Eodendrus africanus Belokobylskij, 2005

Belokobylskij, Sergey A., Chen, Xuexin & Long, Khuat Dang, 2005, Revision of the genus Eodendrus Belokobylskij (Hymenoptera: Braconidae, Doryctinae), Journal of Natural History 39 (29), pp. 2715-2743 : 2719-2722

Eodendrus africanus Belokobylskij , sp. nov.

( Figures 1–11 )

Type material

Holotype: female, ‘‘ S. Africa, R.E. Turner. Brit. Mus. 1923-547.’’, ‘‘ Port St. John , Pondoland, Oct. 1923 ’’ ( BMNH).

Description

Female. Body length 7.0 mm; fore wing length 4.6 mm.

Head width 1.4× its median length. Head behind eyes (dorsal view) convex in anterior half, strongly and almost linearly narrowed in posterior half; transverse diameter of eye 1.6× as long as temple ( Figure 2 ). Ocelli medium-sized, in triangle with base 1.35× its sides. POL 1.6× Od, 0.5× OOL. Eye sparsely and shortly setose, 1.25× as high as broad. Malar space height 0.5× height of eye, equal to basal width of mandible ( Figure 3 ). Face width 1.1× height of eye and 1.2× height of face and clypeus combined. Clypeus with distinct lower flange. Clypeal suture complete. Hypoclypeal depression small and round, its width about 0.5× distance from edge of depression to eye, 0.3× width of face ( Figure 1 ). Hypostomal flange narrow. Antennae ( Figure 4 ) slender, filiform, more than 40-segmented (apical segments missing). Scapus about 1.5× as long as its maximum width. First flagellar segment weakly curved outside, not flattened, 4.2× as long as its apical width, 0.75× as long as second segment. Subapical segments about 3× as long as their width.

Mesosoma . Length twice its height. Mesoscutum rather highly and almost perpendicularly raised above pronotum. Pronotal keel indistinct. Median lobe of mesoscutum with wide and shallow median longitudinal depression. Notauli deep in anterior half, shallow in posterior half, wide, coarsely crenulate with granulation. Prescutellar depression deep, wide, with median carina, coarsely rugose, 0.3× as long as almost flat scutellum. Subalar depression shallow, wide, rugose-areolate. Sternauli rather deep, narrow, straight, finely rugose-coriaceous, connected with prepectal carina anteriorly, running along almost entire length of lower part of mesopleura. Metapleural flange distinct, wide, rounded apically.

Wings. Fore wing ( Figure 5 ) 3.7× as long as its maximum width. Radial vein arising shortly after middle of pterostigma. Metacarpus 1.1× as long as pterostigma. Second radial abscissa almost 4.0× first abscissa, 0.7× the straight third abscissa, 1.5× first radiomedial vein. Second radiomedial cell 3× as long as its maximum width, 1.5× as long as brachial cell. First abscissa of medial vein weakly S-shaped. Recurrent vein 3× second abscissa of medial vein. Distance from nervulus to basal vein 1.2× nervulus length. Brachial cell widened medially, closed apically almost on level of recurrent vein. Hind wing ( Figure 6 ) 4.6× as long as wide. First abscissa of costal vein 0.7× second abscissa. First abscissa of mediocubital vein 0.65× second abscissa. Recurrent vein long, curved toward base of wing, sclerotized for most part, interstitial.

Legs. Hind coxa with very small but distinct basoventral tooth ( Figure 7 ), its length 1.7× maximum width. Hind femur almost 3× as long as wide ( Figure 9 ). Hind tibia with seven short and thick spines on apical outside margin ( Figure 8 ). Hind tarsus almost as long as hind tibia. Basitarsus thickened, 0.5× as long as second to fifth segments combined. Second tarsal segment 0.6× as long as basitarsus, 1.1× as long as fifth segment (without pretarsus).

Metasoma. Metasoma ( Figure 11 ) 1.3× as long as head and mesosoma combined. First tergite high (lateral view) ( Figure 10 ), distinctly and linearly widened from base to apex (dorsal view) ( Figure 11 ), with distinct wide spiracular tubercles in basal 0.3 that are directed somewhat downwards. Acrosternite of first tergite about 0.6× as long as tergite. Maximum width of first tergite almost twice its minimum width; length 1.6× its apical width. Second tergite with rather deep, wide, weakly curved and rather weakly posteriorly convergent lateral longitudinal furrows; basal width of median area 1.4× its apical width; length of tergite 1.2× its basal width, 1.7× length of third tergite. Second suture complete, very deep laterally, shallow medially. Ovipositor sheath 0.75× as long as body, 1.4× as long as metasoma, 1.15× as long as fore wing.

Sculpture and pubescence. Vertex very densely granulate with fine rugulosity laterally and posteriorly. Frons densely rugulose with granulation. Face densely and rather finely transversely striate with dense ground granulation. Temple densely, semicircularly striate with dense granulation, finely striate-coriaceous below. Mesoscutum densely rugosereticulate, with dense granulation, rather widely rugose in medioposterior half. Scutellum entirely densely granulate. Mesopleura coarsely rugulose-granulate in upper 0.75, only granulate near sternauli, finely granulate-coriaceous below sternauli. Metapleura entirely coarsely rugose-areolate. Propodeum entirely densely rugose-areolate, without carinae or marginate areas. Hind coxae densely granulate, coarsely rugose in dorsal 0.3. Hind femur entirely densely granulate. Hind tibia finely punctulate-granulate. First and second tergites densely and distinctly undulately striate, with rugosity between striae. Third tergite only densely granulate, almost smooth in medioposterior 0.3. Remaining tergites finely coriaceous to smooth. Mesoscutum entirely with dense short semi-erect hairs. Hind tibia with short, dense and semi-erect hairs dorsally, length of these hairs 0.3–0.4× maximum width of hind tibia.

Colour. Head light reddish brown to brown, yellow around eyes in wide area. Mesosoma dark reddish brown, light reddish brown to yellowish brown for most part dorsally. Metasoma light reddish brown, second tergite laterally yellow in wide areas, but almost black marginally; third to sixth tergites laterally yellow in wide areas. Antenna yellow basally, brownish yellow to dark brown toward apex. Palpi pale yellow. Tegulae yellow. Legs yellow to brownish yellow; hind femur brown medially; middle and hind tibiae pale yellow basally; fifth tarsal segments brown. Ovipositor sheath brownish yellow, black apically at short distance. Fore wings entirely faintly yellowish infuscate. Pterostigma yellow in basal half, brown in apical half.

Male. Unknown.

Discussion

This new species is similar to E. hoabinicus sp. nov. but differs in the relatively short first flagellar segment ( Figure 4 cf. Figure 69 ), the brachial cell medially widened and apically closed at the level of the recurrent vein ( Figure 5 cf. Figure 70 ), the hind coxa with small basoventral tubercle ( Figure 7 cf. Figure 72 ), and the first tergite in lateral view high ( Figure 10 cf. Figure 75 ). E. africanus sp. nov. differs from the Madagascan E. conspicuus (Granger) in the short first flagellar segment ( Figure 4 cf. Figure 14 ), the medially widened brachial cell of fore wing ( Figure 5 cf. 15), the hind coxa with small basoventral tubercle ( Figure 7 cf. Figure 17 ), the high first tergite in lateral view, the long acrosternite of the first tergite ( Figure 10 cf. Figure 19 ), and the long second tergite ( Figure 11 cf. Figure 20 ).

Distribution. South Africa.

Figures

Figures 1–11. Eodendrus africanus sp. nov. (1) Head, frontal view. (2) Head, dorsal view. (3) Head, lateral view. (4) Basal six segments of antenna. (5) Fore wing. (6) Hind wing. (7) Hind coxa. (8) Hind tibia. (9) Hind femur. (10) First tergite, lateral view. (11) Metasoma, dorsal view.

Figures 66–76. Eodendrus hoabinicus sp. nov. (66) Head, frontal view. (67) Head, dorsal view. (68) Head, lateral view. (69) Basal five segments of antenna. (70) Fore wing. (71) Hind wing. (72) Hind coxa. (73) Hind femur. (74) Hind tibia. (75) First tergite, lateral view. (76) Metasoma, dorsal view.

Figures 12–20. Eodendrus conspicuus (Granger). (12) Head, frontal view. (13) Head, dorsal view. (14) Basal five segments of antenna. (15) Fore wing. (16) Hind wing. (17) Hind coxa. (18) Hind femur. (19) First tergite, ventral view. (20) Metasoma, dorsal view.