Scelio mutio 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 : 88-90

Scelio mutio Yoder sp. n. Figures 199-204; Morphbank 48

Description.

Female body length: 3.20-3.93 mm (n=6). 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: present. 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: brown. Color of scape in female: yellow in basal half, darkening to light brown in apical half. 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: not delimited. 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 at extreme base, otherwise light brown. Fore wing length in female: apex between anterior margin of T5 and posterior margin of T6. 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: predominantly longitudinally striate. Color of pilosity on lateral T3-T5 in female: predominantly golden to brown. Lateral profile of T6 in female: vertically sloped in posterior half. Sculpture of T6 in female: predominantly rugulose to reticulate; predominantly transversely rugose. Sculpture of lateral metasomal sternal bar in female: minutely reticulate throughout. Distribution of felt fields: 2 pairs present (S2, S3).

Diagnosis.

Similar to other species in the brown subgroup. Differing from these by the combination of scape color (yellow or light brown at base, darkening to brown at apex), hind femur color (light brown nearly throughout), and sculpture of the lateral margin of the metasomal sternites. See also diagnosis for Scelio latro .

Etymology.

The epithet is used as a noun in apposition derived from the Latin word for mutter.

Link to distribution map.

http://hol.osu.edu/map-large.html?id=244983

Material examined.

Holotype, female: SOUTH AFRICA: Eastern Cape Prov., Blue Duiker Trail, ~2.5km W Storms River Mouth, Tsitsikamma Section, tall coastal forest, FMHD#2004-016 / ANMT site 1079, Garden Route National Park, 34°01.05'S, 23°52.66'E, 100m, 29. I– 25.II.2004, flight intercept trap, Solodovnikov, Newton & Thayer, OSUC 244035 (deposited in FMNH). Paratypes: SOUTH AFRICA: 5 females, OSUC 211353 (CNCI); OSUC 244036-244038 (FMNH); OSUC 244039 (OSUC).

Comments.

Scelio mutio , the southernmost member of the brown subgroup, is also the smallest member of the group. T6 is only slightly wider than long and is relatively more conical than similar species. The metasoma in dorsal view is somewhat pointed and ovoid. The pronotal nucha is smooth in the anterior half, and sculptured posteriorly.