Tumidicoxa (Tumidicoxella) nigra, Giralut.

Narendran, T. C. & Khan, F. R., 2011, Two new species of Chalcididae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea) from India, Journal of Threatened Taxa 3 (2), pp. 1506-1513 : 1509-1511

(Tumidicoxella) nigra Giralut. by original designation.

Microchalcis Girault, 1915 [245]: 328. Type species: Microchalcis atricorpus Girault by original designation (synonymy by Bouček, 1988).

Dirrhinomorpha Girault & Dodd, 1915 [245]: 327. Type species: Dirrhinomorpha angusta Girault & Dodd , by original designation (synonymy with Brachymeria Westwood and treated as subgenus of Brachymeria by Bouček 1988).

Meyeriella Krausse, 1917: 95 . Type species: Meyeriella indica Krausse , by monotypy (synonymy with Brachymeria Westwood by Narendran 1986).

Neobrachymeria Masi 1929: 196-198 (as a subgenus of Brachymeria ); Type species: Brachymeria confalonierii Masi by original designation.

Matsumurameria Habu, 1960: 209 (as a subgenus of Brachymeria ). Type species: Chalcis taiwanus Matsumura , original designation.

Gahanula Burks, 1960: 261 . Type species: Brachymeria discreta Gahan , original designation (as a subgenus of Brachymeria ).

Australochalcis Girault, 1939 [457]326. Type species: Australochalcis humilicrus Girault , original designation and monotypy (listed as synonym of Brachymeria Westwood by Bouček 1988).

The genus Brachymeria Westwood occurring in the Oriental region was revised first by Joseph, Narendran & Joy (1973), and later Narendran (1989) again revised Oriental Brachymeria in his monograph on ‘Oriental Chalcididae’. Since then, Farooqi et al. (1991), described four new species and two new subspecies of Brachymeria . The new species described by these authors are: Brachymeria kurukshetraensis , B. neomegaspila , B. rossicorporis and B.gauhatiensis . From the descriptions of these species it is clear that Brachymeria kurukshetraensis is a junior synonym of B. albicrus (Klug) (syn. nov.) and that B.neomegaspila is a form of B.megaspila (Cameron, 1991) (syn. nov.). Unadilla (1996) later described Brachymeria encarpae Ubaidillah from Indonesia. Joseph, Narendran and Joy (1973) and Narendran (1989) revised oriental Brachymeria and provided keys.

Diagnosis: Head oval in profile; scrobe deep with carinate margins; in some species head with preorbital or postorbital carinae or with both carinae present; malar sulcus carinate or ridged; antennal formula11171 (clava 1 to 3 segmented). Mesosoma with umbilicate punctures; forewing with PMV usually half or about half as long as MV and usually twice as long as STV. Hind coxa in female in some cases with an inner ventromesal tooth; hind femur with a ventral row of irregular teeth and in some species with an inner basal tooth; hind tibia arcuate; gaster sessile, T1 always the longest; ovipositor sheath slightly compressed slightly exerted; in some species gaster elongate.

Biology: The species are mostly primary parasitoids in pupae of holometabolous insects, especially of Lepidoptera but some species attack Diptera, Coleoptera and Hymenoptera . Most species are primary parasitoids. Some are hyperparasitoids attacking Lepidoptera through parasitic Hymenoptera or Diptera.

Distribution: World wide.

Brachymeria (Brachymeria) neoatteviae sp. nov. (Figs. 6-11)

Material examined

Holotype: Female , 25.v.2008, Mati Khata, Cooch Bihar, West Bengal, India ( DZCU 1002 ; peding

transfer to INPC).

Paratypes: 2 females, 22.v.2008, Khocha Barihat , New Alipurduar, West Bengal, India ( DZCU 1003 and DZCU 1004 ) ; 1 female, 1 male, 21.xi.2007, Bhanpur , Cuttack, Orissa, India ( DZCU 1005 ), ( DZCU 1006 ) ; 1 female, 15.xii.2007, Sarbahal , Angul, Orissa, India ( DZCU 1007 ) ; 2 females, 03-04.xii.2007, Kadurai & Harrajpor, Khorda , Orissa, India ( DZCU 1008 and DZCU 1009 ). All paratypes deposited in DZCU pending transfer to ZDAMU. All specimens collected by F. R . Khan.

Description: Length 3.75mm. Black, tegula yellow; coxae black; trochanters black; femora black with apex yellow; hind tibiae yellow with median black band; wings hyaline with veins dark brown; pubescence silvery.

Head: As wide as mesosoma (excluding tegulae); width in anterior view 1.3x its height; width in dorsal view 2.12x its length; frons and vertex strongly pitted, pits close or shorter than half diameter of a pit and interstices carinate; scrobe smooth and shiny with slightly rugose at apex; almost reaching front ocellus;

Figures 6-11. Brachymeria neoattevae sp. nov.

6 - Antenna;

7 - Head side view;

8 - cutellum and axillae dorsal view;

9 - Hind leg;

10 - Forewing veins;

11 - Gaster side view

distance between outer margin of hind ocelli (= width of ocellar area) 0.8x WIOS; POL 4x OOL, 2.7x LOL; AOL longer than LOL; preorbital carina weakly represented; postorbital carina reaching genotemporal margin; area below scrobe with a relatively small smooth area below base of interantennal projection; height of malar space 0.19x height of eye in profile, eye height 1.54x its length in profile; front genal angle acute, hind genal angle a little obtuse; right mandible with two teeth and left mandible with two teeth. Antenna stout; scape not reaching front ocellus, almost equal to combined length of F1 to F4; pedicel a little longer than wide; clava a little over 2x as long as preceding segment; relative L:W of antennal segments; scape = 22:5; pedicel = 5:4; F1 = 6:7; F2 = 5:8; F3 = 6:9; F4 = 6:9; F5 = 5:10; F6 = 5:10; F7 = 5:10; clava = 12:10.

Mesosoma:Providedwithumbilicatepits,interstices carinate and rugose; mesoscutum 1.13x as wide as its length; scutellum well high at base, subperpendicularly declined towards apical part; apical flange slightly emarginated at middle, explanate; dorsal margin of lateral panel of pronotum complete and not interrupted anteriorly; hind coxa on ventral side densely pitted and pubescent, without an inner ventromesal tooth, dorsal side smooth; hind femur 1.62x as long as wide; outer disc rather mat like, pubescent, outer ventral margin with a row of 12 differently sized teeth. Forewing 2.56x as long as broad; relative length of SMV = 66, MV = 31, PMV = 14; STV = 6.

Gaster: Shorter than mesosoma; not pointed at apex; T1 smooth and shiny; T2 microsculptured all over with dense pubescence on side; T6 with 6 transverse rows of rugose pits; ovipositor a little visible from dorsal side.

Male: Similar to female except for a shorter gaster.

Etymology: Named after Brachymeria atteviae Joseph,Narendran & Joy for its superficial resembence to the new species.

Remarks: This new species comes very close to Brachymeria atteviae Joseph, Narendran and Joy in general appearance and comes close to Brachymeria atteviae in the key to species by Narendran (1989), but differs from B. attevae in having: (i) gaster shorter than mesosoma (in B atteviae gaster longer than mesosoma); (ii) gaster subrounded and not at all pointed at apex (in B. atteviae gaster pointed and not at all subrounded); (iii) front genal angle acute (in B. atteviae front genal angle nearly rectangular); (iv) area below scrobe with a small smooth shiny area (in B. atteviae no such smooth area below scrobe), and (v) MV 2.33x PMV (in B. atteviae MV 2.67x PMV).

This new species may also get confused with Brachymeria nephantidis Gahan and Brachymeria hime Habu since both these two species have somewhat similar colour pattern of hind leg, similar punctures on mesosoma and in the nature of scutellum. However, the new species differs from Brachymeria nephantidis Gahan , in having: (i) base of hind tibia yellow (in B. nephantidis base of hind tibia black or brown with reddish tinge or pale brownish red); (ii) fore and mid tibia yellow completely (in B. nephantidis fore and hind tibia yellow with black band medially); (iii) MV 2.33x PMV (in B. nephantidis MV more than 4x PMV); (iv) metasoma shorter than mesosoma (in B. nephantidis metasoma longer than mesosoma), and (v) gaster not pointed posteriorly (in B. nephantidis gaster pointed posteriorly). This new species differs from Brachymeria hime Habu in having different colour pattern of fore and mid tibiae and black band of hind tibia much shorter than that of B. hime . Besides front genal angle is acute in the new species where as it is almost rectangular in B. hime . In the new species metasoma is shorter than mesosoma where as metasoma is longer than mesosoma and pointed in B. hime .