Apanteles jasmine 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 : 97-100

Apanteles jasmine Liu & Chen , sp. nov.

( Figures 46 , 100 )

Description. Holotype. Female. Body length 2.5 mm, fore wing length 2.8 mm.

Head. Transverse in dorsal view, 2.0× as wide as long, weakly narrower than mesoscutum. Vertex between eye and posterior ocellus dull with indefinite punctures. Temple rough with coarse, rugose-punctures, strongly constricted. Face hardly 0.7× as high as wide, dull, rough with even, small punctures, inner margin of eyes subparallelsided, sparsely pubescent. Ocelli not large, posterior tangent to anterior ocellus virtually transecting posterior ocelli, distance between fore and hind ocellus slightly longer than diameter of hind ocellus, POL:OD:OOL=5.0:2.0:5.0. Antenna much shorter than body length, closely articulated, penultimate flagellomere 1.5× longer than wide.

Mesosoma. Length:width:height = 47.5:30.0:34.0. Disc of mesonotum not shiny with coarse punctures, interspaces not smaller than diameter of puncture, punctures confluent to striate at posterior end of notaulic courses and hind part. Scutellar sulcus nearly straight, narrow with carinae inside. Scutellum convex, dull with rugulose punctures entirely, median length not longer than basal width. Lateral polished field of scutellum reaching half length of scutellum. Propodeum dull, rugose anterio-laterally, strongly areolated, V-shaped apically, with some transverse carinae inside, costulae indefinite, spiracle enclosed by posterior keels, with irregular carinae around areolation and posterio-laterally. Mesopleuron shiny, anterior parts slightly shiny with distinct punctures, finely strigulate on and above sternaulus.

Legs. Hind femur 3.1× longer than wide. Hind coxa weakly shiny with extremely shallow punctures above (basally). Spines on outer side of third tibia relatively dense. Inner spurs of hind tibia half length of hind basitarsus, outer spur 0.3. Basitarsus of hind leg about as long as tarsomeres 2–4 combined, claws of normal size.

Wings. Pterostigma 2.6× as long as its widest part. Vein 1-R1 nearly 1.2× longer than pterostigma, 3.0× as long as its distance from apex of marginal cell. Vein r arising from middle of pterostigma, nearly perpendicular to the latter, as long as width of pterostigma, r 1.5× longer than 2-SR, indistinctly angled (or curved) at junction, 2-M half length of 2-SR, weakly shorter than 1-SR, 2-SR+M weakly shorter than cu-a, and the latter slightly longer than 2- SR. First discal cell of fore wing slightly (1.1×) wider than high. Second submarginal cell of hind wing almost as wide as high. Vein cu-a nearly straight, except its extreme apex somewhat curved. Hind wing broad, length of 1-M much shorter than distance between its distal extremity and apex of vannal lobe, and vannal lobe beyond its widest part strongly concave and without setae.

Metasoma. 0.9× as long as mesosoma. T1 parallel-sided, weakly constricted at apical third, 1.7× longer than hind width, concave at basal third, turned-over part slightly shiny and scrobiculate rugose, weaker at apex, longitudinal trough absent, and apical tubercle indistinct, shiny and smooth. T2 shiny and smooth, 3.8× wider than long in the middle, weakly curved into T3 apically. T3 1.6× longer than T2. Tergites posterior to T2 shiny, smooth, and sparsely pubescent. Hypopygium not longer than apex of metasoma. Ovipositor sheath short, 0.8× as long as length of hind tibia, narrow.

Colour. Black. Tegula dark brown. Palpi and spurs pale yellowish. Antenna yellowish brown and ovipositor sheath brown. Labrum and mandible reddish brown. Legs yellowish brown, except fore leg, apical half of middle femur, middle tibia with tarsus, basal two-thirds of hind tibia and basal half of hind basitarsus yellow, hind coxa brown. Wing membrane hyaline, C+SC+R, 1-R1, border of pterostigma, r, 2-SR and 2-M yellowish brown, pterostigma pale brown and the rest more or less colourless.

Variation. Body length 2.3–2.7 mm, fore wing length 3.0– 3.4 mm.

Male. Body length 2.2 mm, fore wing length 3.0 mm. Similar to female, except antenna slightly longer, and tergites posterior to T1 yellowish brown.

Hosts. According to the labels, a larva of family Noctuidae on Jasmine.

Material examined. Holotype: 1♀, Zhejiang, 1964, ex a larva of family Noctuidae on Jasmine, No. 861961 . Paratypes: 4♀♀ 2♂♂, ditto .

Distribution. China (Zhejiang).

Etymology. The specific name “ jasmine ” derives from its host plant.

Remarks. This species is similar to A. folia Nixon , but differs in the following: hind coxa with extremely shallow punctures above (basally) (considerable rugose in latter); ovipositor sheath much longer than hind basitarsus (as long as in latter); and face rough with even, small punctures (coarsely punctate, becoming duller and rugosepunctate towards antennal insertions in latter).

Figures

FIGURE 46. Apanteles jasmine Liu & Chen, sp. nov. Holotype. a. head, frontal view; b. fore wing; c. mesonotum and scutellum, dorsal view; d. mesopleuron; e. propodeum; f. metasoma, dorsal view; g. hind wing; h. habitus, lateral view. Scale line = 0.5 mm.

FIGURE 100. 33–47: Distribution map of ater-group of the genus Apanteles Foerster, 1862. 33: A. dissimile Nixon, 1965; 34: A. distributa Liu & Chen, sp. nov.; 35: A. dryas Nixon, 1965; 36: A. expansus Liu & Chen, sp. nov.; 37: A. flavibasalis Liu & Chen, sp. nov.; 38: A. florus Nixon, 1965; 39: A. folia Nixon, 1965; 40: A. fraxinus Liu & Chen, sp. nov.; 41: A. fundum Liu & Chen, sp. nov.; 42: A. fuscidentalis Liu & Chen, sp. nov.; 43: A. galleriae Wilkinson, 1932; 44: A. gracilicorne Song & Chen, 2004; 45: A. Apanteles importunus Wilkinson, 1928; 46: A. jasmine Liu & Chen, sp. nov.; 47: A. javensis Rohwer, 1919.