Gammabracon wegeneri Quicke and Bennett, 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 : 1276-1278

Gammabracon wegeneri Quicke and Bennett sp. nov.

( Figure 18 )

Material examined

HOLOTYPE: Female. INDONESIA: Moluccas , ‘HALMAHERA I., c. 500m col. Wegener’ ( CNCI).

Description

Female: Length of body 11.5 mm, of forewing 10.4 mm, of antenna approx. 8.7 mm, of exserted part of ovipositor 20.3 mm.

Head. Antenna broken, but right antenna may only be missing a few distal flagellomeres, 50 remaining; 1st flagellomere 1.4 and 1.6 × longer than 2nd and 3rd respectively; width of head:width of face:height of eye = 2.1:1.1:1.0; intertentorial distance 1.2 × shortest distance between tentorial pit and eye; frons weakly and gradually impressed behind antennal sockets; shortest distance between posterior ocelli:transverse diameter of posterior ocellus:shortest distance between posterior ocellus and eye = 1.0:1.7:4.1; length of head behind eye 0.8 × length of eye in dorsal view.

Mesosoma. Scutellar sulcus narrow, anterior margin of scutellum with a median notch; midposterior margin of propodeum not sharply differentiated.

Wings. Forewing vein 3RSb 1.5 and 5.1 × longer than 3RSa and rs-m respectively; vein 1-M strongly expanding before junction with (Rs+M)a; vein m-cu thickened and curved; vein 1cu-a interstitial, anterior junction strongly swollen; base of hind wing with large glabrous area, hardly emarginate; foretibia with brown-yellow long setae.

Metasoma. 1st tergite 1.4 × longer than apically wide with median area strongly defined by dorsal carinae, area between dorsal and dorsolateral carinae with a few moderately developed transverse rugae; 2nd tergite 1.4 × wider than medially long, 1.15 × longer than 3rd tergite, with short, acute midbasal triangular area, with posteriorly converging sublateral carinae widened strongly anteriorly, anastomosing posteriorly; 3rd tergite largely strongly longitudinally striate; 4th tergite largely smooth; ovipositor 1.75 × longer than body.

Colour. Head (including stemmaticum), scapus (except black laterally) yellow; mesosoma, 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.

Etymology

Named after the collector, A.M.R. Wegener, who collected numerous interesting wasps in the Moluccas.

Comments

Appears to be closely related to G. strandorum sp. nov. but lacks the distinctive diverging submedial carinae of the 3rd metasomal tergite ( Figure 18g ) and has a lighter coloured pterostigma. Both of these species can be distinguished from all other species of Gammabracon by combination of the following: (1) metasoma and flagellum all dark brown to black (no pale patterning); (2) distance between eye and mandible base greater than 0.29 times height of eye; (3) second metasomal tergite with a short, acute, triangular midbasal area giving rise to a single, strong, midlongitudinal carina; (4) pterostigma light brown yellow (not black); (5) junction of forewing veins 1-cu and (RS+M)a distinctly swollen; (6) ocelli small, distance across ocellar triangle less than 0.95 times shortest distance between posterior ocellus and eye; (7) wing membranes yellow (not patterned with brown) except a bit darker at apex of forewing and apex and posterior of hind wing.

Figures

Figure 18. Gammabracon wegeneri sp. nov. holotype female. (a) Habitus, lateral view. (b) Face, frontal view. (c) Top of head. (d). Wings. (e) Central part of forewing. (f) Base of hind wing. (g) Metasomal tergites 2 and 3.