Spathius hainanicola, 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 : 53-54

Spathius hainanicola sp. nov.

( Fig. 16 )

Description. Female. Body length 8.8 mm; fore wing length 5.5 mm.

Head. Antennae almost filiform, more than 19-segmented (apical segments missing). Scape 1.8 × as long as its maximum width. First flagellar segment 5.5 × as long as its apical width, as long as second segment. Head width (dorsal view) 1.4 × median length. Head behind eyes (dorsal view) roundly narrowed; transverse diameter of eye 1.7 × length of temple. Ocelli medium-sized, arranged in triangle with base 1.2 × its sides; POL: Od: OOL = 5: 5: 12. Vertex smooth. Frons entirely densely and regularly striate. Eye glabrous, 1.3 × as high as broad. Malar space 0.4 × eye height and 0.8 × basal width of mandible. Temple smooth. Face almost entirely transversely undulately striate, with fine rugulosity, clypeus rugose-striate; its width 1.2 × eye height and 1.2 × height of face and clypeus combined. Clypeal suture distinct, but shallow, without additional carina. Clypeus flat, with narrow ventral flange. Hypoclypeal depression rather small and round, its width 0.7 × distance from edge of depression to eye, 0.35 × width of face. Occipital carina complete dorsally, not joined below with hypostomal carina being obliterated on short distance upper base of mandible.

Mesosoma. Length of mesosoma 2.5 × its height. Pronotal keel rather high, situated before middle of pronotum, its posterior branch distinctly separated from posterior margin of pronotum. Mesoscutum not highly and roundly elevated above pronotum, its median lobe distinctly protruding forwards, convex-rounded anteriorly (dorsal view), without anterolateral corners. Mesoscutum entirely covered by dense, semi-erect, mostly short and partly mixed with long setae; coarsely and long transversely striate with narrow granulate median longitudinal areas. Notauli deep anteriorly and shallow posteriorly, wide, complete, coarsely crenulate. Prescutellar depression shallow, long, with three carinae, finely rugulose, 0.4 × as long as scutellum. Scutellum almost smooth and flat, with lateral carinae. Mesopleuron almost entirely smooth. Subalar depression shallow, wide, coarsely and sparsely rugose-striate. Precoxal sulcus deep and wide in anterior 0.6, shallow and more or less narrow in posterior 0.4, weakly curved, coarsely crenulate, running along almost entire lower part of mesopleuron. Propodeum without tubercles, mostly coarsely rugulose-reticulate, with areas finely delineated by carinae, basolateral areas more or less granulate-punctate in basal half and coarsely rugose in posterior half; basal carina long, 2.3 × as long as anterior fork of areola; areola wide and rather short.

Wings. Fore wing 4.3 × as long as wide. Vein r arising behind middle of pterostigma. 3-SR: r: SR1: 2-SR = 15: 5: 37: 21. Second submarginal cell not narrowed distally, its length 3.4 × maximum width, 0.9 × length of first subdiscal cell. Vein m-cu postfurcal. Vein CU1a postfurcal. Hind wing vein M+CU 0.4 × as long as vein 1-M. Vein m-cu distinctly antefurcal, strongly oblique towards base of wing.

Legs. Hind coxa dorsally transversely and rather finely semi-circularly striate, almost entirely smooth in lower half, without basoventral tooth and corner. Hind femur almost smooth, elongate-oval, 3.2 × as long as wide. Hind tibia apically without spines on outer margin. Dorsal surface of hind tibia with long, sparse and semi-erect setae, their length 1.5–1.6 × 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 0.6 × as long as basitarsus, 1.9 × as long as fifth segment (without pretarsus).

Metasoma. Petiole (lateral view) almost straight, more or less regularly thick, weakly widened in apical 0.2 (dorsal view), with weak or almost indistinct spiracular tubercles; with distinct rugosity and striation at least laterally and very densely almost entirely granulate-reticulate between striae. Length of petiole 7.3 × its apical width (dorsal view), 2.8 × length of propodeum. Second and third tergites with separate laterotergites. Second suture absent. Median length of second and third tergites combined 3.4 × basal width of second tergite, 1.7 × their maximum width. Second tergite densely longitudinally aciculate. Third tergite densely semi-circularly transversely aciculate. Fourth and sixth tergites entirely fine or very fine transversely aciculate. Ovipositor sheath 3.9 × as long as petiole, 1.9 × as long as metasoma, 4.2 × as long as mesosoma, 1.9 × as long as fore wing.

Colour. Head brownish yellow. Mesosoma reddish brown, mesoscutum and scutellum brownish yellow. Petiole dark reddish brown; remaining tergites on wide area medially and apex of metasoma yellow, dark reddish brown laterally. Antenna brown to black. Palpi pale yellow. Legs yellow to pale yellow, femora widely infuscate medially, but faintly on fore and middle femora. Ovipositor sheath brown or pale brown, almost black apically. Fore wing more or less evenly faintly infuscate. Pterostigma brown, basally shortly yellow.

Male. Body length 6.8–7.4 mm; fore wing length 5.1–5.3 mm. Antenna 38-segmented. Length of petiole 9.2– 9.6 × its apical width (dorsal view). Median length of second and third tergites combined 3.5–3.7 × basal width of second tergite. Legs often mostly pale. Otherwise similar to female.

Material examined. Holotype: female, China, Hainan Prov., Wuzhishan , 29.X.2007, Liu Jingxian, No. 200710290 ( ZJUH) . Paratypes: 1 female, China, Hainan Prov., Wuzhishan Shuimanxiang, 16–18. V .2007, Zeng Jie, No. 200807551 ( ZJUH) ; 4 males, Hainan Prov., Diaoluoshan , 16–17.VII.2006, Liu Jingxian, Nos. 200802386, 200802148, 200802345 and 200802481 ( ZJUH, ZISP) ; 1 male, Hainan Prov., Bawangling , 26.XI.2008, Wang Manman, No. 200805633 ( ZJUH) .

Comparative diagnosis. This new species belongs to the S. imbecillus Enderlein species group. Spathius hainanicola sp. nov. is similar to S. vahalis Nixon , but differs in having the pronotal keel situated before middle of pronotum (behind middle of pronotum in S. vahalis ), areola of propodeum present (absent in S. vahalis ), vein r arising distinctly behind middle of pterostigma (from middle in S. vahalis ), petiole with distinct rugosity and striation at least laterally (mostly strong shining and virtually without raised rugosity in S. vahalis ), fourth and sixth tergites entirely finely or very finely transversely aciculate (smooth in S. vahalis ), and ovipositor distinctly longer than body (as long as body in S. vahalis ).

Etymology. From Hainan island, the type locality of species, and “incola” (Latin for “inhabitant”) because this species was collected in Hainan Island.

Distribution. China (Hainan).

Figures

FIGURE 16. Spathius hainanicola sp. nov. A, habitus, lateral aspect; B, head, frontal aspect; C, head, dorsal 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.