Pristomerus caris Fitton in Polaszek et al., 1994

Fig. 7

Pristomerus caris Fitton in Polaszek et al., 1994: 83.

Diagnosis (range of variation from Rousse et al. 2013)

Head very pale yellow with frons, inter-ocellar and occiput black, face often with a median infuscate to dark brown marking of variable extent; mesosoma and metasoma testaceous orange with tergites 1–2 or 1–3 blackened, mesosoma sometimes with black spots dorsally; face moderately and shallowly punctate; inner margins of eyes barely diverging ventrally; clypeus transverse, smooth; malar line moderately long; frons, vertex and temple coriaceous; occipital carina joining hypostomal carina at mandible base; antenna with 29–32 flagellomeres, penultimate flagellomere subquadrate; mesosoma elongate, densely punctate except pronotum and ventral half of speculum smooth, background sculpture on posterior mesoscutum somewhat transversely rugose; area superomedia narrow and elongate, usually about twice as long as wide but sometimes distinctly more elongate; female femoral tooth absent; ovipositor moderately long, strongly sinuous apically. B 4.1–7.2; A 3.0–5.3; F 3.3–4.7; CT 1.8; ML 0.6; POL 0.6; Fl n–1 1.0; OOL 0.9; ASM 1.9–2.7; OT 1.5–1.7; FFT 0. Male with eye margins more diverging ventrally, femoral tooth enlarged, ocelli usually enlarged (see comments); otherwise similar to female. B 3.8–7.2; A 2.9–5.1; F 3.5–4.2; POL 0.6; OOL 0.2–0.5.

Differential diagnosis

Rather small species from Madagascar, mostly yellowish to testaceous-orange with basal tergites blackened and whitish head, though dorsally and often medially darkened. Differentiated from most other Afrotropical species by the absence of the femoral tooth in females, the whitish face, the mostly yellowish-orange metasoma and the moderately long ovipositor. It is hence morphologically related to P. vahaza, which has a narrower clypeus, a more slender mesosoma and a rather flat scutellum, and to P. ranomafana, which is darker with a significantly longer ovipositor.

Material examined

Holotype

MADAGASCAR: ♀, “ MADAGASCAR: Lac Alaotra, Stn Cala, 12.02.1988, ex Maliarpha separatella LB4-, B.M. Type Hym 3B.2472” (BMNH).

Host records

Maliarpha separatella Ragonot (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae).

Distribution

Madagascar.

Comments (from Rousse et al. 2013)

The large series of specimens available in the MNHN collection shows considerable variation with respect to the original description of P. caris. The propodeum carination is highly variable, the area basalis being petiolate to truncate, and the area superomedia greatly varies in elongation. Colour also varies from lighter specimens with reduced brownish markings to darker ones with larger black spots on face, vertex, mesoscutum and propodeum. We furthermore observed two male groups with differently sized ocelli. Such variability is, however, not correlated with any other morphological or geographical difference. These specimens might represent a species complex whose study needs more comprehensive molecular and morphometric investigations.