Ascogaster ferruginegaster, Kittel & Austin, 2015

Kittel, Rebecca N. & Austin, Andrew D., 2015, New species of Australian arid zone chelonine wasps from the genera Phanerotoma and Ascogaster (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) informed by the ‘ Bush Blitz’ surveys of national reserves, Journal of Natural History 50, pp. 211-262 : 226-227

Ascogaster ferruginegaster sp. nov.

( Figures 5a – e , 15 )

Description (female)

Body measurements. Length of body 3.05 – 3.95 mm; ratio of antenna to body 0.7 – 0.9; ratio of length of fore wing to body 0.75 – 0.88; ratio of length of metasoma to mesosoma 1.1.

Head. Antenna with 19 antennomeres; ratio of length of third antennomere to fourth 0.9; ratio of length of third, fourth, penultimate and terminal antennomere 4.0 – 6.0, 6.0, 2.0, and 2.0 – 3.0 times their width, respectively; ratio of length of eye in dorsal view to length of temple 3.3 – 3.6; ocelli isosceles; imaginary line between anterior margin of posterior ocelli is not touching the anterior ocellus; ratio of width of face in anterior view to its height 2 – 2.4; ratio of width of clypeus to its height 1.0 – 1.3; clypeus without teeth; ratio of length of malar space to base of mandible 3.0; face fine punctate; frons fine rugose; eyes glabrous; ratio posterior ocelli:POL:LOL:OOL 1.0:2.6 – 3.6:1.2 – 1.8:2.4 – 4.2.

Mesosoma. Middle lobe of mesoscutum punctate; notauli absent; mesoscutellum shiny, fine punctate, weakly convex; mesopleuron shiny, fine punctate; precoxal sulcus present; ratio height of mesosoma to length 1.6 – 1.7; hind coxa shiny, smooth; ratio of length of hind tibia to hind tarsus 0.8 – 1.0; ratio hind coxa, hind femur, hind tibia and hind tarsus 1.5 – 1.8, 3.7 – 4.2, 4.0 – 5.3 and 13.0 – 24.0 times their width, respectively; ratio of length of posterior spur to length of basal tarsus 0.4 – 0.46; fore wing: 2-R1 present; ratio of length of 1-R1 to length of pterostigma 0.8 – 0.9; ratio of width of pterostigma to its length 2.0 – 4.0; ratio r:3-SR:SR-1:r-m 1.0:0.9 – 1.2:4.4:0.9 – 1.6; SR-1 completely sclerotised; 1-SR+M emanating from 1+M; 2-SR+M antefurcal or interstitial.

Metasoma. Shape of metasoma oval in dorsal view; ratio of width of metasoma to its length 0.5 – 0.6; carapace broadens to posterior end in lateral view; ratio keel to metasoma length 0.2 – 0.3; carapace fine rugose.

Colour. Head and metasoma black; antenna brown; legs and carapace red brown; wing venation, parastigma and pterostigma dark brown.

Diagnosis

The colour of the carapace distinguishes this species from all those currently described species in Australia. In addition, A. ferruginegaster is one of only five species, along with A. prolixogaster , A. rubriscapa and two undescribed species ( Ascogaster sp. 25 and Ascogaster sp. 28), that has a 3-bp indel in its CO1 sequence at position 271 – 273.

Specimens examined

Holotype, Australia (South Australia): 1 ♀, “ 18 October 2010 Witchelina Station 29°55'11 ″ S, 137°56'13 ″ E, S. Mantel, sweeping; Bush Blitz survey SM080, on Pittosporum angustifolia ” ( SAM) . Paratypes, Australia (Queensland): 1 ♀, 13 km E by S Weipa, 12.40°S, 143.00°W, 16 January – 16 February 1994, P . Zborowski , D Khalu, MT ( ANIC); 1 ♀, 13 km E by S Weipa, 12.40° S, 143.00°W, 15 November – 16 December 1993, P . Zborowski , MT ( ANIC); 1 ♀, 13 km E by S Weipa, 12.40°S, 143.00°W, 12 September – 24 October 1993, P . Zborowski and D. Rentz , MT ( ANIC); 1 ♀, 13 km E by S Weipa, 12.40°S, 143.00°W, 15 November – 16 December 1993, P . Zborowski, FIT ( ANIC) ; Northern Territory: 1 ♀, 1 km E Baralil Ck near Jabiru, 25 June 1980, I . D. Naumann, LT, ex ethanol collection ( ANIC); 1 ♀, Amadeus Basin, 30 June 1962, P . Ranford, ex ethanol collection ( ANIC) .

Male. Unknown.

Biology

The holotype was collected from butterbush ( Pittosporum angustifolium Lodd ) Pittosporaceae .

Etymology

The name refers to the red – brown carapace.

Distribution

Northern Territory, Queensland, and South Australia (Witchelina Station; Figure 15 ).

CO1 sequence

Genbank accession number for this species is KJ438568 .

Figures

Figure 5. Ascogaster ferruginegaster sp. nov.: (a) habitus, lateral, holotype, scale line = 1 mm; (b) head, anterior, holotype, scale line = 0.5 mm; (c) head, dorsal, holotype, scale line = 1 mm; (d) mesosoma dorsal, holotype, scale line = 1 mm; (e) fore wing, holotype, scale line = 1 mm.

Figure 15. Distribution map: Ascogaster brevivena sp. nov., grey circle; Ascogaster ferruginegaster sp. nov., black triangle; Ascogaster prolixogaster sp. nov., grey triangle; Ascogaster rubriscapa sp. nov., black square.