Spathius longulator, 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 : 60-62

Spathius longulator sp. nov.

( Fig. 18 )

Description. Female. Body length 5.2 mm; fore wing length 3.7 mm.

Head. Antennae weakly setiform, 35-segmented. Scape 1.6 × as long as its maximum width. First flagellar segment about 5.0 × as long as its apical width, 1.2 × as long as second segment. Penultimate segment about 4.0 × as long as wide, as long as subpointed apical segment. Head width (dorsal view) 1.6 × its median length, 1.2 × as wide as mesoscutum. Head behind eyes (dorsal view) roundly narrowed; transverse diameter of eye 1.6 × length of temple. Ocelli medium-sized, arranged in triangle with base 1.1 × its sides; POL: Od: OOL = 3.5: 3.5: 10. Vertex smooth anteriorly and posteriorly, distinctly transverse striate medially; frons entirely and vertex in posterior half distinctly and rather densely transverse striate. Eye glabrous, 1.2 × as high as broad. Malar space 0.4 × eye height and 0.8 × basal width of mandible. Temple mainly smooth, finely vertically striate posteriorly near occipital carina. Face with rather dense, coarse and weakly curved transverse striation. Face width 1.1 × eye height and almost equal to height of face and clypeus combined. Hypoclypeal depression large and round, its width 0.85 × distance from edge of depression to eye, 0.4 × width of face. Occipital carina complete dorsally, ventrally joined with hypostomal carina by additional ruga upper base of mandible.

Mesosoma. Length of mesosoma 2.0 × its height. Pronotal keel distinct, its posterior branch rather distinctly separated from posterior margin of pronotum, but joined with it by two additional fine sublateral rugae, anterior branch situated behind middle of pronotum. Mesoscutum highly and roundly elevated above pronotum, its median lobe convex anteriorly and without anterolateral corners. Mesoscutum densely granulate, with long and dense rugae along notauli and laterally, with two distinct and convergent posteriorly undulate carinae in medioposterior half; mostly glabrous, with rather dense, long and almost erect pale setae arranged narrowly along notauli and laterally. Notauli anteriorly distinct, wide, and crenulate, weakly shallow posteriorly. Prescutellar depression deep, long, with three carinae, almost smooth, 0.3 × as long as scutellum. Scutellum entirely densely granulate, weakly convex, with distinct lateral carinae. Mesopleuron mostly smooth. Subalar depression shallow, narrow and sparsely striate. Precoxal sulcus deep, straight, weakly oblique, coarsely crenulate, running along anterior 0.6 of lower part of mesopleuron. Propodeum with short and rather narrow lateral tubercles, with distinctly delineated by carinae and granulate with rugosity basolateral areas, its rest part mainly smooth and with coarse sparse striate; areola rather narrow and relatively short; basal carina present in basal 0.3, about as long as anterior fork of areola.

Wings. Fore wing 4.2 × as long as wide. Vein r arising behind middle of pterostigma. 3-SR: r: SR1: 2-SR = 26: 6: 44: 24. Second submarginal cell not narrowed distally, its length 3.0 × 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 0.55 × as long as vein 1-M. Vein m-cu distinctly antefurcal, distinctly curved towards base of wing, faintly infuscate.

Legs. Hind coxa dorsally coarsely transversely striate, densely granulate on rest part, with distinct basoventral corner and tooth. Hind femur mainly smooth, finely longitudinally striate dorsally, 3.5 × as long as wide. Hind tibia apically without spines on outer side. Dorsal surface of hind tibia with long, rather sparse and semi-erect setae, their length 1.0–1.5 × maximum width of tibia. Hind tarsus as long as hind tibia. Hind basitarsus 0.65 × as long as second-fifth segments combined. Second segment of hind tarsus 0.5 × as long as basitarsus, 1.3 × as long as fifth segment (without pretarsus).

Metasoma. Petiole (lateral view) weakly curved ventrally, dorsally distinctly arched in basal 0.3 and almost straight in apical 0.7, distinctly thickened in basal 0.3; widened in apical fifth (dorsal view), with small spiracular tubercles in widened basal third. Length of petiole 3.9 × its apical width, 2.6 × length of propodeum. Second tergite without separate laterotergites. Median length of second and third tergites combined 1.5 × basal width of second tergite, 0.7 × as long as their maximum width. Second suture absent. Petiole distinctly and rather sparsely longitudinally striate, densely striate apically, with dense and fine reticulation in medio-basal half. Remaining tergites entirely smooth. Ovipositor weakly curved down. Ovipositor sheath 2.5 × as long as petiole, 1.3 × as long as metasoma, 2.2 × as long as mesosoma, about as long as fore wing.

Colour. Body reddish brown, with pale spots on head and mesosoma; metasoma behind petiole light reddish brown with narrow yellow posterior transverse stripes. Antennae pale brown in basal third, brown in median third, whitish yellow in apical third (about 10 segments). Palpi pale yellow. Fore and middle legs pale brown to yellowish brown, basally white. Hind leg frown to pale brown, trochanter, trochantellus and base of femur whitish; hind tibia almost evenly pale brown. Ovipositor sheath brownish yellow in basal third and brown to dark brown on remaining part. Fore wing faintly infuscate, with brownish spots near vein 1-M and below pterostigma. Pterostigma brown, pale in basal third.

Variation. Body length 4.5–5.6 mm; fore wing length 3.4–4.1 mm. First flagellar segment 5.0–5.6 × as long as its apical width, 1.1–1.2 × as long as second segment. Transverse diameter of eye 1.6–1.8 × length of temple. Vertex sometimes finely or very finely aciculate. Malar space 0.35–0.45 × eye height. Length of petiole 4.0–4.5 × its apical width, 2.2–2.5 × length of propodeum. Ovipositor sheath 1.3–1.5 × as long as metasoma, 2.1–2.3 × as long as mesosoma.

Male. Unknown.

Material examined. Holotype. female, China, Hainan Prov., Diaoluoshan , 16–17.VII.2006, Liu Jingxian, No. 200802455 ( ZJUH) . Paratypes: 1 female, China, Hainan Prov., Yinggeling, 28. V –3. VI .2007, Weng Liqiong, No. 200804197 ( ZJUH) ; 2 females, Hainan Prov., Jianfengling Tianchi , 12–15.VII.2006, Weng Liqiong, Nos. 200803321 and 200803426 ( ZJUH, ZISP) .

Comparative diagnosis. This new species belongs to the S. fasciatus Walker species group. Spathius longulator sp. nov. is similar to S. colophon Nixon , but differs in having the hind coxa and femur brown (mainly bright yellow or honey yellow in S. colophon ), base of ocellar triangle weakly larger than its sides (very clearly larger in S. colophon ), pronotal keel distinct (rather week in S. colophon ), mesoscutum with distinct granulation (with fine reticulation medially on mesoscutal lobes in S. colophon ), scutellum distinctly granulate (almost smooth in S. colophon ), basal carina of propodeum long (short in S. colophon ), basolateral areas of propodeum densely and distinctly granulate with rugosity (mainly smooth in S. colophon ), and petiole more than 2.0 × longer than propodeum (not longer than 2.0 × in S. colophon ). This new species is also similar to the Japanese S. insulicola Belokobylskij et Maeto , but differs from it in having the petiole long and slender (shorter and wide in S. insulicola ), first flagellar segment slender (thick in S. insulicola ), vertex smooth in anterior part (entirely sculptured in S. insulicola ), mesoscutum not highly and gently elevated above pronotum (highly and roundly elevated in S. insulicola ). The differences between Chinese S. longulator sp. nov. and S. longus Chen et Shi are showed in the key.

Etymology. From “longus ” (Latin for “long”), because of long petiole.

Distribution. China (Hainan).

Figures

FIGURE 18. Spathius longulator 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.