Homalotylus montanus Krishnachaitanya and Manickavasagam, 2016

Tirunagaru, Krishnachaitanya, Sagadai, Manickavasagam & Kumar, Abhinav, 2016, Five new species of Homalotylus Mayr (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) - from India with a key to Indian species, Journal of Natural History 50, pp. 2369-2387 : 2378-2380

Homalotylus montanus Krishnachaitanya and Manickavasagam , sp. nov.

( Figure 3 )

Female

Holotype. Length, 2.1 mm. Body dark brown with metallic violet reflections (Figure (3a)). Head dark with metallic greenish blue reflections, ocelli transparent; eyes with silvery white setae. Antenna with radicle, scape, pedicel and F1 – F3 dark black; F4 ventrally light brown, dorsally white; F5 – F6 and clava white. Mesosoma dark with greenish-blue reflections on mesoscutum; pronotum, axillae and scutellum with dark setae, mesoscutum with dark setae and also setae with dark base and silvery white apices; tegula in basal half white, apical half dark brown to black. Fore wing with infuscate band below venation, sub-basally and apically hyaline; hind wing hyaline; legs dark brown, except mid tarsi 1 – 4 segments and mid tibial spur white. Metasoma dark brown, ovipositor brownish yellow.

Head in frontal view slightly longer than wide (55:51); in frontal view, eye 1.85× as high as wide; head with imbricate sculpture; mandible with 3 acute teeth. Antenna (Figure (3b)) with scape slender, 6.5× as long as wide; pedicel 2.4× as long as wide; funicle width gradually increasing, F1 1.5× as long as wide, longer than F2 – F6 individually, F6 quadrate; clava obliquely truncate, 2.25× as long as wide. Measurements: head height:width, 55:51; eye height:width, 39:21; frontovertex width 9; POL 3.5; OOL 0.5; OCL 4; AOL 7; scape length:width, 39:6; pedicel length:width, 12:5; funicle length:width, F1, 7.5:5; F2, 6:5; F3, 6:5.2; F4, 6:5.5; F5, 6:5.8; F6, 6:6; clava length:width, 18:8.

Mesosoma 1.3× as long as wide; mesoscutum 1.2× as wide as long; scutellum 1.1× as wide as long. Pronotum and mesoscutum with imbricate, axillae and scutellum with punctate-reticulate sculpture. Fore wing (Figure (3c)) 2.8× as long as wide; costal cell 14× as long as wide; marginal vein as long as wide; stigmal vein 1.2× as long as postmarginal vein. Mid tibia 1.6× as long as mid tibial spur; mid tibial spur 1× as long as mid basitarsus; mid tibial spur serrate; mid basitarsus with 23 pegs. Measurements: mesosoma length:width, 60:45; mesoscutum length:width, 27:45; scutellum length:width, 30:33; forewing length:width, 164:58; costal cell length:width, 70:5; marginal vein length: width, 3:3; postmarginal vein length 11; stigmal vein length 13; mid tibia length 45; mid basitarsus length 26; mid tibial spur length 28.

Metasoma with posterior margin of T 1 more or less straight; posterior margin of T 2 – T 5 convex; T 6 with posterior margin concave; syntergum medially, broadly V-shaped. T 2 – T 4 each with an anterior, median incision. Hypopygium extending to apex of gaster; ovipositor (Figure (3d)) exserted, 2× as long as mid tibia. Measurements: metasoma length 80; exserted ovipositor length 28; ovipositor length 90.

Material examined

Holotype, f# (on slide under 4 cover slips) labelled ‘ INDIA: Tamil Nadu, Salem, Yercaud , (N11 48.84, E078 12), 08.iii.2014, YPT, Krishnachaitanya, T. and S. Palanivel ’ ( EDAU, Registration No. Enc /008/2015).

Host

Unknown.

Male

Unknown.

Comments

This species is similar to H. agarwali in having the ovipositor exserted, antennal scape less than 8× as long as wide, not constricted at middle, and hind tarsus dark brown, but differs from it in having ovipositor 2× as long as mid tibia; pedicel 2.4× as long as wide; F1 – F3 dark black; F4 dorsally white, ventrally light brown; F5 – F6 and clava white; (ovipositor 1.03× as long as mid tibia; pedicel 2.16× as long as wide; F1 dark brown, F2 dark brown but paler than F1; F3 – F6 and clava white in H. agarwali ).

Etymology

The species name is a Latin adjective in reference to the hilly terrain of the type locality.

Figures

Figure 3. H. montanus F#: (a) Habitus image, (b) antenna, (c) fore wing, (d) ovipositor.