Glenosema banzi Azevedo & van Noort, 2019

Azevedo, Celso O. & Noort, Simon Van, 2019, Review of Afrotropical Glenosema Kieffer (Hymenoptera, Bethylidae) with description of 13 new species, Zootaxa 4585 (3), pp. 401-437 : 414-416

Glenosema banzi Azevedo & van Noort , sp. nov.

Fig. 8

Description, holotype Ƌ. Body length 2.8 mm. Forewing length 1.7 mm.

Colour. Head black, antenna dark castaneous with scape almost black, mandible from almost black proximally to dark castaneous distally, palpi dark castaneous; mesosoma black, legs dark castaneous with tarsi lighter, wings subhyaline, veins castaneous; metasoma dark castaneous.

Head. Mandible 0.49 × LH, distinctly wider distally, distal teeth large. Clypeus with well-projected trapezoidal median lobe, its surface inclined at 45 o, median area elevated but forming carina, apical margin triangular in frontal view, lateral lobe short. Antennal foramina distant each other about 1.7 × antennal foramen diameter. First four antennomeres in ratio 28:6:21:21. Antenna reaching metasoma, pedicel wider than long, flagellomeres more than twice as long as wide; flagellar pubescence dense, short and subappressed with some sub-erect outstanding setae; sensilla pale, elongate, dense, aligned in longitudinal series of about 4–5 in each flagellomere. Eye suboval, small, placed at middle-dorsal area of head in lateral view, with sparse and short setae. Frons coriaceous, punctures small, shallow, very sparse one another, frontal line as polished impression, of median length. LH 1.0 × WH. WF 0.66 × WH. WF 1.66 × HE. OOL 2.2 × WOT. VOL 1.07 × HE. Distance of posterior ocellus to vertex crest 1.56 × DAO. Distance of anterior ocellus to supra-ocular line 2.5 × DAO. Frontal angle of ocellar triangle acute; ocellar triangle compact, POL 1.88 × DAO. Vertex and sides of head posterior to eye broadly rounded off. Occipital carina complete. Malar space 0.63 × as long as wide. Hypostomal carina evenly slightly curved, not angled medially, median half thick.

Mesosoma. Mesothorax coriaceous as frons. Dorsal pronotal area subtrapezoidal, wider than long; anterior discal margin not outlined. Mesonotum divided into anteromesoscutum and mesoscutellar-axillary complex, clearly separated by transscutal fissure. Anteromesoscutum short, shorter than mesoscutellum, notauli absent, parapsidal signal complete. Mesoscutum-mesoscutellar suture conspicuous, deep, anterior and posterior margins slightly curved, posterior margin notched medially, lateral end conspicuously dilated and blunt. Metapectalpropodeal disc areolate, with few setae near lateral carina, convex, median length 1.0 × median width, metapostnotal median carina complete, although faint posteriorly; metapostnotal-propodeal carina diverging posterad, absent on posterior third, paraspiracular carina absent; lateral carina present and conspicuous; posterior carina complete; spiracle small, elliptical, placed at lateral carina. Propodeal declivity areolate, surface vertical and flat, median carina absent. Lateral surface of metapectal-propodeal complex areolate. Prosternum median-sized and concave. Mesopleuron with mesepimeron and mesepisternum completely separated by mesopleural suture, mesopleural pit small and deep. Forewing with two closed cells, costal vein absent.

Metasoma. Coriaceous, tergite II 3.1 × as long as tergite III, with pair of elongate, excavated and concave light antero-lateral spots. Hypopygium triangular, posterior margin angularly produced. Genitalia: paramere double, dorsal one diamond-shaped, ventral one evenly narrow with rounded apex. Cuspis bifid, ventral arm short with rounded apex, dorsal arm long with truncate apex. Aedeagus bottle-shaped, basal portion 0.38 × as long as aedeagus, angularly convex; apical portion elongate, 0.62 × as long as aedeagus, progressively filamentous and little sclerotized apicad, apex curved outward, surpassing slightly paramere apex height; apodeme slightly thickening basad, straight, not surpassing genital ring; dorsal half of genital ring much more advanced basad than ventral half.

Material examined. Holotype ♂, South Africa, Western Cape, Jacobsbaai, N of Saldanha Bay, 32°58’S 17°54’E, 12 February–13 March 1997, H.G. Roberston, ex pitfall trap, West Coast Strandveld (SAM-HYM- P087503).

Diagnosis. This species is similar to G. bubanzi sp. nov. by having the head and the metapectal-propodeal complex about as long as wide. These two species also have the largest bodies among the Afrotropical species with a length of 2.8 and 3.5 mm, respectively. This species, however, has the eyes smaller, resulting in a wider frons (WF 0.66 × WH, WF 1.66 × HE), larger temples (VOL 1.07 × HE), larger malar space (0.6 × as long as wide), and more compact ocellar triangle, resulting in the triangle being more distant from the vertex crest (1.56 × DAO) and more distant from the imaginary line between the eye tops (2.5 × DAO), whereas in G. bubanzi sp. nov. the eyes are larger, resulting in a narrower frons (WF 0.58 × WH, WF 1.38 × HE), smaller temples (VOL 0.94 × HE), smaller malar space (0.4 × as long as wide), and an ocellar triangle that is not so compact, resulting in the triangle being closer to the vertex crest (1.2 × DAO) and closer to the imaginary line between the dorsal eye margins (1.07 × DAO).

Etymology. The specific epithet banzi is an adjective from IsiXhosa, which means broad, in allusion to the very wide head.

Distribution. South Africa.

Figures

FIGURE 8. Glesonema banzi sp. nov., holotype male. A. Habitus, lateral, inset: labels; B. Mesosoma, dorsal; C. Head, dorsal; D. Genitalia, ventral.