Lopesiana thomasi

Lopesiana thomasi (Conde, 1937) Figs 6–7 Material examined BRAZIL: – Rio de Janeiro: 1 ♀, Itiatiaia, 700 m a.s.l., 2 Mar. 1928, J.F. Zikan leg. (FIOC); 1 Ƌ, same collecting data as preceding but 9 Feb. [19]30 (FIOC); 1 ♀, same collecting data as preceding but 19 Jan. [19]45 (FIOC); 1 ♀, Gavea, 23 Jan. [19]36 (FIOC). Redescription (female, male structures only mentioned when differing from females) MEASUREMENTS. Small to medium-sized sawflies, body length 6 to 9 mm, male smaller than female. COLOR. Body coloration predominantly dark brown to black (Figs 6–7). Underside of abdomen creamy white except for apex, white parts extending onto lateral part of terga to various extent. Antennae and mouth parts dark brown; coxae and trochanters variable, femora and tarsi predominantly dark brown to black, tibiae creamy white. Wings hyaline, venation dark brown. HEAD. Eyes converging ventrally, inner margins slightly incurved (Figs 6B, 7C). Posterior ocelli at level with dorsal margin of eyes. Toruli low on face, distance median ocellus – toruli approx. twice the distance toruli – ventral margin of clypeus; dorsomedian margin of torulus with distinct carina overlapping base of antennomere 1. Epistomal sulcus absent. Clypeus straight, hairy. Gena medially less than half the width of eye, wider dorsally than ventrally. Malar space very low. Occipital carina absent. Sclerotisation between occipital and oral foramina not observed. Antennae with five antennomeres (Figs 6B, 7C); antennomere 1 slightly longer than wide, antennomere 2 approx. as wide as long, antennomere 3 approx. 2× as long as antennomere 4, antennomere 5 slightly expanded distally. Labrum broad, convex, flat, hairy, distal margin evenly curved. Mandibles less than ½ the height of head, number of teeth not observed, inner margin of teeth not serrated. Maxillar palps with six palpomeres (from Conde 1937), longer than labial palps, labial palps with four palpomeres. Postmentum not observed. THORAX. Pronotum comparatively high medially, with transverse groove extending close to dorsolateral corner, no lateral groove; pronotum fused with mesopleuron for some distance ventrolaterally. Dorsal cervical sclerite present. Propectus without lateral projection, propleural sulcus present, medioventral margins of propectus widely separated, posteriorly extended into narrow points. Prosternum laterally extended, continuous with katepisternum which articulate, but does not fuse with propleuron at lateral coxal articulation point. Anterior fore tibial spur straight, simple, not much longer than posterior spur, spurs pointed and sclerotized apically. Mesonotum with median sulcus indistinct, marked as line rather than groove, notauli well developed as grooves (Fig. 6C), laterophragmal apodeme not observed, postscutellum absent. Small anterodorsal part of mesopleuron separated from rest by vertical groove, prepectus absent as separate sclerite. Horizontal carina absent laterally on mesopleuron. Posterior thoracic spiracle covered in lateral view by posterodorsal margin of mesopleuron, short spine projects dorsally just posterior to spiracle (Fig. 7D). Median midcoxal articulations adjacent, only separated by small wedge of cuticle. Mesofurca not observed. Insertion of mesonoto-metanotal muscle on metanotum simple, not on conspicuous structure; cenchri oval, less than 1.5× as broad as long. Anapleural cleft present, small. Metapleuron fused with abdominal tergum 1 along dorsal margin, line of fusion dark; posteroventral metapleural apodeme not observed; paracoxal sulcus curving posteriorly, terminating in the middle of the metapleural sulcus; metacoxal foramina open dorsally, without metapleural inflection laterally. Metafurca not observed. Hind coxa less than twice as long as wide, median carina or spine not observed. Hind femoral ventral spur absent. Hind tibial apical spurs not much longer than apical width of tibia. Hind basitarsomere at least 1.5× as long as than tarsomeres 2–4, tarsal claws bifid, teeth of subequal length. WINGS. Fore wing with vein M joining Sc+R close to Rs+M; in females vein 2m-cu elongate and extends obliquely with anterior end terminating in vein Rs+M proximally to vein 2r-m (Fig. 6D), in males vein 2m-cu is short and anteriorly inserts in vein M well distal to vein 2r-m; vein 1m-cu oriented obliquely, inserting on Rs+M some distance from 2r-m (distance 1m-cu – 2r-m at least ¼ distance M – 1m-cu on Rs+M); posterior anal vein present proximally and distally but discontinuous in the middle. Hind wing cell R1 open; vein M continuous, separating cells Rs and M, cell M not reaching vein Rs; cross vein 2a absent. ABDOMEN. Tergum 1 continuous medially (Figs 6C, 7A), median carina absent, lateral carina absent, posterior margin slightly incurved; tergum 1 not brighter colored than other abdominal terga. Metaphragma not observed. Separation between median terga and lateroterga weakly demarcated. Cerci oval, length approx. 1.5× width mid length. Ovipositor apparatus not observed; Conde (1937: fig. 2) and Smith (1988: fig. 48) illustrate the 1 st valvula, with longitudinal line absent, vertically oriented sawteeth with serrulae present, and tip straight. Comments Originally described as Lopesia thomasi by Conde (1937). According to Conde, the holotype was collected in the Jardin Botanico in Rio de Janeiro in February 1936 and placed in the custody of ‘Frey Thomas’ (perhaps a monk, i.e., Friar Thomas; the species is named after him). We have not been able to examine the type; the material examined here fits well with the original description. Smith (1988) created the replacement name Lopesiana, as Lopesia Conde, 1937 is a homonym of Lopesia Rübsaamen, 1908 (Diptera, Cecidomyiidae). Lopesiana thomasi with a body length between 6 and 9 mm is the smallest of the South American Cimbicidae. Its upper size range overlaps with that of Brasilabia and Pseudopachylosticta. Among Cimbicidae in general, only the Palaearctic genus Corynis has members which are as small as Lopesiana. Apart from the small size, Lopesiana can be separated from the other South American cimbicids by a combination of characters: having non-metallic body coloration, the antenna inserted very low on the face and with the dorsomedian margin of the toruli forming a distinct carina above the antennal bases, the posterior thoracic spiracle being concealed in lateral view (shared with Corynis), having a short, triangular 1st ovipositor valve (compare fig. 48 with figs 42–47 in Smith 1988). The anterior insertion of fore wing vein 2m-cu on vein Rs+M female Lopesiana is unique within South American Cimbicidae; the insertion of 2m-cu proximal to the posterior end of vein 2r-m resembles the condition in Abiinae and Cimbicinae (see Fig. 2B), that of the males the condition which is observed in other Cimbicidae, including the South American taxa.
Published as part of Vilhelmsen, Lars, Smith, David R. & Malagón-Aldana, Leonardo A., 2018, A review of the South American genera of Cimbicidae (Insecta, Hymenoptera), pp. 1-36 in European Journal of Taxonomy 482 on pages 19-20, DOI: 10.5852/ejt.2018.482, http://zenodo.org/record/3825574
{"references":["Conde O. 1937. Erganzungen zu den neotropischen Zaraeini (Hym. Tenthr.). Notulae Entomologicae 17: 14 - 17.","Smith D. R. 1988. A synopsis of the sawflies (Hymenoptera: Symphyta) of America south of the United States: introduction, Xyelidae, Pamphiliidae, Cimbicidae, Diprionidae, Xiphydriidae, Siricidae, Orussidae, Cephidae. Systematic Entomology 13: 205 - 26."]}