Parastephanellus reductus Binoy, Girish Kumar & Santhosh, 2020

Binoy, C., Achterberg, C. Van, Kumar, P. Girish, Santhosh, S. & Sheela, S., 2020, A review of Stephanidae (Hymenoptera: Stephanoidea) from India, with the description of five new species, Zootaxa 4838 (1), pp. 1-51 : 40-43

Parastephanellus reductus Binoy, Girish Kumar & Santhosh sp. nov.

( Figs 84–94 )

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:1EBB1316-6C62-499F-96E0-B9CCC2A19C5D

Type material. India: Tamil Nadu, Kanyakumari district, Kanyakumari Wildlife Sanctuary, Alagiapandiapuram (8°18’27.7”N & 77°26’19.1”E, 30m), 16.ii.2020, Coll. Souvik Sen & party, ( ZSIK). Reg. No. ZSI/ WGRC /IR/ INV.14261 .

Diagnosis. The new species possesses an important and unique character in having the fore wing with vein 2- SR+M absent. Head in dorsal view rounded behind eyes; neck moderately emarginated; pronotum posteriorly well emarginate, forming a gap between a lower mesoscutum; hind coxa with strong transverse rugae and without a dorsal tooth; first metasomal tergite almost equal to rest of metasoma (excluding ovipositor), 6.7× as long as its maximum width with strong irregular coarsely transverse rugae anteriorly, proceeding as annulate sculpturing beyond.

Description. Holotype, ♀. Body length 6.01 mm, ovipositor sheath length 3.82 mm, fore wing length 3.26 mm.

Colour. Black; tegula and palpi dark brown; scape brown with apical tip honey brown, pedicel, F1–F4, F5 and F6 basally honey brown, rest of flagellomeres deep brown; frons brown with yellowish patches near inner orbits and on lower face along the toruli; malar space with a pale yellow patch below eyes ( Fig. 86 ) extending to the occiput posteriorly; mandibles yellowish brown with apices black ( Fig. 88 ); all tibia liver brown, paler apically; all tarsi yellowish brown to testaceous, hind basitarsus pale yellowish; wings hyaline, pterostigma translucent, margins brown, veins mostly translucent brown; first metasomal tergite apically and second metasomal tergite basally brownish; second tergite onwards pale orange brown apical margins; apical tip of hypopygium orange brown; ovipositor sheath brownish black with a small pale spot on expanded ventral and apical area.

Head. Antenna with 29 antennomeres; F2 onwards surface distinctly pitted; frons with subparallel uniform rugae, medially coarse, few scattered setae; coronal area smooth with few strong rugae; clypeus projecting, rugose, with apical brush of setae; five anterior coronal teeth, antero-medial one largest, reddish brown, followed by a pair of arcuate ones and blunt ones posteriorly; behind the posterior teeth a couple of straight carinae present; vertex faintly rugose beyond the lateral ocellus along the eye margin, medially bare, almost smooth ( Fig. 87 ); temples non-angulate, largely smooth and shiny ( Fig. 86 ); occipital carina strong, complete, almost straight, reaching the mandibles anteriorly.

Mesosoma . Neck short, emarginate anteriorly, in level with pronotum without forming a cavity medially; pronotum medially moderately rugose without any distinct carinae, sparsely setose, posteriorly smooth, shiny with margin emarginated; pronotal margin forming a large gap at pronotal-mesoscutal margin; propleuron smooth and shiny forming buttressing ridges ventrally, sparsely setose; mesoscutum with medial foveolate furrow; anteriorly imbricate to alutaceous, medially with irregular fovea and a pair of converging accessorial carina beyond middle, 0.7× as wide as long, sparsely setose; scutellum large, as long as wide, alutaceous with scattered punctures and sparsely setose; axillae separated from each other by a deep and an indistinct fovea ( Fig. 89 ); mesopleuron alutaceous with moderately dense white setae, smooth posteriorly ( Fig. 90 ); propodeum with large irregular areola and smooth to imbricate interstices, inside of areola smooth, a transverse curving carina present sub apically ( Fig. 89 ); fore wing hyaline with scattered minute setae concentrated more on apically, 2-SR+M absent, 1-M 1.43× 1-SR, almost straight; vein r reaching before the apex of pterostigma; 3-CU 1 obsolete, 2-1A absent ( Fig. 91 ); hind coxa robust, without a dorsal teeth and with strong rugae anteriorly, turning annular posteriorly; hind femur moderately widened, smooth, alutaceous sculpturing and scattered sparse long white setae, ventrally with 2 large teeth and several denticles in between and beyond apical teeth, basal tooth wide, faintly rugose; hind tibia with uniform rugae ventrally, moderately pubescent, 1.27× as long as hind femur, apical inflated part (i.e., apical part with sculpture different from basal petiolate part) 1.06× as wide as narrow basal part, widened part with distinct oblique inverted obsolete V shaped carinae; hind tarsus with three tarsomeres, sub-parallel sided 4× as long as second tarsal segment ( Fig. 92 ).

Metasoma. First tergite 8.6× as long as its maximum width, 0.73× as long as remaining metasomal tergites, cylindrical with irregular strong rugae throughout the length, apically smooth ( Fig. 93 ); second tergite smooth and shiny medially, fine alutaceous laterally and apically; fifth to seventh tergites finely reticulate to alutaceous with scattered small white setae; eighth tergite finely reticulate, setose and furcate apically, no pygidial protuberance present apically; ovipositor sheath 0.63× length of the body and 1.17× as long as fore wing ( Fig. 94 ).

Male. Unknown.

Distribution. Oriental: India (Tamil Nadu).

Biology. Unknown.

Etymology. The species is named after the peculiar feature in having vein 2-SR+M of fore wing reduced/absent.

Figures

FIGURE 84. Habitus of holotype. ♀ Parastephanellus reductus Binoy, Girish Kumar & Santhosh sp. nov.

FIGURES 85–92. Parastephanellus reductus Binoy, Girish Kumar & Santhosh sp. nov. Holotype ♀. 85. Habitus, lateral view; 86. Head, lateral view; 87. Head, dorsal view; 88. Head, frontal view; 89. Mesosoma, dorsal view; 90. Mesosoma, lateral view; 91. Fore wing; 92. Hind leg.

FIGURES 93–94. Parastephanellus reductus Binoy, Girish Kumar & Santhosh sp. nov. Holotype ♀. 93. First metasomal tergite; 71. Metasoma (except first tergite) with ovipositor sheath and ovipositor, lateral view.