Apanteles quadra Liu & Chen, 2020

Liu, Zhen, He, Jun-Hua, Chen, Xue-Xin & Gupta, Ankita, 2020, The ater-group of the genus Apanteles Foerster (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Microgastrinae) from China with the descriptions of forty-eight new species, Zootaxa 4807 (1), pp. 1-205 : 140-143

Apanteles quadra Liu & Chen , sp. nov.

( Figures 69 , 102 )

Description. Holotype. Female. Body length 2.5 mm, fore wing length 2.7 mm.

Head. Transverse in dorsal view, 2.0× as wide as long, 1.1× wider than mesoscutum. Vertex between eye and posterior ocellus somewhat shiny with shallow punctures. Temple rough, uneven with shallow punctures, slightly constricted. Face nearly quadrate, dull with shallow punctures, inner margin of eyes subparallel-sided. Ocelli small, posterior tangent to anterior ocellus just touching posterior ocelli, distance between fore and hind ocellus as long as diameter of hind ocellus, POL:OD:OOL=4.5:2.0:4.0. Antenna about as long as body length, loosely articulated, penultimate flagellomere 1.6× longer than wide.

Mesosoma. Length:width:height = 41.0:25.0:30.0. Disc of mesonotum dull with dense, deep punctures, shallower towards apex, interspaces not larger than diameter of puncture, rugose between punctures at extremely posterior end of notaulic courses, without longitudinal striations. Scutellar sulcus slightly curved, narrow with carinae inside. Scutellum somewhat shiny and smooth, except for shallow punctures laterally, median length not longer than basal width. Lateral polished field of scutellum reaching over half length of scutellum. Propodeum slightly shiny, not long, coarsely hairy punctate anterio-laterally, areola indistinctly U-shaped apically, impressed medially, without costulae, spiracle enclosed by hind keels, somewhat shiny and polished on each side of areola, with some irregular carinae on posterio-laterally and inside areola. Mesopleuron shiny, anterior parts strongly and discretely punctate, finely strigulate on upper part of sternaulus.

Legs. Hind femur relatively thin, 3.2× longer than wide. Hind coxa shiny with shallow, small punctures above (basally). Spines on outer side of third tibia relatively dense and long. Inner spurs of hind tibia nearly 3/5 length of hind basitarsus, outer spur 0.3. Basitarsus of hind leg nearly as long as tarsomeres 2–4 combined, claws of normal size.

Wings. Pterostigma 2.8× as long as its widest part. Vein 1-R1 nearly 1.3× longer than pterostigma, 5.8× as long as its distance from apex of marginal cell. Vein r arising from middle of pterostigma, perpendicular to the latter, nearly as long as width of pterostigma, about as long as 2-SR, distinctly angled at junction, 2-M half as long as 2-SR, and as long as 2-SR+M and 1-SR, cu-a nearly as long as 2-SR. First discal cell of fore wing weakly (1.1×) wider than high. Second submarginal cell of hind wing 1.4× wider than high. Vein cu-a nearly straight. Hind wing not broad, length of 1-M indistinctly shorter than distance between its distal extremity and apex of vannal lobe, and vannal lobe beyond its widest part slightly curved and hairless.

Metasoma. 1.1× longer than mesosoma. T1 nearly parallel-sided anteriorly, but weakly converged at apical third, 2.3× longer than hind width, concave at basal two-fifths, turned-over part slightly shiny, rough with some punctures laterally, longitudinal channel broad and rugose inside, and apical tubercle polished. T2 shiny, smooth, 4.0× wider than long in the middle, nearly straight apically. T3 1.9× longer than T2. Tergites posterior to T2 shiny, smooth and pubescent. Hypopygium broad, and distinctly longer than apex of metasoma. Ovipositor sheath hardly 1.2× longer than length of hind tibia, relatively narrow, hairs not long and relatively sparse, ovipositor without apical attenuation.

Colour. Black. Tegula bright yellow. Palpi and spurs white. Antenna and ovipositor sheath brown. Labrum and mandible reddish brown. Legs bright yellow, except apical third of hind tibia and tarsus brownish. Wing membrane hyaline, setae light brownish, C+SC+R, 1-R1, pterostigma, r, 2-SR and 2-M brown, other alar veins more or less pale brown.

Variation. Body length 2.2–2.5 mm, fore wing length 2.7–2.9 mm.

Male. Unknown.

Material examined. Holotype: 1♀, Wanjia, Mayanghe , Guizhou, 2007.IX.27–30, Liu Jingxian, No. 200708344 . Paratypes: 4♀♀, ditto, Nos. 200708375, 200708543, 200708752, 200708871 ; 1♀, ditto, Zhu Lan- lan, No. 200708209 ; 2♀♀, Dahe, Mayanghe , Guizhou, 2007.X.1–3, Liu Jingxian, Nos. 200709562, 200709609 ; 1♀, Xiaodanjiang, Mt. Leigong , Guizhou, 2005.VI.4, Zhang Hongying, No. 200606179 ; 1♀, Yinggeling , Hainan, 2007.X.18, Liu Jingxian, No. 200709897 .

Distribution. China (Guizhou, Hainan).

Etymology. The specific name “ quadra ” derives from the Latin, referring to the face nearly quadrate.

Remarks. This species is similar to A. chloris Nixon , but differs in the following: T1 with a rugose trough (without in latter); wings hyaline (weakly brownish in latter); and T1 converged apically (not in latter).

Figures

FIGURE 69. Apanteles quadra Liu & Chen, sp. nov. Holotype. a. habitus, lateral view; b. fore wing; c. hind wing; d. head, dorsal view; e. mesopleuron; f. ovipositor sheath; g. propodeum; h. metasoma, dorsal view; i. head, frontal view; j. mesonotum and scutellum, dorsal view. Scale line = 0.5 mm.

FIGURE 102. 60–76: Distribution map of ater-group of the genus Apanteles Foerster, 1862. 60: A. nixoni Song & Chen, 2002; 61: A. ocellisublimus Liu & Chen, sp. nov.; 62: A. opacus (Ashmead, 1905); 63: A. oritias Nixon, 1965; 64: A. pachycarinatus Song & Chen, 2002; 65: A. pellucipterus Song & Chen, 2001; 66: A. plureseta Liu & Chen, sp. nov.; 67: A. prominens Liu & Chen, sp. nov.; 68: A. psenes Nixon, 1965; 69: A. qudra Liu & Chen, sp. nov.; 70: A. radocoxa Liu & Chen, sp. nov.; 71: A. raviantenna Chen & Song, 2004; 72: A. salsala Liu & Chen, sp. nov.; 73: A. salutifer Wilkinson, 1931; 74: A. saravus Nixon, 1965; 75: A. sartamus Nixon, 1965; 76: A. scrobiculatus Liu & Chen, sp. nov.