Belesica pictipennis ( Tosquinet, 1896 )

Rousse, P. & Noort, S. Van, 2014, Belesica madiba and Cremastus tutui (Ichneumonidae: Cremastinae), two entomological gems from South Africa, Zootaxa 3795 (2), pp. 161-173 : 165-168

Belesica pictipennis ( Tosquinet, 1896)

( Figs 3–4 )

Belesica braconides Waterston, 1929: 75

Polyblastus pictipennis Tosquinet, 1896: 354

Material examined. HOLOTYPE ♂: afrique orientale Delagoa Bai Monteiro 1886 ( IRSNB).

Diagnosis. Yellowish orange overall, wings infuscate with various lighter yellowish patches; head coriaceous, face and clypeus sparsely to moderately densely punctate; clypeus with a submedian pair of teeth on ventral margin; face somewhat swollen laterally, medially concave; frons with a strong mid-longitudinal triangular, compressed and blunt expansion; ocellar triangle reduced; antenna with 31 flagellomeres; mesosoma finely and sparsely to moderately punctate; antero-ventral margin of pronotum strongly pointed forwards; subtegular ridge expanded laterally into a moderate platform; submetapleural carina strongly raised, lamellar; mesoscutum with median lobe distinctly produced; propodeal carination strong, delimiting median, apical and lateral areas; fore wing with areolet closed, cu-a strongly distal to Rs & M; hind wing with Cu & cu-a intercepted near its middle, distal abscissa of Cu distinct to apical wing margin; tarsal claws strongly pectinate; tergite 1 characteristic of the genus, bottle-shaped in dorsal view with very deep glymmae; metasoma depressed; male subgenital plate with finger-like median expansion. C 2.6; ML 0.8; IO 0.8; OO 3.8; Fl1 2.1; Fl15 1.4; Fl30 1.2; OT 0.2.

Differential diagnosis. cf. B. madiba .

Description. MALE (Holotype). B 10.8; A 8.1; F 9.1.

Color. Yellowish orange overall with mandibular teeth black; antenna dark brown; wings infuscate interspersed with lighter yellowish patches.

Head. Transverse in frontal view, moderately hairy with hairs longer on lower head; mandible long and stout with lower tooth 2.5x longer than upper tooth; clypeus transverse, sparsely punctate, its ventral margin moderately rounded with two strong and blunt submedian teeth; face medially somewhat longitudinally concave and densely punctate-coriaceous, laterally slightly swollen and coriaceous with isolated punctures; upper head coriaceous; frons with a strong mid-longitudinal triangular, compressed and blunt expansion; ocellar triangle small, equilateral; temple long and rounded, head moderately swollen behind eyes; antenna with 31 flagellomeres.

Mesosoma. Moderately and finely punctate with hairs if not indicated otherwise; antero-ventral margin of pronotum strongly pointed forwards; speculum weak and mostly smooth; subtegular ridge expanded laterally into flattened protuberance; epicnemial carina reaching slightly above lower corner of pronotum; submetapleural carina strongly raised into lamellar flange; mesonotum finely and sparsely punctate; notaulus moderate; median lobe of mesoscutum strongly protruding; scuto-scutellar groove smooth; propodeum rugulose punctate, mid-longitudinally transversely rugulose, basal groove deep; carination strong, delimiting median, apical, lateral and apico-lateral areas, median and apical areas concave. Wings. Fore wing with areolet closed, anteriorly pointed, receiving 2m-cy in its apical third, Rs & M strongly basal to cu-a; hind wing with 1/Cu & cu-a intercepted near its middle, distal abscissa of Cu distinct to apical wing margin. Legs. Tarsal claws strongly and fully pectinate.

Metasoma. Metasoma short and stout, depressed; tergite 1 bottle-shaped in dorsal view, abruptly enlarged from basal third; glymma short and very deep, both glymmae nearly joining medially; all tergites about smooth; subgenital plate with a long median finger-like expansion.

Host records. Diamphidia nigroornata (Stål) ( Coleoptera : Chrysomelidae ).

Distribution. Botswana, Mozambique, South Africa.

Figures

FIGURE 3. Belesica pictipennis Tosquinet, 1896. Holotype female. A, habitus, lateral view; B, head, mesosoma, metasoma, dorsal view; C, head, anterior view.

FIGURE 4. Belesica pictipennis Tosquinet, 1896. Holotype female. A, mesopleuron, lateral view; B, propodeum, dorsal view; C, terminal metasomal segments, latero-posterior view; D, wings; E, head, dorsal view; F, data labels.