Spathius pseudocritolaus, Tang & Belokobylskij & Chen, 2015

Tang, Pu, Belokobylskij, Sergey & Chen, Xue-Xin, 2015, Spathius Nees, 1818 (Hymenoptera: Braconidae, Doryctinae) from China with a key to species, Zootaxa 3960 (1), pp. 1-132 : 93-97

Spathius pseudocritolaus sp. nov.

( Fig. 34 )

Description. Female. Body length 4.4 mm; fore wing length 3.6 mm.

Head. Antennae almost filiform, more than 19-segmented (apical segments missing). Scape 1.8 × as long as its maximum width. First flagellar segment 5.5 × as long as its apical width, as long as second segment. Head width (dorsal view) 1.5 × median length. Head behind eyes (dorsal view) roundly narrowed; transverse diameter of eye 2.0 × length of temple. Ocelli medium-sized, arranged in triangle with base 1.3 × its sides; POL: Od: OOL = 6: 5: 13. Vertex entirely and at least finely striate or aciculate. Frons smooth. Eye glabrous, 1.3 × as high as broad. Malar space 0.4 × eye height and equal to basal width of mandible. Temple smooth. Face with very dense, fine and absolutely even transverse aciculation (like surface of gramophone record or CD); its width 1.1 × eye height and equal to height of face and clypeus combined. Clypeal suture absent. Hypoclypeal depression rather small and round, its width 0.6 × distance from edge of depression to eye, 0.3 × width of face. Occipital carina complete dorsally, not joined with hypostomal carina being obliterated upper base of mandible.

Mesosoma. Length of mesosoma 2.0 × its height. Pronotal keel coarse, its posterior branch fused medially with posterior margin of pronotum, anterior branch situated submedially on pronotum. Mesoscutum highly and roundly elevated above pronotum, its median lobe convex anteriorly and without anterolateral corners. Mesoscutum mostly glabrous, with rather sparse, more or less long and almost erect pale setae arranged narrow along notauli and laterally, entirely densely granulate; with two distinct and convergent posteriorly carinae medioposteriorly. Notauli anteriorly distinct, wide, and crenulate, very shallow in posterior half. Prescutellar depression deep, rather short, with six carinae, finely rugulose-reticulate, 0.3 × as long as scutellum. Scutellum entirely densely granulate, distinctly convex, with distinct lateral carinae. Mesopleuron densely granulate-coriaceous. Subalar depression very shallow, wide, and finely reticulate-granulate, with sparse striae. Precoxal sulcus distinct, deep, straight, crenulate, running along anterior half of lower part of mesopleuron. Propodeum with very short and wide lateral tubercles, with distinctly delineated by carinae and granulate basolateral areas, its rest part coarsely and transversely striate with rugosity; areola narrow and long; basal carina present in basal third, 2.0 × as long as anterior fork of areola.

Wings. Fore wing 3.9 × as long as wide. Vein r arising behind middle of pterostigma. 3-SR: r: SR1: 2-SR = 28: 5: 31: 24. Second submarginal cell not narrowed distally, its length 3.0 × maximum width, 1.6 × length of first subdiscal cell. Vein CU1a arising from anterior third of distal margin of first subdiscal cell. Hind wing vein M+CU 0.5 × as long as vein 1-M. Vein m-cu distinctly antefurcal, curved and strongly oblique towards base of wing.

Legs. Hind coxa dorsally distinctly transversely striate, widely and densely granulate at rest part, with basoventral tooth and corner. Hind femur distinctly and densely granulate-coriaceous, 3.0 × as long as wide. Hind tibia apically without spines on outer side. Dorsal surface of hind tibia with long, sparse and semi-erect setae, their length 0.9–1.0 × maximum width of tibia. Hind tarsus 0.9 × as long as hind tibia. Hind basitarsus 0.8 × as long as second-fifth segments combined. Second segment of hind tarsus 0.45 × as long as basitarsus, 1.1 × as longer as fifth segment (without pretarsus).

Metasoma. Petiole (lateral view) almost straight ventrally, dorsally rather strongly arched in basal third and straight in apical two-thirds, thickened in basal third; widened in apical quarter (dorsal view), with spiracular tubercles in basal third; distinctly rugulose-striate with dense rugulosity between striae in basal 0.4 and finely striate apically. Length of petiole 2.3 × its apical width (dorsal view), 1.9 × length of propodeum. Second tergite with separate laterotergites. Median length of second and third tergites combined 1.6 × basal width of second tergite, 0.7 × as long as their maximum width. Second suture indistinct. Second and third tergites densely longitudinally striate with dense rugulosity between striae, almost smooth narrowly apically. Fourth tergite densely longitudinally striate in basal two-thirds with dense rugulosity between striae, smooth in apical third. Fifth tergite almost smooth, with finely sculpture medially. Remaining tergites smooth. Ovipositor straight. Ovipositor sheath 1.4 × as long as petiole, 0.7 × as long as metasoma, 0.8 × as long as mesosoma, 0.4 × as long as fore wing.

Colour. Body light yellowish brown to reddish brown. Antennae yellowish brown. Palpi pale yellow. Legs pale yellowish brown, sometimes with brown tint. Ovipositor sheath brownish yellow in basal 0.6 and black in apical 0.4. Fore wing faintly infuscate, with brown spots near vein 1-SR, 1-M and pterostigma. Pterostima brown, pale in basal third.

Variation. Body length 3.4–3.8 mm; fore wing length 2.9–3.2 mm. Mesosoma 1.9 × as long as its height. Basal carina of propodeum 1.8 × as long as anterior fork of areola. Fore wing 3.7 × as long as maximum width. Length of second submarginal cell 3.2 × its maximum width. Hind femur 2.9 × as long as wide.

Male. Unknown.

Material examined. Holotype: female, China, Hainan Prov., Wuzhishan Shuimanxiang , 16–18.V.2007, Zeng Jie, No. 200807548 ( ZJUH) . Paratypes: 1 female, China, Hainan Prov., Wuzhishan , 29.X.2007, Liu Jingxian, No. 200710309 ( ZJUH) ; 1 female, Hainan Prov., Diaoluoshan , 1–2. VI .2007, Liu Jingxian, No. 200703955 ( ZJUH) .

Comparative diagnosis. This new species belongs to the S. vulnificus Wilkinson species group. Spathius pseudocritolaus sp. nov. is similar to S. critolaus Nixon , but differs in having the vertex entirely and at least finely striate or aciculate (almost smooth and sometimes maximum with traces of transverse aciculation in S. critolaus ), pronotal keel coarse (very weak in S. critolaus ), propodeum with areas distinctly delineated by carinae (without such areas in S. critolaus ), setae on dorsal surface of hind tibia long (short, much shorter than its middle width in S. critolaus ), and fourth tergite densely striate (smooth in S. critolaus ).

Etymology. From “pseudo” (Greek for “false”), and the specific name “critolaus ”, because of its similar to S. critolaus .

Distribution. China (Hainan).

Figures

FIGURE 34. Spathius pseudocritolaus sp. nov. A, habitus, lateral aspect; B, head, frontal aspect; C, head, dorsal aspect; D, petiole, lateral aspect; E, fore wing; F, mesosoma, lateral aspect; G, mesoscutum, dorsal aspect; H, metasoma, dorsal aspect. Scale bar 0.5 mm.