Pristaulacus iuliae, Turrisi & Nobile, 2024

G. F, Turrisi & Nobile, Vittorio, 2024, New Pristaulacus Kieffer, 1900 (Hymenoptera, Evanioidea, Aulacidae) from India and Malaysia with a key to species and a revised checklist, European Journal of Taxonomy 930, pp. 1-19 : 3-6

Pristaulacus iuliae sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:A2EA75ED-663E-4BA1-85EA-42342015F5DC

Figs 1–3 , Table 1

Diagnosis

Small-sized species, body length: 8.3 mm; antenna length: 4.8 mm; forewing length: 6.3 mm; ovipositor length: 6.7 mm ( Fig. 1 ). Colour mostly black, legs partly dark reddish or brownish to orange, wings hyaline, forewing with a moderately wide subquadrate substigmal light brown spot, basal part of metasoma dark brown ( Fig. 1 ); setae almost entirely whitish, long to very long, obscuring partly the cuticle beneath; gena from above, moderately developed, 0.7× eye length, sharply convex behind eye, moderately convergent posteriorly; anterior margin of mesonotum regularly rounded, pronotum with one straigth, tooth-process on each lateroventral margin; ovipositor subequal to forewing length.

Etymology

The specific epithet is a special dedication to V. Nobile’s grand-daughter, Giulia Nobile, a noun in the genitive case.

Type material

Holotype

INDIA • ♀; “S. INDIA, Mysore State Balehonnur , 1956, Coffee Research Inst. N°. 7/Pres. By Com Inst Ent BM 1958-174/COM. INST. ENT. COLL. NO 14733/ Aulacostethus sp. ♀, det. J.F. Perkins. 1956/ Pristaulacus sp. D .R. Smith”/ Pristaulacus iuliae sp.n. ♀ Turrisi G.F. & Nobile V. Holotypus [red label]”; NHMUK.

Description

Female

MEASUREMENTS. Body length: 8.3 mm; antenna length: 4.8 mm; forewing length: 6.3 mm; ovipositor length: 6.7 mm.

COLOUR. Black, except: mandible and ventral of A1 extensively dark orange; legs mostly dark reddish to dark brown, tegula, fore and mid tibiae and tarsi orange; wings hyaline, forewing with moderately wide subquadrate substigmal light brown spot; metasomal segments 1+2 extensively dark brown; setae: goldish on mandible, whitish otherwise ( Figs 1 , 3A, E ).

HEAD. Cuticle dull; vertex with fine, superficial and moderately dense punctures (distance between punctures 2.0–3.0 × puncture diameter); frons with fine, deep and dense punctures (distance between punctures 2.0× puncture diameter); clypeus with fine, deep and dense punctures (distance between punctures 1.5–2.0× puncture diameter); gena with fine, superficial and scattered punctures (distance between punctures 3.0–4.0× puncture diameter), punctures coarse and denser behind eye margin; malar area with coarse, deep and very dense punctures (distance between punctures 0.2–0.5 × puncture diameter); head width/length: 1.3; malar distance/eye height: 0.3; gena from above, moderately developed (gena length/eye length: 0.7), sharply convex behind eye, moderately convergent posteriorly ( Fig. 2A ); lower interocular distance/ eye height: 1.1 ( Fig. 2B ); inner margin of eyes weakly convergent below; eye height/eye width: 1.3 ( Fig. 2C ); POL/OOL: 1.4; ocellar area width/length: 2.4; occipital margin straight; occipital carina moderately broad, lamelliform 0.4× diameter of anterior ocellus; antenna length/forewing length: 0.8; length/width A3 5.0; length/width A4: 8.0; length/width A5: 7.2; A3/A4: 0.5; A3/A5: 0.7; A4/A5: 1.3; length/width A14: 1.9; setae: erect and dense on vertex and upper frons; recumbent and very dense on lower frons and clypeus; semierect, dense and long on gena (length of setae 1.0 × diameter of anterior ocellus); recumbent and very dense on malar area.

MESOSOMA. Moderately elongate, mesosoma length/mesosoma height: 1.9, coarsely sculptured, shiny ( Fig. 2D–E ); pronotum areolate rugose, anterior margin straight, without tooth-like processes, with one moderately developed, forward and straight tooth-like process on each lateroventral margin ( Figs 2E , 3B ), posterior margin widely rounded, without process; propleuron polished and shiny with coarse, deep and very dense punctures on dorsal surface (distance between punctures 0.5–1.0 × puncture diameter), and fine, superficial and moderately dense punctures on ventral surface (distance between punctures 2.0–3.0 × puncture diameter); prescutum triangular, well defined by raised carinae, with moderately wide base, not concave, transverse-carinate; mesoscutum almost entirely transverse-carinate, parascutal area areolate-rugose; dorsally not prominent, anterior margin (lateral view) rounded, not overhanging pronotum; notauli well defined, moderately deep and wide, meeting each other quite before transscutal articulation; mesoscutellum not prominent, weakly convex, transverse-carinate on disc, areolate-rugose otherwise; mesopleuron areolate-rugose, with subalar area polished and very densely punctatefoveolate; metanotum confuse-rugose in middle, areolate-rugose otherwise; propodeum areolate-rugose, anterior margin longitudinally carinate; ventral parts of mesosoma confused carinate to areolate-rugose; vein 2-rs+m moderately long ( Fig. 3A ); coxa I polished with poorly defined, irregular and scattered punctures; coxa II transverse-carinate-punctate; coxa III transverse-carinate on dorsal surface, carinae dense and variously interrupted, and polished-punctate on ventral surface, punctures coarse, superficial and moderately dense (distance between punctures 2.0–2.5 × puncture diameter); hind coxa elongate subcylindrical, length/width: 2.5 ( Fig. 3C ); hind coxal guide transverse, narrow, notch subterminal ( Fig. 3C–D ); inner and outer spurs of mid and hind tibia subequal; hind basitarsus slender, length/ width: 10.3; hind basitarsus length 1.1 × tarsomeres 2–5 length ( Fig. 2F ); tarsal claw with four tooth-like processes, basal process very weak; setae: erect, short and moderately dense dorsally; semi erect to recumbent, moderately long and dense on sides; semi erect, short and moderately dense on ventral surface; erect moderately long and moderately dense on hind surface of propodeum; erect, long and dense on propleuron (length of setae 0.5× fore pretarsus).

METASOMA. Pyriform (lateral view),moderately compressed laterally ( Fig.3E ); metasoma 1.3× mesosoma length; petiole elongate, length/width: 3.0; metasomal segments 1+2 weakly shiny, micropunctate with sparse coarser punctures; remaining segments weakly shiny with fine, superficial and very dense punctures; S7 shiny with coarse, elongate, deep and dense punctures; ovipositor length about forewing length [inferred, ovipositor tip missing]; setae: metasomal segments 1+2 almost glabrous, very few sparse short setae on the medial part of T2; remaining tergites with recumbent, short and moderately dense setae; remaining sternites with semi erect short and moderately dense setae.

Male

Unknown.

Distribution

South India (Karnataka), known from type locality only.

Remarks

Pristaulacus iuliae sp. nov. could be placed near to P. intermedius Uchida, 1932 (see redescriptions in Konishi 1990 and Turrisi 2007) for the general appearance, but it is easily recognizable for the smaller size, around 8 mm (more than 10 mm in P. intermedius ); shape of the head, with gena (dorsal view) moderately developed, 0.7× eye length, sharply convex behind eye, moderately convergent posteriorly (gena well developed, 1.1× eye length, widely rounded behind eye, gradually convergent posteriorly in P. intermedius ; Turrisi 2007: fig. 14); POL/OOL: 1.4 and ocellar area width/length: 2.4 (POL/OOL: 0.9 and ocellar area width/length: 2.0 in P. intermedius ; Turrisi 2007: 49); setae on head and especially on mesosoma dense, cuticle not visible beneath on lateral part of mesosoma (setae on head and mesosoma moderately dense, cuticle well visible beneath on lateral part of mesosoma in P. intermedius, Turrisi 2007: 49 ); hind basitarsus length subequal tarsomeres 2–5 length (hind basitarsus length 1.2× tarsomeres 2–5 length in P. intermedius ; Turrisi 2007: 49); ovipositor subequal to forewing length (distinctly longer in P. intermedius , about 1.2× forewing length).

Figures

Fig. 1. Pristaulacus iuliae sp. nov., holotype, ♀ (NHMUK), habitus, lateral view.

Fig. 2. Pristaulacus iuliae sp. nov., holotype, ♀ (NHMUK). A. Head, dorsal view. B. Head, frontal view. C. Head, lateral view. D. Mesosoma, dorsal view. E. Mesosoma, lateral view. F. Hind tarsus.

Fig. 3. Pristaulacus iuliae sp. nov., holotype, ♀ (NHMUK). A. Wings. B. Pronotum, lateral view. C. Hind coxae, ventral view. D. Hind coxa, inner lateral view (arrow indicates hind coxal groove). E. Metasoma, lateral view.