Craspedolcus nigrabdominalis, Li & He & Chen, 2020

Li, Yang, He, Jun-Hua & Chen, Xue-Xin, 2020, Review of six genera of Braconinae Nees (Hymenoptera, Braconidae) in China, with the description of eleven new species, Zootaxa 4818 (1), pp. 1-74 : 31-34

Craspedolcus nigrabdominalis sp. nov.

Figs 23–24

Type material. Holotype. ♀, China, Xizang Prov., Motuo, 1420m, 14.VI.1980, Jin Gentao , Wu Jianyi, No. 34202258 ( SHEM).

Diagnosis. This new species is very similar to C. maculithorax sp. nov., but can be separated from the latter by the following characters: mesoscutum yellowish brown, without black spots (mesoscutum yellow and with 3 black spots in C. maculithorax ); anterior half of second metasomal tergite largely smooth, only with some short striae near basal areas (more or less longitudinally striate behind smooth basal areas); hind leg entirely black (hind coxa, trochanter, femur (except apically) and claws blackish brown, remainder of hind legs yellow); median area of first tergite smooth except for low median carina and few striae (largely longitudinally striate); fore wing vein cu-a interstitial (slightly postfurcal).

Description. Holotype, ♀, length of body 11.6 mm, of fore wing 12.9 mm, of ovipositor sheath 10.6 mm.

Head. Antenna 0.9 × as long as fore wing, with 70 antennomeres; apical flagellomere acute, scapus slender, parallel-sided and distinctly protruding ventro-apically, with narrow indistinct apical ledge at inner side and basally gradually narrowed, its ventral setae erect ( Figs 24l, 24m ); first, second and penultimate flagellomeres 1.7, 1.1 and 1.8 × their maximum width, respectively; length of maxillary palp 0.9 × height of head; eye not emarginate ( Fig. 24g ); face weakly and evenly convex, remotely finely punctate and with long erect yellowish setae; clypeus flat, superficially rugulose, dorsally with weak carina and ventral margin thin and lamelliform protruding, with a row of long yellowish setae ventrally; hypoclypeal depression 0.5 × as wide as minimum width of face ( Fig. 24g ); frons shallowly concave behind antennal sockets, with deep median groove, smooth except for a few punctures laterally ( Fig. 24h ); vertex smooth except for few punctures and weakly convex, glabrous; shortest distance between posterior ocelli: shortest diameter of elliptical posterior ocellus: shortest distance between posterior ocellus and eye = 18: 7: 6; in dorsal view length of eye 1.6 × temple; temples weakly narrowed behind eyes, with spaced setiferous punctures and long setae ( Fig. 24h ); malar suture present and curved; length of malar space 0.8 × basal width of mandible; mandible twisted and with two wide teeth.

Mesosoma. Length of mesosoma 1.6 × its height ( Fig. 24c ); side of pronotum shiny and smooth; propleuron with spaced punctures; pronotum vertical anteriorly and with a shallow groove and no antescutal depression; mesopleuron largely smooth and glabrous, anteriorly weakly punctate and sparsely setose; mesosternal sulcus smooth and narrow; metapleuron weakly punctate and with long setae, convex; mesoscutum glabrous except some setae near notaulic courses, shiny and smooth; notauli shallowly impressed, smooth; scutellar sulcus present and with distinct crenulae ( Fig. 24d ); scutellum nearly flat anteriorly and smooth; side of scutellum smooth; metanotum medio-anteriorly with short carina, posteriorly evenly convex and smooth ( Fig. 24d ); propodeum smooth, with many long setae and evenly convex medially, medio-apically smooth in lateral view ( Fig. 24j ).

Wings. Fore wing ( Fig. 24a ): m-cu 0.8 × as long as 1-M; 1-SR+M sharply angled after arising from 1-M, 1.5 × as long as 1-M; 3-SR weakly curved, and SR1 straight; r: 3-SR: SR1 = 6: 33: 43; 2-SR: 3-SR: r-m = 4: 11: 4; r-m largely sclerotised; 1-CU1 widened and 0.06 × 2-CU1; cu-a vertical and interstitial; CU1b narrower than 3-CU1. Hind wing ( Fig. 24b ): with 3 coarse subbasal bristles on C+SC+R and with 3 hamuli on R1; SR weakly curved basally and marginal cell parallel-sided apically; subbasal cell near cu-a setose; 1r-m straight and 0.8 × as long as SC+R1; 2-SC+R 2.5 × longer than wide.

Legs. Tarsal claws simple and with long bristly setae ventrally; fore tarsus 1.3 × as long as fore tibia and tibia bristly setose and pimply anteriorly; length of femur, tibia and basitarsus of hind leg 3.5, 10.1 and 6.4 × their maximum width, respectively; hind tibia with dense appressed setae ( Fig. 24f ); hind tibial spurs 0.3 and 0.4 × as long as hind basitarsus; inner side of hind tibia and tarsus densely bristly setose.

Metasoma. Length of first tergite 1.2 × its apical width, medial area low anteriorly, dorso-lateral carinae strongly developed, medial area largely smooth except for median carina and a few longitudinal striae ( Fig. 24k ); second tergite largely smooth except for median carina connected to nearly rhombical medio-basal area and some crenulae near medio-basal area and outer side of antero-lateral triangular areas, and crenulate wide oblique anterior grooves ( Fig. 24e ); second metasomal suture strongly crenulate, laterally narrowed and oblique ( Fig. 24e ); medially second tergite clearly longer than third tergite; maximum width of third tergite 4.0 × its medial length; third–fifth tergites largely smooth and with smooth antero-lateral grooves (but third tergite weakly crenulate) and transverse subposterior groove (but fifth tergite weakly crenulate laterally) ( Fig. 24e ); ovipositor sheath 0.82 × as long as fore wing and 0.91 × body; hypopygium just surpassing apex of metasoma.

Colour. Largely black ( Fig. 23 ); head largely yellow, antenna (including entire scapus), eye, mandible apically and stemmaticum black ( Figs 24g, 24h ); pronotum, propleuron, tegula, mesoscutum, scutellum, mesosternum (except for median area) and metanotum posteriorly yellowish brown ( Figs 24c, 24d ); legs largely black, fore leg (but fourth and fifth tarsomeres infuscate) and middle tibia yellow, middle tarsus (but telotarsus black) dark brown ( Fig. 24f ); apical 0.2 of pterostigma dark brown, remainder of pterostigma and wing membrane yellow, but fore wing with irregular stigmal spot up to vein CU1b, including dark brown veins 1-SR, 1-SR+M, m-cu, 3-CU1 and CU1b and apically wings with wide infuscate area; remainder of veins brownish yellow ( Figs 24a, 24b ).

Biology. Unknown.

Distribution. China (Xizang).

Etymology. Named after the metasomal tergites uniformly black: “nigra” is Latin for “black” and “abdominalis” is Latin for “of the abdomen”.

Figures

FIGURE 23. Craspedolcus nigrabdominalis sp. nov., ♀, holotype, habitus lateral.

FIGURE 24. Craspedolcus nigrabdominalis sp. nov., ♀, holotype. a. fore wing; b. hind wing; c. mesosoma, lateral view; d. mesosoma, dorsal view; e. metasoma, dorsal view; f. hind leg, lateral view; g. head, front view; h. head, dorsal view; i. head, lateral view; j. propodeum, lateral view; k. first metasomal tergite, dorsal view; l. sacpus outer side, lateral view; m. apex of antenna; n. apex of ovipositor, lateral view.