Hecabolus assis Sormus

Castro, Clóvis Sormus De, Zaldívar-Riverón, Alejandro, Briceño-G, Rosa & Penteado-Dias, Angélica Maria, 2013, The genus Hecabolus Curtis 1834 (Braconidae: Doryctinae) in South America, with description of six new species, Zootaxa 3664 (3), pp. 377-391 : 378-380

Hecabolus assis Sormus de Castro & Zaldívar-Riverón sp. n.

Figs 1 A–D

Diagnosis. Hecabolus assis is morphologically similar to one of the species described below, H. robustus sp. nov. These two species share a vertex entirely smooth; mesoscutal lobes coriaceous; propodeum coriaceous on basal half, punctate-areolate on apical half, with a median and a lateral longitudinal carinae; basal sternal plate (acrosternite) short, no more than 0.2 times length of first metasomal tergite; and hind femur broad, about 2.0–2.2 times longer than wide. However, H. assis mainly differs from H. robustus sp. nov. by having part of the third and following tergites smooth and polished (third and following tergites acinose in H. robustus sp.nov.), and lateral area of pronotum weakly rugose (strongly rugose in H. robustus sp. nov.).

Description. Female. Body length 3.1 mm; fore wing length 2.6 mm; ovipositor length 2.4 mm.

Head: Head width 1.9 times median length (dorsal view), 0.9 times width of mesoscutum. Head behind eyes (dorsal view) weakly convex in anterior half, weakly roundly narrowed in posterior half. Transverse diameter of eye 2.0 times longer than temple. Ocelli small, arranged in isosceles triangle. POL 2.0 times Od, 0.7 times OOL. Eye glabrous, without emargination opposite antennal sockets, 1.3 times higher than broad. Height of malar space around 0.3 times height of eye. Malar suture absent. Clypeus high, with a distinct lower flange. Hypoclypeal depression elliptical, 0.7 times longer than wide. Occipital carina wide, complete, ventrally joined with hypostomal carina. Head below eyes roundly narrowed. Antennae more than 14-segmented (apical segments missing). Scape 1.5 times longer than its maximum width, first flagellar segment straight, 3.0 times longer than apical width, as long as second segment.

Mesosoma: Length of mesosoma 1.9 times its height. Pronotum short, dorsally weakly convex, with distinct submedial pronotal carina. Mesoscutum strongly declivous anteriorly and roundly elevated above pronotum (lateral view); its length (dorsal view) 0.7 times maximum width. Median lobe of mesoscutum shortly protruding forward, without distinct anterolateral shoulders. Notauli wide anteriorly, narrow posteriorly, deep and scrobiculate. Prescutellar depression deep, with seven carinae, about 0.4 times as long as scutellum. Scutellum weakly convex. Precoxal sulcus wide, shallow and straight, running along 0.6 length of lower part of mesopleuron. Metanotal tooth short, wide and blunt. Metapleural lobe large and narrow. Propodeum with small and blunt lateral tubercles.

Wings: fore wing 2.9 times longer than its maximum width. Pterostigma narrow, 3.3 times longer than wide. Vein r arising before middle of pterostigma. Marginal cell long, its length 3.0 times maximum width. Vein R1 1.2 times longer than pterostigma. Vein r 1.0 times as long as maximum width of pterostigma. Vein 3RSa slightly curved anteriorly and straight in posterior half, 6.0 times longer than vein r, 4.5 times longer than vein 2RS. Vein 2RS 1.3 longer than vein r, and twice longer than vein m-cu. Vein m-cu antefurcal to vein 2RS. Vein (RS+M)a slightly curved. First discal cell 2.3 longer than wide. Veins 1M and m-cu slightly divergent posteriorly. Vein 1M 3.0 times longer than vein 1RS, 3.0 longer than vein m-cu. Vein cu-a curved, distance from vein cu-a to vein 1M equal to vein cu-a length. Vein M+CU distinctly S-shaped. Subdiscal cell open distally, vein 2cu-a absent; vein 2CU arising behind middle of subdiscal cell, almost interstitial to vein 1CU. Hind wing 4.5 times longer than its maximum width. Vein C+Sc+R 2.8 times longer than vein Sc+R. Basal cell narrow, weakly widened in apical half, its length 6.0 times maximum width, 0.3 times length of wing. Vein M+CU 1.8 times longer than vein 1M. Vein mcu unsclerotised, almost straight, weakly oblique toward base of wing.

Legs: Fore tibia with a row of at least seven spines arranged more or less in a line. Hind coxa without basoventral tubercle, protruding forwards in ventro-anterior corner, 1.5 times longer than maximum width. Hind femur considerably broad, 2.2 times longer than wide. Hind tibia rather wide. Hind tarsus 0.8 times as long as hind tibia. Basitarsus 0.8 times as long as second-fifth segments combined. Second tarsal segment 0.4 times as long as basitarsus, 2.0 times as long as fifth segment (without pretarsus).

Metasoma: Metasoma longer than head and mesosoma combined. First tergite with short basal sternal plate, 0.2 times as long as tergite, with small dorsope, linearly widened from base to apex. Maximum width of first tergite 1.3 times its minimum width; length about 0.9 times its apical width, 0.9 times length of propodeum. Second tergite without any furrows. Median length of second tergite about 0.4 times its basal width, 2.0 times length of third tergite. Combined length of second and third tergites 0.7 times their maximum width. Second suture shallow, slightly sinuate. Ovipositor sheaths thick, 1.4 times as long as metasoma, 1.7 times longer than mesosoma, about 0.7 times as long as body, about the same length as fore wing.

Sculpture and pubescence: Vertex and frons entirely smooth. Face transversally costate-rugose and setose; temple and gena smooth. Pronotal groove wide, deep, scrobiculate laterally, smooth medially; lateral area of pronotum weakly rugose. Mesoscutal lobes coriaceous, sparsely setose. Notauli not joining, obscuring before basal half of mesoscutum in a large, longitudinally costate-rugose area. Scutellum smooth, sparsely setose. Mesopleuron smooth dorsally and medially, slightly diagonally costate ventrally; venter of mesopleuron slightly rugose; subalar sulcus wide, deep and scrobiculate dorsally, absent after reaching precoxal sulcus; mesopleural sulcus wide, deep and scrobiculate; precoxal sulcus scrobiculate. Metapleuron rugose-areolate. Propodeum coriaceous on basal half, punctate-areolate on apical half, with a median and a lateral longitudinal carinae running along its entire length. Hind coxa smooth to slightly rugose dorsally, striate-rugose ventrally. Hind femur smooth and setose. First metasomal tergite longitudinally striate with carinate microsculpture, with a pair of complete median longitudinal carinae; second tergite longitudinally striate with carinate microsculpture; third tergite finely carinate on basal half, smooth on apical half. Remaining tergites smooth and polished.

Colour: Body black, face, clypeus, malar space and mandibles dark brown. Scape, pedicel and first flagellomere honey yellow, remaining flagellomeres honey yellow, turning black apically. Fore and middle legs honey yellow, except basal half of femora, which are dark brown. Hind coxa dark brown to black, trochanter and trochantellus honey yellow, femur dark brown; tarsi and tibia honey yellow. Wings hyaline, pterostigma dark brown, veins brown. Ovipositor brown, tip of ovipositor strongly sclerotised; sheaths brown, turning black to apex.

Material examined. Holotype. Female (DCBU): Brazil, São Paulo state, Assis , 04/X/2008, Estação Ecológica de Assis , 22o 35’14’’ S – 50o 22’38’’ W, savannah; Carolina Silva e Souza col.

Male. Unknown.

Distribution. Assis municipality, São Paulo state, southeast Brazil.

Biology. Unknown.

Etymology. This species is named after the municipality of Assis where the only known specimen of this species was collected.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Hecabolus assis sp. nov. (female, holotype). A habitus, lateral view; B mesosoma, lateral view; C mesosoma, dorsal view; D metasoma, dorsal view.