Baeus bagheera Veenakumari, 2020

Kamalanathan, Veenakumari, Mohanraj, Prashanth, Samuel, D. K. & Reddy, M. Krishna, 2020, Revision of Indian species of Baeus Haliday (Hymenoptera: Platygastroidea: Scelionidae), Journal of Natural History 54 (13 - 14), pp. 813-917 : 836-838

Baeus bagheera Veenakumari , sp. n. ( Figure 5 (a–e))

http://www. zoobank. org/ urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:25F5853B-C740-48B1-A074-E735371C9074

Holotype. Female; body length = 0.65 mm (0.61–0.71) mm; n = 5

Colour ( Figure 5 (a)). Head, mesonotum and metasoma dark brown, mesoscutellum and propodeum paler than remainder; hyperoccipital carina black; posterior margins of

mesoscutum and mesoscutellum with a black band; A1 dark brown with yellowish brown patch apically; A2 and clava dark brown; A3–A6 and legs yellowish brown.

Head ( Figure 5 (a–e)). Head 1.13 (1.11–1.20)× as wide as high; IOS 0.54 (0.51–0.56)× width of head and 1.20 (1.18–1.25)× eye length; eye (L: W = 12.0:9.3), setose, not touching hyperoccipital carina posteriorly; head height 1.88 (1.78–1.92)× eye length; POL>LOL in ratio of 16.3:9.8; lateral ocellus contiguous with orbit; distance between posterior margin of lateral ocellus from hyperoccipital carina 0.81 (0.78–0.85)× MOD; pilosity of moderate density, setae of medium length, shorter than those on mesonotum and metasoma; interantennal process triangular, with weak rugae; central keel very short, 0.29 (0.25–- 0.31)× distance to median ocellus; facial striae long, extending 0.76 (0.71–0.82)× the length between mandibular end to lower orbit; a single malar stria present; frons adjacent to central keel smooth followed by semicircular striae, and longitudinal reticulations; upper frons and vertex smooth; gena smooth except for weak reticulations dorsally, with costae on postero-ventral margin, 4.76 (4.71–4.81)× as long as wide; anterior margin of gena in contact with 0.24 (0.22–0.25)× length of ventral margin of eye; length of A1 0.85 (0.81–0.9)× that of clava; length of A2 0.46 (0.40–0.48)× that of A1.

Mesosoma ( Figure 5 (a,c,e)). Mesoscutum and mesoscutellum 0.48 (0.45–0.52)× and 0.23 (0.20–0.24)× as long as wide, respectively; mesoscutum imbricate; mesoscutellum predominantly smooth; metascutellum not visible; propodeum smooth dorsally, 0.53 (0.51–0.58)× length of mesoscutellum medially; pilosity of moderate density, setae of medium length; lateral pronotal area dorsally imbricate followed by weak transverse striae, antero-medially weakly vertically striate, remainder smooth; dorso-postero margin of lateral pronotal area with two protuberances; ventral margin of lateral pronotal area extending as a short blunt projection; transverse carinae on dorsal mesopleuron terminate above the dorsal level of metapleuron; mesopleuron ventrally with a weak longitudinal stria and a small imbricate patch followed by oblique carinae, remainder smooth; mesopleuron extending as a short, narrow projection ventrally; mesopleural pit small; metapleuron smooth, except for a vertical carina antero-ventrally; posterior suture of metapleuron with gentle curve basally and dorsally bending towards posterior mesopleural suture; dorsal level of posterior metapleural suture ventral to level of antero-lateral margin of T 2; sculpturing of propodeum anterior to spiracle confused followed by two short transverse carinae with a seta above each carina, region posterior to spiracle smooth; region ventral to spiracle with a crescent shaped carina enclosing a seta; remain- der of lateral propodeum smooth with a short transverse carina antero-ventrally; propodeal spiracular opening tear-drop shaped.

Metasoma ( Figure 5 (a,c,e)). Metasoma as long as wide; pilosity of moderate density, setae of medium length; T 2 anteriorly finely imbricate, posteriorly smooth; remaining tergites smooth.

Material examined. Holotype: Female ( ICAR / NBAIR / P3479 ), INDIA: Rajasthan: Udaipur, Badagaon , Krishi Vigyan Kendra ( KVK), 24 ° 38 ʹ 11 ʹ ’ N 73 ° 40 ʹ 48 ʹ ’ E, 178 m, YPT, 24.IX.2016 ; Paratypes: 18 females ( ICAR / NBAIR /P3480–P3497), same data as holotype.

Etymology. This species is named after the fictional black panther Bagheera, in Rudyard Kipling’ s ‘The Jungle Book’, said to have been born in captivity in Udaipur, from where the specimens comprising the type series were collected. The name is treated as a noun in apposition.

Diagnosis. This species is closer to B. takshaka sp. n. but differs from it in the following characters; in B. bagheera sp. n. posterior ocellus is closer to hyperoccipital carina and metapleuron is entirely smooth whereas in B. takshaka sp. n. posterior ocellus is away from hyperoccipital carina and the metapleuron is sculptured. This species is also closer to B. xanthoclavatus sp. n. but differs in having shorter eye length in contact with anterior margin of gena, gena narrow, mesoscutellum smooth and clava brown. B. xanthoclavatus sp. n. differs in having a wider gena, half the length of eye in contact with anterior margin of gena, an imbricate mesoscutellum and bright yellow clava.

Figures

Figure 5. Baeus bagheera sp. n. (a) Habitus (colour); (b) Frons; (c) Habitus; (d) Antenna; (e) Habitus (lateral view).