Baeus tilottama 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 : 901-903

Baeus tilottama Veenakumari , sp. n. ( Figure 33 (a–e))

http://www.zoobank.org/ urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:22EFDC60-68A1-4839-ACEF-8611C936DD9A

Holotype. Female; body length = 0.81 mm; n = 1

Colour ( Figure 33 (a)). Head, mesonotum and metasoma dark brown, mesoscutellum and propodeum paler than remainder; posterior tergite yellow; hyperoccipital carina black; posterior margin of mesoscutum with a black band; posterior margin of mesoscutellum with a black band followed by a yellow line; antenna brownish yellow except dark brown A2; legs yellowish brown to dark brown.

Head ( Figure 33 (a–e)). Head 1.15× as wide as high; IOS wide, 0.42× width of head and 0.9× eye length; eye (L: W = 15.6:13.1) densely setose, touching hyperoccipital carina posteriorly; head height 1.8× eye length; POL>LOL in ratio of 18.3:12.8; lateral ocellus contiguous with orbit; distance between posterior margin of lateral ocellus and hyperoccipital carina 0.8× MOD; pilosity of moderate density, setae of medium length, shorter than those on mesonotum and metasoma; interantennal process triangular, pointed, rugose; central keel long, 0.71× distance from interantennal process to median ocellus; facial striae very long extending up to lower orbit; orbital carina extending ventrally below the dorsal level of facial striae; malar striae sparse; frons adjacent to central keel smooth followed by sparse longitudinal reticulations; upper frons and vertex finely reticulate; gena dorsally finely reticulate, remainder with oblique striae, with sparse short costae on posterior margin, 4.2× as long as wide; anterior margin of gena in contact with 0.67× length of ventral margin of eye; length of A1 0.89× that of clava; length of A2 0.39× that of A1.

Mesosoma ( Figure 33 (a,c,e)). Mesoscutum and mesoscutellum 0.55× and 0.21× as long as wide, respectively; mesoscutum and mesoscutellum finely imbricate, scutes smaller on mesoscutellum than mesoscutum; metascutellum not visible; propodeum smooth dorsally, 0.42× length of mesoscutellum medially; pilosity of moderate density, setae of medium length; lateral pronotal area dorsally imbricate, postero-dorsally striate, remain- der with weak impressions of reticulations except for smooth antero-ventral region; postero-dorsal margin of lateral pronotal area with two short projections; ventral margin of lateral pronotal area extending as a blunt projection; transverse carinae on dorsal mesopleuron terminate above the level of dorsal metapleuron, ventrally with an imbricate patch followed by semicircular and oblique carinae, remainder smooth; mesopleuron extending as a short, sharp projection ventrally; mesopleural pit short; metapleuron smooth except for weak impressions of foveae ventrally; posterior suture of metapleuron straight with a gentle curve basally and bending towards mesopleuron dorsally; dorsal level of posterior metapleural suture level with antero-lateral margin of T 2; sculpturing of propodeum anterior to spiracle smooth, with a fovea followed by four transverse carinae, which have small protuberances anteriorly with a seta; region posterior to spiracle with a carina on dorsal and ventral margins; region ventral to spiracle smooth with an oblique carina enclosing a seta; remainder of lateral propodeum smooth with a transverse carina antero-ventrally; propodeal spiracular opening round.

Metasoma ( Figure 33 (a,c,e)). Metasoma 1.2× 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 / P3089 ), INDIA: Karnataka: Mudigere, College of Horticulture , 13 ° 06 ʹ 54 ʹ ’ N 75 ° 37 ʹ 57 ʹ ’E, 976 m, YPT, 02.X.2015.

Etymology. This species is named after the divine seductress Tilottama, an Apsara or female spirit in Hindu mythology. The name is treated as a noun in apposition.

Diagnosis. This species is closer to B. giganteus sp. n. and diagnostic characters are mentioned under the latter.

Figures

Figure 33. Baeus tilottama sp. n. (a) Habitus (colour); (b) Frons, OC-orbital carina; (c) Habitus; (d) Antenna; (e) Habitus (lateral view).