Spathius alkadanus Belokobylskij, 2021

Belokobylskij, Sergey A. & Achterberg, Cornelis Van, 2021, Review of the braconid parasitoid subfamily Doryctinae (Hymenoptera, Braconidae) from the United Arab Emirates and Yemen, European Journal of Taxonomy 765 (1), pp. 1-143 : 38-42

Spathius alkadanus Belokobylskij sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:7388A7AB-A064-4760-8CB1-EF22363E2B25

Figs 16–17

Comparative diagnosis

This new species belongs to the S. vulnificus species-group and is very similar to S. subafricanus sp. nov. The differences between these species are shown in the below key.

Etymology

This new species is named after its type locality, Al Kadan.

Material examined

Holotype YEMEN • ♀; “Yemen (6090), Al Kadan , x.2001, light trap, A.v. Harten, T. Abdul-Haq. RMNH’02”; RMNH.

Description

Female

MEASUREMENTS. Body length 4.5 mm; fore wing length 2.4 mm.

HEAD. Head width (dorsal view) 1.4 times its median length, 1.2 times width of mesoscutum. Vertex weakly convex. Head behind eyes (dorsal view) subparallel in anterior half and evenly roundness decreased in posterior half. Transverse diameter of eye (dorsal view) 1.4 times longer than temple. Ocelli small, in triangle with base 1.3 times its sides. POL 1.7 times Od, 0.55 times OOL. Eye with short and sparse pale setae, in lateral view distinctly oblique, its maximum diameter 1.3 times minimum diameter. Malar space 0.65 times maximum diameter of eye, 1.2 times basal width of mandible. Face weakly convex, its width 1.1 times maximum diameter of eye, almost equal to height of face and clypeus combined. Clypeal suture upper absent on wide distance, distinct laterally at rather long lower part. Ventral margin of clypeus with distinct narrow flange. Hypoclypeal depression medium-sized and round, its width 0.6 times shortest distance from edge to eye, 0.4 times width of face. Occipital carina dorsally complete and almost not broken toward ocellar triangle, not reaching below hypostomal carina and obliterated relatively long distance before mandible base. Hypostomal flange narrow.

ANTENNA. Antenna slender, filiform, 24-segmented, 0.7 times as long as body. Scape 1.8 times longer than its maximum width. First flagellar segment 4.8 times longer than apical width, 1.15 times as long as second segment. Penultimate segment 3.0 times longer than width, 0.5 times as long as first segment, 0.9 times as long as apical segment; latter weakly acuminate apically and without spine.

MESOSOMA. Mesosoma not depressed, its maximum length 1.8 times maximum height. Pronotal carina distinct, situated very closely to posterior margin of pronotum on wide distance. Pronotal lateral depression distinct, wide, shallow, finely crenulate, delineated upper and below by carinae. Mesoscutum (lateral view) high, subroundly and curvedly elevated above pronotum, its median lobe (dorsal view) distinctly convex anteriorly and without anterolateral corners, without median longitudinal furrow; mesoscutum in dorsal view 0.9 times as long as wide. Notauli complete, wide, deep anteriorly and shallow posteriorly, densely crenulate. Prescutellar depression rather shallow, wide, with three complete carinae, 0.3 times as long as scutellum. Scutellum weakly convex, with distinct lateral carinae, almost as long as maximum anterior width. Subalar depression wide, shallow, distinctly rugulose-striate. Precoxal sulcus deep, wide, short, densely crenulate, running along anterior 0.5 of lower part of mesopleuron. Postpectal carina absent. Metanotum with very low, wide and apically rounded tubercle (lateral view). Metapleural flange (lobe) rather wide, distinct, subrounded distally. Propodeum evenly and weakly roundly convex, almost without lateral tubercles.

WINGS. Fore wing 3.4 times longer than wide. Pterostigma rather wide, 3.7 times longer than its maximum width. Radial vein (r) arising distinctly behind middle of pterostigma, from basal 0.6. Radial (marginal) cell not shortened, metacarpus (1-R1) 1.3 times longer than pterostigma. Second radial abscissa (3-SR) 3.0 times longer than first abscissa (r) and forming with it weakly obtuse angle, 0.55 times as long as the weakly curved third abscissa (SR1), 0.9 times longer than straight first radiomedial vein (2-SR). Second radiomedial (submarginal) cell very weakly narrowed distally, its length 2.8 times maximum width, 1.4 times length of brachial (subdiscal) cell. Second abscissa of medial vein (2-SR+M) rather long, 0.8 times as long as recurrent vein (m-cu). Nervulus (cu-a) interstitial or very weakly antefurcal. Mediocubital vein (M+CU1) very weakly sinuate to longitudinal anal vein (1-1A). Narrow brachial (subdiscal) cell closed apically distinctly behind recurrent vein (m-cu). Parallel vein (CU1a) not interstitial, arising almost from middle of the vein (3-CU1) closed brachial (subdiscal) cell distally. Hind wing 4.7 times longer than its maximum width. First costal abscissa (C+SC+R) 0.6 times as long as second abscissa (1-SC+R). First abscissa of mediocubital vein (M+CU) 0.6 times as long as second and third abscissa (1-M) combined. Recurrent vein (m-cu) rather short, sclerotised but unpigmented, subinterstitial, curved towards base of wing.

LEGS. Fore tibia anterior margin with short and dense spines arranged in single vertical line. Segments of middle tarsus distinctly longer than their width. Hind coxa rather short, with basoventral corner and small tubercle, 1.3 times longer than its maximum width. Hind femur thickened, elongate-oval, 3.5 times longer than wide. Hind tibia with four slender spines on outer distal margin. Hind tarsus 0.9 times as long as hind tibia. Hind basitarsus 0.7times as long as remaining segments combined. Second segment of hind tarsus 0.5 times as long as basitarsus, 1.4 times longer than fifth segment (without pretarsus). Tarsal segments rather slender.

METASOMA. Petiole in lateral view, ventrally distinctly evenly curved, dorsally distinctly arched submedially and almost straight on remaining part, highest in anterior third; in dorsal view, petiole distinctly evenly widening from base towards its apex, with distinct spiracular tubercles in anterior third and fine dorsope. Length of petiole 1.65 times its posterior width, 1.6 times length of propodeum; posterior width 1.7 times its width at spiracular level, 2.7 times its minimum anterior width. Second tergite with separated laterotergites; following tergites without separated laterotergites; laterotergites of second and third tergites fused, without suture. Second suture almost absent. Median length of second and third tergites combined 1.3 times anterior width of second tergite, 0.7 times their maximum width. Ovipositor straight. Ovipositor sheath about 2.0 times longer than petiole, 0.5 times as long as metasoma, as long as mesosoma, 0.55 times as long as fore wing.

SCULPTURE AND PUBESCENCE. Vertex entirely smooth; frons distinctly and obliquely striate, smooth on narrow median vertical stripe; face entirely with very dense and thin aciculation; temple entirely smooth. Mesoscutum densely and finely granulate-reticulate, with two distinctly convergent posteriorly median carinae in posterior half and rugulosity between carinae; scutellum finely reticulate, more distinct in posterior quarter. Mesopleuron widely smooth, with fine reticulation with striation medially vertically, upper and lower parts. Propodeum entirely rugose-areolate, with fine granulation anteriorly, with areas rather distinctly delineated by carinae, medio-basal carina in anterior third of propodeum short, 0.5 times as long as anterior fork of areola; areola long and narrow, 2.8 times longer than its maximum width. Hind coxa densely rugulose, with additional striation dorsally, rugulose-reticulate laterally; hind femur dorsally reticulate, finely to very finely reticulate-coriaceous laterally, smooth below. Petiole distinctly and densely striate, with dense rugosity in anterior half. Second and third in anterior half tergites densely and rather fine reticulate- aciculate, third tergite smooth in posterior half. Remaining tergites entirely smooth. Vertex medially glabrous, with rather long and very sparse yellow setae laterally and posteriorly. Mesoscutum with long and sparse white semi-erect setae arranged along notauli and laterally, glabrous on wide median areas of all lobes. Setae of hind tibia semi-erect, medium length and rather sparse, their length on dorsal surface 0.4–0.8 times maximum width of tibia.

COLOUR. Head light reddish brown and infuscate dorsally, mesosoma and metasoma mainly reddish brown, with yellowish spots or stripes. Palpi yellow. Antenna brownish yellow in basal two thirds, infuscate in apical one-thirds. Legs mainly light reddish brown trochanters, trochantelli and tarsi yellow to brownish yellow, all tibiae yellow on short basal part. Ovipositor sheath pale yellow in anterior half and brown in posterior half. Fore wing finely maculate especially along veins, with several hyaline spots. Pterostigma mainly dark brown, pale yellow in basal half.

Male

Unknown.

Distribution

Yemen.

Remarks

This is the first record of this species-group for the Afrotropical region, having the face with very dense, fine and absolutely even transverse aciculation (like the surface of a CD).

Figures

Fig. 16. Spathius alkadanus Belokobylskij sp. nov., holotype, ♀ (RMNH). A. Habitus, lateral view. B. Head, front view. C. Head, dorsal view. D. Head, lateral view. E. Basal segments of antenna.F. Apical segments of antenna. G. Mesosoma, dorsal view. H. Mesosoma, lateral view. I. Hind coxa and femur. J. Hind tibia. K. Petiole of metasoma, dorsal view. L. Petiole of metasoma, lateral view. M. Ovipositor.

Fig. 17. Spathius alkadanus Belokobylskij sp. nov., holotype, ♀ (RMNH). A. Fore wing. B. Hind wing. C. Metasoma, dorsal view. D. Metasoma, lateral view.