Wroughtonia aspera, Long & Van Achterberg & Carpenter & Oanh, 2020

Long, Khuat Dang, Van Achterberg, Cornelis, Carpenter, James M. & Oanh, Nguyen Thi, 2020, Review of the genus Wroughtonia Cameron, 1899 (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Helconinae), with the description of 12 new species from Vietnam, American Museum Novitates 2020 (3953), pp. 1-56 : 9-11

Wroughtonia aspera , sp. nov.

Figures 14–26

TYPE MATERIAL: Holotype, ♀, “Hel.049” ( IEBR), NC Vietnam: Ha Tinh, Huong Son , 18 °22 ′N 106°13′E, 900 m, April 20–28, 1998, Malaise [trap], AMNH, K. Long.

DISTRIBUTION: NC Vietnam: Ha Tinh (Huong Son).

BIOLOGY: Unknown.

DIAGNOSIS: Antenna with 38 segments, with antennal segments 11–20 cream white; maxillary palp 1.6 × as long as head; frontal protuberance long, acute and raised higher than lateral carinae of frons; in dorsal view width of head 1.6 × its median length; height of eye 1.55 × temple. Length of mesosoma 1.9 × as long as high; notauli wide and shallow, largely rugose, fused posteriorly with longitudinal rugosities; scutellum rather short, rugose; propodeum coarsely rugose. Foretarsus 1.2 × longer than foretibia; forewing 3.1 × longer than its maximum width; vein 3-SR short, 0.6 × vein r; second submarginal cell trapezium-shaped, vein 2-M 3.7 × 3-SR; vein 1-M of hind wing 0.55 × vein 1r-m; vein 2-SC+R transverse; hind wing with 4 hamuli. Hind femur robust, with a rather wide obtuse protuberance, without distinct ventral serrations; length of hind femur (without protuberance) 3.1 × its maximum width; outer side of hind coxa sparsely finely punctate; hind femur densely punctate laterally. First tergite 1.1 × longer than its apical width; dorsal carinae in basal 0.7 of tergite; median length of second tergite 0.6 × as long as its basal width, and 1.15 × third tergite; first tergite largely smooth basally, transversely rugose mediolaterally and nearly areolate-rugulose medioapically; second tergite punctate-reticulate, but smooth medially and remainder shiny and smooth.

NOTES: W. aspera , sp. nov., runs in the key by Yan et al. (2017) to W. zhejiangensis Yan and van Achterberg, 2017 , from China and can be separated as follows: (1) frontal protuberance near antennal sockets evenly narrowed from base to apex, roundly pointed apically (frontal protuberance with posterior protruding narrow lamella in W. zhejiangensis ); (2) forewing vein r 1.7 × vein 3-SR (1.1 × in W. zhejiangensis ); and (3) hind wing vein 1-M 0.55 × vein 1r-m (0.4 × in W. zhejiangensis ).

The new species is also similar to W. albobasalis van Achterberg and Chen, 2017 , from China, but differs from the latter by having: (1) hind femur slender, length 3.1 × its maximum width (2.8 × in W. albobasalis ); (2) vein r of forewing 1.7 × vein 3-SR (1.1 × in W. albobasalis ); (3) vein 1-M of hind wing 0.55 × vein 1r-m (0.4 × in W. albobasalis ); and (4) occiput smooth (sparsely punctate in W. albobasalis ), 11th–20th antennal segments 11–20 cream white (3–11 in W. albobasalis ).

DESCRIPTION: Holotype, ♀, body length 11.4 mm, forewing length 7.5 mm, ovipositor sheath 7.7 mm (fig. 14).

Head: Antenna with 38 segments; third antennal segment 1.2 × fourth (19:17); in frontal view height of eye 2.1 × its transverse width (27:13); width of face 1.85 × length of face and clypeus combined (39:21); malar space 1.2 × as long as mandible width (18:15) and 0.5 × height of eye (18:39) (fig. 16); maxillary palp 1.6 × as long as head (50:32); in dorsal view, width of head 1.6 × as long as median length (75:47); height of eye 1.5 × as long as temple (30:20); POL:OD:OOL = 10:7:19 (fig. 15); distance between front and hind ocelli 0.3 × as long as OOL (6:19); in lateral view, length of eye 1.3 × as long as transverse width (38:30) (fig. 17); frontal protuberance long, acute and raised above lateral carinae of frons; face coarsely rugose; frons deeply depressed, smooth; vertex rugose-punctate anteriorly and smooth medioposteriorly; occiput largely smooth; temple nearly rugose-punctate, but coarsely rugose ventrally.

Mesosoma: Mesosoma 1.9 × longer than high (100:52); pronotal side coarsely rugose; mesopleuron largely smooth medially, rugose-punctate ventrally (fig. 19); metapleuron coarsely rugose; median lobe of mesoscutum nearly finely punctate, but rugose lateroapically; notauli wide and shallow, largely rugose, fused posteriorly with longitudinal rugosities (fig. 18); scutellar sulcus with 4 carinae, 0.5 × as long as scutellum (7:13); scutellum rather short, rugose; propodeum coarsely rugose (fig. 21).

Wings. Forewing: length of forewing 3.1 × its maximum width (140:45); pterostigma 2.9 × longer than wide (38:13); vein 3-SR short, 0.6 × vein r (7:12); r:2-SR:3-SR:SR1:r-m = 12:17:7:65:16; vein cu-a oblique, 1-CU1:cu-a:2-CU1 = 6:17:28; second submarginal cell trapezium-shaped, vein 2-M 3.7 × 3-SR (26:7) (fig. 20). Hind wing with vein m-cu as an antefurcal spectral trace; vein 1-M 0.55 × as long as vein 1r-m (10:18); vein 2-SC+R transverse (fig. 22); hind wing with 4 hamuli.

Legs: Foretarsus 1.2 × as long as foretibia (43:35); hind femur robust, with rather a wide obtuse protuberance, without distinct ventral serrations (fig. 25); length of hind femur (without protuberance), tibia, and basitarsus 3.1 (74:24), 9.2 (110:12), and 5.5 × (33:6) as long as their maximum width, respectively; hind tibia evenly curved basally (fig. 26); hind basitarsus 0.3 × as long as hind tibia (33:110); hind basitarsus 0.7 × as long as hind tarsal segments 2–5 (33:49); fourth hind tarsal segment 0.4 × as long as telotarsus (6:16). Outer side of hind coxa sparsely finely punctate (fig. 24); hind femur densely punctate laterally.

Metasoma: Metasoma about as long as head and mesosoma combined (65:66); first tergite 1.1 × longer than its apical width (36:33) (fig. 23); dorsal carinae in basal 0.7 of tergite (31:43); median length of second tergite 0.6 × as long as its basal width (31:52), and 1.15 × third tergite (31:27); first tergite almost smooth basally, transversely rugose mediolaterally, nearly areolaterugulose medioapically; second tergite as long as third (19:19); second tergite punctate-reticulate (fig. 23); remainder of metasoma shiny, smooth; ovipositor sheath slightly longer forewing (77:75).

Color: Body black, scapus brown; antenna brown with antennal segments 11–20 cream white; palpi whitish yellow, but first and second segments yellowish brown; fore- and middle legs yellow, but tarsus whitish yellow; hind coxa yellow; hind femur yellow basally and brown apically (fig. 25); hind tibia whitish yellow, but infuscate apically (fig. 26); pterostigma brown, but yellow basally; wing veins brownish yellow; wing membrane hyaline (figs. 20, 22).

Male: Unknown.

ETYMOLOGY: From asper (Latin for “rough,” “harsh”), because the flat medioposterior area of mesoscutum is coarsely rugose.

Figures

FIGURE 14. Wroughtonia aspera, sp. nov., habitus (holotype, female, lateral).

FIGURES 15–26. Wroughtonia aspera (holotype, female, lateral). 15. Head, dorsal. 16. Head, frontal 17. Head, lateral. 18. Mesoscutum. 19. Mesopleuron. 20. Forewing. 21. Propodeum. 22. Hind wing. 23. Metasoma. 24. Hind coxa, lateral. 25. Hind femur, lateral. 26. Hind tibia, lateral.