Psilophrys aristotelei, Japoshvili & Noyes, 2006

Japoshvili, Giorgi & Noyes, John S., 2006, The Western Palaearctic species of Psilophrys Mayr (Hymenoptera, Chalcidoidea: Encyrtidae), parasitoids of kermesids (Hemiptera, Coccoidea: Kermesidae) attacking oaks (Quercus spp.), Journal of Natural History 40 (29 - 31), pp. 1793-1800 : 1796-1797

Psilophrys aristotelei sp. n.

( Figures 1–3 )

Diagnosis

Female holotype. Length 1.84 mm. Body generally dark brown with a metallic silver-green reflection. All legs dark brown, only fore tibia dusty yellow. Fore wing virtually hyaline, but with a dark spot beneath marginal vein.

Head about 1.1× as wide as high and about 1.9× as wide as FV; FV about 1.9× as wide as long; OOL equal to OCL and POD; ocelli forming an obtuse angle; antenna with scape about 1.50–1.65× as long as club and 6× as long as wide, other proportions as in Figure 1 . Relative measurements: HW 55, FV 29, FVL 15, SL 24, SW 4.5, AOD 5, POD 4, POL 17, AOL 8.

Thorax about 1.2× as long as gaster excluding ovipositor; mesoscutum about 1.2× as wide as long; scutellum about 1.1× as wide as long; fore wing ( Figure 2 ) about 2.3× as long as wide; marginal vein subquadrate; hind wing about 3.6× as long as wide. Relative measurements: MSW 38, MSL 31, SCW 32, SCL 29.

Ovipositor (as in Figure 3 ) hardly exserted, the exserted part at most one-third as long as mid tibial spur.

Female paratype (slide-mounted). Toruli separated by own lengths and from anterior ocellus by about 2.5× distance of torulus from eye margin; eye about 1.5× as long as malar space, the latter rounded in facial view; mouth width subequal to eye length. Sculpture on mesoscutum and scutellum similar, composed of small rounded cells. Syntergum about 3× as wide as long. Relative measurements: TA 27 , TE 12 , EL 22 , MS 15 , MW 21 , HW 52 , HH 47 , OL 67 , ML 50, OPL 51 , OPW 18 , GL 10 , MSL 18 .

Variation. The length varies from 1.4 to 1.9 mm, otherwise little variation in material examined.

Male. Unknown.

Material examined

Holotype ♀: Greece, Olympia, Ex Kermes sp. on Quercus ilex , 30 April to 7 June 1984 (J. M. Cox). Paratypes: Greece, 22♀, same data as holotype. Holotype and paratypes in BMNH, one paratype in IZGAS.

Comments

Psilophrys aristotelei is most similar to tenuicornis and bella , all three species having similar body shape, general colour, and wing venation. They can be separated using the characters given in Table I.

Figures

Figures 1–3. Psilophrys aristotelei, ♀. (1) Antenna. (2) Fore wing. (3) Ovipositor.