Cassidibracon gracillariae
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Ordo: Hymenoptera
Familia: Braconidae
Genus: Cassidibracon
Name
Cassidibracon gracillariae Quicke sp. n. – Wikispecies link – ZooBank link – Pensoft Profile
Material examined
Holotype. Female, “19.vi.1911, Parasite on Epicephala chalybacma, Pusa [INDIA], C. S. Misra”, “72” (BMNH)
Paratypes. 2 females, same data as holotype.
Diagnosis
In Narendran et al.’s (1994)[1] key to species, the new species runs to Cassidibracon sumodani Narendran because of its complete propodeal carina, but differs in having more (24 as opposed to 21) flagellomeres and in the dark pattern on the metasoma. The new species differs from all other known species of the genus in having a large ‘H’-shaped black mark extending over tergites 2–4.
Narendran et al.’s (1994)[1] key can be modified as follows to include the new species
Description
Length of body 2.9 mm, of forewing 2.6 mm and of antenna 2.8 mm.
Head. Antenna with 24 flagellomeres. Median flagellomeres approximately 1.4 × longer than wide. 1st flagellomere 1.1 × longer than both the 2nd and 3rd segments separately. Face shiny with numerous punctures at bases of setae. Height of eye: width of head: width of face = 1.0: 2.5 : 1.05. Intertentorial distance 1.7 × tentorio-ocular distance. POL: transverse diameter of posterior ocellus: shortest distance between posterior ocellus and eye = 1: 1 : 3.
Mesosoma. Mesosoma approximately 1.5 × longer than high. Midlongitudinal propodeal carina running within a deep, foveolate groove. Propodeum largely shiny, anteriorly smooth becoming distinctly weakly longitudinally striate medially merging to punctate sculpture posteriorly.
Wings. Fore wing vein cu-a marginally postfurcal. Lengths of fore wing veins r:3-SR:SR1 = 1.0: 1.7: 5.0.
Legs. Length of hind femur: tibia: tarsus = 1.2: 1.0: 1.0. Hind tibia 4.5 × longer than maximally deep.
Metasoma. Metasomal tergites irregularly densely punctulate. 2nd tergite 1.9 × wider than medially long. 3rd tergite 2.5 × wider than medially long.
Coloration. Antenna orange-brown becoming black on apical third. Head cream-yellow with stemmaticum black. Mesosoma largely cream-yellow with dark marks on lateral lobes and anterior of middle lobe of mesoscutum. Metasoma cream-coloured with large ‘H’-shaped black mark extending over tergites 2-4.
Notes on biology
The type series of Cassidibracon gracillariae sp. n. are labelled as having been reared from ‘E[picephala]. chalybacma’ (now Stomphastis chalybacma (Meyrick, 1908)) (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae). Specimens of Stomphastis chalybacma in BMNH share the highly distinctive cocoons and there is no doubt that the original host identification was correct. The host is a widespread moth in south-east Asia which mines leaves of Caesalpinia and Samanea species (Fabaceae). The gracillariid, which feeds solitarily as a leaf-miner, pupates in a flattened silken cocoon ornamented with a cluster of distinctive bubbles, excreted by the larva, along the whole length of the cocoon. These bubbles presumably serve a defensive (or camouflage) function and resemble an egg mass, or possibly a parasitoid cocoon mass. The ovipositing Cassidibracon presumably attacks either pre-pupal larva or pupal hosts.
Original Description
- Quicke, D; Broad, G; Butcher, B; 2012: First host record for the Palaeotropical braconine wasp genus Cassidibracon Quicke (Hymenoptera, Braconidae) with the description of a new species from India Journal of Hymenoptera Research, 28: 135-141. doi
