Spathius rugosivertex, 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 : 102-104

Spathius rugosivertex sp. nov.

( Fig. 37 )

Description. Female. Body length 4.5 mm; fore wing length 3.1 mm.

Head. Antennae filiform, 32-segmented. Scape 1.7 × as long as its maximum width. First flagellar segment 5.4 × as long as its apical width, 1.35 × as long as second segment. Penultimate segment 4.0 × as long as wide, as long as pointed apical segment. Head width (dorsal view) 1.5 × its median length, 1.2 × as wide as mesoscutum. Head behind eyes (dorsal view) evenly 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 = 4.0: 4.0: 11.0. Vertex coarsely reticulate-rugulose, with undulate subtransverse striation in posterior half; frons entirely, distinctly and curvedly transversely striate. Eye with short and sparse setae, 1.2 × as high as broad. Malar space 0.35 × eye height and 0.7 × basal width of mandible. Temple mainly smooth, finely vertically striate in posterior third. Face mainly with rather dense, coarse and almost linearly transversely striation. Face width 1.1 × eye height and 1.2 × as long as height of face and clypeus combined. Hypoclypeal depression weakly enlarged and oval, its width 1.4 × distance from edge of depression to eye, 0.55 × width of face. Occipital carina complete dorsally, ventrally joined with hypostomal carina upper base of mandible.

Mesosoma. Length of mesosoma 1.9 × its height. Pronotal keel distinct, its posterior branch coarse, very weakly separated from posterior margin of pronotum; anterior branch of carina distinct and situated submedially. Mesoscutum highly and roundly elevated above pronotum, its median lobe weakly convex anteriorly and without anterolateral corners. Mesoscutum finely and densely granulate, its median lobe anteriorly with additional fine transverse striation, with long and rather dense rugae situated along notauli and laterally, with two distinct and convergent posteriorly undulate carinae in medioposterior half; mostly glabrous, with sparse, rather long and semi-erect yellow setae arranged in wide stripe along notauli and in single line laterally. Notauli distinct, very wide and coarsely sparsely crenulate, evenly deep. Prescutellar depression deep, long, with three carinae, finely rugulose, 0.4 × as long as scutellum. Scutellum entirely densely and distinctly granulate, without rugae, almost flat, with distinct lateral carinae. Mesopleuron smooth medially, with fine striation or rugulosity around. Subalar depression shallow, wide, sparsely and coarsely striate with rugosity. Precoxal sulcus deep and oblique in anterior 0.6 and very shallow and curved in posterior 0.4, sparsely and coarsely crenulate, running along entire lower part of mesopleuron. Propodeum with distinct and wide lateral tubercles, with basolateral areas distinctly delineated by carinae and densely rugose-reticulate, rest part of propodeum rugose-striate, without granulation; areola rather narrow and long; basal carina present in basal 0.15, 0.4 × as long as anterior fork of areola.

Wings. Fore wing 3.8 × as long as wide. Vein r arising weakly behind middle of pterostigma. 3-SR: r: SR1: 2-SR = 20: 6: 40: 23. Second submarginal cell not narrowed distally, its length 2.7 × maximum width, 1.4 × length of first subdiscal cell. Vein CU1a not interstitial, arising from anterior quarter of posterior margin of first subdiscal cell. Hind wing vein M+CU 0.7 × as long as vein 1-M. Vein m-cu interstitial, weakly curved towards base of wing, infuscate.

Legs. Hind coxa dorsally transversely striate with granulation, granulate to coriaceous below at rest part, with distinct basoventral corner and tooth. Hind femur finely striate with reticulation in upper half and smooth in lower half, 3.6 × as long as wide. Hind tibia apically with two spines on outer side. Dorsal surface of hind tibia with long, dense and semi-erect setae, their length 0.8–1.4 × maximum width of tibia. Hind tarsus 0.85 × as long as hind tibia. Hind basitarsus 0.6 × as long as second-fifth segments combined. Second segment of hind tarsus 0.5 × as long as basitarsus, 1.1 × as long as fifth segment (without pretarsus).

Metasoma. Petiole (lateral view) curved ventrally, dorsally distinctly arched in basal 0.6 and almost straight in apical 0.4, thickened in basal 0.3; widened in apical fourth (dorsal view), with small spiracular tubercles in widened basal third. Length of petiole 2.8 × its apical width, 1.7 × length of propodeum. Second tergite without separate laterotergites. Median length of second and third tergites combined 1.6 × basal width of second tergite, 0.75 × as long as their maximum width. Second suture absent. Petiole distinctly and rather densely longitudinally striate, with additional dense reticulation between striae, smooth apically. 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 yellow, but brownish yellow dorsally and anteriorly, dark brown posteriorly. Mesosoma reddish brown, dark ventrally, median lobe of mesoscutum yellowish brown. Metasoma dark reddish brown, tergites posteriorly yellowish. Antennae yellow in basal half, submedially and apically brown, seven subapical segments whitish yellow. Palpi whitish yellow. Legs whitish yellow, basally white, middle and hind femora with dark lateral spots in posterior half. Ovipositor sheath brown in apical 0.7 and pale brown in basal 0.3. Fore wing faintly infuscate, with more dark narrow brownish spots near veins. Pterostigma brown, pale yellow in basal quarter and apically.

Male. Unknown.

Material examined. Holotype. female, China, Hainan Prov., Wuzhishan , 16–20.V.2007, Liu Jingxian, No. 200703380 ( ZJUH).

Comparative diagnosis. This new species belongs to the S. fasciatus Walker species group. Spathius rugosivertex sp. nov. is similar to S. leptoceras Cameron , but differs in having the head behind eyes (dorsal view) less strongly narrowed (distinctly narrowed in S. leptoceras ), vertex rugose (transversely striate in S. leptoceras ), posterior branch of pronotal carina weakly separated from anterior margin of mesoscutum (fused with it in S. leptoceras ), scutellum densely and finely granulate (mainly smooth with punctation in S. leptoceras ), basal carina of propodeum very short (long in S. leptoceras ), petiole 1.8 × as long as propodeum (1.5 × in S. leptoceras ), and body short (long in S. leptoceras ). This new species also similar to S. ares Nixon , but differs from it in having the subapical segments of antenna pale (dark in S. ares ), head transverse (subquadrate in S. ares ), ocelli arranged in triangle with base larger than sides (in almost equilateral triangle in S. ares ), posterior branch of pronotal carina weakly separated from anterior margin of mesoscutum (fused in S. ares ), propodeum with distinct lateral tubercles (tubercles indistinct in S. ares ), setae on dorsal surface of hind tibia long (short in S. ares ), and petiole 1.8 × as long as propodeum (1.5 × in S. ares ). Finally, S. rugosivertex sp. nov. is similar to S. gnom Belokobylskij et Maeto , but differs from it in having the subapical segments of antenna pale (dark in S. gnom ), scutellum only granulate-coriaceous (densely rugose and without granulation in S. gnom ), posterior branch of pronotal carina weakly separated from anterior margin of mesoscutum (strongly separated in S. gnom ), and vertex rugose (transversely striate in S. gnom ).

Etymology. From “rugosus” (Latin for “rugosus”) and “vertex” (Latin for “vertex”), because of vertex coarsely and irregularly rugose.

Distribution. China (Hainan).

Figures

FIGURE 37. Spathius rugosivertex 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.