephitidae)

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.