Scelio balo Valerio & Yoder

Yoder, Matthew J., Valerio, Alejandro A., Polaszek, Andrew, Noort, Simon van, Masner, Lubomir & Johnson, Norman F., 2014, Monograph of the Afrotropical species of Scelio Latreille (Hymenoptera, Platygastridae), egg parasitoids of acridid grasshoppers (Orthoptera, Acrididae), ZooKeys 380, pp. 1-188 : 73-75

Scelio balo Valerio & Yoder sp. n. Figures 157-162; Morphbank 41

Description.

Female body length: 6.86 mm (n=1). Color of pilosity of dorsal head in female: golden to brown. Occipital carina in female: percurrent. Color of pilosity of the frons below the anterior ocellus in female: predominantly golden to brown. Pilosity of eye in female: absent. Medial keel on interantennal process: absent. Width of lower gena in lateral view: wide, posterior margin of lower half of gena parallel to posterior orbit. Genal carina: absent. Color of genal pilosity: white. Color of scape in female: yellow throughout. Surface of the pronotal nucha in female: predominantly sculptured. Color of pilosity of pronotal shoulder in female: golden to dark brown, concolorous with that of mesoscutum. Sculpture of medial mesoscutum in female: predominantly angular reticulate to rugulose. Color of pilosity of mesoscutum in female: predominantly light brown to brown. Notaulus in female: indicated by a row of cells. Form of axillular carina in female: small, not particularly expanded or projected from the lateral edge of the mesoscutellum. Pilosity of propodeal nucha: absent. Pilosity of netrion: absent. Surface of mesopleural depression in female: sculptured throughout. Form of ventral margin of villus in female: bent ventrally in posterior, obviously not straight throughout. Color of coxae in female: brown. Color of hind femur: dark brown throughout. Color of hind tibia: yellow throughout. Fore wing length in female: apex not reaching anterior margin of T5. Color of metasoma: entirely dark brown. Sculpture of laterotergites in female: predominantly smooth. Pilosity of laterotergites in female: absent. Sculpture of medial T1 in female: most prominent elements predominantly longitudinal. Sculpture of medial T2 in female: most prominent elements predominantly longitudinal. Pattern of sculpture on T3-T5 in female: T3 predominantly reticulate, T4-T5 predominantly longitudinally striate to strigose. Color of pilosity on lateral T3-T5 in female: predominantly golden to brown. Lateral profile of T6 in female: more or less horizontal. Sculpture of T6 in female: predominantly rugulose to reticulate. Sculpture of lateral metasomal sternal bar in female: predominantly smooth to slightly irregularly rugose. Distribution of felt fields: 2 pairs present (S2, S3).

Diagnosis.

Similar to Scelio fremo , which also has a long metasoma and fore wings not reaching T5. Differing from Scelio fremo by the bent ventral margin of the villus (vs. straight, compare Figs 118 and 160), and the extent of the brown pilosity of the frons (vs. white, compare Figs 119 and 161). Scelio balo is darker overall than Scelio fremo , although this may be an artifact.

Etymology.

The epithet is used as a noun in apposition derived from the Latin word for roar, howl, grumble, or snort (things taxonomists do during a revision).

Link to distribution map.

http://hol.osu.edu/map-large.html?id=244970

Material examined.

Holotype, female: DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO: Bandundu Prov., Wamba River, Kikongo Mission, 04°15'S, 17°10'E, 15.IV.2006, black light, S. L. Heydon & S. E. Stevenson, OSUC 212375 (deposited in CNCI).

Comments.

The metasoma of Scelio balo is near black and only very slightly lighter than the mesosoma. The fore wing is not as obviously shortened as in Scelio fremo . See also comments for Scelio fremo .