Avga sinaitica Edmardash & Gadallah

Edmardash, Yusuf A., Abu El-Ghiet, Usama M. & Gadallah, Neveen S., 2020, First record of Hormiini Förster, 1863, and Macrocentrinae Förster, 1863 (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) for the fauna of Egypt, with the description of a new species, Zootaxa 4722 (6), pp. 555-570 : 556-560

Avga sinaitica Edmardash & Gadallah

( Figs 1 locality 12, 2A–D; 3A–D)

Material examined: Holotype: ♀, Sharm El Sheikh, Ras Mohammad, Wadi Khreta (near Divers Training Rest ) (South Sinai) [27°51’ 18.2” N, 34°18’ 24.8” E], 12.iii.2015, sweep net, leg. Y. Edmardash [EFC], see Fig.1 , locality 12. Flagellum broken, only 10 and 9 flagellomeres remaining on right and left antenna respectively.

Colouration: head (except area between stemmaticum and antennal bases dark brown), mesoscutum, scutellum, prosternum and mesosternum reddish to orange; mandible yellow, with black tip; antenna (except basal third of scape yellowish), stemmaticum, propodeum, T 1 and inverted U on T 2 black (middle whitish), rest of tergites brownish except posteriorly as well as middle of T 2 (whitish), sides of scutellum yellowish laterally, ovipositor reddish to orange, with black tip; ovipositor sheath dark brown to black, with reddish tip; legs (except black claws) and palpi pale yellowish; tegula, humeral plates, and metapostnotum laterally are whitish. Fore wing hyaline to very slightly smoky, with pale veins except dark brown C+SC+ R,1- R 1, 1-SR, 1-M and M+CU1 (except basal third); pterostigma uniformly yellowish to pale brown, parastigma blackish.

Description. Body length: 2.6 mm. (excluding ovipositor)

Head. Finely granulate dorsally, frons medially, just behind antennal bases slightly swollen; area between stemmaticum and antennal base distinctly depressed; eyes slightly emarginate above; eye in dorsal view 2.33 × as long as temple; OOL: OD: POL = 6:4:3; malar space 1.2 × as long as basal width of mandible. Scape of antenna slightly longer ventrally than dorsally; pedicel slightly swollen, somewhat shorter than scape; F1 5.2 × as long as broad apically, F2–4 3.0 × as long as broad, F5–8 2.5 × as long as broad. Maxillary palp 0.5 × as long as head height. Mandible with two teeth, inner tooth very short, hardly seen.

Mesosoma. Mesosoma 1.29 × as long as its height. Mesoscutum and mesoscutellum finely granulate; mesoscutum clothed with minute pale setae; notauli very weak to indistinct. Mesoscutellum with weak lateral carina; propodeum finely rugose, with a weak median longitudinal carina at base not reaching posterior margin, diverging apically to form a more or less rounded smooth areola, with two smaller rounded areolae on each side, with few fine, relatively long setae laterally; mesopleuron smooth and shiny, with a deep linear sternaulus ventrally. Fore wings. Vein r arising from middle of pterostigma; SR1 straight, reaching apex of wing; 2-SR+M very short, hardly see; 2- SR slightly bent basally; cu-a postfurcal; CU1b present; length of r slightly less than 0.3 × width of pterostigma; r: 3-SR: SRl = 6: 17.5: 80. Legs long and slender.

Metasoma. Parallel-sided; T1 slightly widened posteriorly, 0.88 × as long as its apical width; coarsely rugose, somewhat smoother medio-posteriorly; T2 with sclerotized inverted U laterally, that is smooth baso-laterally, membranous and skin-like medially; T3 membranous medially; postero-lateral margin of T5 and posterior margin of T6 with short fine pale setae; ovipositor distinctly short, ovipositor sheath slender, slightly less than 0.2 × length of fore wing, 0.92 × width of T1 apically and 0.24 × as long as metasomal length, densely setose along its length, denser apically.

Male. Unknown.

Remarks. The new species closely resembles A. singularis Belokobylskij but differs from it in the following: fore wing r: 3-SR: SRl 6: 17.5: 80 (6: 20: 39 in singularis ); T1 widened posteriorly (parallel-sided in singularis ); metasoma obviously parallel-sided (pear-shaped in singularis ); ovipositor longer, 0.24 × metasomal length (distinctly shorter, 0.1 × in singularis ).

Distribution. Egypt.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Egyptian localities for hormiine and macrocentrine specimens: 1, Aswan, Edfu Road; 2, El Arish, El Abtal (North Sinai); 3, El Manzala Lake, El Salam Canal (Daqahliya); 4, Farafra Oasis, Beir5; 5, Farafra Oasis, El Garad; 6, Farafra Oasis, Gelgam; 7, Hurghada, El Ghaba El Shagariya (Red Sea); 8, Ismailia, El-Tal El Kebeer; 9, Marsa Matrouh, Alifa; 10, Sharm El Sheikh, Ras Mohammad (South Sinai); 11, Sharm El Sheikh, Wadi Khoshb (South Sinai); 12, Sharm El Sheikh (Wadi Khreta) (South Sinai).