Nemeritis baranovi, Vas, 2020

Vas, Zoltán, 2020, Contributions to the taxonomy and biogeography of Nemeritis Holmgren (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae: Campopleginae), Zootaxa 4758 (3), pp. 486-500 : 490-492

Nemeritis baranovi sp. nov.

Material examined. Holotype: female, Mongolia, Central aimak, Ulaan chodag, 16 km S von Somon Öndörschireet, 1500m, 24.VII.1966, leg. Z. Kaszab (Nr. 739); specimen pinned, Id. No. HNHM-HYM 153202 .— Paratypes: two males, Mongolia , Bulgan aimak, 30 km NNW von Somon Daschincilen , 1200m, 15.VI.1968, leg. Z. Kaszab (Nr. 759); specimens pinned, Id. No. HNHM-HYM 153203 , 153204 .— The holotype and paratype specimens are deposited in the Hymenoptera Collection of HNHM (Budapest, Hungary) .

Diagnosis. Nemeritis baranovi sp. nov. can be identified by the combined presence of the following characteristics: head relatively small; second flagellomere ca 3.0× as long as wide apically; gena short, in dorsal view 0.5– 0.6× as long as eye width, strongly narrowed behind eye; face slightly narrower than width of frons below median ocellus; clypeus granulate, matt, its apical margin weakly convex, sharp, medially smooth and shiny; mandibular teeth of equal length; mesosoma relatively elongate, 2.6× as long as wide; lateral longitudinal carinae complete, posteriorly weakened; lateromedian longitudinal carinae from base until costulae well developed, behind costulae obsolescent; costulae proximally obsolescent, distally indistinct; posterior transverse carina only laterally present; area basalis elongate trapezoidal, about 2.0× as long as its basal width; area superomedia about 1.7–2.0× as long as wide, its lateral carinae weakly converging behind costulae, apically opened, confluent with area petiolaris, longer than area petiolaris; area petiolaris not lying in the same level with area superomedia; fore wing with areolet; second tergite in female 1.65×, in male 1.75× as long as its apical width; ovipositor sheath ca 3.0× as long as hind tibia; scapus in female dark brown, in male predominantly dark brown, ventrally partly and weakly yellowish brown; tegula yellow; hind femur reddish brown, basally little darkened; hind tibia brownish, basally with a small yellowish spot, externo-medially somewhat lighter, subbasally weakly and apically distinctly darker brownish. Nemeritis baranovi sp. nov. is most similar to N. caudatula Thomson , which species can be readily distinguished from the new species by its significantly shorter ovipositor sheath (ca 1.2× as long as hind tibia), more elongate second tergite (about 2.0× as long as its apical width), and by the lack of distinct yellowish basal spot on hind tibia.

Description. Female ( Figs 5–8 ). Body length ca 5.0 mm, fore wing length ca 3.5 mm.

Head: Antenna with 25 flagellomeres; basal flagellomeres slender, first flagellomere almost 5.0× as long as wide apically; second flagellomere ca 3.0× as long as wide apically; preapical flagellomeres distinctly longer than wide. Head granulate with some very weak, hardly discernible traces of punctures and with moderately dense, greyish hairs, transverse, relatively small, ca 1.4× as wide as maximum width of mesoscutum. Ocelli small, ocular-ocellar distance 2.2× as long as ocellus diameter, posterior ocellar distance 2.0× as long as ocellus diameter. Inner eye orbits about parallel, not indented. Frons not impressed above toruli. Gena (temple) short, in dorsal view 0.5–0.6× as long as eye width, strongly narrowed behind eye. Occipital carina complete, reaching hypostomal carina distinctly behind mandibular base; hypostomal carina not elevated. Malar space 0.8× as long as basal width of mandible. Face flat in profile, slightly narrower than width of frons below median ocellus. Clypeus flat, wide, very weakly separated from face, granulate, matt, with few very weak, inconspicuous punctures; apical margin of clypeus weakly convex, sharp, medially smooth and shiny. Mandible rather long and narrow, lower margin of mandible with relatively low carina from teeth toward base, mandibular teeth of equal length.

Mesosoma: Mesosoma granulate with some very weak, inconspicuous punctures and with moderately dense greyish hairs, relatively elongate, 2.6× as long as wide. Pronotum with transverse wrinkles in ventral half; epomia distinct. Mesoscutum convex in profile, 1.2× as long as wide, notaulus not developed. Scuto-scutellar groove deep. Scutellum convex in profile, without lateral carina. Mesopleuron granulate, matt; speculum very finely granulate to smooth and polished; mesopleural suture with relatively weak transverse costae. Pleural part of epicnemial carina strong, bent to anterior margin of mesopleuron reaching it below its middle height; transversal part of epicnemial carina (i.e. part at the level of sternaulus running through the epicnemium to the ventral edge of pronotum) not developed; ventral part of epicnemial carina (behind fore coxae) slightly elevated. Sternaulus indistinct. Posterior transverse carina of mesosternum complete. Metanotum about 0.5× as long as scutellum. Metapleuron granulate; juxtacoxal carina indistinct; submetapleural carina complete. Pleural carina of propodeum complete; propodeal spiracle small, circular, separated from pleural carina by slightly more than its length, connected to pleural carina by a weak ridge. Propodeum relatively long, granulate. Propodeal carinae partly developed; lateral longitudinal carinae complete, posteriorly somewhat weakened; lateromedian longitudinal carinae from base of propodeum until costulae well developed, behind costulae obsolescent; costulae proximally obsolescent, distally indistinct; posterior transverse carina only laterally present. Area basalis narrow, elongate trapezoidal, about 2.0× as long as its basal width. Area superomedia granulate without wrinkles, hexagonal, flat, about 1.7× as long as wide, its lateral carinae weakly converging behind costulae, apically opened, confluent with area petiolaris, longer than area petiolaris, costulae connected to lateral margins of area superomedia distinctly before its middle. Area petiolaris granulate with irregular but mostly transverse wrinkles, little impressed, not lying in the same level with area superomedia. Fore wing with relatively large, subsessile areolet, second recurrent vein (2 m-cu) distal to its middle, 3 rs-m pigmented; distal abscissa of Rs straight; distal abscissa of M weakly pigmented; nervulus (cu-a) slightly postfurcal, weakly inclivous; postnervulus (abscissa of Cu 1 between 1 m-cu and Cu 1a + Cu 1b) intercepted little below middle by Cu 1a; lower external angle of second discal cell about right-angled. Hind wing with nervellus (cu-a + abscissa of Cu 1 between M and cu-a) about vertical, intercepted by discoidella (distal abscissa of Cu 1) at about its posterior third; discoidella spectral, connected to nervellus. Coxae finely granulate. Hind femur relatively slender, 5.0× as long as high. Inner spur of hind tibia about 0.4× as long as first tarsomere of hind tarsus. Tarsal claws small and thin, little longer than arolium, with few indistinct basal pecten.

Metasoma: Metasoma finely granulate to shagreened with sparse greyish hairs. First tergite relatively long and slender, ca 3.0× as long as its apical width, ca 0.9× as long as second tergite, without glymma; dorsomedian carina of first tergite basally distinct. Second tergite 1.65× as long as its apical width; thyridium long oval, weak, its distance from basal margin of tergite about 2.0× as long as its length. Third tergite ca 1.2× as long as its apical width. Metasoma from third tergite onward moderately compressed, posterior margin of apical tergites medially distinctly excised. Ovipositor sheath long, ca 3.0× as long as hind tibia; ovipositor thin, compressed, subapically, before nodus, somewhat swollen.

Colour: Antenna dark brown, scapus and pedicellus dark brown, their apical margin very narrowly, inconspicuously yellowish brown. Head black, palpi yellowish, mandible yellowish except black base and dark reddish brown teeth. Mesosoma black except tegula yellow. Metasoma black except a very narrow, inconspicuous pale apical band on each tergite, apical 0.15–0.2 of second tergite with a reddish band, third tergite dark brown, basally and apically inconspicuously suffused with dark reddish brown; ovipositor sheath dark brown. Wings hyaline, wing veins brown, pterostigma yellowish brown. Fore leg: coxa blackish, apically very narrowly yellowish brown; trochanter and trochantellus yellow; femur, tibia and tarsus reddish yellow, apical tarsomeres brownish. Middle leg: coxa black; trochanter and trochantellus yellow; femur, tibia and tarsus reddish yellow, apical tarsomeres brownish. Hind leg: coxa black; trochanter blackish, apically narrowly yellowish brown; trochantellus yellow; femur reddish brown, basally little darkened; tibia brownish, basally with a distinct small yellowish spot, externo-medially somewhat lighter, subbasally weakly and apically distinctly darker brownish; tarsus brownish, extreme base of first tarsomere narrowly yellowish brown.

Male: Similar to female in all characters described above, except: body length ca 5–5.5 mm, fore wing length ca 3.5–4 mm antenna with 29–30 flagellomeres; ocular-ocellar distance 2.0× as long as ocellus diameter; area superomedia almost 2.0× as long as wide; area petiolaris less impressed, almost flat; hind femur 4.5× as long as high; second tergite ca 1.75× as long as its apical width; posterior margin of apical tergites medially not excised; scapus predominantly dark brown, ventrally partly and weakly yellowish brown; apical 0.35 of third tergite with a reddish band; fore and middle coxae apically more extensively yellowish brown though predominantly blackish to bark brown; hind trochanter dark brown, apically more extensively yellowish brown.

Distribution. Currently known from Mongolia.

Ecology. No host is known.

Etymology. The new species is dedicated to Borys O. Baranov, one of the three men who went under the damaged reactor of Chernobyl nuclear power plant to drain the water tank to prevent further explosions.

Remarks. The new species belongs to the N. caudatula species group sensu Horstmann (1975, 1994). It can be distinguished from all species of the group by the combined presence of the characters given in the Diagnosis section. Species of this group are known to be parasitoids of Raphidiidae (Raphidioptera) .

Figures

FIGURES 5–8. Nemeritis baranovi sp. nov., holotype female: 5, lateral habitus; 6, head in dorsal view; 7, propodeum in dorsal view; 8, colouration of basal tergites.