Fidiobia platystasioides Masner, Popovici & Talamas, 2022

Popovici, Ovidiu Alin, Masner, Lubomir, Lahey, Zachary & Talamas, Elijah, 2022, Revision of the Palearctic species of Fidiobia Ashmead (Hymenoptera, Platygastroidea), Journal of Hymenoptera Research 92, pp. 23-144 : 23

15. Fidiobia platystasioides Masner, Popovici & Talamas sp. nov.

Figs 145-152 , 312

Description.

Female. Body length: 0.7 mm. Colour of body: melanic (Figs 145 , 146 ).

Head (Figs 148-152 ). Colour of head: dark brown. Sculpture of head: alutaceous. Sculpture of occiput: transverse reticulate coriaceous. Ocellar prominence: absent. Preocellar depression: absent. Paraocellar depressions: absent. OOL / ocellar diameter: OOL shorter than ocellar diameter. Orientation of lower half of inner orbits: visibly divergent. Sculpture of frons immediately anterior to ocellus: alutaceous. Sculpture of frons immediately dorsal to toruli: the same with the sculpture from the rest of frons, but more transverse. Epitorular carina: absent. Distance between toruli: smaller than the transverse diameter of torulus. Setation of clypeus: two setae. Malar sulcus: absent. Antenna (Figs 147 , 150 ). Colour of A1: brown with lighter ends. Colour of clava: striking different from the rest of antenna (clava brown, rest of antenna yellow). Number of antennomeres: nine. Shape of A1: more or less cylindrical. Ventral (inner) lamella on A1: present as a trace in the apical part of A1. Length of A3 of female: distinctly shorter than A2. Sensillar formula (A7:A8:A9): unknown.

Mesosoma (Figs 151 , 152 ). Colour of mesosoma: dark brown. Mesosoma: compressed. Pronotum in dorsal view: narrow, collarlike. Transverse pronotal sulcus: present as a narrow groove along anterior rim of pronotum. Posteroventral end of transverse pronotal sulcus: not dilated. Lateral pronotal area: entirely sculptured. Antero-admedian line: absent. Mesoscutum: weakly convex. Parapsidal lines: absent. Sculpture of internotaular area: absent. Notauli: present, incised. Shape of notauli: dilated posteriorly and acute anteriorly. Outer edge of notauli: medial to axillular carina. Orientation of inner edge of notauli: not converging posteriorly. Length of notauli: at most 0.3 times as long as length of mesoscutellum, measured along midline. Length of notaulus / maximum width of notaulus: 3-4 times as long as wide. Distance between notauli: greater than the broadest part of notaulus. Transscutal articulation: complete. Scuto-scutellar sulcus: absent. Fovea on scuto-scutellar sulcus: NA. Mesoscutellum: weakly convex. Setation of ventral metapleural area: dense, short setae on posteroventral half. Longitudinal striation on dorsal mesopleuron: present. Transepisternal line: absent. Mesopleural carina: present. Shape of mesoscutellum: subrectangular. Axillular carina: posterior apex of axillular carinae not abutting posterior edge of mesoscutellum. Axilloaxillular carina: present. Sculpture of mesoscutellum: absent. Posterior mesoscutellar sulcus: absent. Metascutellum: entirely visible. Metascutellar carina: present. Width of metasomal depression: greater than the length of lateral propodeal carina. Median carina between lateral propodeal carinae: absent. Transverse carina between lateral propodeal carinae: present. Foamy structure on transverse carina between lateral propodeal carinae: present. Foamy structure on metasomal depression: absent. Lateral propodeal carinae: parallel. Foamy structure on lateral propodeal carina: absent. Plica: visible. Posterior end of plica: fused with metapleural carina. Foamy structure on plica: absent. Foamy structure on metapleural carina: absent. Foamy structure on ventral metapleural area: absent. Setation of dorsal metapleural area: sparse, short setae on posterodorsal half. Metapleural sulcus: absent. Wings. macropterous. Apex of fore wing: rounded. Colour of fore wing: infuscate. Transverse brown band on fore wing: absent. Submarginal vein in fore wing: present. Length of submarginal vein in fore wing: not surpassing basal 1/4 of fore wing. Spectral veins on fore wing: absent. Marginal setae of fore wing: faintly indicated. Disc of fore wing: with spinulose microtrichia. Legs. Colour of fore tibia: light brown. Colour of fore tarsus: yellow with darker pretarsus. Colour of middle femora: brown with lighter basal and apical ends. Colour of middle tibiae: brown with lighter basal and apical ends. Colour of middle tarsus: yellow with darker pretarsus. Colour of hind femora: brown with lighter basal and apical ends. Colour of hind tibiae: brown with lighter basal and apical ends. Colour of hind tarsus: yellow with darker pretarsus.

Metasoma (Fig. 145 ): posterior of T2 some or all tergites may be retracted under T2. Shape of T1: trapezoidal. Colour of T1: dark brown. Lateral setae of T1: 2 pairs. Colour of T2: dark brown. Shape of T2: longer than wide. Anterior pits of T2: distinctly separated. Sculpture of T2, lateral to anterior pits of T2: absent. Colour of T3-T5: the same as T2.

Male. unknown.

Etymology.

This species is named for its similarity with species of Platystasius Nixon, 1937.

Material examined.

1♀. China: Holotype 1♀, Beijing Prov., Mentougo , 39.987°N, 115.5246°E, 28.vii.2002, leg. Melika G. (CNCI).

Distribution.

China (Fig. 312 ).

Biology.

unknown.

Diagnosis.

Fidiobia platystasioides is similar to F. lisenchiae because of the absence of epitorular carinae, the fore wings with very short marginal setae and notauli slightly dilated posteriorly. The main differences between these two species is the ratio T2:T1 (in F. platystasioides T2 is at least 4 times as long as T1 and in F. lisenchiae T2 is at most 3 times as long as T1) and the length of the submarginal vein (the apex of the submarginal vein surpassing the middle of T1 in F. platystasioides and hardly surpassing the propodeum in F. lisenchiae ). Other subtle differences between these species are the color of the scape and tibia (dark brown in F. platystasioides and yellow in F. lisenchiae ), the sculpture of the dorsal mesopleuron (with numerous dense striae in F. platystasiodes and with few striae and a smooth area in F. lisenchiae ) and the sculpture of the lateral pronotal area (sculptured in dorsal two thirds in F. platystasioides and only in dorsal third in F. lisenchiae ).

Comments.

Fidiobia platystasioides is a distinct species because the notauli are slightly dilated posteriorly and almost parallel, and the body is flattened. These characteristics closely resemble those seen in the genus Platystasius Nixon.

Figures

Figures 145 - 152. Fidiobia platystasioides: 145 habitus, dorsal view (Holotype) 146 habitus, lateral view 147 antenna (♀) 148 head, dorsal view 149 head, frontal view 150 head and antenna 151 head and mesosoma, dorsal view 152 head and mesosoma, lateral view.

Figures 310 - 312. Geographical distribution of: 310 F. longiclava 311 F. nipponica 312 F. platystasioides.