Spathius cephalus, 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 : 32-35

Spathius cephalus sp. nov.

( Fig. 8 )

Description. Female. Body length 4.3 mm; fore wing length 2.9 mm.

Head. Antennae filiform, 30-segmented. Scape 1.6 × as long as its maximum width. First flagellar segment 5.3 × as long as its apical width, 1.2 × as long as second segment. Penultimate segment 3.0 × as long as wide, 0.9 × 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 and weakly roundly narrowed; transverse diameter of eye 1.5 × length of temple. Ocelli medium-sized, arranged in triangle with base 1.15 × its sides; POL: Od: OOL = 4.0: 3.0: 10.0. Vertex entirely distinctly densely transversely striate with dense additional granulation between striae; frons entirely, coarsely, densely and weakly curvedly transversely striate. Eye with short and sparse setae, 1.1 × as high as broad. Malar space 0.5 × eye height and almost equal to basal width of mandible. Temple mainly finely or very finely reticulate-coriaceous, with fine vertical striation in posterior third. Face densely, coarsely and weakly curvedly transversely striate with additional dense granulation. Face width 1.25 × eye height and 1.1 × as long as height of face and clypeus combined. Hypoclypeal depression medium-sized and round, its width 0.7 × distance from edge of depression to eye, 0.4 × width of face. Occipital carina complete dorsally, ventrally joined with hypostomal carina upper base of mandible.

Mesosoma. Length of mesosoma 2.0 × its height. Pronotal keel distinct, its posterior branch coarse, distinctly separated from posterior margin of pronotum; anterior branch of carina rather fine and situated submedially. Mesoscutum highly and roundly elevated above pronotum, its median lobe weakly convex anteriorly and without anterolateral corners. Mesoscutum distinctly and densely granulate, its median lobe anteriorly without additional striation, with long and dense rugae situated along notauli and laterally, with two distinct and weakly convergent posteriorly straight carinae in medioposterior half; mostly glabrous, with sparse, long and semi-erect or erect pale setae arranged in wide stripe along notauli and in single line laterally. Notauli distinct, wide, coarsely densely crenulate, rather deep anteriorly and shallow posteriorly. Prescutellar depression rather deep, long, with three carinae, finely rugulose, 0.4 × as long as scutellum. Scutellum entirely densely and distinctly granulate, without rugae, weakly convex, with distinct lateral carinae. Mesopleuron distinctly densely granulate with additional striation marginally. Subalar depression shallow, wide, densely and coarsely striate with granulation. Precoxal sulcus deep and oblique in anterior 0.6, shallow and curved in posterior 0.4, densely and distinctly crenulategranulate, running along entire lower part of mesopleuron. Propodeum with distinct and wide lateral tubercles, with basolateral areas distinctly delineated by carinae and densely granulate with short rugosity along carinae, rest part of propodeum densely granulate with sparse striation; areola rather wide and long; basal carina present in basal 0.2, 0.6 × as long as anterior fork of areola.

Wings. Fore wing 3.6 × as long as wide. Vein r arising behind middle of pterostigma. 3-SR: r: SR1: 2-SR = 21: 4: 38: 18. Second submarginal cell not narrowed distally, its length 2.9 × 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 antefurcal, strongly oblique towards base of wing, weakly infuscate.

Legs. Hind coxa dorsally densely transversely striate with fine granulation, distinctly densely granulate laterally, with distinct basoventral corner and tooth. Hind femur densely granulate in upper half and coriaceous to almost smooth in lower half, 3.4 × as long as wide. Hind tibia apically with two slender spines on outer side. Dorsal surface of hind tibia with long, dense and semi-erect setae, their length 1.0–1.4 × 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 0.5 × as long as basitarsus, 0.9 × as long as fifth segment (without pretarsus).

Metasoma. Petiole (lateral view) weakly curved ventrally, dorsally distinctly arched in basal 0.5 and almost straight in apical 0.5, thickened in basal 0.3; widened in apical fourth (dorsal view), with distinct spiracular tubercles in widened basal third. Length of petiole 2.7 × its apical width, 1.5 × length of propodeum. Second tergite without separate laterotergites. Median length of second and third tergites combined 1.6 × basal width of second tergite, 0.8 × as long as their maximum width. Second suture absent. Petiole distinctly and sparsely longitudinally striate, with additional dense reticulation between striae. Remaining tergites entirely smooth. Ovipositor straight. Ovipositor sheath 1.6 × as long as petiole, 0.6 × as long as metasoma, 0.9 × as long as mesosoma, 0.5 × as long as fore wing.

Colour. Head yellowish brown. Mesosoma and metasoma reddish brown, apical parts of metasomal tergites yellowish. Antennae yellow to brownish yellow in basal half, brown medially, 11 subapical segments yellow, last apical segment brown. Palpi whitish yellow. Legs yellow to brownish yellow, hind femur brown in apical half, hind tibia subbasally whitish yellow in wide area. Ovipositor sheath yellow to brownish yellow in basal 0.4 and dark brown in apical 0.6. Fore wing distinctly and more or less evenly infuscate. Pterostigma brown, pale yellow in basal third and apically.

Variation. Body length 3.7–4.4 mm; fore wing length 2.7–3.2 mm. First flagellar segment 4.8–5.5 × as long as its apical width. Transverse diameter of eye 1.5–1.8 × length of temple. Basal carina of propodeum 0.6–1.0 × as long as anterior fork of areola. Hind femur 3.3–3.4 × as long as wide. Length of petiole 2.5–2.7 × its apical width, 1.5–1.6 × length of propodeum. Ovipositor sheath 1.4–2.0 × as long as petiole, 0.6–0.9 × as long as metasoma, 0.9– 1.2 × as long as mesosoma, 0.4–0.6 × as long as mesosoma.

Male. Unknown.

Material examined. Holotype. female, China, Guangdong Prov., Shixing Chebaling , 21.VIII.2003, Xu Zaifu, No. 20052618 ( ZJUH) . Paratypes: 1 female, China, Guangdong Prov., Fuyuan Nanling, 8. V .2004, Xu Zaifu, No. 20049601 ( ZJUH) ; 1 female, Guangdong Prov., Dinghushan, 18–19. VI .1983, Zhang Yalin, No. 200011402 ( ZJUH) ; 1 female, Fujian Prov., Wuyishan Xianfengling , 13.IX.1989, No. 20005838 ( ZJUH) .

Comparative diagnosis. This new species belongs to the S. fasciatus Walker species group. Spathius cephalus sp. nov. is similar to S. montivagans Chao , but differs in having the vertex densely striate-granulate (only evenly striate in S. montivagans ), mesopleuron medially densely granulate with rugosity (smooth in S. montivagans ), and body paler (darker in S. montivagans ). This new species also similar to S. lynceus Nixon and S. gades Nixon , but differs from it in having the vertex densely striate-granulate (only striate in S. lynceus and S. gades ), head weakly narrowed behind eyes (dorsal view) and temple longer (strongly narrowed and temple shorter in S. lynceus and S. gades ), scutellum distinctly and densely granulate (finely granulate to smooth in S. lynceus and S. gades ), and mesopleuron medially densely granulate with rugosity (smooth in S. lynceus and S. gades ).

Etymology. From “cephalos” ( Greece for “head”), because of head enlarged and coarsely sculptured. Distribution. China (Fujian, Guangdong).

Figures

FIGURE 8. Spathius cephalus 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.