Skip to main content

Palaeorhoptrocentrus tenuicornis, Taphaeus obscurus and Eubazus electrus, braconid parasitoid wasps from late Eocene Baltic amber

Dlium Palaeorhoptrocentrus tenuicornis, Taphaeus obscurus and Eubazus electrus, braconid parasitoid wasps from late Eocene Baltic amber

NEWS - Slim antenna parasitoid wasp (Palaeorhoptrocentrus tenuicornis sp. nov. Doryctinae), dark color parasitoid wasp (Taphaeus obscurus Belokobylskij & Zaldívar-Riverón sp. nov. Brachistinae: Diospilini) and electron parasitoid wasp (Eubazus electrus Belokobylskij & Zaldívar-Riverón sp. nov. Brachistinae: Brachistini) are reported as new species.

Palaeorhoptrocentrus tenuicornis described based on a single female and named after “tenuis” (Latin for slender) and “cornis” (Latin for horn or projection) referring to its very slender antennae. Specimen from Primorskiy quarry, Yantarny, Kaliningrad Province, Russia. Baltic amber from the Late Eocene, Priabonian range.

This species is similar to the type species of the genus, Palaeorhoptrocentrus kanti Belokobylskij 2023, but the first antennal flagellar segment is slender (vs. broad in P. kanti), the second radiomedial cell of the forewing is submarginal, narrow (vs. rather broad), the interstitial nervulus, 1cu-a, (vs. postfurcal), the recurrent vein, m-cu, the hindwing interstitial (vs. antefurcal), the temples are smooth laterally (vs. sculpted), the sides of the pronotum and metapleuron are distinctly and broadly sculpted (vs. very smooth) and the precoxal sulcus is rugose-notched (vs. almost smooth).

Taphaeus obscurus described from a single female and the name is based on the Latin word “obscurus” meaning dark referring to the dark body color and the forewing infusion. Specimen from Primorskiy quarry, Yantarny, Kaliningrad Province, Russia. Baltic amber from the Late Eocene, Priabonian range.

This species is similar to Taphaeus praecox Brues 1923 from Baltic amber, but the head is less transverse, about 2.0 times wider than long in the middle (vs. wider transverse, about 3.0 times wider than long in the middle in T. praecox), the first flagellar segment is 2.2 times longer than the maximum width (vs. 4.0 times), the second to last antennal segment is almost as long as the maximum width (vs. 2.0 times longer) and the second tergite is 0.7 times longer than the first tergite (vs. almost the same).

Eubazus electrus described from a single female and the name is based on the Greek word “élektron” meaning amber, since the holotype specimen was found in Baltic amber. Specimen from Primorskiy quarry, Yantarny, Kaliningrad Province, Russia. Baltic amber from the Late Eocene, Priabonian range.

The new species differs from the three species of Eubazus from Baltic amber: Eubazus crassicornis (Brues, 1933), Eubazus gracilicornis (Brues, 1939) and Eubazus normalis (Brues, 1923) in having multisegmented antennae with 26 segments (vs. 17-19 segments).

E. electrus having fused forewings (vs. hyaline in E. crassicornis); thickened antennal flagella and weakly transverse penultimate segment (vs. slender and elongate penultimate segment in E. gracilicornis); scape short and wide, 1.5 times longer than wide, first flagellar segment 3.0 times longer than wide, and ovipositor almost as long as body (vs. scape 2.0 times longer than wide, first flagellar segment 4.0 times longer than wide and ovipositor as long as metasoma in E. normalis).

Original research

Sergey A. Belokobylskij, Madeline V. Pankowski & Alejandro Zaldívar-Riverón (2024). New species of braconid parasitoid wasps from the subfamilies Doryctinae and Brachistinae from late Eocene Baltic amber. Palaeoentomology 007 (5): 645–658, DOI:10.11646/palaeoentomology.7.5.8

Dlium theDlium
Labels:

Popular Posts

Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) manufacture bubble-nets as tools to increase prey intake

NEWS - Humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) create bubble net tools while foraging, consisting of internal tangential rings, and actively control the number of rings, their size, depth and horizontal spacing between the surrounding bubbles. These structural elements of the net increase prey intake sevenfold. Researchers have known that humpback whales create “bubble nets” for hunting, but the new report shows that the animals also manipulate them in a variety of ways to maximize catches. The behavior places humpbacks among the rare animals that make and use their own tools. “Many animals use tools to help them find food, but very few actually make or modify these tools themselves,” said Lars Bejder, director of the Marine Mammal Research Program (MMRP), University of Hawaii at Manoa. “Humpback whales in southeast Alaska create elaborate bubble nets to catch krill. They skillfully blow bubbles in patterns that form a web with internal rings. They actively control details such ...
Read more

Takenoshin Nakai swallow-wort (Vincetoxicum nakaianum) replaces V. magnificum and C. magnificum

NEWS - Researchers reported an erect herbaceous species distributed in the eastern part of Honshu Island, Vincetoxicum magnificum (Nakai) Kitag. based on Cynanchum magnificum Nakai, nomen nudum. Therefore, they named this species Takenoshin Nakai swallow-wort ( Vincetoxicum nakaianum K.Mochizuki & Ohi-Toma). Vincetoxicum Wolf (Asclepiadeae) is the third largest genus in the Asclepiadoideae consisting of about 260 species geographically extending from tropical Africa, Asia and Oceania to temperate regions of Eurasia. A total of 23 species are known from Japan, including 16 endemic species. Molecular phylogeny divides Japanese Vincetoxicum into four groups: the “Far Eastern” clade consisting of 11 endemic species and 4 more widespread species, 1 sister species to the “Far Eastern” clade, the “subtropical” clade consisting of 2 species and the “Vincetoxicum s. str.” clade consisting of 5 species. V. magnificum (Nakai) Kitag. (Japanese: tachi-gashiwa) is closely related to V. macro...
Read more

Red costate tiger moth (Aloa lactinea)

Red costate tiger moth ( Aloa lactinea ) is an animal species in the Erebidae, a moth with a wingspan of 40 mm, a yellow belly, black antennae with red basalt joints, dark red palpi on the sides and white below, black terminal joints, living in forests and agriculture in the lowlands to mountainous areas. A. lactinea has a white head with a red stripe on the back. Thorax is white. The wings are predominantly white in color with black dots on each corner of the cells and a red margin. The wings have branched pulse lines and a starchy surface. The wing-covered upper abdomen is black with large elliptical plots and is colored yellow forming cells. The lower abdomen is white and has fine hairs that fall out easily. A pair of antennas is black. The forelegs are red, white and black. The other legs are white on the top and black on the bottom. The final joints are white and black which form alternating rings. Tip and sole black all over. The larvae are black in color with a lateral crest ...
Read more