The Wharton Lab

Physotarsus oculatus Zhaurova, 2009: 9-10, 44-45. Holotype female, AEIC.

This is Physotarsus species 2 in the analyses conducted by Zhaurova and Wharton (2009).

Lateral ocelli separated by about 0.8X their widest diameter from each other and about 1.5X their widest diameter from eye margin. Antennae with 27 flagellomeres. Pronotum and mesoscutum impunctate, shiny. T1 about 2.2X as long as broad. Face white or very light yellow; ocellar area dark brown, lateral frons and occiput orange. Mesosoma with pronotum brown anteriorly, white posteriorly; mesoscutum and scutellum orange; mesopleuron white; propodeum white with two anterolateral brown spots. Metasomal tergites brown with apical margins white, sternites white. Hind legs entirely black. Fore wing hyaline, apex infumate to nearly fuscous.

Physotarsus oculatus is similar to several other smooth-bodied species that have hyaline wings with an infumate apical spot, most notably P. eliethi Gauld, P. glabellus Zhaurova, P. jamesi Zhaurova, P. leucohypopygus Zhaurova, and P. niveus Zhaurova. As in P. leucohypopygus and P. niveus the hind femur on the outer or anterior face is entirely or almost entirely dark brown to black in P. oculatus but unlike the other two species, the ocellar field is dark brown in P. oculatus.

Known only from the type locality in Brazil.

Hosts unknown.

Material Examined. Holotype female (AEIC, Type No. 3859): [BRAZIL, Para] first line of data label: “Jacareacanga” second line: “Para, Braz. XII-68” third line: “Moacir Alvarenga”. Paratype: 1 female, same data as holotype (AEIC).

This page was assembled by Bob Wharton and Kira Zhaurova, and is part of a revision of the genus Physotarsus (Zhaurova and Wharton 2009). Material examined for this revision was borrowed from the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, the American Entomological Institute, Gainesville (AEIC), The Natural History Museum, London, the U. S. National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D. C., and INBio, Costa Rica. We are particularly grateful to David Wahl for the extended loan of the specimens listed above, as well as to Matt Yoder for the electronic interface and to Heather Cummins and Mika Cameron for assistance with literature and figures. We would also like to acknowledge the kind assistance of Ian Gauld, David Wahl, Andrew Bennett, and Gavin Broad for information exchange about ichneumonids during the course of this work. Our use of PURLs (http://purl.oclc.org) for the web interface follows the example of their use in publications by Norm Johnson. The work was conducted at Texas A&M University and supported by NSF/PEET grant no. DEB 0328922 and associated REU supplement # 0723663. Page last updated October 2010.

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant Number DEB 0328922 with REU supplement DEB 0723663.
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.