Spathius striolatiformis, 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 : 108-110

Spathius striolatiformis sp. nov.

( Fig. 40 )

Description. Female. Body length 5.6 mm; fore wing length 4.1 mm.

Head. Antennae slender, weakly setiform, 52-segmented. Scape 1.4 × as long as its maximum width. First flagellar segment 4.0 × 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 weakly convex in anterior half, roundly narrowed in posterior half. Transverse diameter of eye 1.6 × length of temple. Ocelli arranged in triangle with base 1.3 × its sides; POL: Od: OOL = 8: 7: 21. Vertex mostly smooth, rugose-striate anteriorly. Frons densely and coarsely rugose-striate. Eye glabrous, 1.4 × as high as broad. Malar space 0.4 × eye height and 0.9 × basal width of mandible. Temple smooth. Face densely coarsely rugose-striate; its width 1.2 × eye height and 1.2 × height of face and clypeus combined. Clypeal suture entirely distinct. Occipital carina complete dorsally, not joined below with hypostomal carina being obliterated on short distance upper base of mandible.

Mesosoma. Length of mesosoma 1.9 × its height. Pronotal keel distinct, its 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 and irregularly rugose-striate with granulation, with two convergent posteriorly carinae and narrow rugosity between them in medioposterior half. Notauli complete, wide, deep anteriorly, shallow posteriorly, sparsely crenulate. Prescutellar depression shallow, with four carinae, 0.3 × as long as scutellum. Scutellum almost smooth, flat, with distinct lateral carinae. Mesopleuron finely striate-rugose, coriaceous-granulate below precoxal sulcus. Subalar depression shallow, wide, transversely rugose-striate. Precoxal sulcus deep, narrow, straight, finely crenulate, running along anterior 0.6 of lower part of mesopleuron. Propodeum without distinct tubercles, with areas distinctly delineated by carinae; basal carina 1.5 × as long as anterior fork of areola; basolateral areas granulate basally, rugose in apical half; rest of propodeum sparsely rugose; areola large and wide, pentagonal; petiolate area short, widened distally, indistinctly separated from areola.

Wings. Fore wing 3.5 × as long as wide. Vein r arising weakly before middle of pterostigma. 3-SR: r: SR1: 2- SR = 20: 6: 33: 18. Second submarginal cell not narrowed distally, its length 2.9 × maximum width, equal to 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 interstitial, weakly curved towards base of wing.

Legs. Hind coxa densely granulate and transversely striate dorsally, granulate laterally, with basoventral tooth and corner. Hind femur finely striate and coriaceous-granulate dorsally, almost smooth laterally and ventrally, 2.6 × as long as wide. Hind tibia apically with five spines on outer margin. Dorsal surface of hind tibia with long, sparse and semi-erect setae, their length 1.0–1.2 × maximum width of tibia. Hind tarsus 0.9 × as long as hind tibia. Hind basitarsus 0.7 × as long as second-fifth segments combined. Second segment of hind tarsus 0.4 × as long as basitarsus, 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; entirely striate, with rugulosity between striae. Length of petiole 3.9 × its apical width (dorsal view), 2.0 × length of propodeum. Second-fifth tergites with separate laterotergites. Second suture absent. Median length of second and third tergites combined 1.6 × basal width of second tergite, 0.9 × as long as their maximum width. Second and third tergites densely regularly striate, with short rugulosity between striae, smooth apically. fourth tergite coriaceous-rugose, smooth in apical fifth; fifth tergite finely punctate in basal two-thirds, smooth in apical third. Ovipositor sheath 3.9 × as long as petiole, 1.4 × as long as metasoma, 2.1 × as long as mesosoma, 0.7 × as long as fore wing.

Colour. Body reddish brown; vertex and frons yellowish brown. Antenna pale reddish brown basally, darken towards apex. Palpi pale yellow. Legs reddish brown; all coxae posteriorly and femora basally faintly dark brown. Ovipositor sheath brown, almost black apically. Fore wing faintly infuscate, with indistinct maculation. Pterostigma dark brown, pale in basal 0.3.

Male. Body length 4.8 mm; fore wing length 3.8 mm. Scape 1.5 × as long as its maximum width. First flagellar segment 4.8 × as long as its apical width. Length of mesosoma 1.8 × its height. Length of petiole 4.0 × its apical width (dorsal view). Body entirely pale. Otherwise similar to female.

Material examined. Holotype: female, China, Hainan Prov., Wuzhishan , 15–16.V.2008, Liu Jingxian, No. 200905336 ( ZJUH) . Paratype: 1 male, China, Hainan Prov., Diaoluoshan , 28–31. V .2007, Liu Jingxian, No. 200702855 ( ZJUH) .

Comparative diagnosis. This new species belongs to the S. striolatus Cameron species group. Spathius striolatiformis sp. nov. is similar to S. striolatus Cameron , but differs in having the vertex anteriorly sculptured (complete smooth except for a few punctures in S. striolatus ), mesopleuron entirely sculptured (with smooth area in S. striolatus ), precoxal sulcus finely crenulate (smooth in S. striolatus ), CU1a arising from anterior 0.3 of distal part of subdiscal cell (from middle in S. striolatus ), and ovipositor as long as body (distinctly shorter in S. striolatus ).

Etymology. From “striolatus ”, the name of the most similar species, and “formis” (Latin for “form”) because they are morphologically similar species.

Distribution. China (Hainan).

Figures

FIGURE 40. Spathius striolatiformis sp. nov. A, habitus, lateral aspect; B, head, dorsal aspect; C, head, frontal 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.