Ceylonspathius, Belokobylskij, 2002

Belokobylskij, Sergey A., 2002, Two new Oriental genera of Doryctinae (Hymenoptera, Braconidae) from termite nests, Journal of Natural History 36 (8), pp. 953-962 : 958-959

Ceylonspathius gen. n.

Type species. Ceylonspathius nixoni sp. n.

Etymology. From`Ceylon’ and `Spathius ’, because this genus is similar to Spathius Nees and was collected in the termite nest in Sri Lanka ( Ceylon). Gender is masculine.

Diagnosis. This new genus is closely similar to Termitospathius gen. n. and diOEers in the basitarsi of all legs strongly depressed and usually curved, sternauli present, prepectal carina absent, propodeum with several depressions, and metasomal tergites glabrous.

Description

Head weakly transverse (®gure 18), its width 1.63 median length. Ocelli almost an equilateral triangle. Antennal socket situated at upper level of eyes, its maximum diameter equal to distance between sockets, 2.83 distance from socket to eye (®gure 17). Eyes glabrous. Occipital carina rather ®ne, but distinct, shortly interrupted dorsally and with two distinct submedian teeth upper, ventrally absent at short distance near mandible. Malar suture very shallow. Hypoclypeal depression suboval (®gure 17). Postgenal bridge rather wide. Palpi short; maxillary palpi ®ve-segmented, labial palpi three-segmented, labial segments very short. Scapus (®gure 20) wide, without apical lobe; length of scapus 1.53 its maximum width. Four basal segments of ¯agellum without placoid sensilla (®gure 20).

Neck of promesosoma rather long. Pronotal keel indistinct. Propleural lobe present and narrow. Mesonotum very highly and convexly raised above pronotum (®gure 29). Notauli smooth and deep. Scuto-scutellar suture present, but very ®ne. Postscutellum with distinct and round median tooth. Mesopleural pit narrow, long and oblique. Sternauli shallow, short, strongly oblique, straight, situated on anterior one-quarter of mesopleura. Prepectal carina absent. Metapleural ¯ange absent. Propodeum without marginate areas, but with several wide depressions (®gure 28), lateral tubercles indistinct, propodeal bridge absent. Propodeal spiracles small and round. Metapleural suture present.

Wings missing; venation may be similar basically to that in Termitospathius .

Legs. Fore and middle femora very thick and wide, with distinct subapical tooth ventrally (®gures 21±23); hind femur less widened and with small ventral tooth (®gure 24). Fore and middle tibiae strongly curved in basal third (®gure 21). Fore tibia with dense small spines in narrow line. Hind tibia with three slender spines in outer distal margin and with sparse and short hairs in inner distal margin. Fore and middle basitarsi short, depressed and distinctly curved (®gure 21); hind basitarsus long, depressed and almost straight. Hind coxa rather large, with small basoventral tooth. All femora without dorsal protuberances. Hind tibial spurs rather long, slender, glabrous, inner spur about 0.63 as long as hind basitarsus. Basitarsus of hind tarsus 0.63 as long as second to ®fth segments combined.

First metasomal tergite petiolate, narrow (®gures 25, 26). Acrosternite 0.73 as long as ®rst tergite, its apical margin situated signi®cantly behind spiracles. Dorsope of ®rst tergite and basolateral lobes absent. Second suture absent. Third to sixth tergites entirely glabrous. Second tergite without areas or furrows (®gure 26). Second and following tergites without separate laterotergites. Ovipositor shorter than metasoma. Apical part of ovipositor with two small dorsal nodes and serrate ventrally (®gure 27).

Distribution. Sri Lanka.