Scelio marbis Nixon, 1958

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 : 84-86

Scelio marbis Nixon

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:2DD44263-3800-4E7F-A774-ED4711F78647 urn:lsid:biosci.ohio-state.edu:osuc_concepts:5270

Figs 55–60; Morphbank 19

Scelio marbis Nixon, 1958: 306 , 317 (original description. keyed); Masner, 1965a: 94 (type information).

Description. Female body length: 3.48–3.59 mm (n=3). Color of antenna in female: A1–A2 yellow to light brown, remaining brown, or A1–A5 or A6 yellow to light brown, remaining brown. Color of head in female: metallic green to dark teal. Color of mesosoma in female: brown to near black except for yellow to light brown anterior pronotum and propleuron, with metallic green to dark teal sheen throughout. Color of coxae in female: yellow to light brown. Color of leg past coxa in female: yellow to light brown. Color of metasoma in female: amber-orange to brown at base, darkening to near black at apex, T2 or T3 onwards with metallic blue green sheen.

Sculpture of lower frons in female: predominantly fine irregular rugulae. Sculpture of ventrolateral frons in female: dense fine rugulae. Form of malar sulcus in female: sulcus percurrent, slit, groove or carina extremely narrow but course well defined, or not percurrent, with some sections variously obliterated. Sculpture of upper frons of female: fine rugulae. Sculpture of dorsal head between and posterior to lateral ocelli in female: fine rugulae. Mandible of female: upper tooth typically developed, lower tooth very short but clearly present, truncate to pointed.

Transverse pronotal carina in female: well developed, linear or with extremely slight deviations, contiguous with mesoscutum or interrupted by a single subpolygonal cell, anterior shoulder relatively abruptly transitioned to anterior pronotum. Sculpture of medial mesoscutum in female: serpentine, sharply defined, rugulae relatively dense. Sculpture of notaular course in female: more or less undifferentiated to slightly more robust and coarse relative to medial sculpture. Sculpture of lateral mesoscutum in female: present. Sculpture of mesoscutellum in female: serpentine-rugulose, sculpture narrow, sharply defined. Sculpture of lateral pronotum in female (excluding interstitial sculpture): reticulate sculpture throughout (smooth patch below lateral epomial carina absent). Pronotal verricule in female: small bump with 1–2 very short setae at center. Pronotal setal patch posteroventral to end of lateral epomial carina in female: very sparse (around 1–3), long, erect setae. Sculpture of mesopleural depression in female: predominantly longitudinally striate, or predominantly irregularly reticulate. Pilosity of anteroventral metapleuron in female: dense patch of semi-decumbent to erect setae. 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: broadly semi-circular, interrupted from posterior margin by extension of basal pigmented spot. Apical fascia of fore wing in female: broad, hyaline, percurrent from anterior to posterior fore wing margin, apex of fore wing past fascia concolorous with distal patch.

Sculpture of dorsal T 1 in female: longitudinally striate, with moderate to dense reticulation, intersticies rough throughout. 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.

Figures 55–60 .58 Scelio marbis Nixon (OSUC 235078). 55 Habitus, dorsal view 56 Habitus, lateral view 57 Mesosoma, dorsal view 58 Mesosoma, lateral view 59 Head, anterior view 60 Mesoscutellum, propodeum, T1, dorsal view. Scale bars in millimeters.

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, obliterated to smooth. Medial sculpture of T 5 in female: present, obliterated to smooth. Sculpture of T2–T5 curved transition from dorsal to lateral terga in female: sculptured. Profile of female metasoma in lateral view: ventral surface more or less flat, dorsal surface weakly to strongly arched from T2–T6 highest point between T4–T5, evenly curved to T6. Sculpture of lateral T2–T 6 in female: T2 reticulate-rugulose, T3–T6 with dense striae throughout. Pilosity of laterotergites in female: present on T1–T3.

Diagnosis. The strong metallic coloration of the head and mesoscutum in combination with the dense, fine, rugulose-reticulate sculpture is unique to S. marbis . A very similar pattern of sculpture and overall form of the body is seen in S. masneri . However, S. masneri has an orange mesosoma with no trace of metallic coloration and a distinctly different pattern of pilosity (very dense, white, erect, Fig. 62). See also diagnosis for S. antorides .

Link to distribution map. [http://osuc.biosci.ohio-state.edu/HymOnline/maplarge.html?id=5270]

Material examined. Holotype female: SOUTH AFRICA: Eastern Cape Prov., Queenstown , 5500 ft [1676 m], 16.I–10.II.1923, R.E. Turner, OSUC 254438 (deposited in BMNH) . Other material: (3 females, 7 males) SOUTH AFRICA: 1 female, 7 males, OSUC 254439–254445 ( BMNH) ; OSUC 211459 ( CNCI). ZIMBABWE: 2 females, OSUC 211460 , 235078 ( CNCI) .