The Wharton Lab

Physotarsus leucohypopygus Zhaurova, 2009: 9-10, 33-34. Holotype female in AEIC.

This species is very similar to P. glabellus, collected from the same locality. In addition to the diagnostic features noted above, the first flagellomere is relatively longer and narrower in P. leucohypopygus, the hind legs are much darker, and the venation is slightly different, with fore wing cu-a distinctly antefurcal.

Lateral ocelli separated by 0.9–1.0X their widest diameter from each other and about 1.7X their widest diameter from eye margin. Antenna with 24 flagellomeres. Pronotum and mesoscutum shiny, impunctate. T1 about 2.2X as long as broad. Head and mesosoma entirely dark yellow. Metasomal tergites brown with thin white apical trim. Hind leg dark brown. Fore wing hyaline, apex fuscous.

Physotarsus leucohypopygus 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. niveus Zhaurova, and P. oculatus Zhaurova. As in P. niveus and P. oculatus the hind femur on the outer or anterior face is entirely or almost entirely dark brown to black in P. leucohypopygus. The ocellar field is dark brown in P. oculatus but the head above is completely orange in P. leucohypopygus and P. niveus. The propodeum is entirely orange in P. leucohypopygus but dark brown anteriorly and white posteriorly in P. niveus.

Known only from Brazil.

Hosts unknown.

Material Examined. Holotype female (AEIC, Type No. 3856): [BRAZIL, Pernambuco] first line of data label: “Caruaru, Brazil” second line: “VII.1972 900 m.” third line: “J. Lima”. 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.