Parasaphodes afer, Mitroiu, 2017

Mitroiu, Mircea-Dan, 2017, Revision of world Austroterobiinae and Parasaphodinae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea: Pteromalidae), parasitoids of giant scales (Hemiptera: Coccoidea: Monophlebidae), Zootaxa 4301 (1), pp. 1-63 : 49-52

publication ID	https://doi.org/ 10.11646/zootaxa.4301.1.1
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:67A78566-A4FD-4E37-96E9-DCC4CCF321E5
DOI	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6038628
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/4D3D879A-FF96-FF9C-FF16-C14EFD6EFB6B
treatment provided by	Plazi
scientific name	Parasaphodes afer
status	sp. nov.

Treatment

Parasaphodes afer sp. nov.

( Figs 121–131 View FIGURES 121 – 123 View FIGURES 124 – 131 )

Diagnosis. Both sexes: clypeal margin bilobed; genae short and strongly converging towards mouth ( Fig. 124 View FIGURES 124 – 131 ); scape short, not nearly reaching lower margin of median ocellus ( Fig. 124 View FIGURES 124 – 131 ); anterior corners of pronotal collar not carinate ( Fig. 128 View FIGURES 124 – 131 ); axillae strongly advanced ( Fig. 128 View FIGURES 124 – 131 ); propodeum with double median carina, otherwise with median area mostly smooth ( Fig. 130 View FIGURES 124 – 131 ); gaster virtually sessile ( Figs 122, 123 View FIGURES 121 – 123 ), petiole small, strongly transverse, with two lateral flanges and some longitudinal rugae on dorsal side.

Parasaphodes afer can be separated from all other species of Parasaphodes mainly by its bilobed clypeal margin, its head shape in frontal view (with genae short and strongly converging towards the mouth, Fig. 124 View FIGURES 124 – 131 ), and mostly smooth median area of the propodeum. It shares with P. flavipes the anterior corners of pronotal collar not being carinate, but can be easily separated from that species by the sessile gaster ( Figs 122, 123 View FIGURES 121 – 123 ).

Material examined. Type material. Holotype ♀ (deposited in BMNH) [on triangular card; entire]. GHANA: ‘Gold Coast, Tafo, 3 March 1950 ’, ‘ Ectoparasite on nymphs of Steatococcus sp.’, ‘Com. Inst. Ent., Coll. No. 12307’, ‘ Parasaphodes’ .

Allotype ♂. GHANA: same information as holotype, ‘ ♂ Parasaphodes afer sp. n. det. Z. Bouček, 1984’ ( BMNH).

Additional paratypes. GHANA: 2♀, same information as holotype . NIGERIA: 7♀ and 1♂ ‘ Nigeria , Ibadan Prov., Idiayunre [sic], 26.7.56 ’, ‘ectoparasitic on Steatococcus sp. on cocoa’, ‘ R. G. Donald, c1521’ ( BMNH) . MADAGASCAR: 1♀ ‘ Madagascar , Tuléar , Berenty 12 km N.W. Amboasary , 5-15.V.1983, J. S,. Noyes & M. C. Day, B.M. 1983-201’, ‘ NHMUK 010371230 About NHMUK ’, ‘ DNA Voucher [failed] D# 4947 UCR, J. M. Heraty’ ( BMNH).

Description. Female. Body length: 1.1–1.5 mm.

Colour. Body dark brown to black, without metallic reflections ( Figs 121, 123 View FIGURES 121 – 123 ). Eyes reddish; ocelli pale orange ( Figs 124, 125 View FIGURES 124 – 131 ). Antenna brown, with pedicel and flagellum ventrally paler ( Fig. 127 View FIGURES 124 – 131 ). Legs ( Fig. 121 View FIGURES 121 – 123 ) with coxae dark brown; trochanters brown; femora and tibiae brown, apices slightly lighter; tarsi brown, pretarsi darker. Wings hyaline, tegula and venation brown ( Fig. 131 View FIGURES 124 – 131 ). Body and wing pilosity brownish ( Figs 124, 128, 131 View FIGURES 124 – 131 ).

Sculpture. Head smooth ( Figs 124–126 View FIGURES 124 – 131 ). Mesosoma with pronotum and mesoscutum mostly shallowly rugulose-reticulate ( Fig. 128 View FIGURES 124 – 131 ); axillae and mesoscutellum smooth ( Fig. 128 View FIGURES 124 – 131 ); propodeum with median area mostly smooth except for double median carina and plicae ( Fig. 130 View FIGURES 124 – 131 ); prepectus and metapleuron smooth ( Fig. 129 View FIGURES 124 – 131 ); mesepimeron mostly alutaceous, mesepisternum smooth ( Fig. 129 View FIGURES 124 – 131 ). Gaster smooth.

Structure. Head. Clypeal margin bilobed. Genae short and strongly converging towards mouth ( Fig. 124 View FIGURES 124 – 131 ). Scape short, not nearly reaching lower margin of median ocellus ( Fig. 124 View FIGURES 124 – 131 ). Head width 2.1–2.3× length in dorsal view (36:17) and 1.2× height in frontal view (36:30). POL 1.4–2.0× OOL (9.5:6.5). Eye height about 1.3× length (17:13) and 2.1–2.4× malar space (17:8). Scape length 0.4–0.5× eye height (7:17) and 1.4× length of pedicel (7:5). Head width about 0.7× length of pedicel plus flagellum (36:51). F1 width 1.0–1.2× length (6:5); F7 width 1.1–1.4× length (5.0:4.5); clava length 2.0–2.3× width (11.5:5.0).

Mesosoma. Anterior corners of pronotal collar not carinate ( Fig. 128 View FIGURES 124 – 131 ). Axillae strongly advanced ( Fig. 128 View FIGURES 124 – 131 ). Mesosoma length 1.35× width (50:37), width subequal to height (37:36). Mesoscutum width about twice length (37:18). Mesoscutellum length equal to width (21:21). Propodeum length about half mesoscutellum length (10:21). Dorsellum length 0.4× propodeum length (4:10). Fore wing length about 2.4× width (95:40). MV length 7.1–8.3× SV (25:3); MV about 4.5× PV (25.0:5.5).

Metasoma. Petiole small, strongly transverse, with two lateral flanges and some longitudinal rugae on dorsal side (cf. Figs 153 View FIGURES 147 – 154 , 165 View FIGURES 159 – 166 ). Gaster ( Figs 121, 123 View FIGURES 121 – 123 ) rhomboidal in dorsal view, length 1.5–1.8× width (50:33) and equal to length of mesosoma; hypopygium exserted or not.

Male. Differs from the female mainly as follows. Body length: 1 mm. Antennae light brown ( Fig. 122 View FIGURES 121 – 123 ). First gastral tergite dark brown. Flagellar segments slightly longer ( Fig. 122 View FIGURES 121 – 123 ). POL 1.4–1.6× OOL. Scape length 1.6× pedicel length. F1 and F7 quadrate; clava length about 2.9× width. Mesoscutum width about 2.2× length. Fore wing length about 2.2× width. MV length 8.3–8.6× SV; MV 4.1–4.3× PV. Gaster shorter than mesosoma, length 1.2–1.7× width ( Fig. 122 View FIGURES 121 – 123 ).

Distribution. Ghana, Madagascar, Nigeria.

Biology. Ectoparasitoid of Icerya (= Steatococcus ) sp. nymphs ( Hemiptera : Monophlebidae ) on cocoa.

Remarks. Bouček (1988) referred to an undescribed species from West Africa and labeled several specimens from BMNH as such (see above); this new species is described above. A female collected from the same locality as the other Nigerian specimens (CNC) has longer funicle segments (similar to the male), but otherwise it is very similar to P. afer and wasn’t included in the species description.

Etymology. The species epithet refers to the African distribution of the species.