Length: Males 6.8 to 8.1mm, Females 7.9 to 9.9mm (see below).
Classification
from Australian Faunal Directory
Order Hymenoptera - Wasps, Ants, Bees and Sawflies, 12202 named species in Australia
Family Ichneumonidae - parasitic wasps, 472 named species in Australia
Subfamily Tryphoninae - 16 named species in Australia
Genus Phytodietus - 3 species in Australia
Species Phytodietus celsissimus
Description
Extracted from Kostro-Ambroziak 2012, pages 142-145. See original document for diagrams and specimen photo. Note that all the white parts are described below as yellow and the wings as brown, but the description refers to museum specimens and no fresh specimens were examined.
Phytodietus (Phytodietus) celsissimus Turner, 1919
Differential diagnosis. This species can be easily separated from other Phytodietus species of Australia by the black and white colour pattern of body.
Redescription. Body length 7.9-9.9 mm (female) and 6.8-8.1 mm (male).
Head (Figs 10-11). Face 0.84-0.70 times as long as wide, polished and weakly punctate, with leather-like sculpture and sparse, rather short hairs. Clypeus very weakly separated from face, not evenly convex and with weak transverse bend. Apical half of clypeus with median longitudinal impression and its apical margin with more or less distinct notch in centre. Upper tooth of mandible slightly longer than lower. Malar space about 0.4-0.5 times as long as basal width of mandible. Occipital carina complete, joining hypostomal carina before base of mandible. Temple behind eye narrowed, sloping in a straight line. Antenna with 35-39 flagellomeres; flagellomeres 1 to 4 unspecialized, not appreciably broader than distal flagellomeres.
Mesosoma (Fig. 12). Pronotum smooth, with few, weak wrinkles; epomia absent. Mesoscutum 1.28-1.43 times as long as wide, subpolished, smooth and impunctate. Notauli strongly impressed, absent anteriorly but extending up to posterior margin of tegula. Mesopleuron subpolished, smooth, very weakly punctate; speculum subpolished, impunctate and without pubescence. Epicnemial carina complete and distinct. Metapleuron with numerous wrinkles. Submetapleural carina complete, expanded anteriorly into a lobe. Propodeum with numerous transverse dorsal wrinkles and with very weak longitudinal groove but without subapical crests.
Wings (Figs 13-14). Fore wing length 7.5-9.0 mm (female) and 6.0-6.8 mm (male). Marginal cell 0.26- 0.30 times as long as wide; areolet present; distance between 2rs-m and 2m-cu 1.25-1.6 times length of 2rsm; 2m-cu more or less antefurcal to 3rs-m; M distinct; cu-a inclivous, more or less postfurcal to R&M. Hind wing length 5.2-6.3 mm (female) and 4.1-4.8 mm (male). All veins of hind wing complete; first abscissa of Cu1 longer than cu-a and joining cu-a at an angle. Legs (Fig. 15). Hind femur 6.3-6.7 (female) and 6.8- 7.9 (male) times as long as wide. Lateral spur of hind tibia about 0.5-0.6 times as long as first metatarsus. Hind fifth tarsomere about 0.5-0.7 times as long as third.
Metasoma (Fig. 16). Tergites rather shiny, smooth and with short hairs. First metasomal tergite 1.65-1.92 (female) and 2.04-2.67 (male) times as long as posteriorly wide; evenly tapered from apex to base (sometimes weakly constricted between spiracle and base). Median basal pit of first tergite moderately deep; median dorsal carinae present and elevated. Dorsolateral edge of first tergite not distinctly rounded or angled. Second tergite 1.05-1.15 (female) and 1.39-1.42 (male) times as long as anteriorly wide, 0.73-0.75 (female) and 1.09-1.17 (male) times as long as posteriorly wide; gastrocoelus present.
Colour (Figs 11, 15, 17). Head black and yellow. Invariable: black temple and frons; black vertex with long yellow mark on inner side of eye; yellow clypeus and mandible. Variable: gena - black or partly yellow in female and yellow in male; frontal orbits - black, partly yellow (in most specimens) or completely yellow; face and facial orbits - from black with yellow mark in middle of face to completely yellow. Whole antenna black or scape and pedicel ventrally yellow. Mesosoma variable. Pronotum black with small yellow mark near tegula and/or also with wide yellow band on fore margin. Mesopleuron black with small yellow mark near tegula and/or near pronotum (female) and black with large yellow marks (male). Mesoscutum black with anterolateral yellow marks and with yellow mark medially (in most specimens), sometimes without mark medially or completely black. Scutellum yellow or with black base. Fore and mid legs yellow/orange and mid tarsus dark orange/pale brown. Hind leg: coxa yellow at base, remainder black; trochanter black, tro- chantellus yellow; femur black with yellow base and apex; tibia black with yellow base; tarsus black/dark brown. Metapleuron black (most females) or black with yellow base (males, some females). Carinal triangle black and yellow or completely yellow. Propodeum varying from black with yellow band to whole basal half of propodeum completely yellow. Metasoma invariable. Tergites and sternites black with wide yellow margins at apex. Hypopygium of female as tergites. Wings pale brown with brown veins. Ovipositor sheath black.
Biology. Like other species of this genus, Ph. celsissimus is a parasitoid of lepidopteran larvae. This species has previously been reared from Epiphyas postvittana Walker, 1863 (Tortricidae) (Dumbleton 1940; Paull & Austin 2006) and Xylorycta (= Neodrepta) luteotactella Walker, 1864 (Oecophoridae) (Gauld 1984). The specimens examined here were reared mainly from Tortricidae, especially E. postvittana, but one female was probably reared from Epiphyas dotatana Walker, 1863 or from Acropolitis rudisana, 1863. Furthermore one female was reared from Notodonta sp. Ochsenheimer, 1810 (Notodontidae).
References
- Agata Kostro-Ambroziak (2012) Taxonomic study of the genus Phytodietus Gravenhorst, 1829 (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae) from Australia, with description of a new species. Dtsch. Entomol. Z. 59: 139-145