Bassus szepligetii, Papp, 2013

Papp, Jenö, 2013, A revision of five braconid species described by SZÉPLIGETI in 1913 and deposited in Senckenberg Deutsches Entomologisches Institut (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), Beiträge Zur Entomologie = Contributions to Entomology 63 (2), pp. 297-312 : 298-299

Bassus szepligetii nom. n.

( Figs 1-10 )

Epimicrodus pumilus SZÉPLIGETI, 1913: 385 , female(s), type locality: “ Pretoria ” ( Republic of South Africa), female lectotype (hereby designation, examined in 2005) in Senckenberg Deutsches Entomologisches Institut, Müncheberg.

Crassomicrodus pumilus (SZÉPLIGETI) : SHENEFELT 1970: 382 (after BRUES 1924: 144, literature up to 1926).

Taxonomic notes:

The genus Epimicrodus was described by ASHMEAD in 1900; later the genus was synonymized with Crassomicrodus ASHMEAD, 1900 by BRADLEY (1916) and MUESEBECK (1927). The Crassomicrodus species are restricted to the Nearctic / Neotropic Regions, i.e. in tropical Africa are not distributed ( SHARKEY 1997). Having examined the female lectotype of Epimicrodus pumilus it proved to represent the genus Bassus FABRICIUS, 1804 (= Microdus NEES, 1812) comb. n. The species name pumilus is preoccupied within Bassus by B. pumilus (RAT- ZEBURG, 1844) and therefore hereby replaced.

Labels of the lectotype:

(first label) “Pretoria” (printed) / “2.4.12.” (handscript) / “A.J.T. Janse” (printed); (second label, my handscript)

“ Republic of South Africa ”; third label is withSZÉPLIGETI’s original name label; fourth label is the lectotype card; fifth label is with the actual name Bassus szepligetii nom. n. present identification. (Labels 2, 4 and 5 were attached by me). – Lectotype is in fairly good condition: (1) micropinned by mesosoma (pin through prescutellar sulcus / mesosternum); (2) right flagellum missing, left flagellum missing distal of flagellomeres 5; (3) missing: right middle tarsus and left hind tarsus.

Redescription of the lectotype:

Body 4.5 mm long. Scape twice as long as apically broad and in lateral view somewhat expanded: first flagellomere 2.5 times and fifth flagellomere 2.2 times longer than broad ( Fig. 1 ). – Head in dorsal view transverse ( Fig. 2 ), 2.4 times as broad as long, eye three times longer than temple, temple strongly receded. Ocelli middle-sized, OOL somewhat longer than POL. Eye in lateral view 1.4 times as high as wide and almost four times wider than gena ( Fig. 3 ). Face somewhat wider between eyes than high between antennal socket and clypeal margin. Malar space somewhat less than 0.5 times as long as height of eye. Width of clypeus equal to malar space ( Fig. 4 ). Head polished, face and clypeus with very fine hair-punctures, shiny.

Mesosoma in lateral view 1-3 times as long as high, polished with very fine hair-punctures. Notaulix line-form, evenly deep and subcrenulated. Precoxal suture crenulated. Propodeum evenly rugulose. Hind femur 2.7 times as long as broad medially ( Fig. 5 ). Inner spur of hind tibia just shorter than half length of basitarsus ( Fig. 6 ). Claw clearly curved and with a distinct basal lobe ( Fig. 7 ).

Forewing as long as body. Peterostigma ( Fig. 8 ) 2.8 times as long as wide and issuing r from its middle. SR1 bent, second submarginal cell (or areola) petiolate, i.e. second three-sided submarginal cell joining to r by vein 2b–SR.

First tergite ( Fig. 9 ) evenly broadening posteriorly, somewhat broader behind than long, pair of spiracles before middle of tergite, finely striated. Second tergite transverse, almost 2.5 times as broad behind as long medially, together with further tergites polished. Hypopygium small and pointed ( Fig. 10 ), ovipositor sheath somewhat longer than length of hind tibia + tarsus combined.

Body ochre yellow. Scape black, pedicel and five flagellomeres blackish. Head black, clypeus and oral organs ochre yellow. Mesosoma black, mesosternum brownish black. Legs ochre yellow, hind tibia yellow apically blackish. Proximal two-thirds of basitarsus yellow, otherwise tarsomeres dark brownish. Wings faintly brownish fumous, pterostigma brown, veins proximo-distally yellowish to brownish.

Male and host unknown.

Distribution:

Republic of South Africa.

Taxonomic position:

Bassus szepligetii is near to Bassus bruesi SHENEFELT, 1970 ( Agathis bruesi SHENEFELT, 1970 = Bassus (Microdus) aciculatus BRUES, 1926 nec Bassus aciculatus (ASHMEAD, 1889)) ( Tanzania, Uganda), the latter species known to the author only from its original description ( BRUES 1926: 285) and redescription ( NIXON 1941: 117); the two species are differentiated by rather subtle and less easy recognizable features (the features of B. bruesi are cited from the original description of Bassus (Microdus) aciculatus by BRUES 1926):

1 (2)“Face...as wide between eyes as high from anten- nae to margin of clypeus. ... Notauli forming discrete crenulated lines anteriorly, broader and smooth behind where they curve inward to meet in a gentle depres- sion just behind the middle; ... Propodeum...with an elongate median area extending from base to apex. ... Hind femur fully one-third as wide as long. ... First segment [i.e. first tergite] slightly longer than broad at apex.” ♀: 5 mm. .............................................................. .................. Bassus bruesi ( SHENEFELT, 1970) comb. n. 2 (1) Face somewhat wider between eyes than high between antennal socket and margin of clypeus. Notauli forming an evenly deep, subcrenulated line not broadening posteriorly. Propodeum without elon- gate median area, i.e. evenly rugulose. Hind femur one-fourth as wide as long ( Fig. 5 ). First tergite some- what broader behind than long ( Fig. 9 ). ♀: 4.5 mm. ............................................. Bassus szepligetii nom. n.

Bassus szepligetii is also near to B. conspicuus (WESMAEL, 1837) (Palaearctic Region) because they share a distinctly transverse head in dorsal view ( Figs 2, 11 ), fine striation of first tergite ( Figs 9, 12 ) and yellow ground colour of the body. However, they differ from each other by the features keyed:

Figures

Figs 1-13: Figs 1-10: Bassus szepligetii nom. n. et comb. n. (female lectotype) – 1 scape, pedicel and first flagellomere in outer lateral view.– 2 head in dorsal view. –3 head in lateral view.– 4 head in frontal view.– 5 hind femur.– 6 pair of spurs and basitarsus of hind leg. – 7 claw. – 8 distal part of right forewing. – 9 tergites 1-2. – 10 hind end of female metasoma. – Figs 11-13: Bassus conspicuus (WESMAEL). – 11 head in dorsal view. – 12 tergites 1-2. – 13 distal part of right forewing.