Scambus longicoxa Khalaim, 2022

Khalaim, Andrey I. & Ruíz-Cancino, Enrique, 2022, Darwin wasps of the subfamily Pimplinae (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) of Mexico: Ephialtes genus-group, Zootaxa 5169 (3), pp. 201-251 : 238-240

9. Scambus longicoxa Khalaim , sp. nov.

( Figs 39 , 60–62 )

Material examined. Holotype female ( TAMU), Mexico, Puebla, San Salvador , 22.vii.1987, coll. P. Kovarik.

Paratype. MEXICO. Coahuila: 1 ♀ ( UAT) Arteaga, El Tunal , 8.vii.2000, coll. C. Covarrubias D.

Description. Female ( Fig. 60 ). Fore wing length 5.0 mm.

Body length 6.5 mm. Head in dorsal view 1.7× as broad as long, strongly rounded behind eyes in dorsal view. Mandible strongly tapered towards apex, with upper tooth somewhat longer than the lower. Clypeus medioventrally with rather deep concavity, lower margin medially strongly concave. Malar space 0.25× as long as basal mandibular width. Face transverse, 1.25× as broad as medially high, weakly convex. Lateral ocellus separated from eye by 1.1× its own maximum diameter. Head polished with fine and sparse punctures.

Mesoscutum polished, finely punctate and moderately densely pubescent. Submetapleural carina distinct, complete. Propodeum mediodorsally polished, laterally with moderately large and shallow punctures; lateromedian longitudinal carinae represented by a pair of small swellings on extreme anterior margin of propodeum. Pleural carina present, fine but quite distinct behind propodeal spiracle. Legs slender, hind coxa unusually long, almost twice as long as maximally broad ( Fig. 61 ). Fore wing with 1cu-a (nervulus) opposite to M& RS (basal vein). Hind wing with nervellus distinctly intercepted in posterior 0.3, distal section of CU very weak.

Metasoma long. First tergite 1.35×, second tergite 1.1×, third tergite 0.9× and fourth tergite 0.75× as long as posteriorly (maximally) broad. First tergite in profile weakly and evenly convex dorsally, with lateromedian carinae distinct in basal 0.5–0.6 of tergite; lateral longitudinal carina rather weak and inconspicuous behind spiracle, distinct at extreme posterior end of tergite. Tergites 3–5 with a pair of weak lateral convexities. Tergites 2–5 with shallow punctures which are denser laterally and sparse or almost absent on lateral convexities. Tergites 5 and 6 with apical smooth and black margin medially largely emarginated. Ovipositor very long and straight, slender, weakly compressed, apically with a small but conspicuous nodus and about 10 teeth on lower valve; most proximal teeth strongly oblique. Sheath 4.5× as long as hind tibia.

Head black, clypeus and mandible dark reddish brown. Antenna black with slight brownish tinge. Mesosoma black with only hind corner of pronotum narrowly white. Tegula white. Pterostigma pale yellowish brown. Wings slightly brownish. Legs mostly orange, fore trochanter and trochantellus whitish ventrally, hind tibia whitish with fuscous subbasal and apical marks and stripe on ventral side. Hind tarsomeres more or less infuscate apically. Tergite 1 black; following metasomal tergites reddish brown, tergites 2–5 with posterior 0.2–0.25 black.

Male. Unknown.

Variation. The paratype is conspicuously smaller than the holotype.

Distribution. Mexico (Coahuila, Puebla).

Comparison. The new species belongs to the ephialtoides species-group and runs to S. ephialtoides in the key to Nearctic species by Townes & Townes (1960). Scambus longicoxa sp. nov. differs from S. ephialtoides by the ovipositor sheath with long setae, propodeum without lateromedian longitudinal carinae, whitish hind corner of pronotum and all coxae reddish brown with the same colour as femora.

Figures

FIGURES 37–40. Habitus, lateral, ♀: 37—Acropimpla tequila sp. nov. (holotype); 38—Scambus aplopappi; 39—S. longicoxa sp. nov. (paratype); 40—S. irapuatoensis sp. nov. (paratype).

FIGURES 59–62. Scambus irapuatoensis sp. nov., paratype, ♀: 59—head, mesosoma and base of metasoma, lateral. Scambus longicoxa sp. nov., holotype, ♀: 60—habitus (without wing apices), lateral; 61—hind coxa, lateral; 62—apex of ovipositor, lateral.