Gammabracon strandorum Quicke and Butcher, 2017

Quicke, Donald L. J., Hogan, James E., Bennett, Andrew M. R., Broad, Gavin R. & Butcher, Buntika A., 2017, Partial revision of the Indo-Australian braconine wasp genus Gammabracon Quicke (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) with descriptions of new species from Indonesia (Mollucas), Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand, Journal of Natural History 51 (21 - 22), pp. 1249-1294 : 1264-1266

Gammabracon strandorum Quicke and Butcher sp. nov.

( Figures 8 , 9 )

Material examined

HOLOTYPE: Female. INDONESIA: ‘ Banjoewangi , JAVA [Banyuwangi]’ ( DEI Münchenberg). [Identified as Cratobracon strandiellus Cameron , and so labelled, by Fahringer, but see text directly preceding discussion].

Description

Female: Length of body 15 mm, of forewing 15 mm, of antenna 14 mm, of exserted part of ovipositor 32 mm.

Head. Antenna with 74 flagellomeres. Terminal flagellomere distinctly acuminate; median flagellomeres marginally wider than long; 1st flagellomere 1.5 and 1.7 × longer than 2nd and 3rd, respectively; scapus with a distinct angularly demarcated basal excavation; width of head:width of face:height of eye = 2.0:1.2:1.0; intertentorial distance 1.2 × shortest distance between tentorial pit and eye; frons; shortest distance between posterior ocelli:transverse diameter of posterior ocellus:shortest distance between posterior ocellus and = 1.0:1.6:5.6; length of head behind eye 0.65 × length of eye in dorsal view.

Mesosoma. 1.7 × longer than high; scutellar sulcus irregularly foveate, median fovea slightly enlarged, anterior margin of scutellum with small central emargination; posterior margin of propodeum medially gradually swollen.

Wings. Forewing vein 3RSb 1.5 and 5.4 × longer than 3RSa and rs-m, respectively; vein 1-M strongly expanding before junction with (Rs+M)a; anterior junction of vein 1cu-1 strongly swollen; vein m-cu weakly curved, hardly swollen; base of hind wing with glabrous area, not emarginate.

Legs. Foretibia with brown-yellow setae.

Metasoma. 1st tergite 1.5 × longer than apically wide, largely smooth lateral to and between dorsal carinae; 2nd tergite 1.35 × wider than medially long, 1.05 × longer than tergite 3, with very small midbasal triangular area, with posteriorly converging sublateral carinae widening gradually anteriorly, anastomosing posteriorly; 3rd tergite with strong midlongitudial carina bordered by deep posteriorly widening grooves, with strong longitudinal striation on transverse basal and medial grooves; 4th tergite smooth except for small sculptured patch in middle of transverse medial depression; ovipositor 2.0 × longer than body.

Colour. Head (including stemmaticum), scapus (except dark laterally) yellow; mesosoma (except posterior margin of propodeum which is piceous), fore and mid legs orange; flagellum, hind legs and metasoma black; wing membrane yellow but apical part of forewing and apical and posterior part of hind wing infuscate; pterostigma and venation brown-yellow.

Etymology

Named after the braconidologist Embrik Strand.

Comments

Gammabracon strandorum is distinguished from all other species of the genus by the strongly diverging submedial carinae of the 3rd metasomal tergite. This is the most southerly known species of the genus.

Figures

Figure 8. Gammabracon strandorum sp. nov. holotype female. (a) Habitus, dorsal view. (b) Head dorsal view. (c) Face frontal view. (d) Detail of scutellum and scutellar sulcus. (e) Forefemur and tibia.

Figure 9. Gammabracon strandorum sp. nov. (a) holotype female. Central part of forewing. (b) Base of hind wing. (c) Anterior metasomal tergites.