Spathiomorpha mexicana, Belokobylskij & Zaldívar-Riverón, 2022

Belokobylskij, Sergey A. & Zaldívar-Riverón, Alejandro, 2022, First record of the genus Spathiomorpha Tobias, 1976 (Hymenoptera: Braconidae Doryctinae) in the New World, with the description of a new species, Zootaxa 5162 (4), pp. 439-445 : 441-444

Spathiomorpha mexicana sp. nov.

( Figs 1 , 2 )

Type material. Holotype: female, “ Mexico: Chiapas, 10 km ESE of San Cristobal , 2400 m, pine forest, 16.668022, -92.550506, 6–7.viii.2021, A.I. Khalaim ” (IB-UNAM).

Description. Female. Body length 6.5 mm; fore wing length 5.2 mm.

Head width (dorsal view) 1.4 × its median length, 1.2 × width of mesoscutum. Head behind eyes (dorsal view) weakly convex in anterior half, evenly roundly narrowed in posterior half. Transverse diameter of eye 1.1 × longer than temple. Frons without carina, with distinct and rather wide complete median furrow. Ocelli mediumsized, arranged in triangle with base 1.15 × its sides. POL 1.3 × Od, 0.4 × OOL. Eye glabrous, practically without emargination opposite antennal socket, 1.3 × as high as broad. Malar space 0.4 × height of eye, 0.9 × basal width of mandible. Face along eyes without carinae, with distinct shallow elongate oblique depressions above clypeus; width of face 1.3 × height of eye and 1.4 × height of face and clypeus combined. Diameter of antennal socket 0.7 × distance between sockets and 1.4 × distance between socket and eye. Suture connected margin of antennal socket with inner margin of eye present and distinct. Clypeal suture shallow and complete. Hypoclypeal depression round, its width 1.1 × distance from edge of depression to eye, about 0.5 × width of face. Occipital carina coarse, below joined with hypostomal carina upper base of mandible. Palpi long, length of maxillary palpus almost equal to head height.

Antenna relatively thick, weakly setiform, with 41 antennomeres, 1.3 × longer than body. Scape 1.8 × longer than its maximum width. First flagellomere 4.3 × longer than its apical width, 1.1 × longer than second. Penultimate flagellomere 2.5 × longer than wide, 0.5 × as long as first flagellomere, 0.8 × as long as apical flagellomere; the latter pointed apically and without spine.

Mesosoma. Length 1.8 × its height. Pronotum (lateral view) convex dorsally, with median pronotal carina. Median lobe of mesoscutum (dorsal view) distinctly protruding forwards, with fine to very fine median furrow. Notauli deep, wide and coarsely crenulate. Prescutellar depression rather deep, with distinct median and two fine lateral carinae, almost smooth between carinae, 0.4 × as long as scutellum. Scutellum convex and without lateral carinae. Metanotal tooth short, but distinct and subpointed. Subalar depression relatively deep, more or less wide, coarsely rugose-striate. Precoxal sulcus wide, almost straight, oblique, coarsely and sparsely crenulate, running along anterior half of lower part of mesopleuron. Propodeum with distinct, thick lateral tubercles.

Wings. Fore wing 3.4 × longer than its maximum width. Radial vein (r) arising behind middle of pterostigma, from its basal 0.7. Radial (marginal) cell not shortened; metacarp (1-R1) almost 1.5 × longer than pterostigma. First radial abscissa (r) 0.8 × as long as maximum width of pterostigma. Second radial abscissa (3-SR) 3.6 × longer than first abscissa (r), 0.65 × as long as straight third abscissa (SR1), 1.3 × longer than first radiomedial vein (2-SR). Second radiomedial (submarginal) cell 2.7 × longer than its maximum width, 1.3 × longer than brachial (subdiscal) cell. First medial abscissa (1-SR+M) distinctly sinuate. Mediocubital vein (M+CU1) almost straight. Recurrent vein (m-cu) weakly curved, almost equal to first radiomedial vein (2-SR). Distance from nervulus (cu-a) to basal vein (1-M) 0.6 × nervulus (cu-a) length. Parallel vein (CU1a) arising from posterior 0.2 of distal margin (3-CU1) of brachial (subdiscal) cell. Hind wing 5.2 × longer than maximum width. First costal abscissa (C+SC+R) 0.7 × as long as second abscissa (1-SC+R). First abscissa of mediocubital vein (M+CU) 0.8 × as long as second abscissa (1- M). Mediocubital (basal) cell large, distinctly widened toward apex, 5.7 × longer than wide, 0.4 × as long as wing. Recurrent vein (m-cu) weakly curved, subinterstitial, distinctly pigmented.

Legs. Fore tibia with numerous slender spines arranged in narrow line. Hind femur rather narrow, 4.5 × longer than wide. Hind tarsus as long as hind tibia. Hind basitarsus 0.9 × as long as second–fifth tarsal segments combined. Second segment of hind tarsus 0.4 × as long as basitarsus, 1.5 × longer than fifth segment (without pretarsus).

Metasoma 1.1 × longer than head and mesosoma combined. First tergite rather thick, with small dorsope, with distinct spiracular tubercles in basal 0.3, distinctly and weakly curvedly widened from base to apex. Maximum width of first tergite 1.6 × its width at level of spiracles, 2.2 × its minimum width; length of tergite 1.7 × its apical width, 1.8 × length of propodeum. Length of second and third tergites combined 1.2 × basal width of second tergite, 0.9 × their maximum width. Ovipositor sheath 1.1 × longer than body, 2.3 × longer than metasoma, 3.3 × longer than mesosoma, 1.4 × longer than fore wing.

Sculpture and pubescence. Vertex and temple smooth; frons smooth posteriorly, rugose anteriorly; face finely striate with rugulosity, smooth in lower third. Sides of pronotum entirely coarsely rugose-striate, with coarsely crenulate wide and oblique median depression. Mesoscutum rather densely and finely punctate, coarsely striate in narrow medioposterior area in posterior half. Scutellum almost smooth. Mesopleuron almost entirely smooth. Propodeum with areas distinctly delineated by high carinae; basolateral areas large, almost entirely finely rugulosereticulate; areola short and rather wide, 1.2 × longer than wide; basal carina in basal half of propodeum long, 2.2 × longer than anterior fork of areola; posterior part of propodeum coarsely sparsely and rather finely rugose. Hind coxae finely rugulose dorsally, smooth on most part. Hind femur smooth, partly with fine and sparse punctation. First tergite entirely densely and coarsely striate with rugulosity between striae, medially coarsely transversely striate with rugulosity in basal 0.3. Second tergite mostly smooth, with short basal striation. Remaining tergites smooth. Vertex with rather dense, relatively long and semi-erect yellow setae, medially partly almost glabrous. Mesoscutum entirely with dense, rather short and semi-erect yellow setae. Hind tibia dorsally with rather short, dense and almost erect setae, length of these setae 0.4–0.6 × maximum width of hind tibia.

Colour. Head mainly yellow, face mainly, malar space and temple brown to dark brown. Mesosoma mainly black, mesoscutum and scutellum brownish yellow to reddish brown. Metasoma reddish brown to dark reddish brown, first tergite black. Antennae mainly dark brown to black, segments in basal fifth light brown to reddish brown. Palpi pale yellow. Legs mainly yellow, all femora medially or dorso-medially distinctly infuscate; tibiae and tarsi brownish, hind tibia basally black at short part. Ovipositor sheath brown to dark brown, apically black. Fore wing distinctly infuscate. Pterostigma dark brown to black, pale brown shortly basally.

Male. Unknown.

Etymology. This species is named after the country from where this new species was collected.

Distribution. Mexico (Chiapas).

Diagnosis. This new species is similar to S. longipalpis Belokobylskij and S. japonica Belokobylskij et Maeto. The differences between these species are shown in the below key to species.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Spathiomorpha mexicana sp. nov. (female, holotype) (A) Habitus, lateral view. (B) Head, dorsal view. (C) Head, front view. (D) Head, lateral view. (E) Basal segments of antenna. (F) Apical segments of antenna. (G) Mesosoma, dorsal view. (H) Mesosoma, lateral view. (I) Hind leg.

FIGURE 2. Spathiomorpha mexicana sp. nov. (female, holotype) (A) Wings. (B) Medial part of fore wing. (C) Petiole, lateral view. (D) Metasoma, dorsal view. (E) Metasoma, lateral view.