Zozoros noyesi Manickavasagam & Ayyamperumal, sp., 2021

Ayyamperumal, Mani & Manickavasagam, Sagadai, 2021, Zozoros Noyes and Hayat (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae): first report of genus and description of a new species from India, with a key to species, Journal of Natural History 55 (17 - 18), pp. 1169-1175 : 1172-1174

Description of new taxa Zozoros noyesi Manickavasagam & Ayyamperumal, sp. nov.( Figures 1 & 2 )

Female. Holotype ( Figure 1 (a)). Length 1.80 mm. Body yellowish brown to dark brown; ocelli reddish brown; fore and hindwings uniformly infuscate brown, forewing with a hyaline streak connecting postmarginal and stigmal veins. Legs dark brown except tarsal segments and apex of tibia yellow; mid tibial spur yellowish brown.

Head ( Figure 1 (b)), in frontal view, slightly broader than long, about 3.3× frontovertex width (600:180), frontovertex with shallow piliferous punctures up to mouth margin; eye 1.89× as long as broad (360:190) diverging ventrally from the level of median ocellus; ocelli arranged in a right-angled triangle; malar space about 0.4× as long as eye length (15:36). Antennal ( Figure 1 (c)) scape flattened with imbricate sculpture, 1.8× as long as broad; pedicel about 1.2× as long as broad, funicle segments F 1 to F 6 transverse; clava 3-segmented, broader than funicle; F 4, F 5, F 6, Cl 1, Cl 2 and Cl 3 with 3, 2, 3, 6, 5 and 5 mps, respectively. Measurements: Relative length and width of antennal segments: scape, 350:190; pedicel, 70:60; F 1, 20:60; F 2, 20:70; F 3, 20:80; F 4, 20:90; F 5, 20:100; F 6, 20:110; clava, 310:140.

Mesosoma ( Figure 2 (b)) Mesoscutum about 2.3× as broad as long, pronotum and mesoscutum imbricate; scutellum about 1.2× as long as broad and reticulate; propodeum faintly scrobiculate. Forewing 2.1× as long as broad; setation and venation as in Figure 2 (a). Hindwing about 3.8× as long as broad. Measurements: Mesosoma (length:width), 750:550; mesoscutum, 350:800; scutellum, 350:300; forewing, 1640:770; hindwing, 1020:270; midtibial spur 1.1× as long as mid basitarsus, midtibia length, 600; mid basitarsus length, 200; mid tibial spur length, 220.

Metasoma ( Figure 2 (c)) 1.15× as long as broad (750:650), longer than mesosoma; hypopygium reaching apex of gaster; ovipositor slightly exserted, 1.3× as long as midtibia.

Host. Unknown.

Male. Unknown.

Type material

Holotype, ♀ (on slide) [Reg. No. EDAU/ Enc 027 /2021]: INDIA: Meghalaya, Umiam, forest ecosystem (N25°/39 ʹ E91°/53 ʹ), 17.iii.19, sweep net. Coll. H. Sankararaman. Deposited in EDAU.

Distribution. India: Meghalaya.

Etymology

The species epithet is derived from the name of eminent taxonomist, Dr. John S. Noyes of Natural History Museum, London, UK, who spent his life on taxonomy of Chalcidoidea especially Encyrtidae (Hymenoptera) .

Comments

This new species is similar to Z. sinemarginis in having tridentate mandible but can be differentiated based on the following characters: F 1 to F 6 transverse; scape less than 2× longer than broad; pedicel 1.2× longer than broad; frontovertex with shallow piliferous punctures; Only F 4 -F 6 with mps. (In Z. sinemarginis : F 1 longer than broad, F 2 to F 6 quadrate; scape more than 2.2× longer than broad; pedicel 2.25× longer than broad; frontovertex with deep piliferous punctures; F 1 to F 6 with mps.)

Figures

Figure 1. (a–c) Zozoros noyesi Manickavasagam & Ayyamperumal, sp. nov. Holotype, Female (a). Habitus; (b). Head frontal; (c). Antenna.

Figure 2. (a–c) Zozoros noyesi Manickavasagam & Ayyamperumal, sp.nov.Holotype, female (a). Part of forewing showing venation; (b). Mesosoma dorso-lateral; (c). Metasoma showing ovipositor.