Pediobius rohombaya Gumovsky, 2018

Gumovsky, Alex, 2018, New enigmatic species of the genus Pediobius (Hymenoptera, Eulophidae) from Afrotropics, with notes on related genera, Zootaxa 4438 (2), pp. 201-236 : 209-213

Pediobius rohombaya Gumovsky , sp. n.

( Figs 6 , 17D, 17H , 18D )

Diagnosis. Head in dorsal view about 3.0× as broad as long ( Fig. 17H ), face mostly smooth ( Fig. 17D ), at most with light reticulation under frontal sulcus, medially convex, with distinct frontal and scrobal sutures, lower face merely narrowed, malar space about 0.5× as long as eye height, mouth opening about 0.7× as long as malar space; antennal toruli situated at about level of lower eye margins; mandible with two teeth; occipital margin sharp and sharply curved; antennal scape mostly pale brown but with metallic luster; mesoscutum and mesoscutellum mostly with light sculpture, notauli marked anteriorly by fine sutures and posteriorly as wide subtriangular foveae ( Fig. 6A ); entire dorsum with very short setae; mesoscutellum with one pair of setae; propodeum with distinct robust nucha bearing two shallow foveae ( Fig. 18D ), its submedian areas 1.2× as broad as long, submedian carinae subparallel anteriorly and diverging posteriorly, without median carina between them; propodeal callus with 2 setae; metatibial spur nearly 2.0× as long as breadth of metatibia, about 0.8× as long as metabasitarsus; subcosta of submarginal vein with two short setae; forewing speculum open ( Fig. 6F ); fore wing transparent, with short darker fold near submarginal break; WIP with narrow blue field along apical margin and with wide violet field behind it ( Fig. 6G ); metasomal petiole very slightly shorter than propodeum; gaster elongate ovate, about 2.2–2.8× as long as broad, Gt1 occupying about 1/2 of length of gaster ( Fig. 6A ).

Type material. Holotype ♀, CAR, Prefecture Sangha-Mbaéré, Réserve Spéciale de Forêt Dense de Dzanga- Sangha , 12.7 km 326° NW Bayanga, 3°00.27'N 16°11.55'E, 420 m, 12.v.2001, S. van Noort, Sweep, CAR01 -S111, Lowland Rainforest, SAM-HYM-P06 7744 (deposited in: SAMC).

Paratypes. ♂, same as holotype, CAR01-S120, SAM-HYM-P067444; ♂, CAR01-S112, SAM-HYM-P066943; ♀, ibid., Parc National de Dzanga-Ndoki, 38.6 km 173° S Lidjombo , 2°21.60'N 16°03.20'E, 350 m, 22.v.2001, S. van Noort, Sweep, Lowland rainforest CAR 01 -S246, SAM-HYM-P065926 (metasoma missing) ; ♀, CAR01-S247, SAM-HYM-P068603; ♂, CAR01-S218, SAM-HYM-P065302; 2 ♂, CAR01-S209, SAM-HYM-P068730, SAM- HYM-P068731; ♀, ibid., 23.v.2001, CAR 01 -S254, SAM-HYM-P065141 ; ♂, CAR01-S254, SAM-HYM- P065197; ♀, CAR01-S256, SAM-HYM-P065176; ♀, Gabon, Prov. Ogooué-Maritime, Réserve des Monts Doudou , 24.3 km 307° NW Doussala, 2°13.35'S 10°24.35'E, 370 m, 7.iii.2000, S. van Noort, Sweep, Lowland Rainforest, undergrowth, low canopy in forest, GA00-S46, SAM-HYM-P065298 ; ♀, ibid., 8.iii.2000, GA00-S63, SAM-HYM-P0023620 ; ♀, ibid., SAM-HYM-P0023622 ; ♀, ibid., 9.iii.2000, GA00-S82, SAM-HYM-P0023509 ; ♀, ibid., 11.iii.2000, GA00-S91, SAM-HYM-P0023595 ; ♀, ibid., 19.iii.2000, GA00-S139, SAM-HYM- P0023514 ; ♀, Uganda, Kibale National Park, Kanyawara, Makerere University Biological Field Station , 1523 m, 0°33.836'N 30°21.700'E, 11.viii.2008, S.van Noort, UG08-KF8-S04, sweep, primary mid-altitude Rainforest, SAM-HYM-P06 9241 ( SAMC) ; ♀, DRC, Orientale Province, Yangambi , “COBIMFO tree” ( Fig. 1D, E ), 0°47'19.7'' N 24°31'9.7'' E, 21.I.2013 (A. Gumovsky) ; ♀, Ituri Province, Djugu Territory, upstream of Ituri river from Galaya village, confluence of Ituri and Kelebo rivers, near “ Camp Kelebo ”, dense secondary forest, 75 Moerike traps, 29.III-05.IV.2015 (A. Gumovsky) ( SIZK) .

Other (non-type) material. ♀ (smaller sized, coarser sculpture), DRC, North Kivu Province , “ Congo belge : Kivu, Rutshuru. 1285 m, 11-vii-1935, G.F. de Witte: 1637”; ♀ (smaller sized, coarser sculpture), ibid . , “ Musée du Congo: Haut-Uelé: Moto, fin-1922, L.Burgeon ”; ♀ (dark variety, Fig. 6E ), ibid . , “ Congo belge: P.N.A., Nyarusambo , 2000 m. 2-vii-1934, G.F. de Witte: 465” ( RMCA) .

Description. Female. Body length about 2.3–2.6 mm. Body ( Fig. 6A ) dark with blue tint on smooth areas of gastral tergites and bright green metallic luster on face and mesosterna; antennal scape mostly pale yellow, occasionally darkened, pedicel also mostly pale ventrally, darker dorsally, rest of antenna dark brown, legs pale to dark, tibiae mostly pale; wings transparent, with somewhat darker fold near submarginal break, first three tarsomeres paler, terminal tarsomere dark in most specimens.

Head smooth dorsally, with light or distinct reticulation below frontal sulcus. Head about 1.4× as broad as mesosoma, nearly 3.0× as broad as long in dorsal view, with very short sparse bristles on vertex. Occipital margin with sharp carina. POL about 2.0× OOL ( Fig. 17H ).

Head in frontal view ( Fig. 17D ) about 1.3–1.4× as broad as high. Eye almost bare; its height about 2.0× longer than malar space. Mouth opening about 0.7× as long as malar space; mandible with two teeth. Upper margins of antennal toruli situated slightly above level of lower eye margins. Combined length of pedicel and flagellum 0.8– 0.9× maximum head breadth ( Fig. 6A ). Scape about 4.0–5.0× as long as broad, and about 0.4–0.5× as long as head height; pedicel about 2.4× as long as broad. Funicle with F1 2.5–2.7× as long as broad, slightly longer than F2 and F3, which 1.5–1.8× as long as broad; clava about 2.3–2.7× as long as broad.

Mesosoma about 1.7× as long as broad, with short setae. Pronotum narrow, its collar situated somewhat lower than level of convex mesoscutum, visible as a narrow strip in dorsal view, bearing sharp transverse carina. Mesoscutum weakly convex in lateral view, mostly smooth or lightly sculptured (more coarsely sculptured in nontype specimens), notaular depressions marked anteriorly as fine sutures continued to narrow channels posteriorly ( Fig. 6A ). Anterior margin of mesoscutellum weakly advanced medially. Mesoscutellum nearly flat, mostly smooth. Axilla smooth, with one short seta. Dorsellum triangular, with lateral plicae. Propodeum smooth and shiny, with anterior groove, its submedian areas 1.2× as broad as long; submedian carinae subparallel anteriorly, diverging posteriorly and ended by wide foveae at somewhat elongate, but not margined nucha ( Fig. 18D ).

Propodeal callus with two setae. Fore wing about 2.3× as long as broad, with speculum open below and with short cubital setal line of about 6 short setae at underside of wing; subcosta of submarginal vein with two short setae; marginal vein nearly 1.5× longer than narrow costal cell, stigmal vein short, slightly shorter than postmarginal vein, about 1.8× longer than marginal vein in its broadest part, with short stigma and uncus ( Fig. 6F ). WIP with narrow blue field along apical margin and wide violet field behind it ( Fig. 6G ).

Metatibial spur nearly 2.0× as long as breadth of metatibia, about 0.8× as long as metabasitarsus. Metatibia about 0.8× as long as metatarsus, metabasitarsus slightly less than 2.0× as long as breadth of metatibia.

Metasoma about 1.3–1.7× longer than mesosoma ( Fig. 6A ), slightly longer than head plus mesosoma. Metasomal petiole short, robust and coriaceous, slightly shorter than propodeum. Gaster long ovate, about 2.2– 2.8× as long as broad; Gt1 smooth, polished, occupying approximately 1/2 of length of gaster, often with a discernible narrow patch of reticulation covered with short hairs laterally, Gt 7 in shape of a short triangle in dorsal view, about as long as broad basally.

Male. Very similar to female ( Fig. 6C ), except for: antennal scape about 3.6× as long as broad; pedicel about 2.0× as long as broad, F1 slightly more than 3.0×, F2 1.7×, F3 about 1.5× as long as broad; clava nearly 3.0× as long as broad (not including terminal spine). Metasoma (including long petiole) about 0.6× as long as head plus mesosoma. Metasomal petiole as long as or just slightly longer than propodeum. Gaster subpentagonal, about 1.8× as long as broad, Gt1 occupying approximately 4/5 of length of gaster.

Comparative notes. The species resembles P. marjoriae and P. orungu sp. n. It is distinguishable from P. marjoriae by the convex head, open forewing speculum and poorly visible notauli. From P. orungu it differs in having the propodeum with two weakly diverging submedian carinae and without median carina ( Fig. 18D ) (in P. orungu the submedian carinae are notably diverging and have a median carina between them, Fig. 7D ), the short setae on dorsum, which are about as long as the setae on flagellar segments (these setae are longer in P. orungu ), the short Gt7 ( Fig. 6A ) (Gt7 distinctly elongate in P. orungu , Fig. 7C ) and forewing WIP with apical narrow blue field followed by a wide violet field ( Fig. 6G ) (the fore wing with the wide violet field apically in P. orungu , Fig. 7E ).

There is some color variation among the specimens referred to this species. The coxae and femora are dark with weak metallic luster in most specimens from CAR and in one female from Gabon ( Fig. 6A–C ). The other five females from Gabon, the female from Uganda (Kibale), and the female from DRC (Yangambi) have entirely pale coxae and femora ( Fig. 6D ). These differences are considered intraspecific color variations. This assumption is supported by the fact that the dorsal part of the metafemur is bearing a thin dark metallic band dorsally even in the specimens with pale legs. The RMCA female from DRC (Nyarusambo) has the entirely dark legs and antennal scape ( Fig. 6E ). This color form is also considered an intraspecific variation here, but since this is such a unique dark-colored specimen, it is not included in the type series. The two other RMCA specimens from DRC are regarded non-types due to their somewhat coarser dorsal sculpture, smaller body size (about 1.9 mm), longer dorsal setae (similar to P. orungu ) and indistinct WIP. Also, the longer dorsal setae in the smaller-sized specimens may suggest a correlation of this character with smaller body size and decrease the diagnostic value of the length of dorsal setae in P. orungu . This surmise will be clarified when larger series of both species are available.

Etymology. The specific epithet originates from words “roho mbaya” meaning “bad spirit” in Swahili. The name reflects initial problems with distinguishing it from similar species and presence of confusing specimens with aberrant characters (listed above as non-types).

Distribution. CAR, Gabon, DRC, Uganda.

Host. Unknown.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Some localities Where collections Were made: A, B, semi-deciduous rainforest betWeen Yedi and Uesa villages (Ituri Province, DRC): A, habitat, B, collecting; C, disturbed area at MongbWalu mining camP (“behind the Titanic block”) (Ituri Province, DRC); D, E, Yangambi, research Plot 1 of COBIMFO Project (Orientale Province, DRC): border betWeen abandoned shamba and secondary forest; F, G, Palabora reserve (LimPoPo Province, South Africa): F, “Dolerite road” site, G, Molengraaf farm; H, I, Tamarix trees at “Madala site” (Gauteng Province, South Africa): H, in APril, I, in November, under Windy Weather bringing dust from nearby mines; J, K, areas near Agnes Mine, vicinities of Barberton (MPumalanga Province, South Africa); A, B, the tyPe locality of P. nganga; C–I, localities Where P. afroteres Was collected (F, its tyPe locality); J, K, localities Where P. askari Was collected (J, its tyPe locality).

FIGURE 6. Pediobius rohombaya. A, B, D–G, female, C, male. A, B, holotyPe, habitus (CAR, SAMC), variety With dark coxae and femora: A, dorsal vieW, B, lateral vieW; C, male, habitus; D, ParatyPe from Gabon (SAMC), variety With almost entirely Pale legs; E, non-tyPe sPecimen from DRC (RMCA), variety With entirely dark legs and scaPe; F, G, Wings: F, in direct light; G, in reflected light revealing wIP.

FIGURE 7. Pediobius orungu, holotyPe female (Gabon, SAMC). A, habitus, lateral vieW; B, head and mesosoma in lateral vieW; C, habitus, dorsal vieW; D, head and mesosoma in dorsal vieW; E, Wings in reflected light revealing wIP; F, head in frontal vieW.

FIGURE 17. Pediobius sPP. A–D, head in frontal vieW; E–H, head and anterior Part of mesosoma in dorsal vieW.

FIGURE 18. Pediobius sPP. A–D, Posterior Part of mesosoma and anterior Part of metasoma in dorsal vieW.