Tiphia elachia, Boni, 2011

Boni, M., 2011, Hymenoptera Tiphiidae from Arabian peninsula, Linzer biologische Beiträge 43 (1), pp. 337-361 : 343-344

Tiphia elachia nov.sp.

Holotype: Oman = / Oman 2000 Dhofar Rd. 31N of Queiroon 17.17’58N 5405’21E 2500ft 29.VIII lrg. F.Strumia / /, MSNP.

Female. Holotype. Figs 22-27 . Measurements: body length = 4.0 mm; forewing length = 2.6 mm.

Black. Light brown: ventral flagellum, most of mandible, most of fore leg but coax, apical 2/3of 6 th tergum, most of mid and hind tarsi, the semitransparent tegulae, LaSt 2, pterostigma and veins.

Brown: scape, mid clypeus, tip of mandible, some fore tibia, forecoxa, mid and hind legs but tarsi, posterior area of P, 1 st sternum and shadows on 4 th to 6 th sterna.

Forewing very slightly coloured. Whitish hair throughout. Lower frons and clypeus but lamella with densely packed small p. The remainder of frons and vertex with scattered p and iS many times greater than their diameter, on the mid vertex along cOc there is a mR small area. Progena well shagreened. All the remainder of the body but P and last 3 sterna shows the same pattern of p of the head.

Pam less elongated than in most of members of the genus; aggregate of last three elements only 1.4 times longer than aggregate of three basal ones. N 1 disk with a weak irregular carina along its fore border. em3 weakly shagreened. Lateral and median ridges of areola well expressed and complete. Irregular carina between lateral and posterior areas. Well distinct carina along lateral edge of horizontal area between spP and rear border of N 3. Horizontal area with few small p and mR. Posterior area concave without any ridge, completely covered by small p, with scattered few greater p. Lateral areas and es 3 indistinct, both completely covered by regular reticulate sculpture like a strong mR, made by approached little knobs; very few small wrinkles only at its anterior upper corner. Hind tibia longitudinally keeled on its inner surface with a very narrow sensorial area. Hind basitarsus with a well distinct shallow groove, as long as 2/3 length of the element. Apical 2/3 of pygidium quite smooth and shining, without both p and rugulae.

N o t e. It looks very like T. stertia ALLEN 1975 (Holotype: /Shillong Assam, India 3.IX. 28/ /L.B.parker collector/ / Holotype Tiphia s-tertia H.W. Allen/ (red) /Type N° 74030 USNM /!) in having latearal areas of propodeum and metepisternum indistinct and covered by regular reticulate sculpture, unique occurrences within Tiphiini to my knowledge, but is very distinct by the presence of complete carina along fore border of N 1 disk and especially the groove on hind basal tarsomerus, both absent in the latter. We could infer its conspecificity with T. arthroxantha from proximity of the provenance areas, but there is no evident proof about that, just as hitherto it is impossible to associate the unique specimen of T. stertia with any male (perhaps T. birganjae?).

D e r i v a t i o n o m i n i s.FromtheGreekελάχεια = small.

Figures

Figs 18-27: Poecilotiphia nitens. (Holotype): (18) head, frontal aspect; (19) head, ventral aspect; (20) palpi; (21) wings. Tiphia elachia (Holotype): (22) head, dorsal aspect (23) head, frontal aspect; (24) labrum, frontal aspect; (25) pronotum and Sc1 dorsal aspect; (26) forewing; (27) hind tibia and basal tarsomerus.