Abstract
Nine new species of Itaplectops Townsend (Diptera: Tachinidae) are described from Area de Conservación Guanacaste (ACG), northwestern Costa Rica. All specimens have been reared from various species of ACG caterpillars in the families Limacodidae and Dalceridae. By combining morphological, photographic, and genetic barcode data we provide clear yet concise descriptions. The following nine new species are described in the genus Itaplectops: Itaplectops akselpalolai, Itaplectops anikenpalolae, Itaplectops argentifrons, Itaplectops aurifrons, Itaplectops ericpalolai, Itaplectops griseobasis, Itaplectops omissus, Itaplectops shellymcsweeneyae, Itaplectops tristanpalolai. We move Itaplectops to the tribe Uramyini from its original placement within the Blondeliini, and we discuss its systematic placement. We also provide a key differentiating the, genera of the tribe Uramyini as well as the known species of Itaplectops.
Highlights
The tachinid genus Itaplectops Townsend is a small New World genus, previously known only from the type species (Guimarães 1971) and one previously unidentified species from Area de Conservación Guanacaste (ACG) in northwestern Costa Rica mentioned in Wood and Zumbado (2010) which is described here
Our present study focuses on northwestern Costa Rica, and these nine new species are by no means considered by us to be representative of the whole Itaplectops diversity of the region
The flies described in this paper were collected as part of a 35+ year–old ongoing inventory of the caterpillars, their food plants and their parasitoids, found within the 125,000+ ha terrestrial portion of Area de Conservación Guanacaste (ACG) in northwestern Costa Rica (Fernandez-Triana et al 2014, Fleming et al 2014a, Janzen and Hallwachs 2011, Janzen et al 2009, Rodriguez et al 2012, Smith et al 2012, Smith et al 2007, Smith et al 2006, Smith et al 2008).The methods employed for rearing the caterpillar parasitoids are illustrated at http://janzen.bio.upenn.edu/caterpillars/ methodology/how/parasitoid_husbandry.htm
Summary
The tachinid genus Itaplectops Townsend is a small New World genus, previously known only from the type species (Guimarães 1971) and one previously unidentified species from Area de Conservación Guanacaste (ACG) in northwestern Costa Rica mentioned in Wood and Zumbado (2010) which is described here. The genus was erected for a single female specimen obtained in Cantareira, Brasil, in 1927, described as Itaplectops antennalis Townsend, 1927. Guimarães (1980) published the last major systematic work on the tribe Uramyini. In it he provided a diagnosis of the tribe and recognized only two valid genera: Uramya Robineau-Desvoidy 1830 and Thelairaporia Guimarães, 1980. We discuss the inclusion of the genus Itaplectops Townsend in the tribe Uramyini
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