Ateleute zixiensis Sheng, Broad & Sun

Sheng, Mao-Ling, Broad, Gavin R. & Sun, Shu-Ping, 2011, Two new species of genus Ateleute Foerster (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae, Cryptinae) with a key to the Oriental species, ZooKeys 141, pp. 53-64 : 56-58

Ateleute zixiensis Sheng, Broad & Sun sp. n. Figures 6-10

Etymology.

The specific name is derived from the locality of type.

Types.

Holotype, Female, CHINA: Zixi County, 174 m, Jiangxi Province, 24 July 2009, leg. Mei-Juan Lou.

Diagnosis.

Ateleute zixiensis can be distinguished from all other species of Ateleute by combination of: malar space approximately 0.9 times as long as basal width of mandible; first tergum 2.6 times as long as apical width; gena, vertex and frons almost smooth and shining; basal-median portion of second tergum (Figure 10) with fine and almost transverse lines, lateral portion with fine oblique longitudinal lines and the pronotum and main portion of terga black.

Description.

Female. Body length about 7.5 mm. Fore wing length about 4.7 mm. Antenna length about 7.8 mm. Ovipositor sheath length about 2.0 mm.

Head.

With fine granulose texture. Face (Figure 7) 1.6 times as wide as long, almost flat, with irregular indistinct transverse wrinkles; median portion convex. Clypeal suture weak. Clypeus approximately 1.5 times as wide as long, strongly convex, with sparse and fine punctures; median section of apical margin almost truncate, slightly concave centrally. Mandible short, with fine leathery texture; upper tooth slightly shorter than lower tooth. Malar space approximately 0.9 times as long as basal width of mandible. Gena, vertex and frons almost smooth and shining. Gena very short, strongly convergent backwardly. Posterior portion of vertex, from posterior ocelli to occipital carina, slanted almost vertically. Postocellar line approximately as long as ocular-ocellar line. Upper half of frons almost flat; lower half concave, with fine longitudinal wrinkles. Antenna filiform, with 32 flagellomeres, slightly thickened beyond middle; from middle to subapex with ventral profile slightly flat; suddenly shortened from fifth flagellomere (Figure 8). Ratio of length from first to seventh flagellomeres: 10.0:9.3:9.2:8.0:5.9:4.5:4.2. Occipital carina dorso-medially interrupted widely.

Mesosoma.

Pronotum with irregular fine granulose texture; anterior and upper-median portions with longitudinal wrinkles, lower-posterior portion with oblique longitudinal wrinkles. Mesoscutum smooth, with distinct fine leathery texture; median portion rough, with oblique transverse wrinkles. Notaulus evident, reaching about 0.7 the distance to posterior margin of mesoscutum. Scutellum evenly convex, with texture as that of mesoscutum; lateral carina reaching to middle. Postscutellum small, rough, posterior portion with fine and weak transverse edge. Upper portion of mesopleuron (Figure 9) with fine granulose texture; upper anterior portion, under subalar prominence, with oblique transverse wrinkles; Remaining portion rough. Epicnemial carina laterally present on lower half of mesopleuron. Mesopleural fovea vestigial. Median portion of sternaulus present vestigially. Posterior transverse carina of mesosternum complete. Metapleuron rough. Submetapleural carina complete. Wings grayish hyaline. Fore wing vein 1cu-a opposite 1/M. Areolet pentagonal, vein 3rs-m disappearing, receiving 2m-cu at its basal 0.4. 2m-cu straight, inclivous, with one bulla. Hind wing vein 1-cu longer than cu-a, cu-a strongly reclivous. Legs slender. Dorsal apex of hind first trochanter distinctly projecting. Hind tibia except inner side and tarsomeres with short spines, spines on tibia separated by more than a spine length, distance between spines on tarsomeres as long as or shorter than a spine length. Hind fifth tarsomere more or less depressed. Ratio of length of hind first to fifth tarsomeres 10.0:5.0:2.7:1.2:2.0. Claws very small. Propodeum rough, dorsal profile with weak, fine and indistinct transverse wrinkles. Posterior transverse carina and pleural carinae present and strong. Propodeal spiracle small, circular, approximately located at basal 0.3.

Metasoma.

First tergum 2.6 times as long as apical width, strongly narrowed toward base, smooth, with dense and fine longitudinal wrinkles. Basal and apical end of dorsolateral carina vestigially present. Ventrolateral carinae complete. Spiracle located slightly before middle of first tergum. Second tergum (Figure 10) rough, basal-median portion with fine and almost transverse lines, lateral portion with fine oblique longitudinal lines. Third tergum with fine granulose texture. Remaining terga almost shining. Fourth and fifth terga with indistinct transverse lines. Ovipositor sheath approximately 0.65 times as long as hind tibia, apex truncate. Apical portion of ovipositor gradually pointed.

Color.

(Figure 6) Black, except the following. Scape, pedicel and flagellomeres 1 to 3 brownish black. Flagellomeres 8 to 12 white. Lateral spots of vertex and median portions of mandibles yellowish white. Labial palpus, basal portion and ventral profiles of hind tibia buff. Maxillary palpus, tegula, front and middle legs and hind tarsomeres dark brown. Ventral and dorsal profiles of hind coxa, hind trochanter and femur blackish brown. Mesopleuron except black upper-anterior portion, mesosternum, metanotum, metapleuron, postscutellum and propodeum reddish brown. First tergum except subbasal portion more or less blackish brown, second tergum except large brownish black spot, hind narrow margin of third tergum yellowish brown. Third and the following terga brownish black. Stigma and veins brownish black.

Remarks.

This new species is similar in colour to Ateleute ferruginea Sheng, Broad & Sun, but can be distinguished from the latter by the following combination of characters: malar space approximately 0.9 times as long as basal width of mandible; first tergum 2.6 times as long as apical width; third and the following terga brownish black (Figure 6). Ateleute ferruginea : malar space approximately 0.6 times as long as basal width of mandible; first tergum 2.1 to 2.2 times as long as apical width; terga entirely brown to reddish brown (Figure 1).