Asobara rufimalawiana Fischer, 2007

Peris-Felipo, Francisco Javier, Achterberg, Cornelis Van & Belokobylskij, Sergey A., 2019, Revision of the Afrotropical Asobara Foerster, 1863 (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Alysiinae), with the descriptions of twenty five new species, European Journal of Taxonomy 557, pp. 1-146 : 38-39

Asobara rufimalawiana Fischer, 2007

Figs 52–53

Asobara rufimalawiana Fischer, 2007: 864 .

Asobara rufimalawiana – Yu et al. 2016 .

Material examined

Holotype

MALAWI • ♀; 85 km SE of Lilongwe Dedza; 5–12 Jan. 2002; J. Halada leg.; OLML.

Redescription

Female (holotype)

LENGTH. Body 2.2 mm, fore wing 2.4 mm, hind wing 1.4 mm. HEAD. In dorsal view, 1.2 times as wide as long, 1.4 times as wide as mesoscutum, smooth, with temple rounded behind eyes. Eye in lateral view as wide as temple medially. Face 1.8 times as wide as high. Clypeus as wide as high. Mandible 1.3 times as long as its maximum width. Upper tooth very wide with small protuberance looking like a tooth; middle tooth rather narrow and very long; lower tooth short. Antennae more than 15-segmented (apical segments missing). First flagellar segment 3.0 times as long as its apical width; 2 nd segment 4.0 times and 3 rd segment 3.0 times as long as their maximum width.

MESOSOMA. In lateral view 1.2 times as long as high. Mesoscutum (in dorsal view) about as long as its maximum width. Notauli mainly absent on horizontal surface of mesoscutum. Mesoscutal pit present, elongate. Prescutellar depression smooth, with only median carina, 1.5 times as long as its maximum width. Precoxal sulcus present, crenulate, not reaching anterior and posterior margins of mesopleuron. Posterior mesopleural furrow smooth. Propodeum weakly and sparsely sculptured, with several smooth places, with large, wide and mainly smooth pentagonal areola; basolateral areas smooth, sparse rugose along carinae. Propodeal spiracle small, its diameter 0.3 times distance from spiracle to anterior margin of propodeum.

WINGS. Marginal cell ending at apex of wing, 5.1 times as long as its maximum width. Vein r longer than pterostigma width. Vein 3-SR 4.8 times as long as vein r and 2.2 times as long as vein 2-SR. Vein SR1 2.0 times as long as vein 3-SR.

LEGS. Hind femur 5.0 times as long as its maximum width.

METASOMA. First tergite weakly widened towards apex, 1.1 times as long as its apical width, weakly striate. Visible part of ovipositor sheath 4.7 times as long as 1 st tergite, 1.3 times as long as metasoma and2.5 times as long as hind femur.

COLOUR. Head, mandible and antennae reddish-brown. Mesosoma, legs and pterostigma light brown. Metasoma dark brown. In dorsal view, head darker than mesoscutum. First metasomal tergite paler than 2 nd and 3 rd tergites. Wings hyaline.

Male

Unknown.

Comparative diagnosis

This species is similar to A. sarae sp. nov., but differs from it in having head dorsally darker than mesoscutum, 1.2 times as wide as long (paler and 1.7 times in A sarae sp. nov.), eye in lateral view as long as temple medially (1.6 times in A sarae sp. nov.), clypeus as wide as high (2.4 times in A sarae sp. nov.), mandible 1.3 times as long as its maximum width (1.9 times in A sarae sp. nov.), visible part of ovipositor sheath 1.3 times as long as metasoma in lateral view (0.4 times in A sarae sp. nov.) and vein 3-SR 2.0 times as long as vein 2-SR (1.5 times in A sarae sp. nov.).

Distribution

Malawi ( Yu et al. 2016).

Figures

Fig. 52. Asobara rufimalawiana Fischer, 2007, ♀, holotype (OLML). A. Habitus, lateral view. B. Head, lateral view. C. Antenna. D. Mandible. E. Head, front view. F. Head, dorsal view.

Fig. 53. Asobara rufimalawiana Fischer, 2007, ♀, holotype (OLML). A. Habitus, dorsal view. B. Mesoscutum, dorsal view. C. Propodeum, dorsal view. D. First metasomal tergite, dorsal view. E. Hind leg, metasoma and ovipositor, lateral view. F. Fore wing.