Asobara zimbabwana Peris-Felipo, 2019

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 : 56-57

Asobara zimbabwana Peris-Felipo , sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:B52879EA-8C78-4CC4-9436-D5A1B114A236

Figs 78–79

Etymology

Named after Zimbabwe, the country from where the holotype originated.

Material examined

Holotype

ZIMBABWE • ♀; Harare; Dec. 1980; Watsham leg.; BMNH.

Paratypes

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO • 1 ♀; Lubumbashi; Sep. 1970; A.B. Stam leg.; RMNH .

GUINEA-BISSAU • 1 ♀; Buba; 9–11 Jun. 1989; light trap nº 25; A. van Harten leg.; RMNH .

KENYA • 1 ♀; Gazi; Aug. 1982; R.J. Barnett leg.; BMNH .

ZIMBABWE • 2 ♀♀; same locality as for holotype but Nov. 1981, Nov. 1982; BMNH .

Description

Female (holotype)

LENGTH. Body 1.7 mm, fore wing 1.9 mm, hind wing 1.2 mm.

HEAD. In dorsal view, 1.3 times as wide as long, 1.4 times as wide as mesoscutum, smooth, with temple rounded behind eyes. Eye in lateral view 1.1 times as high as wide and 1.7 times as wide as temple medially. POL 1.8 times OD; OOL 4.0 times OD. Face 1.5 times as wide as high; inner margins of eyes subparallel. Clypeus 2.4 times as wide as high, slightly concave ventrally. Anterior tentorial pits short, far not reaching inner border of eye. Mandible almost parallel-sided, 1.8 times as long as its maximum width. Upper tooth very small; middle tooth rather wide and long; lower tooth short and long. Antennae 23-segmented, 1.5 times as long as body. Scape 1.8 times as long as pedicel. First flagellar segment 4.0 times as long as its apical width, 0.7 times as long as 2 nd segment. Second flagellar segment 6.3 times, 3 rd segment 6.8 times, 4 th– 6 th segments 5.0 times, 7 th– 14 th segments 4.5 times and 15 th– 21 st (apical segments) 3.8 times as long as their maximum width.

MESOSOMA. In lateral view 1.6 times as long as high. Mesoscutum (in dorsal view) 0.9 times as long as its maximum width, smooth. Notauli mainly absent on horizontal surface of mesoscutum. Mesoscutal pit present, oval. Prescutellar depression smooth, with only median carina, 0.9 times as long as its maximum width. Precoxal sulcus present, smooth, reaching anterior and posterior margins of mesopleuron. Posterior mesopleural furrow smooth. Propodeum weakly and sparsely sculptured, with several smooth patches, 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. Length of fore wing 3.5 times its maximum width. Marginal cell ending at apex of wing, 4.0 times as long as its maximum width. Vein r shorter than pterostigma width. Vein 3-SR 9.0 times as long as vein r and 1.4 times as long as vein 2-SR. Vein SR1 2.1 times as long as vein 3-SR. Hind wing 5.3 times as long as its maximum width.

LEGS. Hind femur 4.3 times as long as its maximum width. Hind tibia weakly widened to apex, 10.0 times as long as its maximum subapical width and 0.9 times as long as hind tarsus. First segment of hind tarsus 1.6 times as long as 2 nd segment.

METASOMA. First tergite weakly widened towards apex, 1.5 times as long as its apical width, weakly striate. Visible part of ovipositor sheath 1.3 times as long as 1 st tergite, 0.3 times as long as metasoma and 0.8 times as long as hind femur.

COLOUR. Body, legs, antennae (except apically) and pterostigma yellow to light brown. Last seven apical segments paler than preceding ones. Head dark brown, in dorsal view darker than mesoscutum. Firstthird metasomal tergites similarly coloured. Wings almost hyaline.

VARIATION. Body 1.6–1.8 mm, fore wing 1.7–2.0 mm, hind wing 1.1–1.3 mm.Antennae 22–23-segmented. Hind femur 4.3–4.5 times as long as its maximum width.

Male

Unknown.

Comparative diagnosis

This new species is similar to A. kovacsi (Papp, 1996) ; the differences between both species are described under the latter species.

Distribution

Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Zimbabwe.

Figures

Fig. 78. Asobara zimbabwana Peris-Felipo, sp. nov., ♀, holotype (BMNH). A. Habitus, lateral view. B. Head and mesosoma, lateral view. C. Mandible. D. Antenna. E. Head, front view. F. Head and mesoscutum, dorsal view.

Fig. 79. Asobara zimbabwana Peris-Felipo, sp. nov., ♀, holotype (BMNH). A. Propodeum and first metasomal tergite, dorsal view. B. Hind leg, metasoma and ovipositor, lateral view. C. Fore and hind wings.