Scelio parapulchripennis Yoder, 2009

Yoder, Matthew, Polaszek, Andrew, Masner, Lubomir, Johnson, Norman & Valerio, Alejandro, 2009, Revision of Scelio pulchripennis - group species (Hymenoptera, Platygastroidea, Platygastridae), ZooKeys 20 (20), pp. 53-118 : 97-99

Scelio parapulchripennis Yoder , sp. n.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:E079E393-E95B-4B68-80FB-9AD8BCFED4BA urn:lsid:biosci.ohio-state.edu:osuc_concepts:238053

Figs 1, 6, 10, 12, 85–90; Morphbank 24

Description. Female body length: 2.92–3.60 mm (n=21). Male body length: 2.52– 3.20 mm (n=20). Color of antenna in female: A1 brown to dark brown, tip of A2 and A3 slightly lighter (to yellow), remaining brown to dark brown. Color of head in female: black. Color of mesosoma in female: dark brown to black. Color of coxae in female: brown to dark brown. Color of leg past coxa in female: brown to dark brown. Color of metasoma in female: brown to dark brown.

Sculpture of lower frons in female: predominantly fine irregular rugulae. Sculpture of ventrolateral frons in female: minutely rugulose to obliterated, sculpture appearing slightly rough, without fine umbilicate sculpture. Form of malar sulcus in female: sulcus percurrent, slit, groove or carina extremely narrow but course well defined. Sculpture of upper frons of female: rugulose, with dorsoventral trend. Sculpture of dorsal head between and posterior to lateral ocelli in female: rugulose, obliterated in spots or not. Mandible of female: upper tooth typically developed, lower tooth very short but clearly present, truncate to pointed.

Transverse pronotal carina in female: well developed, linear or with extremely slight deviations, contiguous with mesoscutum or interrupted by a single subpolygonal cell, anterior shoulder relatively abruptly transitioned to anterior pronotum. Sculpture of medial mesoscutum in female: slightly flattened and rounded reticulations, sometimes few reticulations broken resulting in irregular rugulae. Sculpture of notaular course in female: more or less undifferentiated to slightly more robust and coarse relative to medial sculpture. Sculpture of lateral mesoscutum in female: present. Sculpture of mesoscutellum in female: predominantly irregular reticulate to rugulose, carinae slightly to strongly flattened, with or without slight longitudinal trend. Sculpture of lateral pronotum in female (excluding interstitial sculpture): with smooth to obliterated patch immediately below lateral epomial carina, otherwise reticulate with few to moderate longitudinal elements. Pronotal verricule in female: apparently absent. Pronotal setal patch posteroventral to end of lateral epomial carina in female: dense (around 5 to many) small patch of appressed to slightly semi-decumbent setae. Sculpture of mesopleural depression in female: predominantly irregularly reticulate. Pilosity of anteroventral metapleuron in female: glabrous, or sparsely setose. Dorsal surface of hind tibia in female: typical distribution and moderate length, setae appressed to loosely appressed, more or less straight. Shape of hind femur in female: narrow, dorsal and ventral surfaces relatively symmetrical. Basal pigmented spot of fore wing in female: percurrent from submarginal vein to posterior margin, striplike (a band), divided only by hyaline course of M+Cu. Basal fascia of fore wing in female: subrectangular, striplike, percurrent from anterior to posterior margin. Apical fascia of fore wing in female: broad, more or less semi- circular, only slightly lightened, without lighter patch posteriorly, gradually lighter to apex of fore wing.

Sculpture of dorsal T 1 in female: longitudinally striate, with moderate to dense reticulation, intersticies rough throughout. Sculpture of dorsal T 2 in female: fine parallel to slightly reticulate striae with minutely colliculate to transverse sculpture within interstices. Sculpture of anterior T2 through anterior depression in female: interrupted with by a smooth strip, majority of sculpture not contiguous with that of posterior T2. Sculpture of dorsal T 3 in female: fine parallel to irregular longitudinal striae, with

Figures 85–90 .63 Scelio parapulchripennis sp. n. female (CASENT 2042134). 85 Habitus, dorsal view 86 Habitus, lateral view 87 Head and mesosoma, dorsal view 88 Head and mesosoma, lateral view 89 Head, anterior view 90 Metasoma, dorsal view. Scale bars in millimeters.

reticulation absent to moderately present. Medial sculpture of T 4 in female: present. Medial sculpture of T 5 in female: present, obliterated to smooth. Sculpture of T2–T5 curved transition from dorsal to lateral terga in female: sculptured. Profile of female metasoma in lateral view: dorsal and ventral surfaces more or less evenly convex. Sculpture of lateral T2–T 6 in female: fine irregular longitudinal striae throughout. Pilosity of laterotergites in female: present on T1–T3.

Diagnosis. Most similar to S. baoli , sharing the absence of metallic color, completely sculptured mesoscutum and percurrent transverse pronotal carina. Scelio parapulchripennis differs in the parallel longitudinal sculpture of T3 (Fig. 10), contrasting with the fine and reticulate sculpture in S. baoli (Fig. 9).

Etymology. In reference to the general similarity and past confusion with S. pulchripennis .

Link to distribution map. [http://osuc.biosci.ohio-state.edu/HymOnline/maplarge.html?id=238053]

Associations. Emerged from ootheca of Acrotylus patruelis (Herrich-Schäffer) ( Orthoptera : Acrididae , Oedipodinae ); emerged from Oedaleus virgula (Snellen van Vollenhoven) ( Orthoptera : Acrididae , Oedipodinae ).

Material examined. Holotype female: MADAGASCAR: Toliara Auto. Prov., Andohahela N.P., parcel II, transitional forest, MA-02-20-30, Tsimelahy , 24°56.21’S 46°37.60’E, 180m, 22.VI–29.VI.2003, Malaise trap, M. Irwin, F. Parker & R. Harin’Hala, CASENT 2043553 (deposited in CASC) . Paratypes: MADAGASCAR: 78 females, 36 males, CASENT 2042131–2042145, 2042628, 2043324, 2043350, 2043389–2043390, 2043554, 2043561, 2043567, 2043591, 2043627, 2043629, 2043634–2043635, 2043689, 2043926, 2132005, 2132091, 2132613, 2132662, 2132682, 2132831, 2132891, 2133085, 2133097, 2133185, 2133203, 2133205, 2133216–2133218, 2133220–2133221, 2133223–2133224, 2133308, 2133368– 2133369, 2133467–2133468, 2133534–2133537, 2133676, 2133697, 2133766, 2134001–2134003, 2134047, 2134136–2134137, 2134196, 2134214, 2134238, 2134279, 2134321, 2134533, 2134583–2134584, 2134641, 8030236–8030237, 8106004, 8106006–8106009, 8106011–8106012, 8106178–8106180, 8106242, 8106454, 8106512, 8106537, 8106748, 8106885, 8106975, OSUC 211628 ( CASC) ; OSUC 211504–211509 , 211528–211529 , 211574 ( CNCI) ; OSUC 173949–173950 , 244170–244172 , 244196–244199 ( MNHN) .

Comments. Four specimens (OSUC 244196–244199), most of which (excluding 244199) were previously determined as S. pulchripennis , were reared from ootheca of Oedaleus virgula , an oedipodine acridid. Several specimens are variously misshapen, perhaps due to handling pre-emergence. A second series (OSUC 173949, 173950, 244170–244172) is labeled ex Acrotylus patruelis , another oedipodine acridid. In both series the state of the fore wing apical fascia is diffi cult to interpret due to fading of the apex or the mount, but it appears to be present and the transverse pronotal carina is well developed, confirming the specimens as S. parapulchripennis . Males are notable for their slightly infuscate wings, a state not observed in other species. See also comments section for S. baoli .