First notice of Therion from South America with description of two new species from Argentina and Bolivia (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae)

Authors

Charles C. Porter, Florida State Collection of Arthropods, Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Gainesville, FL

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

March 1999

Comments

Insecta Mundi, published by the Center for Systematic Entomology, is available online at http://centerforsystematicentomology.org/. Copyright © by Porter.

Abstract

Abstract: Therion Curtis (Ichneumonidae: Anomalinae) has a nearly cosmopolitan geographic distribution but has not previously been recorded from South America. In most Therion the tarsal claws are simple or have only a few inconspicuous teeth near the base. The new species described herein are distinctive, therefore, because they have the tarsal claws conspicuously pectinate over at least 0.8 the distance from base to apex. Therion ranti n. sp. from Cordoba and Mendoza Provinces of Argentina may be recognized by its almost uniformly red mesosoma and basally elevated clypeus. In Therion wileyi n. sp., from the Andean puna near La Paz in Bolivia, the mesosoma is red with extensive black coloration, including much of the propodeum, and the clypeus is weakly and symmetrically convex in profile. Therion wileyi n.sp. was reared from an unidentified noctuid moth larva infesting Chenopodium quinoa (Angiospermae: Chenopodiaceae), an important food crop in Andean South America.

Resumen: El genero Therion Curtis (Ichneumonidae: Anomalinae) es de distribucion geografica cosmopolita, pero no ha sido citado antes de Sudamerica. En la mayoria de las especies de Therion, las unas tarsales son simples o, como maximo, tienen varios dientes inconspicuos cerca de la base. Las especias nuevas aqui descriptas, por lo tanto, se destacan por sus unas tarsales que son fuertemente pectinadas en alrededor de 0,8 de su largo total entre la base y el apice. Therion ranti sp.nov., de las provincias de Cordoba y Mendoza en la Argentina, puede reconocerse por su mesosoma casi del todo rojo y por tener el clipeo notablemente elevado en la mitad basal. En Therion wileyi sp.nov., de la puna altoandina cerca de La Paz en Bolivia, el mesosoma es rojo y negro con gran parte del propodeo negro y el clipeo, visto de perfil, es de contornos simQtricos y poco elevado. Therion wileyi sp.nov. fue criado de la larva de una especie no identificada de noctuido(Lepidoptera) sobre Chenopodiurn quinoa (Angiospermae: Chenopodiaceae), una planta comestible de gran valor economico ampliamente cultivada en la region altoandina de Sudamerica.