Pediobius marjoriae Kerrich, 1973

Gumovsky, Alex, 2018, New enigmatic species of the genus Pediobius (Hymenoptera, Eulophidae) from Afrotropics, with notes on related genera, Zootaxa 4438 (2), pp. 201-236 : 209

Pediobius marjoriae Kerrich, 1973

( Fig. 5 )

Pediobius marjoriae Kerrich, 1973: 131 –132.

Diagnosis (female). Head in dorsal view about 3.0× as broad as long ( Fig. 5C, F ), face smooth, frons medially flat, with distinct frontal and scrobal sutures, lower face slightly narrowed ( Fig. 5B ): malar space about 0.5× as long as eye height; mouth opening slightly wider than malar space; antennal toruli situated at about level of lower eye margins, mandible with two teeth; occipital margin sharp and weakly curved; antennal scape pale, legs pale brown; mesoscutum and mesoscutellum with light sculpture ( Fig. 5C, F ), notauli indistinct, present as shallow depressions; mesoscutellum with one pair of setae; propodeum with distinct nucha bearing two shallow foveae, its submedian areas almost about 1.5× as broad as long, submedian carinae diverge posteriorly; propodeal callus with 3 setae; metatibial spur about 0.8× as long as metabasitarsus, about 2.0× as long as breadth of metatibia; subcosta of submarginal vein with 2 bristles; forewing speculum closed ( Fig. 5D ); fore wing transparent; WIP with narrow violet field along apical margin and wide blue field behind it ( Fig. 5E ); metasomal petiole transverse, about 1/2–1/3 as long as propodeum; gaster lanceolate ( Fig. 5A ), 1.8–2.4× as long as broad, Gt1 occupying approximately 1/2 of length of gaster.

Type material. Holotype ♀, Uganda, Moniko, T. 754, vii.1941, T.H.C. Taylor, BMNH. HYM 5.2236 (deposited in: BMNH) . Paratypes 10 ♀, ibid. ( BMNH).

Other material studied. ♀, DRC, “ Congo Belge: P.N.A. 7–15-VII-1955, P. Vanschuytbroeck, 13274-309, Mont Hoyo, 1.280 m, sur plantes basses” ( RMCA).

Distribution. Uganda (Kerrich 1973), DRC (new record).

Host. Kerrich (1973) mentioned that the type series of this species was reared from pupae of a Lepisiota ant: “ex cocoon of ant (? Acantholepis sp.)”. However, there are no host records on any of the labels of the type specimens. It is likely that the information about the host association derived from T. H. C. Taylor's record coded as "T.754", which was not mentioned in the original description, but is present on a separate label of each specimen of the type series.

Comparative remarks. The species was described by Kerrich (1973) from a series of females reared from ant cocoons in Uganda. The original description mentions the holotype and 11 paratypes, whereas the BMNH collection houses the holotype and 10 paratypes. The species resembles P. rohombaya (see below), but differs by the flat frons ( Fig. 5A, B, F ) (convex in P. rohombaya , Figs 6A , 17H ), closed forewing speculum ( Fig. 5D ) (open in P. rohombaya , Fig. 6F ) and inconspicuous notauli ( Fig. 5F ) (distinct in P. rohombaya , Fig. 6A ).

Figures

FIGURE 5. Pediobius marjoriae, tyPe sPecimens (BMNH). A, holotyPe, habitus in lateral vieW (Uganda); B–F, ParatyPe (Uganda): B, face; C, F, mesosoma in dorsal vieW (F, SEM); D, E, fore Wing: D, direct light, E, reflected light, revealing wIP.

FIGURE 6. Pediobius rohombaya. A, B, D–G, female, C, male. A, B, holotyPe, habitus (CAR, SAMC), variety With dark coxae and femora: A, dorsal vieW, B, lateral vieW; C, male, habitus; D, ParatyPe from Gabon (SAMC), variety With almost entirely Pale legs; E, non-tyPe sPecimen from DRC (RMCA), variety With entirely dark legs and scaPe; F, G, Wings: F, in direct light; G, in reflected light revealing wIP.

FIGURE 17. Pediobius sPP. A–D, head in frontal vieW; E–H, head and anterior Part of mesosoma in dorsal vieW.