Utetes elongisulcus Tan & van Achterberg, 2018

Tan, Jiang-Li, Achterberg, Cornelis Van, Zhang, Ruo-Nan & Wu, Jia-Xuan, 2018, Five new species of Utetes Foerster (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Opiinae) from NW China, Zootaxa 4402 (3), pp. 525-541 : 530-532

Utetes elongisulcus Tan & van Achterberg , sp. n.

( Figs 14–26)

Type material. Holotype, ♀ ( NWUX) “NW China: Shaanxi, Liuba, Hanzhong Zibai Mt. Nat. Res., N33.66° E106.78°, 5.ix.2015, c . 1627 m, Jiangli Tan, NWUX”.

Comparative diagnosis. Close to U. rosae (Tobias, 1977) because of the long setose part of ovipositor sheath (0.6 × hind tibia) and the propodeum without a short medio–longitudinal carina anteriorly. The new species differs mainly by the distinctly developed shoulders of the mesoscutum anteriorly (absent in U. rosae ), the antenna of ♀ with about 43 antennomeres (35–38 antennomeres) and the precoxal sulcus elongate (short elliptical). It shares with U. valens (Papp, 1978) from Korea the distinct “shoulders” and the long setose part of ovipositor sheath (0.6 × hind tibia), but U. valens has vein 1-SR of fore wing 0.8 × as long as vein 1-M (0.6 × in U. elongisulcus ), wing membrane infuscate (only weakly infuscate medially), antenna of ♀ with approx. 30 antennomeres (approx. 43 antennomeres) and vein m-cu of hind wing present (absent).

Description. Holotype, ♀, length of body 4.2 mm, of fore wing 3.9 mm.

Head. Antenna with 43 antennomeres, medium-sized bristly setose and 1.3 × as long as fore wing; third antennomere 1.3 × as long as fourth antennomere, length of third, fourth and penultimate antennomeres 2.6, 2.0 and 1.9 × their width, respectively ( Figs 19–21 ); length of maxillary palp 1.2 × height of head; labial palp segments slender; occipital carina far separated from hypostomal carina and carina ventrally reduced and dorsally absent; hypostomal carina very wide ( Fig. 16 ); length of eye in dorsal view 2.3 × temple ( Fig. 23 ); frons shallowly depressed anteriorly but with median elevation and in front of anterior ocellus with triangular pit, medially smooth and glabrous, laterally punctulate and setose; face sparsely and finely punctate but medial elevated area smooth ( Fig. 22 ); width of clypeus 2.7 × its maximum height and 0.6 × width of face; clypeus moderately convex medially, with some coarse punctures and protruding forwards, ventrally straight and rather thin ( Fig. 22 ); hypoclypeal depression large and labrum with coarse punctures; malar suture absent and area flat; length of malar space 0.8 × basal width of mandible ( Fig. 22 ); mandible triangular and with long narrow ventral carina and wider dorsal carina ( Fig. 26 ).

Mesosoma. Length of mesosoma 1.3 × its height; dorsal pronope slit–like, large; pronotal side largely smooth, only anteriorly and posteriorly narrowly crenulate; epicnemial area smooth; precoxal sulcus wide and coarsely crenulate, nearly up to anterior margin of mesopleuron, pointing to area in front of middle coxa and remaining far from posterior margin of mesopleuron ( Fig. 16 ); remainder of mesopleuron smooth (except row of punctulation behind precoxal sulcus) and strongly shiny; pleural sulcus smooth; anterior groove of metapleuron with few indistinct crenulae ( Fig. 16 ); notauli largely absent on disc, but anteriorly impressed behind distinctly developed “shoulders” ( Fig. 17 ); lateral lobes of mesoscutum largely glabrous, only notaulic courses and medial line of middle lobe with setae; medio-posterior depression of mesoscutum deep, linear and long; scutellar sulcus rather wide and finely crenulate; scutellum distinctly convex medially, smooth and only laterally sparsely setose ( Fig. 17 ); propodeum with very short medio–longitudinal carina connected to anteriorly pointing transverse carina and remainder mainly spaced rugose ( Figs 17–18 ).

Wings. Fore wing ( Fig. 15 ): pterostigma triangular; 1–R1 ending nearly at wing apex and 1.7 × as long as pterostigma; r:3-SR:SR1 = 3:30:52; 2-SR:3-SR:r-m = 20:30:10; r and base of 3-SR widened; 1-SR 0.6 × 1-M; 1-M weakly curved; SR1 straight; m-cu subinterstitial; cu–a oblique and postfurcal; first subdiscal cell closed, CU1b medium-sized; apical 0.3 of M+CU1 sclerotized. Hind wing ( Fig. 15 ): M+CU:1-M:1r-m = 9:9:5; cu–a straight; mcu completely absent.

Legs. Length of femur, tibia and basitarsus of hind leg 3.6, 8.3 and 4.8 × as long as wide, respectively; hind femur and tibia with long setae, especially femur ventrally ( Fig. 24 ); carinula of hind tibia long ( Fig. 25 ).

Metasoma. Length of first tergite equal to its apical width, its surface evenly convex medially, largely smooth except some short depressions, without median carina and with dorsal carinae remain separated and present in basal 0.4; second tergite with pair of short basal depressions; second and following tergites smooth ( Fig. 18 ); length of setose part of ovipositor sheath 0.18 × fore wing (entire visible sheath 0.21 ×) and 0.6 × hind tibia ( Fig. 24 ).

Colour. Black body; clypeus (except dorsally), mandible (but teeth dark brown), palpi, scapus ventrally, tegulae, and legs (but telotarsi dark brown) yellow; large patch at temple dorsally and inner orbita narrowly orange brown; apex of third–seventh tergites membranous and brown; metasoma ventrally dark brown; wing membrane subhyaline but submedially weakly infuscate; veins of hind wing and of basal third of fore wing (except C+SC+R) brown; pterostigma and remainder of veins dark brown.

Distribution. China (Shaanxi).

Biology. Unknown.

Etymology. From “elongatus” (Latin for “prolonged”) and “sulcus” (Latin for “groove”) because of the elongate precoxal sulcus.

Figures

FIGURES15–26.Utetes elongisulcusTan & van Achterberg, sp. n., ♀, holotype.15—wings.16—head and mesosoma,lateral aspect. 17—mesosoma,dorsal aspect.18—propodeum and first–fourth metasomalsegments, dorsal aspect.19—antenna.20— basal antennomeres of antenna. 21—apical antennomeres of antenna. 22—head, anterior aspect.23—head, dorsal aspect. 24— hind leg, lateral aspect.25—hind tibia, mesal aspect, arrow points to basal carinula. 26—mandible, latero–ventral aspect.