Scelio pulchripennis Brues, 1906

Yoder, Matthew, Polaszek, Andrew, Masner, Lubomir, Johnson, Norman & Valerio, Alejandro, 2009, Revision of Scelio pulchripennis - group species (Hymenoptera, Platygastroidea, Platygastridae), ZooKeys 20 (20), pp. 53-118 : 103-106

Scelio pulchripennis Brues

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:AFB58BB5-D2EB-4FE0-BD7A-8280749B331B urn:lsid:biosci.ohio-state.edu:osuc_concepts:5311

Figs 97–108; Morphbank 26

Scelio pulchripennis Brues, 1906: 109 (original description); Kieffer, 1926: 310, 323 (description, keyed); Ferrière, 1952: 118 (diagnosis); Nixon, 1958: 306 (description, keyed); Masner, 1965: 300 (type information); Noonan, 1984: 6 (type information).

Scelio (Scelio) pulchripennis Brues, 1910: 74 (subgeneric assignment).

Description. Female body length: 3.60–3.98 mm (n=3). Color of antenna in female: concolorous, brown to dark brown throughout. Color of head in female: black. Color of mesosoma in female: dark brown to black. Color of coxae in female: brown to dark brown. Color of leg past coxa in female: brown to dark brown. Color of metasoma in female: yellow brown to light brown.

Sculpture of lower frons in female: predominantly transverse to slightly arcuate striae. Sculpture of ventrolateral frons in female: irregular rugulae with some distinct fine umbilicae. Form of malar sulcus in female: sulcus percurrent, slit, groove or carina extremely narrow but course well defined. Sculpture of upper frons of female: irregular dorsoventral striae and fine umbilications. Sculpture of dorsal head between and posterior to lateral ocelli in female: rugulose, obliterated in spots or not. Mandible of female: upper tooth slightly elongate, elongate-triangular, lower tooth absent to almost imperceptible, a slight extension of the inner-ventral margin.

Transverse pronotal carina in female: absent mesad, transition from dorsal shoulder to anterior pronotum not sharply delimited but rather slightly curved, if appearing slightly present then either obliterated medially or composed of adjacent subpolygonal sculpture. Sculpture of medial mesoscutum in female: fine reticulate to irregularly rugulose. Sculpture of notaular course in female: more or less undifferentiated to slightly more robust and coarse relative to medial sculpture, or broad band of confused minute foveae. Sculpture of lateral mesoscutum in female: present. Sculpture of mesoscutellum in female: irregularly longitudinally striate, sparsely to moderately reticulate. Sculpture of lateral pronotum in female (excluding interstitial sculpture): with smooth to obliterated patch immediately below lateral epomial carina, otherwise reticulate with few to moderate longitudinal elements. Pronotal verricule in female: weakly developed ridge-like bump with 1–2 short appressed white setae arising from small pit at apex. Pronotal setal patch posteroventral to end of lateral epomial carina in female: sparse (around 2–5) scattered, shorter semidecumbent to erect setae. Sculpture of mesopleural depression in female: fine reticulations with very slight longitudinal trend, slightly

Figures 97–Ι02 .65 Scelio pulchripennis Brues , lectotype female. 97 Habitus, dorsal view 98 Habitus, lateral view 99 Pronotum, anterolateral oblique view Ι00 Mesonotum, dorsal view Ι0Ι Fore wing, posterior view Ι02 Metasoma, dorsal view. Abbreviation: af, apical fascia. Scale bars in millimeters.

obliterated medially. Pilosity of anteroventral metapleuron in female: glabrous, or sparsely setose. Dorsal surface of hind tibia in female: sparse, elongate, erect and slightly curved. Shape of hind femur in female: narrow, dorsal and ventral surfaces relatively symmetrical. Basal pigmented spot of fore wing in female: percurrent from submarginal vein to posterior margin, striplike (a band), divided only by hyaline course of M+Cu. Basal fascia of fore wing in female: subrectangular, striplike, percurrent from anterior to posterior margin. Apical fascia of fore wing in female:

Figures Ι03–Ι08 .66 Scelio pulchripennis Brues , females. Ι03 Habitus, dorsal view (OSUC 213798) Ι04 Habitus, lateral view (OSUC 213799) Ι05 Head and mesosoma, dorsal view (OSUC 213800) Ι06 Head and mesosoma, lateral view (OSUC 213800) Ι07 Head, anterior view (OSUC 213800) Ι08 Head, anterolateral view (lectotype). Scale bars in millimeters.

anterior margin with slightly lighter smaller patch, posterior margin even fainter (less contrasting), broadly divided medially by coloration that gradually fades to apex of fore wing.

Sculpture of dorsal T 1 in female: longitudinally striate, with few to no transverse divisions or reticulations, interstices smooth or with very slight irregular microsculpture. Sculpture of dorsal T 2 in female: fine parallel to slightly reticulate striae with minutely colliculate to transverse sculpture within interstices. Sculpture of anterior T2 through anterior depression in female: interrupted with by a smooth strip, majority of sculpture not contiguous with that of posterior T2. Sculpture of dorsal T 3 in female: fine parallel to irregular longitudinal striae, with reticulation absent to moderately present. Medial sculpture of T 4 in female: present. Medial sculpture of T 5 in female: present. Sculpture of T2–T5 curved transition from dorsal to lateral terga in female: sculptured. Profile of female metasoma in lateral view: dorsal and ventral surfaces more or less evenly convex. Sculpture of lateral T2–T 6 in female: fine irregular longitudinal striae throughout. Pilosity of laterotergites in female: present on T1–T4.

Diagnosis. Similar to those non-metallic species that have the mesoscutum sculptured throughout (without lateral smooth patches), including S. leipo , S. baoli , and S. parapulchripennis . Scelio pulchripennis is most similar to S. leipo which shares the absence of the transverse pronotal carina; it differs from S. leipo by the presence of a well-developed apical fascia on the fore wing.

Link to distribution map. [http://osuc.biosci.ohio-state.edu/HymOnline/maplarge.html?id=5311]

Material examined. Lectotype female (present designation): SOUTH AFRICA: Algoa Bay , Capland, 22.I.1896, H. Brauns, MCZ 31020 ( MCZC) . Other material: SOUTH AFRICA: 9 females, OSUC 254429–254433 , 254435 ( BMNH) ; OSUC 213798–213800 ( INHS) .

Comments. The concept of Scelio pulchripennis presented here is greatly narrowed from past use. As currently delimited S. pulchripennis is not known from Madagascar. However, specimens from there previously have been identified as S. pulchripennis . The metasoma is particularly thin in lateral view. Th e pronotal nucha is relatively smooth. Umbilicate sculpture is clearly evident on the lateral frons (Fig. 3, laf). If the color of the metasoma is not an artifact of the age of the specimens (lighter overall, somewhat orange-brown dorsobasally to brown apically) then it may be useful in diagnosing this species against other closely related non-metallic species.

Brues (1906) based his description on a series of five female specimens from Algoa Bay. Masner (1965b) mistakenly interpreted the single specimen in the MCZC as the unique holotype of this species. Noonan (1984) reported that three additional syntype specimens are deposited in the Milwaukee Public Museum; we have not examined these specimens. We have designated the single female in the MCZC as the lectotype.