Scelio nitens Brues, 1906

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 : 91-94

Scelio nitens Brues

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:A600DB0C-21E3-4CA5-86CE-E38953FBBCA2 urn:lsid:biosci.ohio-state.edu:osuc_concepts:5285

Figs 73–78; Morphbank 22

Scelio nitens Brues, 1906: 110 (original description); Kieffer, 1926: 310, 324 (description, keyed); Ferrière, 1952: 118 (diagnosis); Nixon, 1958: 304 (keyed); Masner, 1965b: 300 (lectotype designation); Noonan, 1984: 6 (type information).

Scelio (Scelio) nitens Brues, 1910: 74 (subgeneric assignment).

Description. Female body length: 2.90–4.00 mm (n=20). Male body length: 2.99 mm (n=1). Color of antenna in female: concolorous, brown to dark brown throughout. Color of head in female: metallic green to dark teal. Color of mesosoma in female: brown to near black except for yellow to light brown anterior pronotum and propleuron, with metallic green to dark teal sheen throughout. 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 at base (T1–T3), darkening to apex, T4–T6 with slight metallic blue-green sheen.

Sculpture of lower frons in female: predominantly transverse to slightly arcuate striae. Sculpture of ventrolateral frons in female: smooth, with only setigerous punctures. Form of malar sulcus in female: sulcus percurrent, slit, groove or carina extremely narrow but course well defined. Sculpture of upper frons of female: fine ru- gulae to slightly transverse sculpture, above ocellus very smooth, with only setigerous punctures. Sculpture of dorsal head between and posterior to lateral ocelli in female: smooth, with only setigerous punctures. 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: very smooth, with only setigerous punctures. Sculpture

Figures 73–78 .6 Ι Scelio nitens Brues (OSUC 211500). 73 Habitus, dorsal view 74 Habitus, lateral view 75 Mesosoma, dorsal view 76 Mesosoma, lateral view 77 Head, anterior view 78 Medial habitus, dorsal view. Abbreviation: ht, hind tibia. Scale bars in millimeters.

of notaular course in female: smooth, with only a few micropunctures, or more or less undifferentiated to slightly more robust and coarse relative to medial sculpture. Sculpture of lateral mesoscutum in female: absent, or with obliterated patch that covers at least 1/2 of area. Sculpture of mesoscutellum in female: predominantly smooth,with only scattered setigerous punctures. Sculpture of lateral pronotum in female (excluding interstitial sculpture): predominantly smooth, with slight reticulations along ventral and posterior margin. Pronotal verricule in female: small bump with 1–2 very short setae at center. Pronotal setal patch posteroventral to end of lateral epomial carina in female: very sparse (around 1–3), long, erect setae. Sculpture of mesopleural depression in female: surface smooth or with very faint coriaceous (obliterated) sheen, with minute foveae or grooves along posterior margin. Pilosity of anteroventral metapleuron in female: dense patch of semi-decumbent to erect setae. 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: absent, fore wing past marginal vein gradually lightening.

Sculpture of dorsal T 1 in female: polygonal-reticulate, interstices more or less smooth. 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: percurrent. Sculpture of dorsal T 3 in female: fine parallel to irregular longitudinal striae, with reticulation absent to moderately present. Medial sculpture of T 4 in female: obliterated to smooth. Medial sculpture of T 5 in female: obliterated to smooth. Sculpture of T2–T5 curved transition from dorsal to lateral terga in female: obliterated to smooth. Profile of female metasoma in lateral view: ventral surface more or less flat, dorsal surface weakly to strongly arched from T2–T6 highest point between T4–T5, evenly curved to T6. Sculpture of lateral T2–T 6 in female: scattered variously obliterated faint fine irregular rugulae. Pilosity of laterotergites in female: glabrous, or apparently so.

Diagnosis. This species is most similar to S. paranitens , which shares the smooth mesoscutum and highly metallic coloration throughout. It differs from S. paranitens by the absence of the fore wing apical fascia and the appressed pilosity of the hind tibia (fascia present, setae erect in S. paranitens ).

Link to distribution map. [http://osuc.biosci.ohio-state.edu/HymOnline/maplarge.html?id=5285]

Material examined. Lectotype female: SOUTH AFRICA: Eastern Cape Prov., Algoa Bay , 29.XI.1896, H. Brauns, MCZ 31019 (deposited in MCZC) . Paralectotypes: SOUTH AFRICA: 2 females, OSUC 244168–244169 ( MCZC). Other material: (44 females, 1 male) BOTSWANA: 33 females, 1 male, OSUC 211451 , 211482 , 211495 , 211523 , 211560 ( CNCI) ; OSUC 164233–164236 , 164238–164240 , 164258–164259 , 164261 , 164263 , 164371–164374 , 212085–212086 , 212091 ,

212095, 234737–234738 ( OSUC); OSUC 171138 – 171140, 207575–207577, 211814, 211820 ( USNM). NAMIBIA: 1 female, OSUC 254455 ( BMNH) . SOUTH AFRICA: 9 females, OSUC 254456 ( BMNH) ; OSUC 211500 , 211502–211503 , 211511–211512 , 211521–211522 , 211534 ( CNCI) . ZIMBABWE: 1 female, OSUC 254457 ( BMNH) .

Comments. The syntype series of Brues consisted of two species, as hinted at by an annotation in Masner (1965b). Masner (1965b) designated the lectotype of S. nitens which is conspecific with one of the paralectotypes. A third specimen (OSUC 244169) belongs in Scelio paranitens . Th e fore coxa is frequently lighter in color than the mid and hind coxae. See also Comments section for S. paranitens .