Spathius pseudido, 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 : 92-93

Spathius pseudido sp. nov.

( Fig. 33 )

Description. Female. Body length 4.0 mm; fore wing length 3.3 mm.

Head. Antennae slender, weakly setiform, 40-segmented. Scape 1.4 × as long as its maximum width. First flagellar segment 6.3 × as long as its apical width, 1.3 × as long as second segment. Head not depressed, its width (dorsal view) 1.4 × median length. Head behind eyes rather strongly and roundly narrowed. Transverse diameter of eye 1.8 × length of temple. Ocelli arranged in triangle with base 1.2 × as long as its sides; POL: Od: OOL = 5: 5: 12. Vertex and frons densely and coarsely striate; Eye glabrous, 1.3 × as high as broad. Malar space 0.4 × eye height and 0.8 × basal width of mandible. Temple smooth. Face densely coarsely rugose-striate; its width 1.2 × eye height and 1.1 × height of face and clypeus combined. Clypeal suture distinct. Occipital carina complete dorsally, joined below with hypostomal carina upper base of mandible.

Mesosoma. Length of mesosoma 1.8 × its height. Pronotal keel of posterior branch widely fused with posterior margin of pronotum. Mesoscutum highly and perpendicularly elevated above pronotum. Mesoscutum with sparse and semi-erect setae along notauli and laterally; densely granulate and coarsely transversely rugose striate, rugosity absent only on narrow median areas of lateral lobes; mesoscutum medioposteriorly with two distinct and almost parallel striae and sparse rugosity near them. Notauli complete, wide, deep, coarsely crenulate. Prescutellar depression deep, with three carinae, 0.4 × as long as scutellum. Scutellum more or less densely granulate, weakly convex, with distinct lateral carinae. Mesopleuron medially smooth or with very fine reticulation. Subalar depression shallow, narrow, striate-rugose. Precoxal sulcus deep, more or less wide, sinuate, more or less distinctly shallow in posterior 0.3, coarsely and sparsely crenulate, running along almost entirely length of lower part of mesopleuron. Propodeum small and wide lateral tubercles, coriaceous or granulate; areas distinctly delineated by carinae; areola rather large, narrow, pentagonal, sparsely striate; petiolate area long and narrow, more or less widened submedially; basal carina as long as anterior fork of areola.

Wings. Fore wing 3.7 × as long as wide. Vein r arising almost from middle of pterostigma. 3-SR: r: SR1: 2- SR = 21: 6: 40: 23. Second submarginal cell not narrowed distally, its length 3.2 × maximum width, 1.4 × length of first subdiscal cell. Vein cu-a postfurcal. Vein m-cu postfurcal. Vein CU1a not interstitial, arising from anterior 0.3 of distal vein of subdiscal cell. Hind wing vein M+CU 0.6 × as long as vein 1-M. Vein m-cu weakly antefurcal, oblique to base of wing.

Legs. Hind coxa dorsally densely concentrically striate, smooth laterally, with basoventral tooth and corner. Hind femur smooth, 4.0 × as long as wide. Hind tibia apically with two spines on outer margin. Dorsal surface of hind tibia with almost erect, long and short setae, length of setae 0.5–1.3 × maximum width of tibia. Hind tarsus 0.9 × as long as hind tibia. Hind basitarsus 0.6 × as long as second-fifth segments combined. Second segment of hind tarsus 0.6 × as long as basitarsus, 1.4 × as long as fifth segment (without pretarsus).

Metasoma. Petiole (lateral view) weakly curved ventrally and distinct arched in basal half dorsally, with spiracular tubercles in basal third; striate, with rugulosity between striae in basal 0.7, smooth apically. Length of petiole 3.8 × its apical width (dorsal view), 2.0 × length of propodeum. Second tergite without separate laterotergites. Second suture absent. Median length of second and third tergites combined 2.4 × basal width of second tergite, as long as their maximum width. Remaining tergites smooth. Ovipositor sheath 4.9 × as long as petiole, 2.4 × as long as metasoma, 3.4 × as long as mesosoma, 1.6 × as long as fore wing.

Colour. Body black; head reddish brown. Antenna reddish brown basally, darken toward apex. Palpi brown. Legs dark brown; middle and hind femora blackish brown. Ovipositor sheath brown. Fore wing faintly infuscate. Pterostigma dark brown.

Variation. Body length 4.4 mm; fore wing length 3.4 mm. Scape 1.5 × as long as its maximum width. First flagellar segment 6.5 × as long as its apical width. Fore wing 3.8 × as long as maximum width. Hind femur 3.9 × as long as wide.

Male. Unknown.

Material examined. Holotype: female, China, Yunnan Prov., Anning hotspring, 18–20.VII.1988, Chen Xuexin, No. 881719 ( ZJUH) . Paratype: 1 female, China, Yunnan Prov., Yunlong Tianchi , 21.VIII.2003, Jiang Qian, No. 20046309 ( ZJUH) .

Comparative diagnosis. This new species belongs to the S. antennalis Szépligeti species group. Spathius pseudido sp. nov. is similar to S. dido Nixon , but differs in having the width of head 1.4 × median length (1.7 × in S. dido ), mesoscutal sculpture weak (coarse in S. dido ), propodeum with weak granulation (almost entirely smooth in S. dido ), pronotum and mesopleuron black (reddish brown in S. dido ).

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

Distribution. China (Yunnan).

Figures

FIGURE 33. Spathius pseudido sp. nov. A, habitus, lateral aspect; B, head, dorsal aspect; C, head, frontal aspect; D, petiole, lateral aspect; E, mesosoma, lateral aspect; F, fore wing; G, mesoscutum, dorsal aspect; H, metasoma, dorsal aspect. Scale bar 0.5 mm.