Trichacis acuta Arias-Penna & Masner

Arias-Penna, Tania Milena, Masner, Lubomir & Delsinne, Thibaut, 2012, Revision of the Neotropical species of Trichacis Foerster (Hymenoptera: Platygastroidea: Platygastridae), with description of 24 new species, Zootaxa 3337, pp. 1-56 : 8-9

Trichacis acuta Arias-Penna & Masner , new species

Figures 2 D–2F; 3A–3D; 21C

Female. Body length: 2.50 mm (holotype); 1.80–2.40 mm (paratypes, n=7); mean length ± SD = 2.18 ± 0.24 mm. Black; base of A1 yellow, distal part of A1 and A2–A10 dark brown; mandible yellow but apex brown and base dark brown; leg dark brown; fore wing infuscate in posterior 2/3, with darker and lighter patterns in basal 1/3.

Head, in dorsal view, two times as wide as long; EH <IOS; interocellar area coriaceous; OOL> LOL; antennal clava 4-segmented; A1 not reaching vertex dorsal margin; A2–A6, A10 longer than wide; A7 as long as wide; A8–A9 wider than long; base of mandible smooth; frons above torulus with 7–8 weak transverse striae; interantennal process smooth and reaching, but not surpassing, ventral border of torulus; clypeus exposed; clypeal margin convex medially; gena striate; vertex laterally coriaceous and medially smooth; temple projection present; hyperoccipital carina incomplete: in dorsal view, hyperoccipital carina fading until reaching level of imaginary line connecting eye inner margin to posterior cephalic margin; distance between posterior ocellus and hyperoccipital carina longer than posterior ocellus diameter.

Mesosoma arched; antero-admedian line present; notaulus anteriorly incomplete; lateral notaular area with coriaceous sculpture along its anterior margin; inter-notaular area with anterior 1/3 coriaceous, otherwise smooth; posteromedial region of inter-notaular area convex; parapsidal line present; central pronotal area smooth; specialized area of mesoscutellum heart-shaped; median projection of specialized area of mesoscutellum subtriangular; mesopleural carina incomplete (length of mesopleural carina/length of mesopleuron = 0.55); fore wing distinctly surpassing apex of metasoma.

Metasoma elongate; combined length of T3–T6 <T2; T1 as wide as long, T2 longer than wide, anteromedial area of T2 smooth and flattened; T3–T6 shallowly covered by dense punctuation; T6 triangular.

Male. Body length: 1.90 mm (allotype); 1.80 mm (paratypes, n=2); mean length ± SD = 1.83 ± 0.06 mm. Similar to female except the following: antenna filiform; A1–A10 dark brown; A1 distinctly surpassing vertex margin; A5 as long as wide; A8–A9 longer than wide; T1 shorter than wide; T2 longer than wide; T7 shallowly covered by dense punctuation; T6 wider than long.

Etymology. The name of the species refers to the temple projection.

Diagnosis. Both Trichacis acuminata and T. acuta have temple projection but sculpture on the medial area of vertex is covered by striae in T. acuminata and smooth in T. acuta , and the shape of the anteromedial part of T2 is concave in T. acuminata and flat in T. acuta . The Neartic species Trichacis bison , T. cornuta , and T. dracula also have temple projection ( Masner 1983).

Material examined. Holotype: 1 Ƥ, COLOMBIA, Chuza, June 18 1992, MT, E. Palacio ( CNCI); allotype: 1 3 with same data as holotype but caught July 27 1992 ( CNCI); paratypes: 5 Ƥ, with same data as allotype (4 at CNCI and 1 at ICN); 2 Ƥ, with same data as holotype ( CNCI); 1 3 with same data as holotype ( ICN); 1 3, with same data as allotype ( CNCI).

Holotype is deposited in CNCI.

Figures

FIGURE 2. Bright field images of Trichacis species. A – C: Trichacis acuminata Arias-Penna & Masner, n. sp. A, Ƥ, habitus, lateral view (holotype); B, Ƥ, head and anterior mesosoma, dorsal view (holotype); C, 3, head and mesosoma, anteroventral view (allotype). D – F: Trichacis acuta Arias-Penna & Masner, n. sp., Ƥ (holotype). D, head, anterior view; E, habitus, dorsal view; F, habitus, lateral view.