Pediobius erionotae Kerrich, 1973

Cao, Huan-Xi, Salle, John La & Zhu, Chao-Dong, 2017, Chinese species of Pediobius Walker (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae), Zootaxa 4240 (1), pp. 1-71 : 40-41

19. Pediobius erionotae Kerrich, 1973

( Fig. 18 )

Pediobius erionotae Kerrich, 1973: 178 –179; ♀. Holotype ♀, BMNH, not examined.

Diagnosis. Vertex with setae long, almost smooth, only the area circled by three ocelli weakly reticulate ( Fig. 18 a). Notauli distinct, continuing as inner margins of notaular depressions. Scutellum about as long as broad, longitudinally reticulate (slightly striate) at sides, smooth and polished in the median half ( Fig. 18 a); but the smooth median band narrower for male ( Fig. 18 d). Propodeum with a fine median carina ( Fig. 18 a).

Material examined. CHINA, Yunnan: 4♀ 2♂, Lincang , X.1981, coll. Ding-Xi Liao, ex. Braconidae sp. Determined specimens compared ( ANIC) : 1♀, JAVA : Yogyakarta, 02.VI. 1974, coll. Eddy Mahrub, ex. the egg of Erionota thrax (L.) (Lepidoptea: Hesperiidae ), det. Bouček .

Biology. This species has been both recorded as a primary parasitoid and a secondary parasitoid ( Kerrich 1973). In China, it was recorded as a secondary parasitoid from the cocoon of Braconidae sp. ( Hymenoptera ). Distribution in China. Yunnan.

Remarks. Newly recorded from China. Pediobius erionotae is characterized with more vividly green body and a broad polished median band on scutellum. Among all members of the pyrgo -group, P. erionotae seems closer to P. imbreus and the recently described species, P. cajanus . Pediobius imbreus has body mostly dark with less metallic reflections, while P. erionotae has body mostly much more vividly green. Besides, P. erionotae has a smooth median band on scutellum which strikingly broader than that of P. imbreus . Some characters on scutellum, propodeum and petiole seem more reliable to distinguish P. erionotae and P. cajanus : in P. erionotae , scutellum smooth in median half, propodeum with a fine median carina and petiole strongly and finely reticulate and without longitudinal ridges on dorsal surface; while in P. cajanus , scutellum smooth in median third, propodeum without a fine median carina, petiole irregularly reticulate and with longitudinal ridges on dorsal surface ( Taveras & Hansson 2015, figs 6–19).

Figures

FIGURE 18. Pediobius erionotae Kerrich, 1973. a: female, body in dorsal view; b: female, body in lateral view; c: male, body in lateral view; d: male, body in dorsal view; e: female, head in front view. Scale bar: 0.5 mm.