Neoheterospilus (Neoheterospilus) alkowdi, Belokobylskij, 2020

Belokobylskij, S. A., 2020, Two new species of the genus Neoheterospilus Belokobylskij, 2006 (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Doryctinae) from Yemen, Zootaxa 4853 (4), pp. 591-600 : 592-595

Neoheterospilus (Neoheterospilus) alkowdi sp. nov.

Figs 1–16

Type material. Holotype: female, “ Yemen (4055), Al Kowd , ix 1999, light-trap, A.v. Harten & S. Al Haruri, RMNH’00” ( RMNH).

Paratypes. 1 female, “ Yemen (4054), Al Kowd , viii 1999, light-trap, A.v. Harten & S. Al Haruri, RMNH’00” ( ZISP) ; 1 female, “ Yemen, Al Kowd , v–vi.2000, light-tr, no 4719, A.v. Harten & S. Al Haruri, RMNH’01” ( RMNH) ; 1 male, “ Yemen, Al Kowd , ix.2003, light trap; A.v. Harten & S. Al Haruri, RMNH’03” ( RMNH) ; 1 female, “ Yemen (5404), Hammam ‘ Ali, from coffee-berries (with Ceratitis capitata ?), 14.iii.2001, A.v. Harten, RMNH’02” ( RMNH) .

Description. Female. Body length 2.9–3.5 mm; fore wing length 1.9–2.2 mm.

Head ( Figs 2–4 ) width 1.6–1.7 × its median length, 1.2–1.3 × width of mesoscutum. Occipital carina mediodorsally weakly curved forwards and fine (almost interrupted medially). Head behind eyes (dorsal view) distinctly roundly narrowed. Transverse diameter of eye 2.4–2.5 × longer than temple (dorsal view). Ocelli arranged in triangle with base 1.1 × its sides. POL almost equal to Od, 0.6–0.7 × OOL. Eye 1.2 × as high as broad. Malar space about 0.2 × eye height, 0.55–0.60 × basal width of mandible. Face width 0.8–0.9 × eye height and 1.2–1.3 × height of face and clypeus combined. Width of hypoclypeal depression 1.3–1.5 × distance from edge of depression to eye, 0.6 × width of face. Hypostomal flange rather narrow. Mandible thick. Maxillary palpi 0.9–1.0 × as long as head height.

Antenna ( Figs 5, 6 ) filiform, rather slender, 25–28 antennomeres, 0.9–1.1 × as long as body. Scapus 1.5–1.8 × longer than its maximum width. First flagellomere 4.7–5.3 × longer than its apical width, about 1.2 × longer than second flagellomere. Penultimate flagellomere 3.2–3.5 × longer than wide, 0.6 × as long as first flagellomere, 0.85 × as long as apical flagellomere; the latter with distinct spine apically.

Mesosoma ( Figs 7, 8 ) 1.9–2.0 × longer than high. Mesoscutum (dorsal view) 0.8 × as long as wide. Median lobe of mesoscutum very weakly convex anteriorly. Prescutellar depression finely rugulose, with distinct median carina, 0.4 × as long as the weakly convex scutellum. Sternaulus running along anterior 0.6 of lower part of mesopleuron, rugulose; posterior to deep sternaulus present shallow, narrow and sublongitudinally striate stripe reaching posterior margin of mesopleuron.

Wings ( Figs 11, 12 ). Fore wing 3.0–3.2 × longer than wide. Metacarp (1-R1) 1.2–1.4 × longer than pterostigma. Second radial abscissa (3-SR) about as long as first abscissa (r), 0.25–0.30 × as long as third abscissa (SR1), 0.5–0.6 × as long as the trace of first radiomedial vein (2-SR). First abscissa of medial vein (1-SR+M) distinctly curved. Discoidal (discal) cell 2.0–2.2 × longer than wide. Distance between basal vein (1-M) and nervulus (cu-a) 0.5–0.6 × nervulus (cu-a) length. Hind wing 4.7–5.0 × longer than wide. Second costal abscissa (1-SC+R) distinct and sclerotised. First abscissa of mediocubital vein (M+CU) 0.6–0.7 × as long as second abscissa (1-M). Recurrent vein (m-cu) antefurcal, unsclerotised, evenly curved towards apex of wing.

Legs ( Figs 9 , 16 ). Hind femur 3.7–4.1 × longer than wide. Hind tarsus 0.85–0.90 × as long as hind tibia. Hind tibia slender. Second segment of hind tarsus 0.65–0.70 × as long as basitarsus, 1.5–1.6 × longer than fifth segment (without pretarsus).

Metasoma ( Figs 14–16 ) 1.3–1.5 × longer than head and mesosoma combined. First tergite distinctly and almost linearly widened toward apex, its length 1.0–1.1 × maximum subapical width; subapical width 1.7–2.1 × its minimum basal width. Basal area of second tergite semi-circular, delineated by rather distinct and wide furrow, situated along median 0.40–0.45 of basal margin of tergite, its median length 0.30–0.35 × length of remainder part of tergite (with apical area); apical area not constricted medially, its median length 0.40–0.45 × length of remainder part of tergite (with basal area). Median length of second tergite 0.7–0.8 × its basal width, 1.8–2.0 × length of third tergite. Ovipositor sheath strongly and regularly widened apically, 0.8–1.0 × as long as metasoma, 1.50–1.75 × longer than mesosoma, 0.7–0.8 × as long as fore wing. Ovipositor slender ( Fig. 10 ), its apex as in Fig. 13 .

Sculpture and pubescence. Head mainly smooth, frons sometimes finely and widely reticulate-coriaceous, face finely rugulose on wide sublateral vertical stripes, smooth medially and laterally. Mesoscutum finely to very finely reticulate-coriaceous, partly almost smooth, finely and very sparsely striate-rugulose in medioposterior third. Scutellum very finely coriaceous or smooth. Mesopleuron medially partly smooth, finely coriaceous on sides and around sternaulus. Metapleuron densely but rather finely reticulate to almost smooth in anterior half, reticulate-rugose in posterior half. Basolateral areas of propodeum finely coriaceous to smooth; remaining part of propodeum rather largely and coarsely rugose-reticulate; areola irregular, pentagonal, more or less distinctly delineated by carinae, rather long and wide, 1.2–1.4 × longer than wide; basal carina almost as long as areola. Hind coxa rugulose in dorsal or dorso-basal half, almost smooth in lower half or at most part. Hind femur reticulate in upper half and smooth in lower half or almost entirely smooth. First metasomal tergite almost entirely regularly and rather densely longitudinally striate, with fine additional reticulation between striae, dorsal carinae distinct or fine in posterior half, distinctly convergent basally, then weakly convergent to almost parallel-sided, usually almost reaching apical margin of tergite. Second tergite distinctly undulately striate with fine reticulation between striae, its basal and apical areas smooth. Third to fifth tergites finely or very finely rugulose-striate in basal 0.4–0.2 (laterally longer). Remainder parts of tergites smooth. All furrows and suture of second tergite, basal furrows of fourth and fifth tergites distinctly and short crenulate. Vertex almost entirely with rather dense short and semi-erect yellow setae directed forwards. Mesoscutum with medium length semi-erect white setae arranged widely along notauli and narrowly laterally, remainder of mesoscutum glabrous. Mesopleuron mostly glabrous. Hind tibia with middle-length, semierect and dense setae, their length 0.6–0.9 × maximum width of tibia. Ovipositor sheath entirely with long, dense, semi-erect dark setae.

Colour. Body light reddish-brown to yellowish-brown. Two first antennomeres (scapus and pedicel) reddishbrown or light reddish-brown, flagellum entirely dark brown to almost black. Palpi yellow to pale yellow. Legs yellow to pale brown, coxae sometimes faintly darker, all tarsi pale yellow, but fifth segments dark, all tibiae rather pale basally. Ovipositor sheath entirely dark brown to almost black. Fore wing hyaline. Pterostigma almost entirely brown.

Male. Body length 2.4 mm; fore wing length 1.5 mm. Antenna 22 antennomeres. Mesosoma 1.7 × longer than high. Mesoscutum (dorsal view) 0.7 × as long as wide. Propodeum with long and narrow areola, with subtriangular basolateral areas. Hind wing with long brown stigma-like enlargement, which is 3.3 × longer than maximum width and 2.8 × longer than distance from base of wing to base of enlargement. Hind femur 3.2 × longer than wide. Median length of second tergite 0.9 × its basal width. Otherwise similar to female.

Comparative diagnosis. This new species is similar to N. africanus Belokobylskij, 2006 from South Africa, but differs from it in having the antenna 25–28 antennomeres (21–23 antennomeres in N. africanus ), first flagellomere 4.7–5.3 × longer than its apical width (2.8–4.0 × in N. africanus ), mesopleuron posteriorly to deep sternaulus with additional striate stripe prolongated till mesopleuron margin (with smooth additional stripe in N. africanus ), second radial abscissa (3-SR) 0.25–0.30 × as long as third abscissa (SR1) (0.35–0.37 × in N. africanus ), basal area of second tergite situated along its median 0.40–0.45 of basal margin (along its median 0.7 in N. africanus ), apical area of second tergite not constricted medially and its median length 0.40–0.45 × length of remainder part of tergite (weakly constricted medially and 0.65–0.70 × length of remainder part of tergite in N. africanus ), ovipositor sheath longer (shorter in N. africanus ), face finely rugulose on wide sublateral vertical stripe (entirely smooth in N. africanus ), body entirely light reddish-brown to yellowish-brown (head black and mesosoma reddish-brown and almost black dorsally in N. africanus ), flagellum entirely dark brown to black (basal flagellomeres yellow to light brown in N. africanus ).

Etymology. From the name of Al Kowd settlement in Yemen, when most material (including holotype) of this new species was collected.

Distribution. Yemen.

Figures

FIGURES 1–10. Neoheterospilus (Neoheterospilus) alkowdi sp. nov. (female, holotype). 1. Body, lateral view. 2. Head, front view. 3. Head, dorsal view. 4. Head, lateral view. 5. Apical antennomeres. 6. Basal antennomeres. 7. Mesosoma, dorsal view. 8. Mesosoma, lateral view. 9. Hind leg. 10. Ovipositor.

FIGURES 11–16. Neoheterospilus (Neoheterospilus) alkowdi sp. nov. (female, holotype). 11. Fore wing. 12. Hind wing, basal part. 13. Apex of ovipositor. 14. Propodeum and first to third metasomal tergites, dorsal view. 15. Metasoma, dorsal view. 16. Metasoma, lateral view.