Aphelopus severancei, Olmi & Copeland & Guglielmino & Icipe, 2015

Olmi, Massimo, Copeland, Robert S., Guglielmino, Adalgisa & Icipe, 2015, An updated checklist of Dryinidae, Embolemidae and Sclerogibbidae (Hymenoptera) of Kenya and Burundi, with descriptions of thirteen new species, Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 55 (1), pp. 333-380 : 337-338

4. Aphelopus severancei sp. nov. *

( Figs 1A )

Type material. HOLOTYPE: J, KENYA: COAST: Taita Hills, Vuria Forest , 3.41428°S 38.29178°E, 2162 m, 12–26. vi.2011, Malaise trap just inside indigenous forest, R. Copeland leg. ( NMKE).

Diagnosis. Male with head and scutum almost completely black, notauli reaching about 0.5 length of scutum, basivolsella with lateral medial process and not fused with paramere.

Description. Male. Fully winged; length 2.4 mm. Head black, except mandible testaceous; antenna brown; mesosoma black; metasoma brown; legs brown. Antenna filiform; antennal segments in following proportions: 6: 5: 6.5: 6.5: 7: 8: 7: 7: 7: 9. Head dull, granulated; frontal line only shortly present near clypeus; occipital carina complete; POL = 7; OL = 4; OOL = 4; OPL = 4; TL = 4; greatest breadth of posterior ocelli shorter than OPL (2: 4). Scutum, scutellum and metanotum dull, granulated. Notauli incomplete, reaching about 0.5 length of scutum. Propodeum reticulate rugose. Forewing hyaline, without dark transverse bands; stigmal vein regularly curved. Basivolsella ( Fig. 1A ) with lateral medial process and two subdistal bristles. Tibial spurs 1/1/2.

Female. Unknown.

Differential diagnosis. Based on the characters summarized in the above diagnosis, in the Afrotropical Region the new species is similar to Aphelopus vernonensis Olmi, 2009 (see keys of OLMI 1984, 2009). The main difference regards the position of the lateral process of the basivolsella (medial in A. severancei ( Fig. 1A ), distal in A. vernonensis ( Fig. 1B )). The shape of the basivolsella is the most important character used for differentiating males of Aphelopus ( OLMI 1994a, 1999a; XU et al. 2013; OLMI & VIRLA 2014).

Etymology. This species is named after my (RSC) college mate and rediscovered friend David Severance.

Hosts. Unknown.

Distribution. Only known in the type locality.

Figures

Fig. 1. A–B – male genitalia (right half removed):A – Aphelopus severancei sp. nov. (holotype); B – A. vernonensis Olmi, 2009 (holotype); C – Conganteon lymanorum sp. nov., chela (holotype). Scale bar: 0.14 mm for A and C; 0.09 mm for B.