Scutibracon hispae ( Viereck, 1913 )

Samartsev, Konstantin G., Duong, Tran Dinh & Long, Khuat Dang, 2025, The genus Scutibracon Quicke & Walker (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) in Vietnam, with new records and descriptions of two new species, Zootaxa 5715 (1), pp. 407-418 : 408-410

Scutibracon hispae ( Viereck, 1913)

( Figs 1–12 )

Microbracon hispae Viereck, 1913: 642 . Quicke & Walker 1989: 23 (transferred to Scutibracon ); Samartsev 2023: 387.

Material. Vietnam, Quang Nam Province, Tam Ky City, Tan Thanh ward, 15°35’16.3” N, 108°28’26.5” E, h = 2 m, sweeping, 23.iv.2023 (Dang Thi Hoa), 1 female (IB KS0004387 ) .

Redescription (based on the specimen from Vietnam).

Female. Body length 1.8 mm; fore wing length 2.1 mm.

Head. Width of head (dorsal view) 2.0 × its median length. Transverse diameter of eye (dorsal view) 2.0 × as long as temple. OOL 1.9 × OD; POL 1.1 × OD; OOL 1.7 × POL. Frons with shallow impressions behind antennal sockets and deep mid-longitudinal groove. Vertex very weakly longitudinally impressed behind ocelli. Longitudinal diameter of eye in lateral view 1.3 × its transverse diameter, transverse diameter of eye 3.0 × minimum width of temple, hind margins of eye and temple broadened ventrally. Face width 1.5 × combined height of face and clypeus; 2.5 × width of hypoclypeal depression. Width of hypoclypeal depression 1.0 × distance from depression to eye. Intertentorial distance 1.4 × tentorio-ocular distance. Height of clypeus 0.3 × width of hypoclypeal depression. Longitudinal diameter of eye 2.7 × as long as malar space (front view). Maxillary palp somewhat longer than eye.

Antenna 0.95 × as long as fore wing, with 22 antennomeres. First flagellomere 1.9 × as long as its apical width, middle and penultimate flagellomeres 2.1 × as long as wide.

Mesosoma 1.5 × as long as its maximum height. Transverse pronotal sulcus deep and smooth. Median lobe of mesoscutum not protruding (dorsal view). Width of mesoscutum 1.2 × its median length (dorsal view). Notauli weakly impressed, almost united posteriorly. Mesoscutum evenly setose, with setae longer on notaulic area. Scutellar sulcus 0.2 × as long as scutellum. Mesepimeral sulcus smooth, mesopleural pit almost indistinct. Median area of metanotum with incomplete median carina. Metapleural sulcus smooth. Propodeal spiracle round, weakly protruding, located behind middle of propodeum. Mid-longitudinal keel on propodeum complete, simple, mid-longitudinal impression absent.

Fore wing. Angle between veins C+SC+R and 1-SR 75–80°. Vein r arising from basal 0.35 × of pterostigma. Vein 1-R1 1.9 × as long as pterostigma. Marginal cell 12 × as long as distance from its apex to apex of wing. Vein 3-SR 2.0 × vein r, 0.3 × vein SR1, 1.3 × vein 2-SR. Vein 1-M 0.9 × vein 1-SR+M, 2.2 × vein m-cu, 2.9 × vein cu-a. Vein cu-a postfurcal. Vein 2-SR+M 0.35 × vein 2-SR, 0.55 × vein m-cu.

Legs. Hind femur 3.8 × as long as wide. Hind tibia 8.4 × as long as wide, 1.6 × as long as hind femur, its inner spur 0.3 × as long as hind basitarsus. Hind tarsus as long as hind tibia, 0.9 × as long as mesosoma. Fifth segment of hind tarsus 0.5 × as long as hind basitarsus and 0.95 × as long as second segment. Claws with shortly protruding and blunt basal lobes.

Metasoma with 4 dorsally visible tergites. Median length of T1 0.8 × its apical width. Dorsal carinae of T1 complete. Posterior width of T1 0.95 × median length of T2. T2 medially 1.5 × as long as T3. Anterior width of T2 1.3 × its median length. Median area of T2 narrow, somewhat widened anteriorly, extending into strong incomplete mid-longitudinal keel. T2 with long strongly S-shaped and converging sublateral carinae and weakly elevated anterolateral areas. Spiracle located somewhat in anterior part of T2. Suture between T2 and T3 weakly curved. Posterior margins of T3 and T4 without transverse subapical grooves. Ovipositor sheath 0.5 × as long as hind tibia and 0.15 × as long as fore wing. Apex of ovipositor with weak nodus and distinct ventral serration.

Sculpture. Body mostly smooth. Face with punctuation. T1 laterally rugose, with smooth median area. T2–T4 granulate-rugulose, T5 and T6 smooth.

Colour. Scape rusty brown, laterally brown, flagellum brown (in holotype, antenna entirely reddish brown). Head reddish yellow; gena along posterior margin of eye dark brown. Mesosoma reddish brown with brown patches on mesoscutal lobes. Maxillary palps and tegulae pale yellow. Legs yellow. Wing membrane weakly darkened, pterostigma yellowish brown, veins pale brown. Metasoma reddish yellow with large brown to dark brown patch on T2 – T4 .

Male. Not examined.

Host. Dicladispa armigera (Olivier, 1808) , Hispellinus callicanthus (Bates, 1866) ( Coleoptera , Chrysomelidae ) ( Yu et al. 2016).

Distribution. Bangladesh, Vietnam (new record), China ( Guangxi, Hainan, Hunan), Taiwan.

Remarks. The study of the Vietnamese specimen allows us to question the earlier conclusion from Samartsev (2023: 387) that the material for the redescription of S. hispae in the paper by Quicke & Walker (1989) was incorrectly identified. This conclusion was based on differences in descriptions, which appear to be merely different interpretations of the same character states, as well as on misinterpretations of the characters in the illustrations from the earlier work.

Figures

FIGURES 1–12. Scutibracon hispae (female, IB); 1—habitus, lateral view; 2—head, front view; 3—head, dorsal view; 4— head, lateral view; 5—mesosoma, dorsal view; 6—mesosoma, lateral view; 7—propodeum, dorsal view; 8—metasoma, dorsal view; 9—wings; 10—T1, dorsolateral view; 11—hind tarsus; 12—ovipositor, lateral view. Scale bars: 1.0 mm (1); 0.25 mm (2–8, 10–12); 0.5 mm (9).