Hayatosema Heraty & Burks gen. n. Figs 28-33, 34-35

Type species.

Orasema assectator (Kerrich, 1963: 367-368). Heraty, 1994: 74-75, figs 111-112.

Etymology.

Named after Mohammad Hayat of Aligarh Muslim University; gender feminine.

Discussion.

This group and three of its seven previously described species were characterized as the Orasema assectator -group by Heraty (1994: 73-74). The four Indian species described in Narendran and Girish Kumar (2005), Girish Kumar and Narendran (2007) and Girish Kumar and Sureshan (2015) are readily placed in the assectator -group and hence in this genus (Table 1). Hayatosema is morphologically similar to species in the New World placed in the cockerelli and bakeri species groups. They were not resolved from these taxa based on the morphological analyses of Heraty (1994, 2000), and molecular data clearly place them as distinct and placed with the other Old World genera (Murray et al. 2013, Heraty unpublished). The only consistent differentiating feature from Orasema is that the lateral aspect of the mesepisternum is reticulate with the ventral aspect smooth and shining in all Hayatosema, whereas if it is reticulate laterally in Orasema s.s., it is at least weakly sculptured ventrally. The antennal funicular count is unusual in the African species, with O. nigra Heraty having from 7-8 funiculars in females and 8-9 funiculars in males, all from the same collecting event. The Indo-Pacific species all have 7 funiculars in both sexes. Notably, molecular analyses fail to support the monophyly of the African and Indo-Pacific species, although sampling is currently very poor.

Diagnosis.

Distinguished from other Old World genera by the head subtriangular in frontal view (Fig. 29); lower face excluding clypeal region finely reticulate; scrobal depression evenly impressed, lacking parallel channels and dorsal foveae; dorsal occipital margin abrupt with a rounded or carinate margin; antenna with 7-8 funiculars in females (Fig. 30) and 7-9 funiculars in males; labrum with 4-digits; mesonotum appearing bare, at most with minute setae, notauli deeply and broadly impressed; mesoscutal lateral lobes and frenum evenly sculptured; transscutal articulation complete and weakly sinuate, axillae not advanced; propodeal disc evenly sculptured without distinctly differentiated narrow median area (Fig. 34); prepectus finely reticulate or rugose with undifferentiated dorsal margin that is partially overlapped by lateral margin of mesonotum (Fig. 31); tightly articulated with mesepisternum ventrally (Fig. 31); fore wing with basal area and specular area bare (Fig. 33), wing disc with dense long setae; postmarginal vein relatively short, less than 1/3 distance to apex of wing; petiole base truncate with weak basal flange (Fig. 34); antecostal sulcus foveate or irregularly sculptured; first valvula of ovipositor with 7-10 minute lateral teeth (Fig. 35). Male scape lacking ventral pores.

Host association.

Hayatosema initiator (Kerrich) reared from Pheidole (Das 1963; Kerrich 1963).

Distribution.

Four species. Ethiopian and Indo-Pacific (Heraty, 1994).