Pholetesor camerariae, Ahmad, Zubair, Ghramh, Hamed A. & Pandey, Kavita, 2020

Ahmad, Zubair, Ghramh, Hamed A. & Pandey, Kavita, 2020, Parasitoids of the genus Pholetesor Mason, 1981 (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Microgastrinae) from the leafminers Lepidoptera, with the description of three new species from India, European Journal of Taxonomy 726, pp. 24-37 : 29-31

Pholetesor camerariae sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:A2B68EDA-3DBF-4CD0-838F-1EFF0B1E5DA0

Fig. 2

Diagnosis

Pholetesor camerariae sp. nov. is closely related with Indian species, viz, P. hayati . However, it differs from P. hayati in the following characters: hind coxae somewhat enlarged so that distal ends of hind coxae reach nearly to posterior end of T3 (hind coxae not reaching beyond T 2 in P. hayati ); ovipositor sheaths long, slender basally, then tapering broader to a bluntly bevelled tip, approximately as long as hind basitarsi, arising at mid length of valvifer (ovipositor sheath short, fusiform, 0.55 × as long as hind basitarsi, arising slightly below the mid length of valvifer in P. hayati ); T2 smooth and shiny (T2 sculptured with a smooth raised median area P. hayati ); T1 1.4 × as long as wide posteriorly (T1 1.1 × as long as wide posteriorly in P. hayati ).

Pholetesor camerariae sp. nov. is also closely related with P. salalicus (Mason, 1959) in the key to the Chinese species of the genus Pholetesor ( Liu et al. 2016) . However, it differs from P. salalicus in the following characters: T2 smooth except few hairs, trapezoidal, 1.5× as wide as long, (T2 rugose, subtriangular to trapezoidal, 1.7–2.0× as wide as long in P. salalicus ); posterior margin of T2 usually weakly concave (posterior margin of T2 straight in P. salalicus ); propodeum about 2× as wide as long, shallowly rugulose to rugose, smooth at antero-lateral corners (propodeum about 1.7× as wide as long at longest point, punctate to weakly rugulose antero-laterally, smooth and depressed in postero-lateral corners).

Etymology

The new species is named after its host insect.

Material examined

Holotype INDIA • ♀; Uttar Pradesh, Aligarh; 27°54′26.4″ N, 78°04′13.9″ E; 4 Dec. 2005; Z. Ahmad leg.; ex. Cameraria virgulata Meyrick, 1914 on Millettia pinnata (L.) Panigrahi; ZDAMU.

Paratypes INDIA • 17 ♀♀, 3 ƋƋ; same collection data as for holotype; ZDAMU .

Description

Female

MEASUREMENTS. Body length = 1.8 mm; Length of forewing=2.0 mm; Length of antenna= 2.0 mm.

HEAD. Almost 2 × as wide as long in dorsal view; eyes as long as 2.0× as temple in dorsal view; OOL: POL: AOL: OD = 4: 3: 2: 2; temple smooth, shiny, punctate with hairs; vertex convex, smooth, shiny, indistinctly punctate with hairs; frons concave, smooth and shiny; face 1.3× as wide as long, medially convex, punctate with hairs; clypeus convex, punctate with hairs; malar space about as long as basal width of mandible; antennae longer than body length, apical four flagellomeres without double rank of placodes, F1–F7 equal in length, F8–F15 gradually decreasing in length apically, apical flagellomere slightly longer than F15.

MESOSOMA. 1.3× as long as wide dorsally and just above the tegulae as wide as head; scutum shallowly punctate with hairs, becoming nearly impunctate at extreme posterior edge; scutellar sulcus almost straight and foveolate to crenulated; scutellum smooth with fine, shallow punctures; metanotum weakly retracted from scutellum; sublateral setiferous lobes nearly appressed to hind margin of scutellum; transverse carinae poorly developed; propodeum about 2 × as wide as long, shallowly rugulose, smooth at antero-lateral corners, with pair of ridges extending obliquely on either side from nucha; propleuron smooth and shiny; mesopleuron mostly smooth except few hairs anteriorly; metapleuron smooth and shiny except edges.

WINGS. Fore wing 2.5× as long as wide; 1-R1 about as long as pterostigma; r slightly longer than 2-SR; r and 2-SR meeting angularly. Hind wing with Cu-a declivous; venal lobe evenly convex and hairy; pterostigma almost 3 × as long as wide.

LEGS. Hind coxa smooth and shiny, almost reaching posterior end of T3; length of femur, tibia, and basitarsus of hind leg 4.0, 6.0 and 6 × their width, respectively, longer tibial spur 0.41 × as long as basitarsus (12:5).

METASOMA. About 3× as long as wide; T1 2.5 × as long as its apical width, 1.66 × its basal width, parallel sided, only slightly narrowing apically, surface longitudinally aciculate anteriorly, posteriorly aciculorugose with less conspicuous longitudinal elements; T2 trapezoidal, 1.5 × as wide as long, smooth except few hairs, posterior margin of T2 usually straight and posteriorly marked by shallow groove; T3 rectangular, 1.30 × as long as T2, unsculptured; hypopygium weakly sclerotized basally, membranous apically, 1.5× as long as hind basitarsus; ovipositor sheaths long, slender basally, then tapering broader to bluntly bevelled tip, hairy at apical half, approximately as long as hypopygium, arising at mid length of valvifer; ovipositor weakly decurved, approximately as long as hypopygium.

COLOUR. Body black except for the following: ocelli testaceous; scape, pedicel, F5–F16, mandible brown; maxillary palpi, labial palpi, tibial spurs creamish; legs, tegulae and latero-tergites yellowish; wings hyaline; pterostigma, vein 1-R1, C+SC +R slightly pigmented and remaining veins colourless.

Male

Same as holotype.

Host

Cameraria virgulata .

Distribution

India: Uttar Pradesh.

Remarks

The new species bears strong resemblance to another Indian species, P. hayati , in the colouration of the tegulae, wing veins, stigma and legs (except hind coxae), and the sculpturing of the propodeum and metasomal tergites (but not their exact shapes – P. hayati has a broader first tergite with rounded lateral margins and a somewhat longer second tergite). Also showing some resemblance in the Palearctic fauna is P. laetus (Marshall, 1885) and P. salalicus , both of which shares a number of colour and tergite features with P. camerariae sp. nov., but both the Palearctic species have more sculptured T2 than P. camerariae sp. nov., and scutellar sulcus reduced to a fine groove in which there is no obvious foveation, while P. camerariae sp. nov. has a distinct faveolated groove in scutellar sulcus.

Figures

Fig. 2. Pholetesor camerariae sp. nov., paratype, ♀ (ZDAMU). A. Head, frontal view. B. Mesosoma, dorso-lateral view. C. T1 and T2, dorso-lateral view. D. Metasoma, lateral view. Scale bars: 0.25 mm.