Calotelea chitraka Rajmohana & Debnath, 2024

Debnath, Rupam, Rajmohana, Keloth & Peter, Abhilash, 2024, New species and new combination in Calotelea Westwood, 1837 (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae) from India, European Journal of Taxonomy 968, pp. 200-218 : 204-206

Calotelea chitraka Rajmohana & Debnath sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:BD035A45-F0D2-4949-A3FD-B0AF848E36F5

Fig. 2 , Table 1

Diagnosis

In the key to species of Calotelea by Kamalanathan et al. (2022), C. chitraka Rajmohana & Debnath sp. nov. comes close to C. aurea Veenakumari & Popovici, 2022 . But C. chitraka can be distinguished in having a coriaceous sculpture throughout on the frons (in C. aurea , frons dorsally smooth, rest weakly rugose-reticulate), a dorsal horn on T1 with lateral striations (in C. aurea , T1 horn reticulate), and T4–T5 coriaceous (in C. aurea , T4–T5 smooth).

Etymology

The specific name is after the Sanskrit word ‘ chitraka ’ = ‘spotted’, due to the black lateral patches on T2 and T3.

Type material

Holotype

INDIA • ♀; Karnataka, Biligirirangan Hills ; 11.9988° N, 77.1398° E; 1246 m a.s.l.; 20 Apr. 2007; Priyadarsanan leg.; Malaise trap; ZSI /WGRC/IR.INV.4233.

Paratypes

INDIA • 2 ♀♀; same data as for holotype; ZSI /WGRC/IR.INV.4234 to 4235 .

Description

Female

MEASUREMENTS. Length of body = 1.56–1.62 mm (n = 3).

COLOR. Head and body golden yellow throughout, except dorsal horn on T1 and T6 brownish black; T2 and T3 with prominent black lateral patches towards its posterior end; tip of mandibles, patch on upper frons, spots on occiput and gena, medial longitudinal patches on mesoscutum and mesoscutellum reddish-brown; ocelli black. Antenna golden yellow, except last five claval segments being brownish black. Fore wing with dark obscure transverse band near to marginal vein.

HEAD. 1.2× as wide as high, 1.1 × as high as long, with evenly coriaceous sculpture throughout including frons, vertex and gena, extremely sparsely setose; vertex smoothly curved to occiput; occipital carina present; hyperoccipital carina absent. IOS 0.4× of HW; POL> LOL> OOL in ratio of 128:72:10; OOL 0.3× of OD; central keel absent; frontal depression absent; eyes glabrous; malar sulcus smooth and with uniform width. Radicle elongate, 0.5 × of A1; A1 3.1× as long as wide; A2 1.4× as long as A3; proportions of length to medial width of A1 to A6 (155:50), (55:38), (39:30), (39:32), (26:33), (22:31); clava 6-merous, 3.3× as long as wide.

MESOSOMA. L:W = 34.5:32; mesoscutum and mesoscutellum with same sculpture as on head and without any setae; skaphion with same sculpture on vertex; notauli absent; mesoscutum 1.2 × as wide as long; mesoscutal humeral sulcus foveolate; mesoscutal suprahumeral sulcus smooth; mesoscutellum 2.5× as wide as long; scutoscutellar sulcus foveolate laterally, medially smooth; posterior scutellar sulcus complete, foveolate; anterior margin of metascutellum and metanotal trough foveolate; metascutellar lamina absent; posterolateral corners of metascutellum without projections; anteromedial corners of propodeum without projections; lateral propodeal carina distinct, margined by row of fovea; epomial carina indistinct; pronotal cervical sulcus smooth; pronotal suprahumeral sulcus smooth; netrion present, smooth; netrion sulcus foveolate with 6 foveae; mesopleural carina present; mesopleural pit distinct; prespecular sulcus foveolate and foveae with uniform diameter; mesepimeral sulcus complete, foveolate and foveae with uniform diameter; femoral depression smooth; episternal sulcus smooth; postacetabular sulcus smooth; metapleural sulcus present as smooth furrow, anterodorsally sulcate; posterodorsal metapleural sulcus sulcate; paracoxal sulcus smooth; metapleural carina distinct.

MACROPTEROUS. Fore wing (L:W = 94.5:26.9) 3.5 × as long as wide; m: st: pm = 62:80:181; microtrichia small. Hind wing 9.6× as long as wide.

METASOMA. L:W = 84.9:36.7; pedunculate; T1 0.8× of T2 length, with a dorsally smooth, laterally sparsely striate dorsal horn, rest of T1 with strong longitudinal costae; T2 0.5× of T3 length, transverse, basally costate, medially longitudinally striate, laterally striolate, sublaterally sparsely setose, posteriorly smooth; T3 reticulate with trace of fine longitudinal striae medially, sparsely setose laterally and sublaterally; T4–T5 coriaceous sculpture except posterior smooth margin, laterally and sublaterally setose; T6 smooth; proportions of length to width of T1 to T5 (10.9:90), (12.3:13.7), (22.8:27.2), (11.3:27.6), (53:19.7); ovipositor not extruded.

Male

Unknown.

Biology

Host unknown.

Distribution

Karnataka ( India).

Variation

Nil, except minor difference in body length (see the description above).

Figures

Fig. 2. Calotelea chitraka Rajmohana & Debnath sp. nov., holotype, ♀ (ZSI/WGRC/IR.INV.4233). A. Dorsal habitus. B. Antenna. C. Frontal view. D. Dorsal view of metasoma. E. Lateral view of head and mesosoma. F. Dorsal view of mesosoma.