Probolus nepalensis, Riedel, 2019

Riedel, Matthias, 2019, Contribution to the Ichneumoninae (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae) of Nepal, Linzer biologische Beiträge 51 (2), pp. 1119-1162 : 1146-1147

Probolus nepalensis nov.sp. (fig. 38)

Holotype: ♀ " Nepal Khumbu Khumdzung 3900 m, 11.7.62, leg. G. Ebert u. H. Falkner " ( ZSM).

D e s c r i p t i o n: ♀: Body length 13.5 mm. Flagellum with 43 flagellomeres, slightly lanceolate; 1 st flagellomere 1.6x longer than wide, 6 th flagellomere square, widest flagellomeres c. 1.5x wider than long. Head covered with brownish hairs. Temple parallel behind eye, slightly narrowed apically, dorsally 1.2x longer than eye. Ocelli small, distance of lateral ocellus to eye 2.5x ocellar diameter. Frons impressed centrally, coarsely rugose-punctate. Face, clypeus and gena with coarse dense punctures. Clypeus slightly convex, apical margin rounded. Malar space 1.1x longer than width of mandibular base. Genal carina reaching hypostomal carina far from mandibular base, hypostomal carina lamelliform elevated.

Mesosoma with long brownish hairs. Notaulus indistinct. Mesopleuron including speculum coarsely rugose-punctate. Metapleuron with coarse longitudinal rugose-striation; juxtacoxal carina indistinct. Scutellum slightly convex, with rather dense fine punctures, without lateral carina. Hind coxa densely punctate, without scopa. Hind femur 4.0x longer than wide, densely punctate. Claws not pectinate.

Areolet almost quadrangular, frontal distance of intercubiti 1x their diameter. Nervulus postfurcal (2x its width).

Metasoma amblypygous, strongly shining. Median field of postpetiolus not hump-like raised but roundly and distinctly elevated above lateral fields on the border between petiolus and postpetiolus, with some longitudinal rugae, but shining. Lateral field with some striae. Gastrocoelus slightly impressed. Thyridium not developed. 2 nd tergite with very fine microsculpture and scattered fine punctures; 3 rd tergite with very scattered punctures. Sternites completely sclerotized. Structure otherwise as described for the genus by HEINRICH (1974: 24-25).

Colour: Black. Stripes on flagellomeres 6-11, small spot on vertex, short stripe on outer orbit and apical 2/3 of scutellum yellow. Sternites and 2 nd and 3 rd tergites reddish. Legs black; fore femur apically and frontal side of fore tibia reddish-brown. Wings yellowish, pterostigma reddish-brown.

♂ unknown.

R e m a r k: The known Palaearctic species of the genus Probolus WESMAEL are closely related and show little structural differences ( HORSTMANN 2000). The new taxon differs from the European members of this genus by the structure of the flagellum and postpetiolus but is otherwise typical. In the key of HEINRICH (1974), this new species runs to P. discolor HEINRICH, but can be differentiated by the lack of lateral carina of the scutellum, shorter basal flagellomeres and black subtegular ridge.