Dendrocerus wachagga, Salden & Peters, 2023

Salden, Tobias & Peters, Ralph S., 2023, Afrotropical Ceraphronoidea (Insecta: Hymenoptera) put back on the map with the description of 88 new species, European Journal of Taxonomy 884 (1), pp. 1-386 : 337-341

Dendrocerus wachagga sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:6FB70A2D-2882-4548-B0FD-DCFE3EE7E8F4

Fig. 98

Diagnosis

Sensillae on flagellomeres erect and distinctly longer than width of flagellomeres; supraclypeal depression slightly present; head width 1.25 × head height; maximum eye diameter 1.29 × minimum eye diameter. Male genitalia: harpe cloven hoof-shaped in ventral and dorsal view; harpe/gvc index 0.40; dorsomedial margins of harpes not touching at distodorsal margin of gvc, dorsomedial margin of harpe straight and slightly converging distomedially from base to apex; ventral margin of harpe convex, dorsal margin straight, lateral margin convex; Weber length 4.00 × genital length.

Etymology

The species is named after the indigenous WaChagga, which live at the southern and eastern slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro.

Material examined

Holotype

TANZANIA • ♂; Kilimanjaro Region, Mount Kilimanjaro; 3°16′10.4 S, 37°25′11.3 E; 1788 m a.s.l.; 5 Apr. 2011; KiLi project leg.; “tree 2”; HOM3, homegarden; Coloured pan trap; ZFMK; ZFMK- HYM-00037088 .

Description

Male

BODY LENGTH. 1.43 mm.

COLOUR. Head dark brown, mesosoma dark brown, metasoma brown; scape and pedicel brown, flagellum brown; legs brown; fore wing venation light brown, fore and hind wing disc hyaline and weakly melanized.

ANTENNA. 11-segmented, flagellomeres cylindric and F1 to F6 serrated, serration gradually weakening from F1 to F6; scape 5.2× as long as pedicel, scape slightly longer than F1 and F2 combined, F1 1.7 × as long as wide, F1 2.5× as long as pedicel, F1 1.3× as long as F2, F1 shorter than F7 and F8 combined, F1 shorter than F9, F6 1.9 × as long as wide, F6 shorter than F7 and F8 combined; numerous distinctly small multiporous plates on flagellomeres, sensillae on flagellomeres erect and distinctly longer than width of flagellomeres.

HEAD. Head width 1.25 × head height; head width 1.67 × interorbital space; maximum eye diameter 1.29 × minimum eye diameter; head height 1.81 × maximum eye diameter. Dorsal margin of occipital carina ventral to dorsal margin of lateral ocellus in lateral view; preoccipital furrow indistinct; preoccipital carina present. OOL:POL:LOL 1.00:1.70:0.65; OOL 2.00 × lateral ocellus diameter. White, thick setae on upper face absent; supraclypeal depression slightly present; lateral margin of torulus slightly raised; intertorular carina present; posterolateral processes of gena absent.

MESOSOMA, METASOMA. Mesosoma not compressed laterally. Head width 1.08 × mesosoma width; Weber length 450 µm. Mesoscutum densely setose, setae curved backwards; notaulus weak; median mesoscutal sulcus present; median mesoscutal sulcus adjacent to transscutal articulation; interaxillar sulcus absent (= scutoscutellar sulcus adjacent to transscutal articulation), scutoscutellar sulcus convex; dorsal axillar area setose, setae curved backwards; mesoscutellum setose, setae curved backwards or straight. Mesoscutum width 2.14× mesoscutellum width; posterior mesoscutal width 1.48 × mesoscutellum width; mesoscutellum length 1.38 × mesoscutellum width; mesoscutellum length 0.93 × posterior mesoscutal width; Weber length 1.16× mesoscutum width; Weber length 1.80× mesoscutellum length.Anteromedian projection of the metanoto-propodeo-metapecto-mesopectal complex absent; mesometapleural sulcus present; posterior propodeal projection absent; posterior mesosomal comb absent. At least six distinctly short, basal longitudinal carinae on syntergum; pair of translucent patches on metasomal syntergum.

FORE WING. Length 2.35 × width; stigmal vein slightly longer than pterostigma marginal length; pterostigma present.

MALE GENITALIA. Genital length 113 µm; Weber length 4.00 × genital length; gvc width 75 µm; genital length 1.50× gvc width; gvc width more than three quarters of gvc length; gvc width 1.22 × distal gvc width. Proximodorsal margin of gvc straight; distodorsal margin of gvc concave in median part, lateral parts convex ( Fig. 98C ); proximoventral margin of gvc straight; distoventral margin of gvc strongly descending proximally and strongly ascending distomedially (at lateral volsella margin) ( Fig. 98A ); ventral area of gvc convex; dorsal area of gvc convex ( Fig. 98B ); proximolateral margin of gvc slightly concave; distolateral margin of gvc strongly descending ventrally ( Fig. 98B ). Harpe cloven hoof-shaped in ventral and dorsal view; harpe/gvc index 0.40; lateral articulation site of harpe with gvc not flush ( Fig. 98A, C ); ventral margin of harpe convex, dorsal margin straight ( Fig. 98B ), lateral margin convex, widest point of harpe at lateral articulation site with gvc ( Fig. 98A, C ); dorsomedial margins of harpes not touching at distodorsal margin of gvc, dorsomedial margin of harpe straight and slightly converging distomedially from base to apex ( Fig. 98C ), apex of harpe rounded, oriented distomedially ( Fig. 98A, C ). Harpe with at least six lateral setae, longest lateral setae two thirds as long as harpe, lateral setae oriented distolaterally, distoventrally and medioventrally; harpe with at least two apical setae, longest apical setae more than half as long as harpe, apical setae oriented distomedially and distoventrally; harpe with at least six median setae, longest median setae more than one third as long as harpe, median setae oriented distomedially, distoventrally, medioventrally and proximoventrally; volsella with at least one distal seta, oriented distomedially ( Fig. 98A ). Aedeagus + gonossiculus more than one quarter as long as harpe, apex of aedeagus + gonossiculus acute ( Fig. 98A, C ) and dorsal to apex of harpe. Genitalia strongly sclerotized.

Female

Unknown.

Variation

Unknown.

Biology

Host unknown, specimen collected with coloured pan trap.

Distribution

Afrotropical: Tanzania.

Remarks

Comparison with similar species

Dendrocerus wachagga sp. nov. can be distinguished from all other Afrotropical species of Megaspilidae by the combination of serrated F1 to F6 with distinctly long sensillae, a characteristic shape of the male genitalia with a cloven hoof-shaped harpe, a convex and slightly protruding ventral margin of the harpe, and a bulbous gvc in lateral view. In contrast to the somewhat similar Dendrocerus aliberti ( Risbec, 1950) , D. wachagga has darker legs and antennae with comparatively shorter and more strongly serrated flagellomeres ( Dessart 1985). The male genitalia of both species show major differences in the ventral margins of the harpes, and the dorsal, the ventral, and the lateral margins of the gvc: The lateral margins of the gvc of D. wachagga are straight and that of D. aliberti are more convex, which results in a more bulbous gvc in ventral view in D. aliberti ( Dessart 1985: 417, fig. 7), all other margins of D. wachagga are more convex than those of D. aliberti , which results in a more bulbous gvc in lateral view in D. wachagga than in D. aliberti ( Dessart 1985: 417, fig. 8). The dorsomedial margin of D. wachagga is straight and slightly converging distomedially from base to apex; the dorsomedial margin of D. aliberti is straight and diverging distolaterally in approximately apical quarter ( Dessart 1985: 417, fig. 7).

Condition of type material

In the holotype, the left F9, the left hind wing and the left four distal protarsal segments are missing. The head is detached. The right F9 is deformed. Also, the metasoma is deformed, thus the body length measurement is not precise.

Comments on previously described species of Ceraphronidae from the Afrotropical mainland (including those known only from females or from males without information on their male genitalia)

Comprehensive information on the world Ceraphronoidea status up to 2004 is given in Johnson & Musetti (2004). In our comments, we accordingly only provide the exact reference to the respective species in that catalogue, and add references not included in Johnson & Musetti (2004) or published after 2004.

For fast capture of the most decisive information, we start each Remarks section under each species with “Male unknown”, “Male known but male genitalia unknown”, or “Male and male genitalia known”.

Aphanogmus reticulatus ( Fouts, 1934) was the only previously described species that was also found in the present study. For this species, we complement the current knowledge with additional information on somatic and male genitalia characters, analogous to the treatments of newly described species.

Species of Aphanogmus for which the male genitalia are known and which are included in the key in this study, are assigned to three different species groups proposed by Evans et al. (2005).

Figures

Fig. 98. Holotype of Dendrocerus wachagga sp. nov. (ZFMK-HYM-00037088). A–C. Male genitalia in ventral (A), lateral (B) and dorsal (C) views. D. Habitus in lateral view.