Microterys atturensis Hayat

Hayat, Mohammad, Zeya, Shahid Bin & Veenakumari, K., 2013, On some brachypterous Encyrtidae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea) from India, with description of four new species, Zootaxa 3716 (2), pp. 259-276 : 264-265

Microterys atturensis Hayat , sp. nov.

( Figs 8–11 )

Female. Holotype. Length, 1.22 mm. Head pale brownish yellow ( Figs 8, 9 ), malar space yellow. Mandible reddish brown in apical half. Antenna with radicle yellow; scape brownish yellow, distally pale brown; pedicel brownish yellow; funicle pale brownish yellow, with dark brown setae; clava dark brown. Mesosoma brownish yellow; pronotal collar white, with a dark brown patch anteriorly; tegula yellow in basal half, brown in distal half; metanotum laterally pale brown; propodeum around spiracles brownish. Fore wing rudiment with light infuscation on disc, but about basal third and apex hyaline ( Fig. 11 ); hind wing rudiment hyaline. Legs brownish yellow, with brown suffusions especially along margins of femora and tibiae (on card, distal parts of mid tibiae and tarsi hidden under gaster). Gaster with TI and TII dark brown, metallic dark bronzy shine, other tergites yellowish brown; ovipositor sheath pale yellow.

Head ( Fig. 8 ). Occipital margin narrow, but not sharp; head dorsal width 2.56× frontovertex width; ocellar triangle with apical angle slightly obtuse; POL:OOL:OCL:AOL = 9:1.5:2.5:6; head in frontal view, 1.24× as broad as high; antennal torulus with upper margin slightly above level of lower margin of eye; torulus separated from mouth margin by a distance less than torulus height (4:5.5); frontovertex with very fine, polygonal cellulatereticulate sculpture, and with minute, sparse, setigerus punctures; setae on frontovertex silvery white, except a pair on occipital margin brown. Antenna ( Figs 9, 10 ) with scape slightly flattened, 4.16× as long as broad, and 2.4× as long as pedicel; pedicel 2.2× as long as broad, and shorter than F1 and F2 combined; funicle segments subequal in length but gradually become broader; clava slightly longer F4–F6 combined, with apex rounded. Relative measurements —head dorsal width, 38.5; frontovertex width, 15; head frontal height, 31; eye height, 23; malar space, 11; antennal scape length, 15

Mesosoma. Mesoscutum with fine polygonal cellulate-reticulate sculpture as on frontovertex; scutellum with raised reticulate sculpture, deeper than on mesoscutum; setae on dorsum of mesothorax brown; sides of propodeum with silvery white setae. Fore wing ( Fig. 11 ) 2.46× as long as broad, reaching to apex of T II of gaster; hind wing 4.42× as long as broad, apically narrowed and apex with two long setae. Relative measurements —mesosoma length, 38; mesoscutum length (width), 17.5 (31); scutellum length (width), 14 (17).

Metasoma longer than mesosoma (45:38); ovipositor very slightly exserted to 0.08× length of gaster.

Male. Unknown.

Material examined. Holotype (NBAII, Registration No. ICAR/NBAII/EN11), female (on card with right antenna and right wings on a slide No. EH.1642) labelled “ INDIA: KARNATAKA: Bengaluru, Attur, 8.x.2012 (YPT), Coll. K.Veenakumari”.

Distribution. India: Karnataka.

Etymology. The species name is derived from the locality from where the holotype was collected.

Comments. The genus Microterys Thomson contains 200 world species (Noyes 2012), of which about 10 species are either only brachypterous or exist both in macropterous or brachypterous forms. The new species differs from all the brachypterous species of Microterys in having the funicle entirely pale brownish yellow, and head and mesosoma brownish yellow. The previously described species have either a bicolourous funicle with the segments brownish yellow to dark brown and white or the funicle entirely dark brown as for the clava (Trjapitzin 1989; Tachikawa 1963).

Figures

FIGURES 8 – 11. Microterys atturensis Hayat, sp. nov. Holotype female: 8, body dorsal; 9, head lateral, with antenna; 10, antenna; 11, fore wing.