Spathius spinosus, 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 : 106-108

Spathius spinosus sp. nov.

( Fig. 39 )

Description. Female. Body length 7.0 mm; fore wing length 4.9 mm.

Head. Antennae slender, setiform, 55-segmented. Scape 1.5 × as long as its maximum width. First flagellar segment 3.8 × as long as its apical width, 1.2 × as long as second segment. Head not depressed, its width (dorsal view) 1.4 × median length. Head behind eyes convex-roundly narrowed. Transverse diameter of eye 2.1 × length of temple. Ocelli medium-sized, arranged in triangle with base 1.3 × its sides; POL: Od: OOL = 6: 5: 15. Vertex smooth. Frons densely and transversely striate. Eye glabrous, 1.4 × as high as broad. Malar space 0.5 × eye height and equal to basal width of mandible. Temple smooth. Face entirely coarsely rugose-reticulate, with undulately curved striae below, clypeus rugose-striate; its width 1.1 × eye height and 1.2 × height of face and clypeus combined. Clypeal suture distinct. Occipital carina complete dorsally, not joined below with hypostomal carina being obliterated on short distance upper base of mandible.

Mesosoma. Length of mesosoma 1.8 × its height. Pronotal keel finely developed, its posterior branch widely fused with posterior margin of pronotum; anterior branch distinct and situated submedially. Pronotal lateral depression wide, shallow, not delineated by carinae, densely and coarsely crenulate-striate. Mesoscutum highly and almost perpendicularly elevated above pronotum. Mesoscutum with sparse and semi-erect setae along notauli and laterally; its median lobe entirely, densely and undulately transversely striate, with fine granulation partly, lateral lobes widely finely and densely granulate, with distinct transverse striation, with two subparallel longitudinal rugae and transverse striation in medioposterior 0.6. Notauli deep anteriorly and more or less shallow posteriorly, complete, coarsely crenulate. Prescutellar depression rather deep, with three strong carina, 0.4 × as long as scutellum. Scutellum smooth, weakly convex, with lateral carinae. Mesopleuron mostly smooth. Subalar depression shallow, wide, densely and coarsely rugose-striate. Precoxal sulcus deep, narrow, almost straight, crenulate, running along anterior 0.7 of lower part of mesopleuron. Propodeum without tubercles, but with areas distinctly delineated by carinae, basolateral areas granulate in rather narrow basomedian part and widely coarsely rugose along carina; areola transversely striate; petiolate area rather long and more or less distinctly separated from areola; basal carina 0.6 × as long as fork of areola.

Wings. Fore wing 4.6 × as long as wide. Vein r arising from middle of pterostigma. 3-SR: r: SR1: 2-SR = 20: 6: 40: 19. Second submarginal cell not narrowed distally, its length 3.1 × maximum width, equal to length of first subdiscal cell. Vein cu-a distinctly postfurcal. Vein m-cu postfurcal. Hind wing vein M+CU 0.9 × as long as vein 1- M. Vein m-cu interstitial, strongly oblique towards base of wing.

Legs. Hind coxa dorsally transversely and semi-circularly striate, finely granulate laterally and ventrally, with basoventral tooth and corner. Hind femur almost smooth, 2.9 × as long as wide. Hind tibia apically with eight spines on outer margin. Dorsal surface of hind tibia with long, sparse and semi-erect setae, their length 1.2–1.5 × maximum width of tibia. Hind tarsus 0.8 × as long as hind tibia. Hind basitarsus 0.7 × as long as second-fifth segments combined. Second segment of hind tarsus 0.7 × as long as basitarsus, 1.1 × as long as fifth segment (without pretarsus).

Metasoma. Petiole (lateral view) weakly concave ventrally, dorsally slightly and regularly arched in basal third, with spiracular tubercles in basal fifth; coarsely rugose-striate. Length of petiole 3.3 × its apical width (dorsal view), 2.3 × length of propodeum. Second and third tergites with separated laterotergites. Second suture absent. Median length of second and third tergites combined 2.0 × basal width of second tergite, 0.8 × their maximum width. Second and third tergites densely striate, with dense rugulosity between striae, smooth in apical 0.2; fourth tergite finely punctate, with very fine striation medially; fifth-seventh tergites finely punctate, smooth apically. Ovipositor sheath 3.8 × as long as petiole, 1.8 × as long as metasoma, 2.8 × as long as mesosoma, 1.4 × as long as fore wing.

Colour. Head black. Mesosoma and petiole reddish brown. Second and third tergites reddish brown in basal fifth, remaining metasoma black. Antenna brown, faintly darkened toward apex, without pale subapical segments. Palpi pale yellow. Legs reddish brown, all femora and tibiae basally darken. Ovipositor sheath light brown, almost black apically. Fore wing faintly infuscate, with a dark spot below pterostigma. Pterostigma dark brown, yellow in basal 0.3.

Variation. Body length 5.2–5.6 mm. Fore wing length 3.8–4.0 mm. Width of head (dorsal view) 1.5 × median length. Eye 1.3 × as high as broad. Malar space 0.4 × eye height and 0.9 × basal width of mandible. Face width equal to eye height and 1.1 × height of face and clypeus combined. Length of mesosoma 1.9 × its height. Precoxal sulcus almost smooth, finely crenulate. Length of second submarginal cell 3.0–3.2 × its maximum width. Hind wing vein M+CU 0.8 × as long as vein 1-M. Hind femur 3.0 × as long as wide.

Male. Unknown.

Material examined. Holotype: female, China, Guangdong Prov., Longmen Nankunshan , 7.VIII.2004, Xu Zaifu, No. 20053241 ( ZJUH) . Paratypes: 1 female, China, Guangdong Prov., Shixing Chebaling , 22–28.VII.2008, Hong Chundan, No. 200807853 ( ZJUH) ; 1 female, Sichuan Prov., Yaan Zhangjianshan , 14.VII.2006, Zhang Hongying, No. 200613575 ( ZJUH) .

Comparative diagnosis. This new species belongs to the S. philoctetes Nixon species group. Spathius spinosus sp. nov. is similar to S. ishigakus Belokobylskij , but differs in having the second and third tergites densely striate and with dense rugulosity between striae (entirely very small and dense reticulate-areolate and more finely sculptured posteriorly in S. ishigakus ), mesopleuron mostly smooth (widely striate-rugose in S. ishigakus ), hind coxa with basoventral tooth (without tooth in S. ishigakus ), head, femora and tibiae dark brown (yellowish brown or light reddish brown in S. ishigakus ).

Etymology. From “spinosus ” (Latin for “spinous”), because of its hind tibia apically with numerous spines on outer margin.

Distribution. China (Guangdong, Sichuan).

Figures

FIGURE 39. Spathius spinosus sp. nov. A, habitus, lateral aspect; B, head, dorsal aspect; C, head, frontal aspect; D, petiole, lateral aspect; E, fore wing; F, mesoscutum, dorsal aspect; G, mesosoma, lateral aspect; H, metasoma, dorsal aspect. Scale bar 0.5 mm.