Psyllaephagus phacopteron S. Singh

Hayat, Mohammad, 2012, On some Encyrtidae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea) associated with gall-inducing psylloids, Phacopteron and Trioza species (Hemiptera: Phacopteronidae, Triozidae) in southern India, Zootaxa 3566, pp. 14-22 : 21

Psyllaephagus phacopteron S. Singh

(Figs 15–17, 20)

Psyllaephagus phacopteron S. Singh , in S. Singh & K.P. Singh, 2011: 35 –38, female, male. Holotype female, India, Dehra Dun (FRI).

Material examined. Paratype female, on card bearing printed labels: ‘ INDIA: UK [Uttarakhand]: Dehradun: Karvapani, near FRH; 20.xii.2009; Sudhir’, ‘Ex. Phacopteron lentiginosum gall on Garuga pinnata ’, and ‘ Psyllaephagus phacopteron Singh PARATYPE [in green]’. The paratype is now dissected and mounted on a slide (slide No. EH.1456), and retained in ZDAMU collection. It now bears ZDAMU registration No. HYM. CH.653.

INDIA: KERALA: Malappuram, Kottakkal, 6 females, 11 males (2 females and 1 male on 3 slides, Nos EH.1444, EH.1454, EH.1445), 1.x.2011, Coll. U.A. Saleem. Ex. Phacopteron lentigisosum Buckton from leaf gall of Garuga pinnata Roxb. ( ZDAMU).

Comments. This species was described from specimens collected in Dehra Dun (Uttarakhand) and is here recorded from Malappuram (Kerala) from the same psylloid host and plant species. The specimens from Kerala agree fairly well with the original description and figures and the paratype examined, but show some variation in the relative lengths of pedicel and F1, and in the relative lengths of TVII of gaster. In the paratype examined, F1 is at most 1.45× as long as the pedicel, but in one Kerala specimen F1 is 1.36× as long as the pedicel. In the paratype illustrated by Singh & Singh (2011: fig. 5), and the description based on either the holotype or the illustrated antenna, F1 is 1.49× as long as the pedicel. In smaller specimens from Kerala (length about 3 mm), F1 is subequal in length to pedicel and F2. The main difference noted in four out of six females from Kerala is their greater body length, which measures 4.0– 4.5 mm (the smaller specimens from Kerala measure about 3 mm). The larger specimens have a relatively longer metasoma, about 1.5× as long as the mesosoma. In the holotype, the metasoma is 1.27× as long as mesosoma, and in one Kerala specimen it is 1.35× as long as the mesosoma. The larger specimens also have a relatively longer TVII (Fig. 15) compared to the relatively short TVII of the examined paratype (Fig. 16). Similarly, the ovipositor length is greater compared to the length of the mid tibia in larger specimens than in smaller specimens. For instance, in the examined paratype (body length, 3.64 mm) the ovipositor is 2.26× as long as the mid tibia, whereas in two large specimens from Kerala (body length 4.0– 4.5 mm), the ovipositor varies from 2.66–2.77× as long as the mid tibia. We provide here some relative lengths from the paratype and, in brackets, of one larger specimen from Kerala: TVII length, 132.5 (177.5); ovipositor length, 255 (318.75); third valvula length, 55 (71.25); mid tibia length, 112.5 (115); mid basitarsus length, 38 (37.5); mid tibial spur length, 33.5 (31.5). It should be noted that the lengths of the metasoma, TVII and ovipositor have hardly any effect on the lengths of the mid tibia, basitarsus and spur, which show very little intra-specific variation. In spite of the variation noted in the relative lengths of the gaster, TVII and the ovipositor, the larger specimens from Kerala apparently represent extreme variants of the same species.