Cotesia khuzestanensis Zargar & Gupta, 2019

Zargar, Mohammad, Gupta, Ankita, Talebi, Ali Asghar & Farahani, Samira, 2019, Three new species and two new records of the genus Cotesia Cameron (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) from Iran, European Journal of Taxonomy 571, pp. 1-25 : 7-10

Cotesia khuzestanensis Zargar & Gupta sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:06139172-5335-4B37-8DE1-870B9D598879

Fig. 2

Diagnosis

Penultimate segment of antenna 1.5 × as long as wide; mesoscutum densely evenly punctate to rugose ( Fig. 2C ); notauli densly punctate; scutellum punctate, interspaces as wide as diameter of punctation ( Fig. 2C ); metacoxa punctate and rugulose; pterostigma 3 × as long as wide, brown ( Fig. 2D ); 1–R1 1.3× as long as pterostigma, 3.5× as long as distance from end of 1–R1 to tip of radial cell; first tergite parallel sided, 1.3× longer than apical width, rugose ( Fig. 2E ).

Etymology

The name khuzestanensis refers to the name of Khuzestan Province in southwestern Iran, which is also the distribution range of this species.

Material examined

Holotype

IRAN • ♀; Khuzestan Province, Lali, Taraz ; 32°20′49.70″ N, 49°05′11.31″ E; 390 m a.s.l.; 4– 18 May 2016; M. Zargar leg.; Malaise trap; citrus orchards; ICAR-NBAIR/NIM/MICROG/COT/45161H.

Paratypes

IRAN • 3 ♀♀; same collection data as for holotype; TMUC-HBMC0045-0047 .

Description

Female

MEASUREMENTS. Body length 2.5 mm, fore wing length 2.5 mm.

HEAD ( Fig. 2 A–B). Smooth except with shallow punctations on face; width of head in dorsal view 1.8× as long as height; width of face as long as height; POL:MOD:OOL 5: 2:4.4; gena 0.6 × as long as width of eye; malar space 1.3× as long as width of mandibular base; antenna as long as body; flagellomeres finely setose. FL1 l/w:3, FL12 l/w:1.9, FL13 l/w:1.5, FL14 l/w:1.5, FL15 l/w:1.4–1.5.

MESOSOMA ( Fig. 2C ). Mesoscutum densely evenly punctate to rugose, dull; notauli indicated by dense punctations, posteriorly merging to rugose sculpture; scutellum punctate and shiny, interspace as wide as diameter of punctate; scutellar sulcus crenulate; postscutellum crenulate and dull; prepectal carina absent; propodeum coarsely rugose to scabrous.

WINGS ( Fig. 2D ). Areolet absent, vein r arising little after middle of pterostigma; 1–R1 1.3× as long as pterostigma, 3.5× as long as distance from end of 1–R1 to tip of radial cell, 4.0× as long as r; pterostigma 3.0 × as long as wide; r as long as 2–SR; 1–cu1 as long as 2–cu1; width of discoidal cell 1.1× as long as height.

LEGS ( Fig. 2F ). Metacoxa 1.3× as long as first tergite; metafemur length 4.0× as long as median width; inner spur of metatibia slightly longer than outer, as long as half of basitarsus.

METASOMA ( Fig. 2E ). TI parallel sided, 1.3× as long as apical width, rugose. TII apical width 2.5× as long as median length, rugose. TIII median length 1.5× as long as TII; tergites posterior to TII smooth and shiny; ovipositor sheath 0.7 × as long as metabasitarsus. Hypopygium 0.5× as long as metatibia, truncated apically.

COLOUR. Antenna dark brown; head and mesosoma black; metasoma black except brown third tergite and basal sternites; labial palp and maxillary palp yellow; tegula yellowish brown; profemur and mesofemur reddish brown; metafemur reddish brown except black spot at apex; tibia reddish brown; protarsus and mesotarsus reddish brown; metatarsus dark brown; pterostigma brown.

Male

Unknown.

Host

Unknown.

Biology

Unknown.

Remarks

In the key provided by Nixon (1974) this new species runs close to Cotesia setebis ( Nixon, 1974) ; it can, however, be separated by the following characters: (1) first tergite parallel-sided, 1.3× as long as apical width ( Fig. 2E ) vs as long as apical width in C. setebis , (2) inner spur of metatibia slightly longer than outer reaching middle of basitarsus ( Fig. 2F ) vs distinctly longer than outer one and longer than half of basitarsus, (3) metafemur reddish brown ( Fig. 2F ) vs black in C. setebis . In recent years, two species were described that are close to C. setebis : Cotesia adippevora Shaw, 2009 and C. acerbiae Shaw & Vikberg, 2015 . For both these species the length of the first tergite is as long as its apical width.

The new species can be included in the identification key of Cotesia compiled by Nixon (1974), which is modified below: 3. Inner spur of metatibia conspicuously to marginally longer than outer, clearly reaching or crossing beyond middle of basitarsus ........................................................................................................... 4 – Inner spur of metatibia not longer than outer and shorter than half of basitarsus ......................... 5

4. Preapical segment about twice as long as wide; mesoscutum on the whole coarsely rugosepunctate, without a contrasting dull area posteriorly............................ C. callimone ( Nixon, 1974)

– Preapical segment about 1.5× as long as wide; mesoscutum on the whole dull, with punctation of variable intensity; notaulic bands uniting posteriorly to form a large zone of dull area ................A

A. First tergite parallel-sided, 1.3× as long as its apical width ( Fig. 2E ); inner spur of metatibia slightly longer than outer, as long as half of basitarsus ( Fig. 2F ); metafemur reddish brown except black spot at apex ( Fig. 2F ) ......................................... C. khuzestanensis Zargar & Gupta sp. nov.

– First tergite as long as apical width; inner spur distinctly longer than outer and slightly longer than half of hind basitarsus; metafemur black................................................... C. setebis ( Nixon, 1974)

The new species runs in the key of Papp (1986) reaching to couplet number 34 which was later modified ( Papp 1987). Further modifications to fit this species in Papp (1987) are suggested as below:

34. Inner spur of metatibia shorter than half basitarsus; first tergite distinctly broadening posteriorly, about as long as wide at hind; head in dorsal view less transverse, 1.8 times as broad as long ............................................................................................................... C. analis (Nees, 1834)

– Inner spur of metatibia as long as or longer than half basitarsus....................................................A

A. First tergite as long as wide at hind ....... C. setebis ( Nixon, 1974) and C. callimone ( Nixon, 1974) – First tergite 1.3–1.5 × as long as wide at hind ................................................................................B

B. Inner spur of metatibia slightly longer than outer, as long as half of basitarsus ( Fig. 2F ); penultimate segment of antenna 1.4× as long as wide; r oblique to fore margin of pterostigma ( Fig. 2D ) .................................................................... C. khuzestanennsis Zargar & Gupta sp. nov.

– Inner spur of metatibia distinctly longer than half of basitarsus; penultimate segment of antenna 2.0× as long as wide .............................. C. setebis ( Nixon, 1974) and C. callimone ( Nixon, 1974)

Figures

Fig. 2. Cotesia khuzestanensis Zargar & Gupta sp. nov., ICAR-NBAIR/NIM/MICROG/COT/451611. A. Head, frontal view. B. Head, dorsal view. C. Mesosoma, dorsal view. D. Fore wing. E. Metasoma, dorsal view. F. Habitus, lateral view.