Inostemma tschirnhausi, Buhl, 2014

Buhl, Peter Neerup, 2014, New species and new records of Platygastrinae and Sceliotrachelinae from Togo (Hymenoptera: Platygastridae), African Invertebrates 55 (1), pp. 68-68 : 78-79

Inostemma tschirnhausi sp. n.

Figs 16, 17

Etymology: Named after the collector, M. von Tschirnhaus.

Diagnosis: Head twice as wide as long, without excavation on vertex; female A1 with only a very narrow lamella, slightly longer than following six segments combined; female A4 very slightly longer than wide; horn of female T1 very slightly surpassing anterior margin of mesosoma.

Description:

Female.

Body length 1.0 mm. Black; antennae, mandibles, tegulae and legs including coxae dark brown; trochanters, most of fore tibiae, base and apex of mid and hind tibiae, and segments 1–4 of all tarsi light brown. Head from above ( Fig. 16 ) 2.0× as wide as long, 1.2× as wide as mesosoma, almost uniformly reticulate-coriaceous with small meshes, transversely so just above antennal sockets; vertex not concave. LOL about twice as long as OOL. Head in frontal view 1.4× as wide as high. Antenna ( Fig. 17 ) with A1 slightly longer than following six segments combined, 0.8× as long as height of head, 0.9× as long as distance between inner orbits; A3 1.5× as long as wide, A4 very slightly longer than wide. Mesosoma 1.3× as long as wide, slightly more than 1.1× as wide as high. Sides of pronotum reticulate-coriaceous, smoother antero-medially. Mesoscutum finely reticulate­coriaceous, with complete notauli which posteriorly are widened and sculptured. Scutellum flat and smooth. Fore wing whitish (not completely clear but colourless), almost reaching apex of metasoma, 2.5× as long as wide, with fine and dense microtrichia; subcostal vein medium brown, 0.3× length of wing; marginal cilia very short. Hind wing 5.0× as long as wide; marginal cilia 0.2× width of wing. Metasoma 1.25× as long as head and mesosoma combined, 0.9× as wide as mesosoma. Horn of T1 very slightly surpassing anterior margin of mesosoma, longitudinally striated dorsally and laterally. T2 slightly longer than wide (14:13), finely striated laterally in anterior half, smooth posteriorly. T3–T6 with fine microsculpture and setae, combined slightly shorter than T2 (13:14), T6 as long as wide.

Comparison: This species runs to I. nitidum Sundholm, 1970 , in Buhl’s (2011 b) key to Afrotropical Inostemma , but that species has vertex slightly excavated, A1 only as long as A2–A6 combined, fore wing 2.7× as long as wide, female metasoma as long as head and mesosoma combined, horn of T1 brown and dorsally smooth, and T6 1.5× as wide as long.

Holotype: ♀ TOGO: Région des Plateaux, Kougnohou, at river Kpon (07°41'22"N 00°47'44"E), 23.iv. 2008, 560 m, swept, M. von Tschirnhaus.

Figures

Figs 16, 17. Inostemma tschirnhausi sp. n., female: (16) head in dorsal view; (17) antenna.