Brachygaster kawadai, Rameshkumar & Huben & Kazmi, 2021

Rameshkumar, Anandhan, Huben, Mike R. & Kazmi, Sarfrazul Islam, 2021, First report of the genus Brachygaster Leach (Hymenoptera: Evaniidae) from India with two new species, Zootaxa 5052 (1), pp. 145-150 : 147-149

Brachygaster kawadai sp.nov.

( Figs. 7–12 )

Description. Holotype female. Body length 4.9 mm (Head to tip of metasoma).

Head. Black, quadrate, deeply punctured, an arch-like pattern of sculpture around antennal sockets; ocelli, eyes brown; short silvery setae uniformly scattered; fronto-vertex half of head width; AOL equal to OOL; POL 2.5 × longer than AOL and OOL; malar space half of the eye length, equal to F1and F2 combined; genae deeply strigate, extending up to mandible with silvery hairs; post orbital carina absent; mandible 3-dentate with longitudinal sculpture; face with pair of oblique keels running from middle of inner eyes to base of clypeus; vertex with carina, circumocular sulcus absent. Antenna with 13 antennomeres (excluding radicle); scape dark brown with slight punctuate as well as longitudinal sculpture, 3.0 × longer than broad; pedicel, F1–3 brown except apex pale, rest of the flagellomeres dark brown; F1–3 slender; all funicle segments longer than broad; clava apically pointed; pedicel 0.33 × shorter than scape length; flagellum 1.6 × longer than head width. Relative measurements (in mm)—head width (height), 1.5 (1.6); fronto-vertex width, 0. 7; POL, 0.25; OAL, 0.1; OOL, 0.1; eye length (width), 0.9 (0.6); malar space length, 0.4; scape length (width), 0.45 (0.15); pedicel length (width), 0.15 (0.1); F1–3 length (width), 0.2 (0.1); F4 length (width), 0.28 (0.15); flagellum length, 2.4.

Mesosoma. Black, pronotum with long silvery setae; pronotal neck obscured; dorsal pronotal area concealed medially; dorsolateral area of pronotum expand posteriorly to form a lobe; pronotal supra humeral sulcus scrobiculate; carina present on the lateral side of pronotum, inconspicuous in the mid-dorsal area and prominent on the lateral view. Mesoscutum foveate, long setae, sparsely distributed; anterior mesoscutal sulcus continuous, not furrow; mesoscutum 0.5 × longer than broad, transverse sculpture; notaulus present with slight depression; parascutal carina, parascutal sulcus present; scutoscutellar sulcus reaching transscutal articulation; metascutellum nitid, foveate; epicemial carina with the median process; prespecular sulcus nitid, smooth; metascutellum 0.5 × longer than broad; posterodorsal mesepimeral area broad with six cells; propodeum with regular foveae; the dorsal propodeal area with long setae; adpetiolar stripe broader than long; nucha not elevated.

Legs: Fore and mid legs—coxa black; the base of the trochanter, the apex of femora, tibia and tarsi testaceous, rest black; hind coxa dark brown to black; hind legs except tarsal segments densely punctate; spines present dorsally on the hind tibia, ventrally on tarsal segments; hind legs 2.5 × of mesosoma height; external tibial spur half of basitarsal length. Relative measurements (in mm)—mesosoma height, 1.54; mesoscutum length (width), 0.60 (1.02); mesoscutellum length (width), 0.44 (0.82); hind femur length (width), 1.27 (0.33); hind tibia length (width), 1.28 (0.26); interior tibial spur length, 0.30; exterior tibial spur length, 0.43; hind leg length, 4.0; tarsal length, 1.38; basitarsal length, 0.8.

Wings. Hyaline; fore wing with three complete cells; C, Sc+R veins running parallel; fore wing 2.4 × longer than broad; costal cell 1.35 × longer than stigmal vein; hind wing with four hook-shaped hamuli; jugal lobe present, extending beyond propodeal spiracles; hind wing 3.0 × longer than broad. Relative measurements (in mm)—fore wing length (width), 2.9 (1.17); costal cell length (width), 1.27 (0.03); stigmal vein length (width), 0.94 (0.5); hind wing length (width), 1.7 (0.4).

Metasoma. Ovoid, lustrous dark brown, smooth; ovipositor exserted; petiole dark brown with long hairs, half as long as metasoma, oblique carina with foveae laterally, longitudinal carina with foveae dorsally, smooth as well as flat ventrally, longitudinal carina on the basal side. Relative measurements (in mm)—petiole length (width), 0.8 (0.2); metasoma length (width), 1.6 (0.98); exserted part of ovipositor length, 0.16.

Male. Unknown.

Hosts. Unknown.

Distribution. India: Jharkhand.

Specimen examined. Holotype, Female (on card), “ INDIA: Jharkhand, Dhanbad, Lachhudih, 29.xii.2020, Yellow pan trap, Coll. A. Rameshkumar ”.

Etymology. The species is named after Dr Ricardo Kawada, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, Programa de Pós-graduação em Biologia Animal, Av. Marechal Campos, Brazil for his enormous contribution to the taxonomy of Evaniidae .

Comments. This is a distinctive species that differs from other oriental species ( B. tschekylli Madl and B. conjugens Enderlein ). Brachygaster kawadai sp. nov. is close to B. rarum sp. nov. in having more or less similar body colour, but differs as follows: mandibles 3-dentate; AOL not equal to OOL; POL 2.5 × longer than AOL and OOL; clava apically pointed; costal cell 1.35 × longer than stigmal vein; petiole carinate, foveate.

Figures

FIGURES 7–12. Brachygaster kawadai sp.nov., Holotype ♀. 7. habitus; 8. head, frontal view; 9. antenna; 10. hind leg; 11. fore wing; 12. metasoma with petiole.