Blacus (Blacus) longicornis, Lu & Chai & Achterberg & Tang & Chen, 2024

Lu, Qian-Yu, Chai, Hong-Fei, Achterberg, Cornelis Van, Tang, Pu & Chen, Xue-Xin, 2024, The first report of subgenus Blacus Nees, 1819 (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Brachistinae) from China, Zootaxa 5471 (5), pp. 501-535 : 516-518

Blacus (Blacus) longicornis sp. nov.

( Figs 13–14 )

Material examined. Holotype: ♀, China, Ningxia, Jingyuan, Liupan Mtn, Hongxia Tree Farm , 2.VII.2008, Liu Jingxian, No. 200902283 ( ZJUH).

Description. Female. Length of body 2.0 mm, length of fore wing 1.95 mm.

Head. Antennomeres 17, slender ( Fig. 14C ); length of first flagellomere 1.4 × length of second flagellomere; length of first, second and penultimate flagellomere 4.7, 3.3 and 1.5 × their width, respectively; length of maxillary palp 1.0 × height of head; occipital carina complete ( Fig. 14A ); frontal suture present; OOL: OD: POL = 9: 3: 4; length of eye in dorsal view 0.9 × length of temple; face superficially rugose; malar suture present, length of malar space 1.6 × basal width of mandible.

Mesosoma. Length of mesosoma 1.5 × its height; side of pronotum rugose ventrally, smooth dorsally ( Fig. 14D ); precoxal sulcus complete and wide, with long striae ( Fig. 14D ); notauli complete, moderately wide and rugose ( Fig. 14E ); mesoscutal lobes densely setose ( Fig. 14E ); scutellum superficially rugose, its lateral carina complete, not protruding apically; propodeal tubercles small; surface of propodeum reticulate-rugose, medial area absent ( Fig. 14G ).

Wings. Fore wing: parastigma distinctly differentiated from vein C+SC+R, first discal cell acute anteriorly; vein 3-SR+SR1 of fore wing straight; vein CUla of fore wing distinctly bent basally, distinctly below level of vein 2-CU1; 1-CU1: 2-CU1 = 6: 11; 2-M present ( Fig. 14I ).

Legs. Hind coxa rugose dorsally; length of femur, tibia and basitarsus of hind leg 4.6, 10.4 and 10.5 × their width, respectively.

Metasoma. Length of first tergite 1.7 × its apical width, widened apically, longitudinally rugose ( Fig. 14F ); remainder tergites smooth ( Fig. 14F ); length of ovipositor sheath 0.22 × length of fore wing, 0.9 × length of hind femur, 0.6 × length of hind tibia.

Colour. Reddish-brown; basal half of antenna (but scapus reddish-brown), clypeus and mandible dark yellow; palpi and all legs yellow; basal part of pterostigma and parastigma white; metasoma (but first tergite black), tegulae, pterostigma, veins, ovipositor and sheath brown; wing membrane subhyaline.

Male. Unknown.

Biology. Unknown.

Distribution. China (Ningxia).

Etymology. The specific name longicornis refers to the long and slender antenna and is derived from “ longus ” (Latin for long) and “ cornu ” (Latin for horn).

Notes. The new species is similar to B. (B.) imitator Papp, 1985 , because antenna and hind femur are slender, parastigma distinctly differentiated from vein C+SC+R, vein CUla of fore wing distinctly bent basally, distinctly below level of vein 2-CU1, 1-CU1: 2-CU1 = 1: 1 and propodeal tubercle minute, but differs by having bicoloured antenna (unicoloured in B. (B.) imitator ), vein 2-M of fore wing present (absent), first discal cell acute widely anteriorly (truncate), vein 3-SR+SR1 of fore wing straight (moderately curved), antenna comparatively slender (less slender), length of first metasomal tergite 1.7 × its apical width (1.9 ×), length of ovipositor sheath 0.22 × length of fore wing (approx. 0.43 ×), 0.6 × shorter than length of hind tibia (about 1.2 × longer than hind tibia).

Figures

FIGURE 13. Blacus longicornis sp. nov. (body, lateral aspect).

FIGURE 14. Blacus longicornis sp. nov. A. head, dorsal aspect; B. head, anterior aspect; C. antenna; D. mesosoma, lateral aspect; E. mesosoma, dorsal aspect; F. metasoma, dorsal aspect; G. propodeum, dorsal aspect; H. ovipositor and ovipositor sheath; I. fore wing; J. hind