Lytopylus tigrinus Silva, Shimbori & Fernandes, 2025

Silva, Antonielson B., Shimbori, Eduardo M. & Fernandes, Daniell R. R., 2025, Three new species of Lytopylus Foerster, 1862 (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Agathidinae) from Brazil, Zootaxa 5594 (1), pp. 167-176 : 172-175

Lytopylus tigrinus Silva, Shimbori & Fernandes sp. nov.

( Figs 3 A– H )

Type material. Holotype female: Brazil, Amazonas, Novo Airão, Igarapé Mato Grosso , AM-240, Km 27. 02°48′51″S 60°55′24″W, 07-11.VII.2015. Xavier-Filho, F.F. col. ( INPA).

Diagnosis. May be distinguished from all other known members of the genus by the following combination of characters: antenna with 36 flagellomeres; fore wing and hind wing entirely infuscate, second submarginal cell of fore wing triangular; mesoscutum entirely brownish orange; propodeal areola wide and well developed, anterior transversal carina of propodeum present; metasoma with black bands apically onT3–6 apically; apex of the median tibia and entire posterior tarsi brown; base of first posterior and median tarsi orange yellow; metasoma 1.1× longer than ovipositor.

Description of female. Body length 5.64 mm ( Fig. 3A ).

Head: Antenna with 36 flagellomeres, 5.1 mm; head transverse in dorsal view, about 2.1× wider than long. Mesosoma : Scutellar sulcus with one median longitudinal carina; median areola of metanotum well defined with lateral and centrally sharp carinae. Fore wing entirely infuscate, length 4.71 mm; second submarginal cell of fore wing triangular and sessile, height 0.21 mm; (RS+M)a well-developed, almost complete but not tubular at midlength. Propodeum with well-defined median areola; areola wider anteriorly, length 3.8× its width; anterior transverse carinae present and reaching lateral margin. Metasoma: First median tergite with 2 distinct lateral longitudinal carinae extending 3/5 length of the median tergite; median syntergite 2+3 0.9× longer than wide; metasoma 1.1× longer than ovipositor. Color : Mostly brownish orange, except: antenna, tarsal claws, edge of mesoscutum, apex and base of posterior tibia, entire posterior tarsi, and metasomal T3–T6 with black bands apically; apex of mid tibia and posterior tarsi brown; base of first posterior and mid tarsi orange yellow; wings entirely infuscate, ovipositor sheath dark orange.

Male. Unknown.

Distribution. Amazonas ( Brazil) ( Fig. 4 )

Biology. Host unknown.

Etymology. The specific epithet “ tigrinus ” was chosen to reflect the characteristic of the metasoma that has an orange hue with black stripes like those of tigers.

Discussion. The new species is similar to Lytopylus alejandromasisi Kang, 2017 ( Kang et al. 2017), in having the fore wing uniformly infuscate, hind tibia black basally and apically and yellow medially, anterior transverse carina of propodeum reaching lateral margin, and second submarginal cell of fore wing triangular and sessile. It differs from L. alejandromasisi in having a larger body length, measuring 8.4 mm, compared with 5.6 mm in L. alejandromasisi , and a mostly brownish orange body with black bands apically on T3–6, compared with a mainly black body with contrasting bright yellow thorax in L. alejandromasisi .

Figures

FIGURE 3A‒H. Lytopylus tigrinus Silva, Shimbori & Fernandes sp. nov., holotype female.A—Lateral habitus. B—Head, front view. C—Head and mesoscutum, dorsal view. D—Head and mesosoma, lateral. E—Fore wings. F—Hind wing. G—Propodeum and metasoma, dorsal view. H—Propodeum, dorsal view.

FIGURE 4. Geographic distribution of species of Lytopylus Foerster, 1862 in Brazil. Brazilian states in which the species was recorded are highlighted in gray. The circle represents the specimen L. melanoflavus Silva, Shimbori & Fernandes sp. nov., triangle L. tigrinus Silva, Shimbori & Fernandes sp. nov., square L. minimus Silva, Shimbori & Fernandes sp. nov., and star L. strigata (Enderlein, 1920).