Apanteles carssus 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 : 53-55

Apanteles carssus Liu & Chen , sp. nov.

( Figures 22 , 99 )

Description. Holotype. Female. Body length 2.9 mm, fore wing length 3.2 mm.

Head. Transverse in dorsal view, 2.0× as wide as long, 0.9× as wide as mesoscutum. Vertex between eye and posterior ocellus dull with dense and stong puncture. Appearance of temple as former, not constricted, weakly traversely aciculation at bottom. Face 0.8× as high as wide, dull with small dense punctures, inner margin of eyes slightly converged towards apex. Ocelli not large, posterior tangent to anterior ocellus virtually not touching posterior ocelli, distance between fore and hind ocellus as long as diameter of hind ocellus, POL:OD:OOL=5.0:2.0:5.0. Antenna slightly shorter than body length, closely articulated, penultimate flagellomere cubic to at most weakly longer than wide.

Mesosoma. Length:width:height = 51.5:33.5:33.5. Disc of mesonotum slightly shiny, densely and finely punctate, interspaces weakly not larger than diameter of puncture, heavily striate-punctation at posterior end of notaulic courses. Scutellar sulcus nearly straight, narrow with dense carinae in between. Scutellum shiny and polished entirely, median length indistinctly longer than basal width, thus much narrower behind. Lateral polished field of scutellum reaching over half length of scutellum. Propodeum dull, strongly rugose entirely, areola narrow, ovallike, with medial keel at basal third, without costulae, but spiracle distinctly enclosed by keels. Mesopleuron shiny, anterior half parts sparsely, heavily punctate, weakly rugulose at top of sternaulus.

Legs. Hind femur thick, 2.9× longer than wide. Hind coxa dull, densely punctate on top of the outside. Spines on outer side of third tibia acuminated and relatively dense. Inner spurs of hind tibia nearly half length of hind basitarsus, outer spur 1/4. Basitarsus of hind leg slightly longer than tarsomeres 2–4 combined (19.0:17.5), claws of normal size.

Wings. Pterostigma 3.0× as long as its widest part. Vein 1-R1 1.2× as long as pterostigma, 4.6× as long as its distance from apex of marginal cell. Vein r arising from middle of pterostigma, perpendicular to the latter, slightly longer than width of pterostigma, 1.4× longer than 2-SR, distinctly angled at junction, 2-M 5/7 length of 2-SR, as long as 1-SR, m-cu as long as width of pterostigma, 2-SR+M slightly shorter than 2-SR. First discal cell of fore wing much wider, 1.2× wider than high. Second submarginal cell of hind wing as wide as high. Vein cu-a weakly curved. Hind wing broad, length of 1-M distinctly shorter than distance between its distal extremity and apex of vannal lobe, and vannal lobe beyond its widest part strongly concave and hairless.

Metasoma. As long as mesosoma. T1 slightly converged towards apex, relatively long, 2.1× longer than hind width, concave at basal third, turned-over part dull, finely rugulose, with an indistinct medial cavity, and apical tubercle polished. T2 shiny, subtriangular, polished except several shallow punctures posterio-laterally, 3.5× wider than long in the middle, strongly curved into T3 apically. T3 1.8× longer than T2. Tergites posterior to T2 polished, shiny, and pubescent. Hypopygium remarkably longer than apex of metasoma. Ovipositor sheath 1.5× longer than length of hind tibia, slightly narrower, hairs long and dense.

Colour. Black. Tegula dark brown. Palpi and spurs pale yellowish. Antenna and ovipositor sheath dark brown. Labrum and mandible dark brown. Legs black, except apical half of fore femur, fore tibia with tarsus, basal fourth of mid tibia and basal fifth of hind tibia more or less yellowish. Wing membrane hyaline, C+SC+R, 1-R1, border of pterostigma, r, 2-SR, and 2-M light yellowish brown, other alar veins more or less pale, pterostigma pallid.

Variation. Body length 2.7–2.9 mm, fore wing length 3.2–3.5 mm.

Male. Body length 2.4–2.7 mm, fore wing length 2.6–3.0 mm. Similar to female mostly, except: T1 less rugulose; legs black entirely; and antenna distinctly longer than body length, penultimate flagellomere 2.3× longer than wide.

Hosts. According to the label, Dendrolimus punctatus Walker ( Lepidoptera : Lasiocampidae ) and Antherea pernyi Guerin-Meneville ( Lepidoptera : Saturniidae ).

Material examined. Holotype: 1♀, Quzhou , Zhejiang, 1985.VI.3, Shen Lirong, No. 853678, ex Dendrolimus sp . Paratypes: 1♀, Yuexi , Anhui, 1981.IX.24, Yang Fuan, No. 820600 ; 1♀, Guangzhou , Guangdong, 1988, Liang Weiguang, No. 888970 ; 2♀♀ 1♂, Quzhou , Zhejiang, 1985.IX.20, Wang Jinyou, Nos. 853701, 853118, 853754(♂), ex Dendrolimus sp .; 1♀ 5♂♂, ditto, 1985.IX.24, Shen Lirong, No. 853664, ex Dendrolimus sp .; 1♀, ditto, 1985. VI.25, Shen Lirong, No. 853799, ex Antherea pernyi Guerin-Meneville ; 1♀, ditto, 1985, Shen Lirong, No. 853800 ; 1♀, ditto, 1985.V, He Junhua, No. 860889, ex Dendrolimus punctatus Walker ; 1♀, ditto, 1984.VII, He Junhua, No. 845950 ; 3♀♀, ditto, Zhejiang, 1984.IX.23–24, He Junhua, Nos. 845888, 845889, 845947, ex Dendrolimus sp .; 1♀, ditto, 1985.X.16, Shen Lirong, No. 864264 ; 1♀, ditto, 1985.V.17, Shen Lirong, No. 864265 ; 1♀, Mt. Mogan , Zheji- ang, 1984.VIII.9–12, Qian Ying, No. 845427 ; 4♀♀, Pinghu , Zhejiang, 1985.X.22, Wang Hongxiang, Nos. 853351, 853359, 853360, 853361 ; 2♀♀, Haiyan , Zhejiang, 1985.X.19, Wang Hongxiang, Nos. 853488, 853480 .

Distribution. China (Anhui, Guangdong, Zhejiang).

Etymology. The specific name “ carssus ” derives from the Latin, referring to the hind femur thick.

Remarks. This species is similar to A. magastigma Liu & Chen , sp. nov., but differs in the following: ovipositor sheath 1.5× longer than length of hind tibia (almost as long as in latter); scutellum indistinctly narrower basally than long medially (slightly wider basally than long medially in latter); and hind wing not broad, length of 1-M nearly as long as distance between its distal extremity and apex of vannal lobe (broad, the length distinctly shorter in latter).

Figures

FIGURE 22. Apanteles carssus Liu & Chen, sp. nov. Holotype, a. habitus, lateral view; b. fore wing; c. propodeum; d. head, dorsal view; e. head, frontal view; f. hind wing; g. metasoma, dorsal view; h. mesonotum and scutellum, dorsal view; i. mesopleuron. Scale line = 0.5 mm.

FIGURE 99. 17–32: Distribution map of ater-group of the genus Apanteles Foerster, 1862. 17: A. brevitempus Liu & Chen, sp. nov.; 18: A. brunnistigma Abdinbekova, 1969; 19: A. bulbus Liu & Chen, sp. nov.; 20: A. cannabis Liu & Chen, sp. nov.; 21: A. carpatus (Say, 1836); 22: A. carssus Liu & Chen, sp. nov.; 23: A. cerberus Nixon, 1965; 24: A. changhingensis Chu, 1937; 25: A. chloris Nixon, 1965; 26: A. clita Nixon, 1965; 27: A. cocotis Wilkinson, 1934; 28: A. crassus Liu & Chen, sp. nov.; 29: A. cyprioides Nixon, 1965; 30: A. cypris Nixon, 1965; 31: A. demades Nixon, 1965; 32: A. diocles Nixon, 1965.