Ficomila Bouček, 1981

Lotfalizadeh, Hossein, Delvare, Gérard, Cruaud, Astrid & Rasplus, Jean-Yves, 2024, Morphological phylogeny and revision of Sycophila and Ficomila (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea, Eurytomidae) associated with Afrotropical fig trees (Moraceae, Ficus), Zootaxa 5401 (1), pp. 1-190 : 28-30

Ficomila Bouček, 1981

Ficomila Bouček, 1981 : Type-species: F. curtivena Bouček, 1981: 211 , by original designation.

Diagnosis. Gena posteriorly not carinate, but edged in some species. Flagellum with fu1 longer than scape (except in F. curtivena ), distinctly curved dorsally and at most as long as pedicel. Epicnemium with a ring-like process, adjacent to mesocoxa. Fore wing with mv slightly widened not convex ventrally, stv distinctly curved, pmv inconspicuous. Petiole short, with ventral transverse carina between petiole and St1. Propodeum slightly depressed medially.

Description. Length 1.99–6.17 mm and male 1.00– 4.92 mm. Body colouration from entirely dark to entirely yellowish or brown, sometimes partly or entirely dark; fore wing mostly with a dark brown spot below mv, lower margin of mv obscured by dark brown spot or not; lower margin of mv concave; gaster petiolate or sessile.

Head. Face and vertex coriaceous with sparse punctures, wider than high, in dorsal view transverse; malar space about half of eye length; malar sulcus present or absent; genal margin regularly curved or sinuous in lower margin, edged but not carinate; antennal toruli narrowly or widely separated, interantennal space not raised; scrobal depression smooth or slightly sculptured dorsally, sometimes carinate on margin; POL longer than OOL; temple margined, distinctly shorter than eye length (in dorsal view); scape reaching median ocellus or not; fu1 distinctly longer than pedicel, bulging dorsally.

Mesosoma dorsally with sculpture varying from dense umbilicate punctures to obliterate punctures or densely coriaceous; mesodiscrimen with a ring-like process, adjacent to mesocoxa; prepectus bare, smooth to sculptured; propodeum with a distinct median depression, flat or weakly to distinctly concave, moderately finely reticulate in larger specimens, in some species with a smooth median band and a distinct median carina; lateral rows of areolae long and extending at least over posterior half of propodeum or shorter, basal carinae as in an inverted U or V shape, sometimes trapezoidal, reaching the metanotal margin well apart.

Fore wing with short marginal fringe; dark brown spot small to large and present below mv; basal cell bare or setose; mv slightly widening, in lower margin concave; longer than pmv and stv; stv curved up; pmv not distinct; ventral and dorsal sides of costal bare to setose; speculum present.

Metasoma longer than mesosoma, of female dorsally broad or compressed laterally and angulate; ventral transverse carina between petiole and St1 present; petiole in dorsal view short or longer than wide; tergites smooth to finely sculptured; ovipositor upturned.

Comments. Before this work, only two species of Ficomila were known in the Afrotropical region, F. curtivena Bouček, 1981 and F. gambiensis ( Risbec, 1955) and we add here 11 new species.

We identified two species-groups in Ficomila , each of them including one of the two species described by Bouček et al. (1981): i) the curtivena species-group, which includes mostly black species with dense umbilicate punctures and conspicuous white pubescence and, in females, Gt4 much longer than Gt3 (at least 1.5×) and with the tergites dorsally broad and not carinated, and ii) the gambiensis species-group, which includes species with the mesosoma dorsally brownish, sometimes yellowish and with sparse umbilicate punctures, densely coriaceous and, in females, the tergites are compressed laterally and dorsally angulate.

Key to Afrotropical species of Ficomila associated with Ficus

1 Antenna with 5 funiculars, funiculars with short and adpressed hairs ( Figs 12B, 17B, 19B); metasoma longer than mesosoma, petiole at most as long as hind coxa ( Figs 15C, 22C); fore wing normally hairy with enlarged marginal vein ( Figs 13E, 15E)....................................................................................... go to female key

- Antenna with 4 funiculars, funiculars with relatively long and erect hairs ( Figs 16C, 23B, 26B); metasoma shorter than mesosoma, petiole longer than hind coxa ( Figs 16A, 26A); fore wing densely setose, sometimes with marginal vein still more enlarged ( Figs 16D, 23D, 26D)............................................................... go to male key

Female

1 Gaster broad, not carinate dorsally ( Figs 13D, 15D); mesosoma almost always black dorsally, with dense umbilicate punctures and conspicuous white pubescence ( Figs 13A, 15A)...................................... curtivena species-group 2

- Gaster compressed laterally, dorsally angulate ( Figs 18D, 20D, 22D, 25D); mesosoma brown or dark brown dorsally, sometimes yellowish, with sparse umbilicate punctures and densely coriaceous ( Figs 18A, 20A, 22A, 25A)...................................................................................................... gambiensis species-group 3

2(1) Gt4 much longer than Gt3 (about 2× as long as Gt3) ( Fig. 13C); fore wing hyaline, without dark spot, setation of the wing, including marginal fringe, short nearly inconspicuous ( Figs 13E‒F)......................... F. curtivena Bouček, 1981

- Gt3 longer than Gt4 (about 1.5 ×as long as Gt3) ( Fig. 15C); fore wing with a small dark brown spot beside mv, setation of the wing, including marginal fringe, long and conspicuous ( Fig. 15E).................. F. sinai Lotfalizadeh & Rasplus sp. n.

3(1) Mesosoma strongly arched ( Figs 24E, 36A, E); head only partly visible in dorsal view; mesoscutum mostly coriaceous ( Figs 25A, 37A)........................................................................................... 4

- Mesosoma slightly arched ( Figs 17A, 19A, 21A); head mostly visible in dorsal view; mesoscutum coriaceous or umbilicate.. ................................................................................................... 5

4(3) Body dark or dark brown ( Fig. 36A); fu2‒fu5 distinctly broader than long ( Fig. 36C)..................................................................................................... F. gibba Lotfalizadeh & Rasplus sp. n.

- Body yellowish ( Fig. 24A); all funiculars longer than broad ( Fig. 24B).......... F. comptoni Lotfalizadeh & Rasplus sp. n.

5(3) Flagellum with fu2‒fu4 not longer than broad, fu5 broader than long ( Figs 19B, 33B, 41B)........................... 6

- Flagellum with fu2–fu4 longer than broad, fu5 at least as long as broad ( Figs 27B, 39B)............................. 8

6(5) Body dark brown ( Fig. 21A); clava entirely or at least two terminal segments yellowish-orange ( Fig. 21B); POL short, not more than 2× as long as OOL ( Fig. 21D)........................................ F. carolae Lotfalizadeh & Rasplus sp. n.

- Body yellowish-brown ( Figs 33A, 41A); clava dark brown as for funiculars ( Figs 33B, 41B); POL long, more than 2× as long as OOL ( Figs 33D, 41D)............................................................................... 7

7(6) Flagellum with fu1–fu4 with two rows of sensilla ( Fig. 33B); propodeum reticulate medially ( Fig. 34B).............................................................................................. F. gambiensis ( Risbec, 1955)

- Flagellum with fu1–fu4 with a single row of sensilla ( Fig. 41B); propodeum rugose medially ( Fig. 42B)................................................................................... F. tanzanica Lotfalizadeh & Rasplus sp. n.

8(5) Body yellowish, with a dorsal dark bands ( Fig. 27A)............................ F. flava Lotfalizadeh & Rasplus sp. n.

- Body dark brown with few yellowish spots................................................................. 9

9(8) Flagellum with fu5 as long as broad ( Figs 19B, 39B)........................................................ 10

- Flagellum with fu5 longer than broad ( Figs 17B, 30B, 44B)................................................... 11

10(9) Propodeum with a short median carina not reaching half-length of propodeum and with a smooth median band ( Fig. 40B)..................................................................... F. guinensis Lotfalizadeh & Rasplus sp. n.

- Propodeum with a distinct median carina reaching half-length of propodeum and without median a smooth band ( Fig. 19B)..................................................................... F. bouceki Lotfalizadeh & Rasplus sp. n.

11(9) POL less than 1.5× OOL ( Fig. 17D); smooth median band of propodeum reaching the posterior margin of propodeum ( Fig. 18B).......................................................... F. artocarpoides Lotfalizadeh & Rasplus sp. n.

- POL at least 1.5× OOL ( Figs 30D, 44D); smooth median band of propodeum short not reaching the posterior margin of propodeum ( Figs 31B, 45B)............................................................................ 12

12(11) Propodeum with a median carina reaching half-length of propodeum ( Fig. 31B)...................................................................................................... F. gabonensis Lotfalizadeh & Rasplus sp. n.

- Propodeum without median carina ( Fig. 45B).............................. F. vannoorti Lotfalizadeh & Rasplus sp. n.

Male

1 Mesosoma strongly arched dorsally ( Fig. 37A); fu2–fu4 wider than long ( Fig. 38C)... F. gibba Lotfalizadeh & Rasplus sp. n.

- Body slightly arched ( Figs 23A, 29A, 32A); fu2–fu4 longer than wide ( Figs 23B, 26B, 29B, 32B)..................... 2

2(1) Body mostly dark, in some part yellowish ( Figs 16A, 35A).................................................... 3

- Body yellowish, partly dark ( Figs 23A, 26A, 43A)........................................................... 4

3(2) Fore wing without dark brown spot, only mv dark ( Fig. 16D)..................... F. sinai Lotfalizadeh & Rasplus sp. n.

- Fore wing with distinct dark brown spot below mv ( Figs 35A, D)......................... F. gambiensis ( Risbec, 1955)

4(2) Body robust, femora enlarged ( Figs 23A, 26A); fore wing and mv extremely setose, with long setae ( Figs 23D, 26D)...... 5

- Body not robust, femora normal ( Figs 29A, 32A); fore wing at least partly bare, not densely setose ( Figs 29D, 32D)....... 9

5(4) Clava not dark, antenna uniformly coloured ( Fig. 26B)...................... F. comptoni Lotfalizadeh & Rasplus sp. n.

- Clava dark or dark brown ( Figs 18D, 42D)................................................................. 6

6(5) Propodeum with a short median carina, with a U-shaped carina below basal carina ( Fig. 23C).............................................................................................. F. carolae Lotfalizadeh & Rasplus sp. n.

- Propodeum with a long median carina, exceeding half propodeum length ( Figs 42C, 45D)........................... 7

7(6) Fore wing with distinctly dark setae ( Fig. 43D)............................. F. tanzanica Lotfalizadeh & Rasplus sp. n.

- Fore wing setae white below submarginal vein and basal cell ( Fig. 46D)......... F. vannoorti Lotfalizadeh & Rasplus sp. n.

9(4) Antennal formula 11152, first clavomere separated from other clavomeres ( Fig. 32B); propodeum medially with one row of areolae ( Fig. 32C)................................................... F. gabonensis Lotfalizadeh & Rasplus sp. n.

- Antennal formula 11143, clava 3-segmented ( Fig. 29B); propodeum medially with two rows of areolae ( Fig. 29C)............................................................................... F. flava Lotfalizadeh & Rasplus sp. n.