Scelio concavus 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 : 155-157

Scelio concavus Yoder sp. n. Figures 353-358; Morphbank 73

Description.

Female body length: 3.59-3.85 mm (n=4). Form of sculpture of frons below anterior ocellus in female: fine dorsoventral striae with few to no reticulations. Distribution of sculpture of frons posterior to anterior ocellus in female: more or less uniform throughout. Color of pilosity of dorsomedial head in female: brown or predominantly brown. Form of anteclypeus between medial teeth in female: striplike, broadly concave. Form of lateral gena below eye in anterior view in female: evenly rounded towards mandible, not bulging laterally. Sculpture of anteclypeus: largely smooth, with few thick dorsoventral ridges. Sculpture of pronotal nucha in female: present throughout. Color of pilosity on mesonotum in female: predominantly brown throughout. Sculpture of mesoscutellum in female: predominantly irregular rugulose to reticulate. Sculpture of oxter: present throughout. Pilosity of metapleuron overlapping or arising within posteroventral quadrant in female: 1 seta; 2 setae. Color of fore wing in female: evenly colored throughout. Color of pilosity on lateral T2-T5 in female: T2 and much of T3 white, T4-T5 brown or predominantly brown. Fine pilosity of lateral T1 in female: present, extending to posterior margin. Distribution of pilosity on metasomal terga 3-5 in female: more or less uniformly present throughout. Form of setae on lateral T2-T5: uniformly thin throughout. Pilosity of anterolateral corner of dorsal T3 in female: sparsely setose to glabrous.

Diagnosis.

Scelio concavus is most similar to the other Afrotropical walkeri-group species with a broadly concave anteclypeus, in particular Scelio remaudierei which has similarly sparse and narrow pilosity on the lateral metasoma and no obliterated or smooth patches on the dorsal head. It differs from Scelio remaudierei by the narrower gena (strongly expanded in Scelio remaudierei ), and less well developed medial clypeal teeth (very well developed in Scelio remaudierei ). Sparsely setose specimens of Scelio modulus may be confused with Scelio concavus , but may be differentiated by the width and form of the clypeus (narrow and more or less truncate in Scelio modulus ). The brown pilosity of the dorsomedial portion of the head and the mesoscutum differentiates this species from Scelio afer .

Etymology.

The epithet is used as a adjective derived from the Latin word for hollow or arched forward, in reference to the shape of the anteclypeus.

Link to distribution map.

http://hol.osu.edu/map-large.html?id=244622

Material examined.

Holotype, female: KENYA: Rift Valley Prov., Ol Pejeta Conservancy, 01°01.306'N, 36°54.818'E, 13. I– 27.I.2006, malaise trap, R. Copeland, OSUC 214035 (deposited in NMKE). Paratypes: (3 females) KENYA: 2 females, OSUC 214101, 234661 (CNCI). RWANDA: 1 female, OSUC 212464 (CNCI).

Comments.

The brown pilosity of the dorsomedial part of the head and the mesonotum is striking (Fig. 355). Scelio modulus may be confused with the extralimital Scelio aegyptiacus which shares the presence of fine, brown, and sparsely distributed setae on the lateral metasoma. The fore wing of Scelio modulus is relatively darkly infuscate throughout, which contrasts the light/dark pattern seen in Scelio aegyptiacus .