Diachasmimorpha bicolor, Wu & Chen & He, 2005

Wu, Qiong, Chen, Xue-Xin & He, Jun-Hua, 2005, The genus Diachasmimorpha Viereck (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Opiinae) from China, Zootaxa 1022 (1), pp. 37-56 : 41-43

Diachasmimorpha bicolor sp. nov. (Figs. 5–9)

Holotype, ♀, length of body 4.3 mm, of forewing 5.4 mm.

Head. Antenna 1.4 times length forewing, with 54 segments, length of third segment 1.1 times fourth segment, length of third and fourth segments 2.1 and 2.0 times their width, respectively [penultimate segment lost]; scape compressed, outer side smooth, sparsely setiferous, remainder densely setose; length of maxillary palp 1.2 times height of head, segments slender; OOL: diameter of posterior ocellus: POL = 4.8: 2.0: 1.0; frons glabrous medially, setiferous laterally; length of eye in dorsal view 2.3 times temple; vertex glabrous; temple sparsely setiferous; dorsal part of temples narrower than ventrally behind eyes; occipital carina present up to 4/5 level of eye in lateral view; face finely punctate and setiferous; anterior tentorial pits distinct and small; clypeus mostly smooth, sparsely punctate and convex ventrally, in lateral view distinctly separated from mandibles; in anterior view hypoclypeal depression absent; length of malar space 1.3 times basal width of mandible; mandible robust, not twisted apically, with a ventral carina near to the same level of the base of occipital carina.

Mesosoma. Length of mesosoma 1.3 times its height; pronope small and shallow; propleuron flattened, setiferous; side of pronotum weakly crenulate dorsally and ventrally; precoxal sulcus deep, wide and crenulate, not reaching base of mesocoxa; remainder of mesopleuron smooth, densely punctate and setose ventro­posteriorly, crenulate anteriorly; ventral half of pleural sulcus crenulate; metapleuron coarsely punctate and with long setae, with irregularly depressed margins and crenulate ventro­anteriorly; mesosternal sulcus moderately deep and distinctly crenulate; notauli complete, deep, mostly smooth except crenulate basally, mesoscutal midpit moderately deep; mesoscutum smooth, sparsely setiferous, middle lobe strongly protruding; scutellar sulcus wide, deep and with five longitudinal carinae; scutellum slightly convex, smooth, sparsely setiferous; propodeum with short and strong median carina anteriorly, irregularly rugose anteriorly and dorsally, incompletely areolate posteriorly, relatively smooth in each areola, propodeal spiracle round, small and situated medio­laterally.

Wings. Forewing: 1­M straight anteriorly and curved posteriorly; r: 3­SR: SR1 = 1.0: 4.1: 12.3; 1­SR+M distinctly sinuate; SR1 nearly straight and ending close to apex of wing; cu­a oblique and straight; 1­CU1: 2­CU1 = 1.0: 3.4; 2­SR: 3­SR: r­m = 1.9: 2.0: 1.0; first subdiscal cell widened apically; CU1b medium­sized, not longer than 3­CU1; mcu slightly postfurcal, and slightly converging to 1­M posteriorly. Hindwing: SR as an unpigmented fold apically, absent basally; m­cu long and straight; 1­M longer than 1r­m; M+CU: 1­M = 1.0: 1.0.

Legs. Hind coxa punctulate and densely setose; tarsal claws normal, setiferous and without lobe; length of femur, tibia and basitarsus of hind leg 4.1, 9.9 and 5.5 times their widths, respectively.

Metasoma. Length of first tergite 1.3 times its apical width, its surface striate medially and laterally, concave basally, with a median carina, its dorsal carinae strong, flangelike basally, reaching apex of tergite; spiracle of first tergite small, laterally situated; laterope large and deep; dorsope absent but strong dorsal carina gives the impression of presence; second tergite longitudinally sculptured, with a transversely smooth band medially, spiracle on notum, setae of third and following tergites forming a posterior row; ovipositor straight, with two dorsal protuberances and indistinct minute ventral teeth apically, length of ovipositor sheath 1.0 times forewing and 6.0 times first metasomal tergite; sheath setose, without apical spine; hypopygium large and surpassing apex of metasoma, acute apically.

Colour. Body orange anterior to mesopleuron and metanotum, rest of body dark brown; antenna and apex of mandible dark brown; middle and hind trochantellus dorsally, middle tibia (except apex) and telotarsus, hind tarsus (except basitarsus) and apex of hypopygium brown; apex of middle tibia and 2nd–4th tarsomeres of middle tarsus yellowish brown; base of hind tibia and metasoma ventrally yellow; ovipositor orange; wing membranes subhyaline, with dark patch near vein CU1b, pterostigma and veins dark brown.

Material. Holotype, ♀, China: Tianmushan , Zhejiang province, 2.IX.1987, Xuexin Chen, No. 877468 ( ZJUH).

Note. This species is morphologically similar to D. albobalteata ( Cameron, 1912) but can be separated from the latter in having the face finely punctate, the antenna with 54 segments, the length of the third antennal segment 2.1 times its width, the precoxal sulcus deep, wide and crenulate, the second tergite longitudinally sculptured and with a transversely smooth band medially and the propodeum and all the tergites of metasoma dark brown.

Etymology. From “ bi­ ” (Latin for “two”) and “ color ” (Latin for “color”), the specific epithet refers to the orange and brown color pattern of the body.