Apanteles artustigma Liu & Chen

Liu, Zhen, He, Jun-Hua & Chen, Xue-Xin, 2015, The lacteus-, laspeyresiella - and mycetophilus - groups of Apanteles Foerster, 1862 (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Microgastrinae) in China, with descriptions of eight new species, Zootaxa 3949 (3), pp. 370-392 : 380

Apanteles artustigma Liu & Chen , sp. n.

Figure 5

Description. Female. Body length ca. 2.4 mm, fore wing length ca. 2.9 mm.

Head. Rather transverse in dorsal view, 2.1 as wide as long (28.0:13.4) and slightly narrower than mesosoma (28.0:30.8). Temple shiny, impunctate, rather constricted ( Fig. 5 a). Face rather transverse, 0.6 as high as wide, very shiny, slightly bulged medially, with independent small punctures, sparsely pubescent, inner margin of eyes parallel. Ocelli relatively small, distance between fore and a hind ocellus not shorter than diameter of hind ocelli, posterior tangent to the anterior ocellus touching the posterior pair, POL:OD:OOL=4.0:2.0:5.0. Vertex distinctly bulged. Antenna distinctly shorter than body length (almost 2/3), penultimate antennomere cubic.

Mesosoma. Length to breadth and height 41.0:30.8:30.5. Disc of mesonotum very shiny, finely punctate, interspaces not smaller than diameter of punctures. Scutellar sulcus a little straight, narrow with sparse carinae in between. Scutellum highly polished with only a few of indistinctly punctures aside. Propodeum relatively dull, strongly rugose, except postero-lateral field with small polished areas, anterior part subpunctato-rugose. Mesopleuron highly polished, its anterior half with shallow punctation of even size.

Legs. Hind femur stout, 2.7× longer than wide. Spines on outer side of hind tibia numerous and close-set. Inner spur of hind tibia longer than the outer one, almost 1/2 length of basitarsus, outer spur almost 1/3 length of basitarsus. Hind basitarsus almost as long as tarsal segments 2–4 combined.

Wings. Pterostigma 3.1× as long as its widest part. Vein 1-R1 (metacarp) as long as pterostigma, it is 3.6× as long as its distance from the apex of the marginal cell. Vein r as long as width of pterostigma, vein r 1.3× longer than vein 2-SR, both veins distinctly angled at their meeting, vein 2-M 2/3 length of vein 2-SR. 1st discal cell slightly wider than high. Vein cu-a straight. Vannal lobe beyond its widest part straight and without projecting setae.

Metasoma. Slightly longer than thorax (43.5:41.0). T1 narrowed towards apex, basal width 1.5× hind width, and very short, 1.3× longer than basal width. Concave at basal 2/5, relatively dull, strigose, with scattered large shallow punctures to the polished tubercle distally. T2 relatively transverse, slightly curved into T3, 4.2× wider than long in the middle, weakly rugulose. T3 2× as long as T2 (8.5:4.0). Tergites after T1 relatively shiny, smooth. Hypopygium longer than apex of abdomen. Ovipositor sheath slightly longer than hind tibia (35.0:31.5), relatively thin with sparse but upstanding setae.

Colour. Body black. Flagellum, tegulae and ovipositor sheath brown. Labrum and mandible reddish brown. Palpi dark. Fore and mid tibiae and tarsi yellow, fore and mid femora, hind tibia, hind tarsus and trochanters more or less reddish brown, coxae and hind femur black. Spurs of tibiae pale yellow. Fore wing hyaline, vein 1-R1, C+SC+R and border of pterostigma yellowish brown, most of pterostigma whitish and other veins colourless.

Variation. Palpi of paratype from Zhejiang not as dark as holotype and vein r slightly shorter.

Male. Unknown.

Host. Unknown.

Material examined. Holotype: ♀, Mt. Xiangtou, Huizhou, Guangdong, 2004. V.11, Xu Zaifu, No. 20053409. Paratype: 1♀, Xixi Park, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 2003. VIII.5, Yu Xiaoxia, No. 20056685.

Distribution. China (Provinces: Guangdong, Zhejiang).

Etymology. The specific name “ artustigma ” derives from the Latin “artus” and “stigma”, referring to white pterostigma.

Remarks. This species is similar to A. calycinae Wilkinson , but can be separated by the following: disc of mesonotum finely punctate (in the latter species superficially punctate); ovipositor sheath slightly longer than hind tibia (in the latter species 1.5× longer); and antenna distinctly shorter than body (in the latter species same length).

Figures

FIGURE 5. Apanteles artustigma Liu & Chen, sp. n. a head, dorsal view; b head, frontal view; c mesosoma, dorsal view; d fore wing; e hind wing; f propodeum and T 1 – 3, dorsal view; g habitus, lateral view. Scale line = 0.5 mm.