Spathius moscoides, 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 : 68-71

Spathius moscoides sp. nov.

( Fig. 22 )

Description. Female. Body length 7.0 mm; fore wing length 5.0 mm.

Head. Antennae weakly setiform, more than 36-segmented (apical segments missing). Scape 2.0 × as long as its maximum width. First flagellar segment 5.8 × as long as its apical width, 1.3 × as long as second segment. Subapical segments about 4.0 × as long as their width. Head width (dorsal view) 1.5 × its median length, 1.2 × as wide as mesoscutum. Head behind eyes (dorsal view) weakly roundly narrowed; transverse diameter of eye 1.6 × length of temple. Ocelli medium-sized, arranged in triangle with base 1.2 × its sides; POL: Od: OOL = 3.0: 3.5: 11.0. Vertex entirely smooth; frons entirely and rather densely transverse undulately striate. Eye with sparse and very short setae, 1.15 × as high as broad. Malar space 0.5 × eye height and 0.9 × basal width of mandible. Temple smooth. Face rather densely, distinctly and weakly undulately transversely striate, additionally with fine and dense granulation. Face width almost equal to eye height and 1.1 × height of face and clypeus combined. Hypoclypeal depression rather large and round, its width 0.8 × distance from edge of depression to eye, 0.4 × width of face. Occipital carina complete dorsally, ventrally not joined with hypostomal carina being obliterated upper base of mandible.

Mesosoma. Length of mesosoma 2.3 × its height. Pronotal keel high, distinct, its posterior branch separated from posterior margin of pronotum, but additionally joined with it by two additional distinct lateral rugae, anterior branch distinct and situated submedially. Mesoscutum highly and roundly elevated above pronotum, its median lobe convex anteriorly and without anterolateral corners. Mesoscutum densely granulate, with rather long and dense rugae situated along notauli and laterally, with two distinct, subparallel and weakly undulate carinae in medioposterior half; mostly glabrous, with rather dense, long and semi-erect pale setae arranged widely along notauli and narrowly laterally. Notauli anteriorly distinct, wide, and crenulate, shallow posteriorly. Prescutellar depression rather shallow, long, with five carinae, finely rugulose to smooth between carinae, 0.35 × as long as scutellum. Scutellum entirely densely and distinctly granulate, almost flat, with distinct lateral carinae. Mesopleuron mostly finely reticulate-granulate. Subalar depression shallow, rather narrow, sparsely striate. Precoxal sulcus deep, distinctly sinuate, densely and coarsely crenulate, running along entire lower length of mesopleuron. Propodeum with short and wide lateral tubercles, with basolateral areas distinctly delineated by carinae and granulate with rugosity along carinae, rest part of propodeum mainly striate-rugose with dense granulation; areola wide and relatively short; basal carina present in basal 0.3, about as long as anterior fork of areola.

Wings. Fore wing 3.8 × as long as wide. Vein r arising behind middle of pterostigma. 3-SR: r: SR1: 2-SR = 36: 10: 66: 34. Second submarginal cell not narrowed distally, its length 3.3 × maximum width, 1.3 × length of first subdiscal cell. Vein CU1a not interstitial, arising from anterior fifth of posterior margin of first subdiscal cell. Hind wing vein M+CU 0.5 × as long as vein 1-M. Vein m-cu very weakly antefurcal, distinctly curved towards base of wing, distinctly infuscate.

Legs. Hind coxa dorsally transversely striate with granulation, densely granulate at rest part, with distinct basoventral corner, but almost without tooth. Hind femur mainly smooth, longitudinally striate dorsally, 3.4 × as long as wide. Hind tibia apically with one-two spines on outer side. Dorsal surface of hind tibia with long, rather dense and semi-erect setae, their length 1.2–1.8 × maximum width of tibia. Hind tarsus 0.9 × as long as hind tibia. Hind basitarsus 0.75 × as long as second-fifth segments combined. Second segment of hind tarsus 0.45 × as long as basitarsus, 1.3 × as long as fifth segment (without pretarsus).

Metasoma. Petiole (lateral view) almost straight ventrally, dorsally weakly arched in basal half and almost straight in apical half, thickened in basal half; widened in apical quarter (dorsal view), with small but distinct spiracular tubercles in widened basal third. Length of petiole 2.7 × its apical width, 1.9 × length of propodeum. Second tergite without separate laterotergites. Median length of second and third tergites combined 1.1 × basal width of second tergite, 0.65 × as long as their maximum width. Second suture absent. Petiole distinctly and densely longitudinally striate, with dense and fine reticulation between striae. Remaining tergites entirely smooth. Ovipositor straight. Ovipositor sheath 2.8 × as long as petiole, 1.2 × as long as metasoma, 1.8 × as long as mesosoma, 0.9 × as long as fore wing.

Colour. Head pale yellow with brown face and large spots behind eye, malar area almost white. Mesosoma yellow, with a few brown to dark brown stripes and spots dorsally and laterally, dark brown to black below. Petiole dark reddish brown to black, remaining metasoma pale yellow, second tergite almost entirely and narrow transverse stripes on other tergites brown to dark brown. Antenna yellow in basal half, but scape and pedicel brownish yellow, segments behind its middle infuscate, several subapical segments whitish. Palpi pale yellow. Legs whitish yellow to yellow, fore and middle femora submedially and hind femur in apical half brown to dark brown, hind tibia almost entirely whitish yellow. Ovipositor sheath brownish yellow to yellow, brown apically. Fore wing faintly infuscate, darkened more intensive along veins. Pterostigma brown, pale basally and apically.

Variation. Body length 5.1–7.3 mm; fore wing length 3.7–4.9 mm. Antennae 50-segmented. First flagellar segment 6.0–6.3 × as long as its apical width, 1.25–1.40 × as long as second segment. Penultimate segments 4.5 × as long as wide, about as long as apical segment. Transverse diameter of eye 1.3–1.5 × length of temple. Length of mesosoma 2.2–2.3 × its height. Hind femur 3.1–3.6 × as long as wide. Length of petiole 2.8–3.1 × its apical width, 1.9–2.0 × length of propodeum. Median length of second and third tergites combined 1.25–1.35 × basal width of second tergite, 0.7–0.8 × as long as their maximum width. Ovipositor sheath 2.5–3.5 × as long as petiole, 1.0–1.5 × as long as metasoma, 1.8–2.4 × as long as mesosoma, 0.8–1.2 × as long as fore wing.

Male. Unknown.

Material examined. Holotype. female, China, Hainan Prov., Jianfengling , 6.VI.2007, Liu Jingxian, No. 200703707 ( ZJUH) . Paratypes: 1 female, China, Fujian Prov., Wuyishan Xianfengling , 13.IX.1989, No. 20005834 ( ZJUH) ; 1 female, Hainan Prov., Jianfengling Tianchi , 12–15.VII.2006. Zhang Wenyong, No. 200803529 ( ZJUH) .

Comparative diagnosis. This new species belongs to the S. fasciatus Walker species group. Spathius moscoides sp. nov. is similar to S. moscus Nixon , but differs in having the colour of body mainly pale (mainly dark reddish brown in S. moscus ), basal carina of propodeum long (short in S. moscus ), recurrent vein of fore wing weakly postfurcal (strongly postfurcal in S. moscus ), mesopleuron mat and almost entirely densely granulate (highly polished and smooth in S. moscus ), pronotal keel fused by additional lateral carinae with posterior margin of mesoscutum (directly narrowly fused in S. moscus ), setae on mesoscutum dense (very sparse in S. moscus ), lateral lobes of mesoscutum with fine and short rugae along notauli (with well-marked rugae in S. moscus ), scutellum distinctly granulate (entirely smooth in S. moscus ), petiole almost twice longer than propodeum (distinctly shorter in S. moscus ). New species is also similar to S. erymanthus Nixon , but differs in having the colour of body mainly pale (mainly fulvous red in S. erymanthus ), hind tibia whitish yellow (brown but honey yellow basally in S. erymanthus ), ocelli arranged in triangle with base larger its sides (ocellar triangle equilateral in S. erymanthus ), pronotal keel fused by additional lateral carinae with posterior margin of mesoscutum (not fused in S. erymanthus ), scutellum distinctly granulate (with weak rugosity in S. erymanthus ), propodeal areola distinctly delineated by carinae (almost not defined in S. erymanthus ), mesopleuron densely and finely granulate and without rugosity (mainly with distinct striation in S. erymanthus ), ovipositor shorter (longer in S. erymanthus ). S. moscoides sp. nov. differs from Japanese S. nagoyaensis Belokobylskij et Maeto in having the hind coxa whitish yellow (mostly dark reddish brown to black in S. nagoyaensis ), subapical segments of antenna pale (dark in S. nagoyaensis ), colour of body mainly pale (mainly fulvous red in S. nagoyaensis ), mesosoma longer (shorter in S. nagoyaensis ), recurrent vein of fore wing weakly postfurcal (distinctly postfurcal in S. nagoyaensis ), hind coxa almost without basoventral tooth (with distinct tooth in S. nagoyaensis ), and vertex entirely smooth (at least partly striate in S. nagoyaensis ). According Chao (1977 a) and Chen & Shi (2004), this new species run to S. helle Nixon ( S. xanthocephalus Chao ), but differs from it in having the pronotal keel fused by additional lateral carinae with posterior margin of mesoscutum (directly widely fused in S. helle ), mesoscutum with short rugae along notauli (with long rugae in S. helle ), vertex entirely smooth (partly with fine interrupted striation in S. helle ), and petiole longer (shorter in S. helle ).

Etymology. From “moscus ”, the name of the most similar species, and suffix “oides” because of this species resemble S. moscus Nixon.

Distribution. China (Fujian, Hainan).

Figures

FIGURE 22. Spathius moscoides sp. nov. A, habitus, lateral aspect; B, head, dorsal aspect; C, head, frontal aspect; D, fore wing; E, petiole, lateral aspect; F, mesosoma, lateral aspect; G, mesoscutum, dorsal aspect; H, metasoma, dorsal aspect. Scale bar 0.5 mm.