Spathius beatoides, 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 : 29-30

Spathius beatoides sp. nov.

( Fig. 7 )

Description. Female. Body length 3.5 mm; fore wing length 2.4 mm.

Head. Antennae filiform, 30-segmented. Scape 1.7 × as long as its maximum width. First flagellar segment 5.0 × as long as its apical width, 1.2 × as long as second segment. Penultimate segment 4.0 × as long as wide, about as long as pointed apical segment. Head width (dorsal view) 1.5 × its median length, 1.3 × as wide as mesoscutum. Head behind eyes (dorsal view) distinctly and roundly narrowed; transverse diameter of eye 1.8 × length of temple. Ocelli medium-sized, arranged in triangle with base 1.2 × its sides; POL: Od: OOL = 3.0: 2.0: 6.0. Vertex almost entirely smooth; frons entirely, coarsely, densely and curvedly transversely striate. Eye glabrous, 1.2 × as high as broad. Malar space 0.4 × eye height and 0.9 × basal width of mandible. Temple mainly smooth. Face densely, distinctly and weakly curvedly transversely striate with additional very fine reticulation. Face width 1.1 × eye height and 1.1 × as long as height of face and clypeus combined. Hypoclypeal depression medium-sized and round, its width 0.9 × 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 about 2.0 × its height. Pronotal keel distinct, its posterior branch coarse, distinctly separated from posterior margin of pronotum; anterior branch of carina 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 with granules partly situated in fine transverse lines, without rugae along notauli and laterally, with two distinct and weakly convergent posteriorly straight carinae in medioposterior half; mostly glabrous, with sparse, long and semi-erect pale setae arranged in wide stripe along notauli and in single line laterally. Notauli distinct, wide, coarsely densely crenulate, 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, almost flat, with lateral carinae. Mesopleuron finely or partly distinctly striate, smooth in some small areas. Subalar depression shallow, wide, densely and coarsely striate with rugulosity partly. Precoxal sulcus deep, wide and oblique in anterior 0.5, shallow and straight in posterior 0.5, sparsely and distinctly crenulate and partly with granulation, running along entire lower part of mesopleuron. Propodeum with distinct and rather wide lateral tubercles, with basolateral areas distinctly delineated by carinae and densely granulate with long and coarse rugosity, rest part of propodeum densely striate; areola rather narrow and long; basal carina present in basal 0.25, 0.8 × 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 = 14: 4: 32: 14. Second submarginal cell not narrowed distally, its length 3.0 × maximum width, 1.5 × length of first subdiscal cell. Vein CU1a not interstitial, arising from anterior third of posterior margin of first subdiscal cell. Hind wing vein M+CU 0.7 × as long as vein 1-M. Vein m-cu weakly antefurcal, strongly oblique towards base of wing, almost hyaline.

Legs. Hind coxa dorsally transversely striate with dense distinct granulation, distinctly densely granulate laterally, but finer below, with distinct basoventral corner and tooth. Hind femur densely and finely granulate with fine striation dorsally, almost smooth on rest part, 3.3 × 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 0.8–1.3 × maximum width of tibia. Hind tarsus as long as hind tibia. Hind basitarsus 0.5 × as long as second-fifth segments combined. Second segment of hind tarsus 0.6 × as long as basitarsus, 1.2 × as long as fifth segment (without pretarsus).

Metasoma. Petiole (lateral view) curved ventrally, dorsally rather distinctly arched in basal 0.5 and almost straight in apical 0.5, thickened in basal 0.3; widened in apical fifth (dorsal view), with spiracular tubercles in weakly widened basal third. Length of petiole 2.9 × its apical width, 1.6 × length of propodeum. Second tergite without separate laterotergites. Median length of second and third tergites combined 1.8 × basal width of second tergite, 0.8 × as long as their maximum width. Second suture absent. Petiole distinctly and rather densely longitudinally striate, with additional dense reticulation between striae. Remaining tergites entirely smooth. Ovipositor straight. Ovipositor sheath 1.3 × as long as petiole, 0.6 × as long as metasoma, 0.9 × as long as mesosoma, 0.45 × as long as fore wing.

Colour. Head light reddish brown, reddish brown on face and posteriorly. Mesosoma and metasoma reddish brown with several pale spots and stripes. Antennae brown to reddish brown, two basal segments yellow, nine subapical segments whitish yellow, three last apical segment brown. Palpi whitish. Legs brownish yellow, fore and middle coxae and trochanters pale yellow, hind coxa reddish brown, but paler apically, hind femur brown to reddish brown, paler in basal quarter and apically, hind tibia yellow to brownish yellow, pale yellow in subbasal short area. Ovipositor sheath yellow to brownish yellow in basal 0.3 and dark brown in apical 0.7. Fore wing evenly faintly infuscate. Pterostigma brown, pale yellow in basal quarter.

Variation. Body length 2.8 mm; fore wing length 2.0 mm. Mesoscutum with fine and short rugae near notauli. Mesopleuron smooth on wide median area. Length of petiole 3.2 × its apical width. Head and mesosoma paler. Otherwise similar to female.

Male. Unknown.

Material examined. Holotype. female, China, Fujian Prov., Yongtai Geling , 17.IX.2002, Wang Yiping, No. 20023760 ( ZJUH) . Paratype: 1 female, China, Guangxi Prov., Guangxi Botanic Garden , 30.X.2002, Lin Naiquan, No. 20034969 ( ZJUH) .

Comparative diagnosis. This new species belongs to the S. fasciatus Walker species group. Spathius beatoides sp. nov. is similar to S. beatus Chao , but differs in having the mesoscutum with distinct rugae penetrating on the lobes near notauli (not penetrated in S. beatus ), scutellum distinctly granulate (very weakly granulate-coriaceous in S. beatus ), mesopleuron medially more or less distinctly and widely rugosity-striate (smooth in S. beatus ), basal carina of propodeum distinctly shorter than areola fork (same length in S. beatus ), hind coxa long (rather short in S. beatus ), petiole slender and more straight (wide and distinctly curved in S. beatus ).

Etymology. From “beatus ”, the name of related species, and suffix “oides”, because new species is similar to S. beatus Chao.

Distribution. China (Fujian, Guangxi).

Figures

FIGURE 7. Spathius beatoides sp. nov. A, habitus, lateral aspect; B, head, dorsal aspect; C, head, frontal aspect; D, metasoma, lateral aspect; E, mesosoma, lateral aspect; F, metasoma, dorsal aspect; G, fore wing; H, mesoscutum, dorsal aspect. Scale bar 0.5 mm.