Baeoentedon balios Wang, Huang & Polaszek

Wang, Zhu-Hong, Huang, Jian & Polaszek, Andrew, 2014, Three new species of Baeoentedon Girault (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) from China, with the first record of whitefly host association (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae), Zootaxa 3826 (3), pp. 591-600 : 593

Baeoentedon balios Wang, Huang & Polaszek sp. nov.

( Figs 1–11 )

Type material. Holotype female (body on card, fore wing and antenna on slide). China: Fujian, Xiamen, 2 December 2011 (coll. He-Jie Chen), ex Pealius spina (Singh) on Ficus religiosa L. ( FAFU). Paratypes: 1 ♂, 1 ♀ (on slides), same data as holotype (NHM); 1 ♀, 1 ♂ (on slides), with the same data as holotype, except 2 November 2013 ( FAFU).

Female. Holotype. Body length 0.90 mm. Colour. Head and mesosoma metallic blue-black, gaster mostly pale yellow except anterior margin of T1, sides of T1–T5, and T6 and T7 dark ( Fig. 1 ). Antenna with scape mostly white, except basally dorsal margin pale brown, pedicel mostly white, 2 anelli dark brown, funicle and clava pale brown to brown, apex of C3 dark brown ( Fig. 3 ). Fore wing hyaline, with a short, medial transverse dark brown stripe apically ( Fig. 4 ). Legs pale yellow, except coxae mostly brown to dark brown, fore and mid femora mostly, and tibiae basally dark brown, tarsal claws pale brown. Ovipositor pale yellow except apical 0.4 dark to black, third valvula and apex of ovipositor dark to black ( Figs 7, 8 ).

Head. Head transverse, about as wide as mesosoma; mandible with 1 obtuse denticle and a truncation; maxillary palpi 1-segmented, labial palpi 1-segmented. Antenna ( Fig. 3 ) with 2 small anelli, both wider than long; scape 3.75× as long as wide; pedicel 1.95× as long as wide, 2.17× as long as funicular segment respectively; single funicular segment small and trapezoidal, 1.11× as long as wide; relative lengths of claval segments as follows: 47: 38: 70 and widths as follows: 60: 59: 45; C3 conically produced at apex into a spine, conic-ovate, slightly shorter than the long pedicel; flagellar segments with relatively long setae.

Mesosoma. Mesoscutum with very deep and rather elongate-meshed engraved reticulation, except anterolaterally smooth; scutellum with meshed engraved reticulation; setae not visible on mesoscutum and scutellum, but mesoscutum with a pair of pits posteriorly ( Fig. 2 ). Fore wing ( Fig. 4 ) broad, 2.17× as long as wide, basal half of wing mostly asetose; marginal fringe 0.17× as long as width of wing disc; marginal vein with 9 long setae along anterior margin and with a long seta at base of parastigma ( Fig. 5 ); stigmal vein with a slender neck and expanded apex, with 4 sensilla arranged with basal pair in a longitudinal row and apical pair in a transverse row ( Fig. 6 ); postmarginal vein absent ( Fig. 6 ).

Metasoma. Gaster sessile, short and broad, about 0.86× as long as mesosoma. T7 small and cercal plate unusually developed as two small lateral projections. Ovipositor basally at base of T2 and slightly projecting beyond apex of metasoma ( Figs 7, 8 ).

Male. Body colour and morphological characters similar to female, but gaster with only T1 and T2 mostly pale yellow ( Fig. 9 ), different from female in which T1–T5 mostly pale yellow; fore wing with a short transverse pale brown stripe present medially on disc apically; male genitalia with distinct digiti, each furnished with three apical claspers ( Fig. 11 ).

Host. Aleyrodidae (Hemiptera) : Pealius spina (Singh) on Ficus religiosa L. (Urticales: Moraceae ) ( Figs 12, 13 ).

Distribution. China (Fujian: Xiamen).

Etymology. The species name is derived from the Greek, balios = spot, referring to the short, transverse, dark brown stripe apicomedially on the disc of the fore wing.

Diagnosis. Baeoentedon balios sp. nov. is distinguished from B. peculicornis by the following: head and mesosoma metallic blue-black ( Fig. 2 ); antenna with funicle and clava pale brown to brown; and fore wing with a short, transverse, dark brown stripe medially apically on the fore wing disc ( Fig. 4 ). In B. peculicornis the head and mesosoma are dark metallic purple, the funicle and clava mostly pale yellow, and the fore wing is completely hyaline.

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 8. Baeoentedon balios, female: 1, body showing gaster with T 1 – T 5 mostly pale yellow; 2, head and mesosoma; 3, antenna; 4, fore wing; 5, parastigma and submarginal vein; 6, stigmal vein; 7, ovipositor before slide-mounting; 8, ovipositor.

FIGURES 9 – 11. Baeoentedon balios, male: 9, body showing gaster with T 1 and T 2 mostly pale yellow; 10, antenna; 11, male genitalia.

FIGURES 12 – 13. Pealius spina, a whitefly host association for Baeoentedon balios. 12, P. spina “ puparium ” parasitized by B. balios; 13, P. spina empty “ puparium ” (left) and emerged parasitoid, B. balios (right).