Aphelinoidea (Aphelinoidea) semifuscipennis Girault, 1911

Triapitsyn, Ś. Serguei V., 2018, Review of the Palearctic Aphelinoidea (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae), with focus on the species described by Ś. Nowicki, Israel Journal of Entomology 48 (2), pp. 33-81 : 65-68

Aphelinoidea (Aphelinoidea) semifuscipennis Girault, 1911

( Figs 60–67)

Aphelinoidea semifuscipennis ­Girault,­1911:­4–6.­Type­locality:­Centralia,­ Illinois,­ USA.­Lectotype­ ♀ ­ [INHS], designated by Frison 1927: 224, examined ( Trjapitzin 1995).

Aphelinoidea semifuscipennis variety allipes Girault, 1914: 328 . Type locality: Río Piedras , San Juan, Puerto­Rico­( USA).­Syntypes­ 8♀ ­ 1♂ ­[USNM],­not­examined.­Listed­as­a­synonym­of­ A. semifuscipennis by Doutt & Viggiani 1968: 530.

Aphelinoidea semifuscipennis Girault : Girault 1912: 296 (discussion); Doutt & Viggiani 1968: 530 (illustrations, list); Walker et al. 2005: 9 (mentioned), 23 (brief diagnosis).

Aphelinoidea (Aphelinoidea) semifuscipennis Girault : Trjapitzin 1995: 302–305 (lectotype information, discussion, key, distribution).

Aphelinoidea (Aphelinoidea) sp. ( semifuscipennis [species] group): Pinto 2006: 143 (illustration of fore wing).

Diagnosis: Member of the semifuscipennis species group of the nominate subgenus of Aphelinoidea . Fore wing with marginal vein thickened and stigmal vein very short and often inconspicuous ( Figs 63, 67).

Female. See the key given in the diagnosis of A. gerlingi above. In the specimens from USA, mesosoma brown except propodeum usually contrastingly lighter, pale or yellow ( Fig. 62). Antenna ( Fig. 60) with clava 2.7–3.2× as long as wide, its apical segment 1.5–2.0× length of basal segment; fore wing ( Fig. 63) 2.5–2.8× as long as wide, with basal infuscation on the disc projecting a little beyond apex of venation; hind wing as in Fig. 64; ovipositor 1.6–1.8× length of metatibia.

Male. Antenna ( Fig. 65) with clava 2.4–2.9× as long as wide; fore wing ( Fig. 67) 2.5–2.6× as long as wide, longest marginal seta notably longer than in female, 0.22–0.28× greatest width of wing; genitalia ( Fig. 66) without aedeagal apodemes, as­first­noted­by­Pinto­(2006:­88),­length­94–100­µm.

Material examined (all in UCRC): Russia: ­ 1♀,­ Moscow­ Region,­ Noginsk­ District,­ Fryazevo,­ 13.vi.2002, M.E. Tretiakov. Bermuda: 1♀,­Southampon­ Parish,­ 4­Munro­ Lane,­ 16–24.x.2001,­R.­ Kaufhold. USA: California:­ 1♀,­Fresno­County,­Glenn­Rd.,­ 8.iv.1993,­S.V.­Triapitsyn­(on­ Erodium sp. and Plantago sp. ); Illinois:­ 1♀,­ Centralia,­ 4.ix.1983,­ J.D.­ &­ D.­ Huber;­ 1♀,­ Carl­ Hall­ Park,­ 7.ix.1993,­J.D.­Pinto;­ 1♀,­1­mi.­N­of­Centralia,­Community­Beach­Drive,­near­Old­Reservoir,­ 12–17. ix.1995, S.V. Triapitsyn; Indiana:­ 3♀,­ Posey­ County,­ New­ Harmony,­ 5.ix.1983,­ J.T.­ Huber;­ Missouri:­ 15♀ ­ 1♂,­Wayne­ County,­Williamsville,­ vii.1987 ­ (1♀),­ viii.1987 ­ (7♀),­ 10–26.ix.1987 ­ (2♀),­ x.1987 ­(1♀),­ 16.vii–16.viii.1988 ­(1♀ ­ 1♂),­ 8–31.viii.1988 ­(1♀),­ 1–20.ix.1988 ­(2♀),­J.T.­Becker;­ New Mexico:­4­ ♀,­Hidalgo­ County,­Gray­ Ranch,­Cienaga,­ 31°31.721'N­ 108°52.826'W,­ 7–8.viii.2002,­J.­ George,­M.­Gates;­ 1♂,­Quay­County,­Tecumcari,­ 4.vi.2003,­M.L.­Buffington;­ Oklahoma:­ 2♀ ­ 2♂,­Latimer­County,­Red­Oak,­ vii.1993 ­(1♀ ­ 2♂),­ x.2001 ­(1♀),­K.­Stephan.

Distribution: Mexico (Jalisco) ( Moya-Raygoza et al. 2012, 2014), USA (including Puerto Rico) ( Girault 1911, 1914; Trjapitzin 1995), as well as Bermuda and Russia (new records).

Hosts: Dalbulus elimatus (Ball) ( Moya-Raygoza et al. 2014) and D. maidis (De- Long) in Mexico ( Moya-Raygoza et al. 2012, 2014) ( Cicadellidae ). Its record from Hortensia similis ­(Walker)­( Cicadellidae )­by­De­Santis­(1979)­needs­to­be­ve­rified.­ Aphelinoidea semifuscipennis variety allipes was reared in Puerto Rico from egg clusters of a leafhopper ( Cicadellidae ) (Girault 1914).

Comments: The male originally described by Girault (1911) as A. semifuscipennis was later described by him as A. plutella Girault (Girault 1912) , although mistakenly as a female ( Trjapitzin 1995).

The sole female from the European part of Russia is mostly indistinguishable from­ the­ conspecific­ specimens­ of­ A. semifuscipennis from North America. Its midlobe of the mesoscutum, scutellum, and dorsum of the gaster are ginger-brown, the antenna is pale, and the head is pale with the vertex brown. The antenna ( Fig. 61) has its clava 2.8× as long as wide, and its apical segment is 1.7× length of the basal segment. The fore wing is 2.4× as long as wide, and the ovipositor is 1.6× length of the metatibia.

One unusual male ( USA: Florida, Pinellas County, St. Petersburg, 28.xii.1982, W.A. Gregory, underneath Pinus palustris [UCRC], Fig. 68) may belong to A. semifuscipennis as its has typical genitalia, but its fore wing is notably narrower, 3.2× as long as wide, and the longest marginal seta is about 0.4× greatest width of the wing.