Centistidea areolaris, Liu & Polaszek, 2025

Liu, Zhen & Polaszek, Andrew, 2025, The species of Centistidea Rohwer, 1914 (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Miracinae) from Brazil, European Journal of Taxonomy 1004, pp. 190-210 : 192-195

Centistidea areolaris sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:6D0C3411-3C3D-4639-9B8C-229F7779E394

Fig. 1

Diagnosis

Body length 1.7 mm, light red-brown, except apical part of propodeum and T1–T4 black-brown ( Fig. 1a ); head 2.0 × as wide as long dorsally; eyes 2.4 × as long as temple in dorsal view; POL:OD:OOL = 1.5:1.0:2.5 ( Fig. 1b ); antenna ( Fig. 1d ) 1.2× as long as body length, with penultimate flagellomere 2.8× as long as wide; notauli weakly depressed at anterior ⅓; scutellar sulcus not crenulate; scutellar hind depressions medium-sized and oblong, with interspace over half of its minor axis ( Fig. 1e ); propodeum ( Fig. 1h ) with median longitudinal carinae attached with a diamond-shaped areola (this can be very difficult to see, requiring particular lighting); fore wing with ( Fig. 1g ) vein 1-R1 triangular, 0.2 of pterostigma length; T1 ( Fig. 1i ) weakly sclerotized, 1.9 × as long as its subapical maximum width; T2 ( Fig. 1l ) 1.7× as wide as median length, longitudinally striate laterally; T3 0.8 × as long as T2, weakly longitudinally striate; ovipositor sheath ( Fig. 1k ) about half length of hind basitarsus.

Etymology

The specific name ‘ areolaris ’ derives from the Latin, referring to its propodeum with areola in addition to the median longitudinal carina.

Type material

Holotype

BRAZIL • ♀; Nova Teutonia ; 27.1833° S, 52.3833° W; 4 Oct. 1938; F. Plaumann leg.; B.M. 1938-682; NHMUK010639567 ; NHMUK.

Description

Female

MEASUREMENTS. Body length 1.7 mm, fore wing length 2.1 mm ( Fig. 1a ).

HEAD. 2.0 × as wide as long dorsally, 1.2 × as wide as mesoscutum. Eyes 2.4 × as long as temple in dorsal view. Temple smooth, with dense setae, slightly and roundly constricted behind eyes in dorsal view ( Fig. 1b ). Ocelli small, distance between fore and hind ocellus 1.1× as long as minor axis of a hind ocellus, POL:OD:OOL = 1.5:1.0:2.5. Frons flat and polished. Vertex between eye and hind ocellus a little shiny and smooth with small, sparse setose punctures. Occiput shallowly longitudinally striate at bottom. Face ( Fig. 1c ) nearly smooth except small, dense setose punctures, slightly convex medially, rather transverse, 2.0× as wide as high. Clypeus 2.2× as wide as median length, nearly polished except few setae laterally. Length of malar space 0.7× as long as basal width of mandible. Antenna ( Fig. 1d ) 1.2× as long as body length, with scape, pedicel and 1 st, 2 nd, penultimate and ultimate flagellomeres 2.0, 1.9, 4.4, 3.3, 2.8 and 3.3 × as long as wide, 1 st 1.3× as long as 2 nd, flagellomeres gradually shortening to penultimate one.

MESOSOMA. Length:width:height = 1.6:1.0:1.0. Mesoscutum ( Fig. 1e ) a little shiny with sparser small punctures on anterior half, shallowly punctate on apical half, notauli weakly depressed at anterior ⅓. Scutellar sulcus slightly curved, narrow and shallowly concave, not crenulate. Scutellum shiny, polished, hind depressions medium-sized and oblong, with interspace over half of its minor axis. Propodeum ( Fig. 1h ) shiny, median longitudinal carinae split to transverse carinae near apical extremity, attached to diamond-shaped areola, elsewhere polished. Mesopleuron ( Fig. 1f ) highly polished, smooth.

LEGS. Hind femur 3.1 × as long as its widest part. Length of hind femur:tibia:basitarsus = 1.6:2.4:1.0. Hind basitarsus 0.8 as long as tarsomeres 2–5 combined ( Fig. 1j ).

WINGS. Fore wing ( Fig. 1g ): pterostigma large, 2.3 as long as its widest part, vein 1-R1 triangular, 0.2 of pterostigma length; vein r distinct, r:2-SR:2-M = 1.0:7.7:2.7, 1-SR:1-M = 1.0:3.8, 1-CU1 indistinctly longer than 2-CU1; first discal cell of fore wing indistinctly wider than high. Hind wing ( Fig. 1g ): vein M+CU:1-M:r-m = 3.2:2.8:1.0.

METASOMA. 0.8× as long as mesosoma. T1 ( Fig. 1i ) smooth and polished, weakly sclerotized, 1.9 × as long as its subapical maximum width, slightly narrowed anterio-medially. T2 ( Fig. 1l ) 1.7× as wide as median length, longitudinally striate laterally. T3 0.8× as long as T2, weakly longitudinally striate. Hypopygium not reaching apex of metasoma. Ovipositor sheath ( Fig. 1k ) short, about half length of hind basitarsus, with setae of same length and denser apically.

COLOR. Light red-brown, except apical part of propodeum and T1–T4 black-brown ( Fig. 1a ). Eyes with green metallic reflection. Palpi and spurs pale yellow. Antenna black-brown except scape and pedicel yellow-brown. Legs all yellow except tarsi yellow-brown. Wing membrane hyaline, pterostigma pale brown, veins C+SC+R, r, 2-SR, 1-SR, 1-M, M+CU, 1-CU1 and 2-CU2 brown, other veins pale brown.

Male

Unknown.

Host

Unknown.

Distribution

Brazil.

Remarks

This species is similar to C. linguaris ( Papp, 2013) but differs in the following characters: antenna 1.2× as long as body length (somewhat shorter than body length in C. linguaris ); ovipositor sheath about half length of basitarsomere (longer, as long as tarsomeres 1–3 of hind tarsus in C. linguaris ); and propodeum with areola (absent in C. linguaris ).

Figures

Fig. 1. Centistidea areolaris sp. nov., ♀, holotype (NHMUK010639567). a. Habitus, dorsal view. b. Head, dorsal view. c. Head, frontal view. d. Antenna. e. Mesoscutum and scutellum, dorsal view. f. Mesopleuron. g. Fore wing and hind wing. h. Propodeum. i. T1. j. Hind leg. k. Ovipositor sheath. l. T2 and following terga, dorsal view.