Urosigalphus amandae Arias-Penna

Carolina, Diana & B, James, 2012, A taxonomic revision of the Colombian species of Urosigalphus Ashmead (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), Zootaxa 3411, pp. 1-54 : 10-11

Urosigalphus amandae Arias-Penna , n. sp.

Figs. 2 A–E

Female.— Body length 2.15 mm.

Body color ( Fig. 2 A): mainly black. Flagellomeres, labial and maxillary palps dark brown. Scape, pedicel, anellus, mandible light brown. Mandibular teeth red-brown. Fore and mid legs yellow-brown except coxa and femur brown. Hind legs dark brown except trochanter and trochantellus yellow-brown. Fore wing ( Fig. 2 E): basally C+Sc+R, M+CU and 1–1A veins lighter than apically; tegula black but posteriorly dark brown; stigma brown. Membrane of both fore- and hind wings hyaline; microtrichiae of hind wings hyaline and fore wings brown.

Head ( Fig. 2 A). — Subrectangular. Antenna with 14 flagellomeres; first three flagellomeres longer than wide (0.11:0.05; 0.12:0.05; 0.10: 0.05 mm); last five, except the last one, as long as wide (0.06:0.05; 0.06:0.05; 0.06:0.05; 0.06:0.05; 0.06: 0.05 mm); apical flagellomere longer than penultimate segment (0.12: 0.06 mm); scape longer than first flagellomere (0.15: 0.11 mm) and wider than pedicel and first flagellomere (0.06:0.05: 0.05 mm); pedicel more than half as long as scape (0.07: 0.12 mm). Torulus ( Fig. 2 A) located at midline of the eye. Frons short, two anterior thirds with irregular, quasi-circular area enclosed by carinae and with areolae inside area covering the width between scrobes; carinae touch median ocellus; with weak longitudinal median carina running from upper half of depression beyond ventral edge of torulus; frons with small, dense, irregular punctates. Scrobes deep, narrow, smooth, shiny, not surrounded by a carina and reaching the vertex. Lower face strongly convex without protuberance, with small, dense punctures heterogeneous in shape and size. Fronto-clypeal suture strongly impressed, round, with small punctures. Anterior tentorial pit not embedded within a strong depression. Clypeus convex not on same plane as lower face, with small, scarce punctures, interspaces shiny, wide; apical part reflexed, narrow, smooth, shiny with slightly defined edge, but without carina; medioapical margin weakly concave. Labrum with small, sparse punctures. Mandible long, slender, with transverse strigae; mandible set with two long, sharp teeth, superior teeth longer than inferior, teeth smooth, shiny. Maxillary palps longer than labial. Ocelli oval, not surrounded by carina; lateral ocelli distant from each other, separated by the width of lateral ocellus (0.06: 0.05 mm). Stemmaticum on same plane as vertex, not elevated into a projection ( Fig. 2 A), with highest point slightly convex, but with shallow, longitudinal median depression. Eyes without preorbital carina. Vertex convex with scarce punctures heterogeneous in size, but near occipital carina with a smooth, shiny area; vertex with a faint longitudinal median carina. Occiput concave, smooth, shiny. Occipital carina complete. Temple and gena with small, sparse punctures homogeneous in size and shape.

Mesosoma ( Figs. 2 A–D).—Projection of propleuron sharp. Pronotum anteriorly with a longitudinal groove throughout the edge, that bears heterogeneous-sized punctures; curvature of pronotum with elongate areolae; middle part with a shiny area; dorsally and posteriorly with small punctures heterogeneous in shape; ventrally wide. Pronotal lobe sloped toward tegula, point of inflection carinated ( Fig. 2 C) with sculptures only in that region; apex truncate. Mesoscutum in dorsal view uneven; lateral mesonotal lobe with small, sparse punctures, anteriorly sloped and posteriorly convex, lateral edges with deep foveae heterogeneous in shape and size. Median mesonotal lobe with one discontinuous longitudinal median carina that is more than half as long as mesonotal lobe, anteriorly with folds in the middle part and small, sparse punctures; area of convergence of notauli with small areolae forming a diamond-like shape. Notauli complete, strongly impressed with large, subequal foveae along entire length, notauli next to edge of transscutal articulation, without additional row of foveae along the entire length. Scutellum convex, medially higher than mesoscutum ( Fig. 2 C) with rounded apex; anteriorly, below scutellar sulcus, with small, scarce punctures, middle part and posteriorly with large areolae of different sizes and close to each other; posteriorly on same vertical plane as posterior scutellar depression; scutellar sulcus with four deep, uneven foveae; posterior scutellar depression with two elongate, large foveae that fill most of the smooth area; middle part of metanotum without a projection below posterior scutellar depression ( Fig. 2 C). Propodeum antero-posteriorly short, symmetrical; crossed completely by MLC, this carina with the same height throughout the edge ( Fig. 2 C); wavy ATC rises after an invagination, but does not reach the same length as MLC; AMA absent; area between ATC and PTC with areolae heterogeneous in shape and size; posterior wall of propodeum flat with small areolae of heterogeneous size. Metapleuron with large, irregular areolae. Mesopleuron ( Fig. 2 C) without epicnemial carina and sternaulus; mesopleuron convex; shiny central area with scarce, small punctures; dorsally with a deep, transverse groove below the tegula and with a set of foveae of heterogeneous size embedded in a circular shape; ventrally with a wide, deep dent with foveae of different sizes and delimited by the lateral carina of mesosternum; anteriorly with elongate, narrow, flat area that bears small, dense punctures throughout the edge; posteriorly scrobiculate. Mesosternum convex with small, sparse punctures and with a complete, carinated central row of foveae subequal in size and shape ( Fig. 2 D); lateral parts with carinae with two straight anterior thirds, but last anterior third forks and forms a semicircular area above the mid coxa ( Fig. 2 D); mesosternum near fore coxa with uneven lamella throughout the edge, but with two elevations below each fore coxa.

Wings ( Fig. 2 E). — Fore wing ( Fig. 2 E): vein M+CU markedly curved (sinuate); vein 3RSb tubular, distant from stigma (0.30 mm); subbasal cell as long as basal (0.70: 0.72 mm); stigma rounded. Fore wing: length 1.75 mm, width 0.708 mm; hind wing: length 1.43 mm, width 0.37 mm.

Metasoma ( Fig. 2 A). — Carapace in lateral view teardrop-shaped ( Fig. 2 A); anterior part with strong substrigulae ( Fig. 2 B) that cross more than half the length of the carapace; area between the carinae lacunose. Apex of carapace with one short, blunt tubercle. In lateral view, region above tubercle convex; apical part of carapace smooth, shiny, pubescence scarce. Ovipositor ( Fig. 2 A) length 0.87 mm. Carapace length 0.99 mm.

Male.— Unknown.

Biology.— Unknown.

Comments.— The scrobes are deep, thus stemmaticum appears more elevated, but it is actually on same plane as vertex.

Material examined. — Holotype, female, Colombia: Magdalena, PNN [Parque Nacional Natural] Tayrona, Cerro San Lucas, 11º19´N 73º59´W, 550m, Malaise 2, 11–16.i.2003, C. Sarmiento leg., M.3426, IAvH-E 64527. Deposited in IAvH-E.

Etymology.— In honor of my mother, Maria Amanda Penna.

Figures

FIGURE 2. Urosigalphus amandae n. sp. (A) habitus; (B) head and mesosoma, dorsal view; (C) mesosoma, lateral view; (D) mesosternum; and (E) fore wing.