Taxon classification Animalia Hymenoptera Chalcididae

Brachymeria wiebesina Joseph, Narendran & Joy, 1972

Brachymeria wiebesina Joseph, Narendran & Joy, 1972: 35-37 (♀, holotype, Malaysia (Sarawak) (BPBM)); Narendran 1989: 245, 266 (keyed and commented).

Material.

3 ♂ (BPBM), "Vietnam, [locality unknown], 7.vii.1961. N.R. Spencer".

Diagnosis.

This species comes near Brachymeria olethria (Waterston) in the key to species by Narendran (1989), but differs from Brachymeria olethria in having: 1) scape subequal or as long as combined length of F1 to F3 (in Brachymeria olethria scape distinctly longer than combined length of F1 to F3); and 2) area below scrobe punctate (smooth in Brachymeria olethria).

Description

(after Joseph, Narendran and Joy 1973). ♀, length of body 2.7 mm.

Colour. Black; tegula dull yellow; antenna blackish red or sometimes brownish black; coxae, trochanters and femora black except tips of femora which are yellow; fore tibia yellow with a pale brownish colour at middle; tarsi pale yellow; hind tibia pale blackish-brown with a yellowish patch at the tip and at base; hind tarsi pale yellow.

Head. Head almost as wide as mesosoma, a little less than one and a half times its own length; surface of head faintly pitted, interstices and inside of pits rugulose; scrobe not reaching anterior ocellus; pre- and post-orbital carinae present; anterior ocellus slightly larger than a hind ocellus; area below scrobe punctate; distance between anterior and posterior ocelli slightly more than one-third POL; POL 3 × OOL; interocular distance two and one-third POL. Scape not exceeding anterior ocellus, as long as combined length of F1+F2+F3; F1 and F2 almost equal in length; clava a little more than twice length of preceding segment.

Mesosoma. Mesosoma with small, umbilicate, close pits, interstices narrower than diameter of pits, rugose; apex of scutellum weakly emarginated.

Wings. Fore wing about 2.5 × its width; PMV about one-third MV.

Metasoma. Metasoma hardly longer than combined length of head, pronotum, mesoscutum and scutellum. T1 smooth and shiny, reaching middle of metasoma. Ovipositor sheath visible in dorsal view.

Male . Resembles female in almost all features except stouter antenna and shorter metasoma.

Host.

A sweet potato beetle ( Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae).

Distribution.

India, Malaysia (Sarawak), Thailand, Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam (Narendran 1989).