Trigastrotheca flava Ranjith, 2024

Quicke, Donald L. J., Van Noort, Simon, Ranjith, Avunjikkattu Parambil, Friedman, Ariel L. L., Mejlon, Hans & Butcher, Buntika A., 2024, Revision of Trigastrotheca Cameron (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Braconinae) with descriptions of 13 new species, ZooKeys 1205, pp. 115-167 : 115-167

Trigastrotheca flava Ranjith sp. nov.

Figs 10 , 11

Type material.

Holotype ♀, India: Karnataka, Chintamani , 26. v. 2010, coll. Somraj Gunda ( AIMB) . Paratypes. 4 ♀ with the same data as holotype ( AIMB) .

Diagnosis.

Similar to Trigastrotheca freidbergi Quicke & Friedman , sp. nov. in being entirely ochraceous with piceous / black stemmaticum and brown-yellow fore wing vein C + SC + R and fore wing with a short 2 nd submarginal cell (vein 3 RSa being <1.2 × longer than r-rs and shorter than 2 RS).

Description.

Holotype ♀. Length of body 4.3 mm, fore wing 3.4 mm. Head. Antenna with 39 flagellomeres. Terminal flagellomere, short, sub-triangular, acuminate. First flagellomere 1.0 × longer than 2 nd and 3 rd, the latter 1.2 × longer than wide. Width of head: width of face: height of eye = 2.8: 1.5: 1.0. Face finely rugose-punctate with weak mid-longitudinal ridge. Inter-tentorial distance 1.8 × longer than tentorio-ocular distance. Malar suture impressed. Malar space 1.3 × as long as basal width of mandible. Antennal sockets not strongly produced. Frons moderately impressed without mid-longitudinal carina. Shortest distance between posterior ocelli: transverse diameter of posterior ocellus: shortest distance between posterior ocellus and eye = 1.1: 1.0: 2.7. Mesosoma 1.4 × longer than high. Mesoscutum rugose; notauli not impressed except very short anterior part with few weak crenulations. Scutellar sulcus shallow, narrow, finely crenulate. Scutellum finely punctate without small pit medially behind sulcus. Median area of metanotum with complete mid-longitudinal carina. Propodeum finely granulate-rugose; mid-longitudinal carina complete, faintly lamelliform, bordered narrowly by fine crenulations; posteriorly propodeum with short longitudinal carinae associated with longitudinal wrinkles. Wings. Fore wing. Lengths of fore wing veins r-rs: 3 RSa: 3 RSb = 1.0: 1.2: 3.9. Lengths of vein 2 RS: 3 RSa: rs-m = 1.3: 1.0: 1.0. Base of hind wing with at least a pair of setae. Legs. Lengths of fore femur: fore tibia: fore tarsus = 1.0: 1.1: 1.1. Lengths of hind femur: hind tibia: hind tarsus = 2.1: 2.3: 1.0. Claws with small acutely pointed basal lobe. Metasoma. T 1 2.1 × wider than long. T 2 0.9 × as long as T 3. T 1 coriaceous. TT 1–5 with coarse reticulate sculpture. Second metasomal suture and basal grooves of TT 4 and 5 deep, strigose. T 5 with postero-lateral margin of convex, unevenly denticulate; medial protuberance acutely rounded posteriorly. Coloration. Body mostly yellow except antenna, apex of mandible, ovipositor sheath brown.

Male. Unknown.

Distribution.

Oriental ( India).

Host.

Unknown.

Etymology.

The species is named after the yellow-colored body, flava meaning yellow in Latin.

Figures

Figure 10. Trigastrotheca flava sp. nov. ♀ holotype A habitus, lateral view B head, anterior view C head, dorsal view D head and mesosoma, lateral view E mesosoma, dorsal view F metanotum and propodeum, dorsal view.

Figure 11. Trigastrotheca flava sp. nov. ♀ holotype A metasoma, lateral view B metasoma, dorsal view C T 5, dorsal view D wings.