The Wharton Lab

Opius nablus Wharton, 2013 ZooKeys 349: 16-18, 49-51.

This species is known from a single male specimen. In this specimen, hind wing M is more weakly developed than in other members of this species group, but the difference is not great.

Holotype: Male, deposited in USNM.

Opius nablus is a member of the godfrayi species group. This species is nearly identical to O. marshi with slightly darker head and lighter hind tibia than males of that species. Perhaps more importantly, the notaulus is shorter and less distinctly impressed in O. nablus relative to O. marshi and O. godfrayi (though the notauli are weakly developed in all three species).

Unlike most other Opiinae, the occipital and hypostomal carinae meet well above the base of the mandible in members of the godfrayi species group, continuing to the mandible as a single, flange-like ridge. They would thus key to Apodesmia Foerster in Li et al. (2013), though differing notably from the type species of Apodesmia in the absence of a midpit on the mesoscutum and absence of a sculptured precoxal sulcus, among other features. Some members of the godfrayi species group will key to Opius (Pendopius Fischer) in the subgeneric keys of Fischer (1972, 1999), but differ from the type species of Pendopius in lacking a basal tooth or lobe on the mandible. Others will key to Opiothorax Fischer, the type species of which similarly has a basal lobe on the mandible.

While the fusion of the occipital and hypostomal carina ventrally in mambers of the godfrayi species group suggests a relationship to Apodesmia, sculptural characteristics of the mesosoma (especially notauli, pronotum, precoxal sulcus, and propodeum) and metasoma (T1) as well as the position of fore wing 2CUb suggest a closer relationship to members of the baderae species group.

Habitus (Figs 1-2). Eyes in dorsal view (Fig. 3) bulging beyond temples, temples weakly but distinctly receding. Clypeus (Fig. 5) 2.1 x wider than high, weakly punctate throughout; weakly triangular in outline, epistomal sulcus not even rounded; nearly flat in profile, very weakly protruding ventrally; ventral margin very weakly concave in anterior view with mandibles deflected, exposing substantial portion of labrum. Antenna with 41 flagellomeres. Malar sulcus (Fig. 4) impressed throughout, deeper near eye. Mesosoma (Fig. 6) 1.4 x longer than high. Pronotum (Fig. 6) laterally completely unsculptured or nearly so along posterior side of distinctly elevated vertical carina. Notaulus a short, curved, shallow groove not reaching anterior margin, not margined anteriorly by carinae; associated setae as in O. marshi. Metapleuron with median pit adjacent anterior margin connected to dorsal pit at posterior margin by a very weak sulcus; ventral margin without well-developed spine anteriorly, at most with ventral carina weakly, unobtrusively expanded anteriorly. Propodeum medially smooth, polished, with a pair of short lateral-median carinae; weakly rugulose along lateral margin, especially in vicinity of spiracle. Fore wing (Figs 1, 7) 3RSa 1.55 x longer than strongly sinuate 2RS; (RS+M)a very weakly sinuate. T1 (Fig. 8) 2.1 x wider at apex than at base, 1.1 x longer than apical width; smooth, unsculptured basally and apical-laterally, striate to strigose over middle portion of apical 0.5; dorsal carina distinct basally, extending towards but not obviously attaining apex, weak and obscured by sculpture posteriorly. Color(Figs 3-8): Head with yellow orbital band extending posteriorly from torulus to gena at mid eye height, gena ventrally, lower occiput, malar space, orbital band between torulus and malar sulcus, clypeus, and mouthparts (except dark apical teeth of mandible) white; broad band extending from epistomal sulcus through dorsal half of occiput dark brown to black, the dark color extending slightly onto upper gena. Mesosoma similar in color to O. marshi: pale yellow-orange except nearly all of pronotum dorsally and laterally, irregular streak ventral-laterally on mesopleuron extending between fore and mid coxae, scuto-scutellar sulcus, median longitudinal band on entire scutellum, and most of remaining parts of scutellar and metanotal area (except for a pair of yellow spots on either side of midline) brown. Metasomal tergal color and leg color as in O. marshi. Body length 4.0 mm; wing length 4.35 mm; mesosoma length 1.45 mm.

Guatemala, Sacatepequez, 3–6 km west of San Miguel Dueñas.

The only known specimen was reared from a stem gall on the asteracean plant Verbesina fraseri Hemsl. No flies were reared from this sample, so the tephritid host is unknown.

Holotype labels:

GUATEMALA: Sacatepequez
San Miguel Duenas, 3–6 km
W, 17.X.1990, A. L. Norrbom

Second label:
reared ex. stem gall
of Tephritidae sp. on
Verbesina fraseri (90G8)

Third label:
ALN–3

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.