Syngaster neoguineensis, Iqbal & Austin & Belokobylskij, 2006

Iqbal, M., Austin, A. D. & Belokobylskij, S. A., 2006, Systematics of the Australasian endemic wasp genus Syngaster Brullé (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Doryctinae), Journal of Natural History 40 (13 - 14), pp. 819-853 : 840-842

Syngaster neoguineensis sp. nov.

( Figures 4a , 5 c–f)

Female

Length. 8–8.75 mm.

Colour. Head and mesosoma pale red-brown with dark patches behind eyes in holotype. Scape red-brown. Palps yellow. Legs pale red-brown with hind tarsus dark brown. First metasomal tergite dark brown with white basal and lateral margins, second tergite dark brown, remaining tergites dark brown with rather narrow submedian transverse white stripe.

Head. Width 1.3 times its median length, almost equal to width of mesoscutum. Head behind eyes weakly convex. Transverse diameter of eye almost equal to temple length in dorsal view. Ocelli medium size, in triangle with base 1.2 times its sides, POL almost equal to OD, 0.3 times OOL. Frons short and weakly convex. Diameter of antennal sockets two times distance from socket to border of eye. Eye glabrous, 1.2 times as high as broad. Malar space height 0.47 times height of eye, almost equal to basal width of mandible. Face width 1.1 times height of eye and 1.2 times height of face and clypeus combined. Clypeus without distinct lower flange, clypeal suture distinct. Hypoclypeal depression round, its width 0.9 times distance from edge of depression to eye, 0.4 times width of face. Occipital carina complete, curving ventrally and fused with hypostomal carina. Hypostomal keel wide. Head below eyes convexly narrowed. Maxillary palps about 1.8 times as long as height of head. Antennal flagellum slender (missing apically, only 25 segments present), first segment length 3.7 times width. Scape more or less compressed, its maximum length including lobe 2.6 times maximum width.

Mesosoma. Length 2.35 times its height. Pronotum short. Mesoscutum highly and almost perpendicularly raised above pronotum, its median lobe weakly protruding forwards. Notauli shallow and smooth in anterior half. Prescutellar depression rather short, more or less deep, smooth, with four strong carinae, 0.2 times as long as scutellum. Scutellum flat, its maximum width 1.1 times median length. Metanotum with very small median tooth. Subalar depression shallow and wide, rugose-reticulate. Sternaulus very shallow, straight, smooth, running along entire lower length of mesopleuron. Metapleural lobe short. Metapleuron and propodeum fused and surfaces evenly rounded (i.e. propodealmetapleural suture absent). Propodeum with lateral tubercles, distinctly roundly narrowed from base to apex (lateral view). Fore tibia with small spines arranged almost in single row. Tarsal segment of middle leg not elongate, basitarsus 4.6 times as long as wide, 2.5 times as long as second segment, fourth segment subsquare. Hind coxa without basoventral tooth, 1.6 times as long as wide. Hind femur 8.1 times as long as wide. Inner spur of hind tibia 1.1 times as long as outer spur, 0.12 times as long as basitarsus. Hind tarsus 1.15 times as long as hind tibia, hind basitarsus 1.15 times as long as second to fifth segments combined, second tarsal segment of 0.37 times as long as basitarsus, 1.8 times as long as fifth segment (without pretarsus).

Wings. Length of fore wing 4.1 times its maximum width. Pterostigma 3.75 times as long as wide, 0.6 times as long as R1. 3RSa 2.5 times r, 0.24 times 3RSb, almost equal to 2RS. Second submarginal cell 1.92 times as long as wide, 0.62 times as long as first subdiscal cell. Hind wing about 4.4 times as long as wide; C+Sc+R 1.6 times SC+R.

Metasoma. Metasoma 0.9–1.1 times as long as head and mesosoma combined. First tergite almost linearly widened basally, weakly narrowed apically, with short wide basolateral processes, with very small dorsope and spiracular tubercles present, length of tergite almost equal to its maximum submedian width, 1.1 times its apical width; apical width 0.9 times its maximum submedian width, 1.1 times its minimum width. Second tergite with wide distinctly convex medially basal semicircular area, separated by deep crenulate furrow, median length of area 0.66 times maximum length of tergite, maximum length 0.52 times its basal width, 0.7 times length of third tergite, second suture weakly undulate. Third tergite with distinct straight transverse crenulate furrow in basal half. Ovipositor sheaths almost equal to body length, 2.1 times as long as metasoma, 2.7 times as long as mesosoma; tip of sheaths slightly clavate.

Sculpture and pubescence. Vertex, frons, and temple entirely smooth. Vertex with rather long semi-erect sparse hairs. Face densely and rather coarsely transversally striate. Sides of pronotum rugulose. Mesoscutum and scutellum smooth. Mesopleuron smooth in most part. Metapleuron sparsely and distinctly punctulate anteriorly, almost smooth posteriorly. Propodeum almost entirely smooth. Mesoscutum entirely with semi-erect hairs. Hind coxa almost entirely with sparse puncturation. Hind femur almost smooth. Hind tibia dorsally with short, dense semi-erect hairs. First and second metasomal tergites smooth with sparse puncturation, third tergite smooth with sparse puncturation in basolateral one-third, rest of metasoma smooth.

Male

Unknown.

Material examined

Holotype: female, Papua New Guinea, 6 ° 13 9 S, 146 ° 01 9 E, Kassam Pass , 1300 m, 10–23 January 1979, J. Sedlacek ( AEIC) . Paratype: one female, 7 ° 20 9 S, 146 ° 43 9 E, Wau, October 1969, P. Shanahan ( AEIC) .

Comments

This species can be easily separated from all other species of Syngaster by the uniform pale red-brown colour of the head, mesosoma and legs, the white metasomal sternites, and white band on tergites 3–5. This species is named after the island of New Guinea where most species in the genus have been collected.

Figures

Figure 4. (a) Distribution map of Syngaster species in New Guinea: (m) S. crypticus; (´) S. hirtus; (*) S. neoguineensis; (w) S. quadricolor; (&) S. steυensi; (>) S. tricolor; (S) S. υariegatus. (b) Distribution map of Syngaster species in Australia: (>) S. lepidus; arrow, S. polychromus. Map for S. lepidus modified from Austin et al. (1994).

Figure 5. (a, b) Syngaster lepidus Brulle´, female: (a) Propodeum and metasomal tergites 1–3 (dorsal view); (b) propodeum and first metasomal tergite (dorsal view). (c–f) Syngaster neoguineensis sp. nov., female: (c) head (dorsal view); (d) head (frontal view); (e) metasomal tergites 1–4 (dorsal view); (f) propodeum and metasoma (lateral view). (g, h) Syngaster polychromus sp. nov., female: (g) head (anterior view); (h) head, mesosoma and anterior metasoma (lateral view). Scale bars: 1 mm (a, c, d, g); 2 mm (b, e, f, h).