Miscophus kaleshi Girish Kumar, 2024

Kumar, P. Girish, Mawadda, N. V. Ayisha, Terine, Joshua B. & Amal, S., 2024, Review of the genus Miscophus Jurine, 1807 (Hymenoptera: Crabronidae: Crabroninae) of the Indian subcontinent with descriptions of two new species from southern India, Zootaxa 5418 (5), pp. 589-600 : 591-592

2. Miscophus kaleshi Girish Kumar sp. nov.

( Figs 5–13 )

Type materials. Holotype ♀, India: Kerala, Kozhikode district, Purameri , 22.iv.2019, K.P. Hanima Raveendran collector, ZSIK Regd. No. ZSI/WGRC/IR/INV.24274 . Paratypes, Kerala, Kozhikode district, Thunumannil , 2 ♀, 28.v.2019, C. Binoy collector, ZSIK Regd. Nos. ZSI/WGRC/IR/INV.24275–24276 ; Kerala, Kozhikode district, Kinalur , 2 ♀, 23 & 27.iii.2019, C. Binoy collector, ZSIK Regd. Nos. ZSI/WGRC/IR/INV.24277–24278 ; Kerala, Kozhikode district, East Hill , 1 ♀, 17.vi.2015, U.M. Sheeja collector, ZSIK Regd. No. ZSI/WGRC/IR/INV.24279 ; Kerala, Kozhikode district, Koyilandy , 2 ♀, 20.i.2020, C. Binoy collector, ZSIK Regd. Nos. ZSI/WGRC/IR/ INV.24280–24281 ; Kerala, Kozhikode district, Chaliyam , 1 ♀ & 2 ♂, 19.ii.2020, N.V. Ayisha Mawadda collector, ZSIK Regd. Nos. ZSI/WGRC/IR/INV.24282–24284 ; Kerala, Kozhikode district, Chengottukavu , 1 ♀, 4.iv.2019, C. Binoy collector, ZSIK Regd. No. ZSI/WGRC/IR/INV.24285 ; Kerala, Kannur district, Kannapuram , 4 ♀ & 6 ♂, 21–28.iv.2019, C. Charesh collector, ZSIK Regd. Nos. ZSI/WGRC/IR/INV.24286–24295 ; Kerala, Malappuram district , Calicut University Campus, 2 ♀ & 1 ♂, 10.viii.2023, C. Binoy collector, ZSIK Regd. Nos. ZSI/WGRC/IR/ INV.24296–24298 ; Kerala, Malappuram district , Wandoor, 1 ♂, 27.iv.2019, C. Binoy collector, ZSIK Regd. No. ZSI/WGRC/IR/INV.24299 ; Kerala, Thrissur district , Attoor, 1 ♀, 26.i.2021, N.V. Ayisha Mawadda collector, ZSIK Regd. No. ZSI/WGRC/IR/INV.24300 ; Tamil Nadu, Coimbatore district , Anaikatty, 1 ♀, 4.i.2019, P. Girish Kumar collector, ZSIK Regd. No. ZSI/WGRC/IR/INV.24301 .

Diagnosis. This new species differs from all other species in having the following combination of characters:head and mesosoma dark metallic greenish blue ( Fig. 7 ); metasoma entirely black ( Fig. 10 ); frons above antennal scrobe with small longitudinal depression and two well-developed transverse depressions ( Fig. 6 ); fore wing uniformly flavo-hyaline ( Fig. 9 ); frons and vertex with coriaceous punctures; pronotum with costate punctures; mesoscutum coriaceous; and propodeal dorsum ( Fig. 8 ) with distinct medial carina, basally with diverging longitudinal ridges which eventually turn out into transverse rugae and remaining part strigate-rugose on both sides of median carina.

Description. Holotype female ( Figs 5–10 ). Body length 5.65 mm; fore wing length 3.36 mm.

Colour. Head and mesosoma dark metallic greenish blue. Metasoma black. Legs black (tarsi blackish brown). Maxillary palpi, labial palpi, antennal segments, and tegula blackish brown. Apical margin of clypeus and mandible ferruginous (except base of mandible black). Fore wing uniformly flavo-hyaline. Hind wing almost hyaline. Veins brown. Body with minute silvery setae, few stiff setae posteriorly on S2–S6 brown.

Head. Clypeus with apical margin wavy, almost entire, translucent, and uplifted; middle lobe foveolate punctate; lateral lobe coriaceous. Frons above antennal scrobe with small longitudinal depression and two well-developed transverse depressions; inconspicuously developed groove present between longitudinal depression and anterior ocellus; frons coriaceous at middle. POL = 2× OOL and 1.5× hind ocellar diameter; OOL = 0.75× hind ocellar diameter. Vertex punctured like frons. Gena mostly coriaceous. Occipital carina evanescent towards hypostomal carina.

Mesosoma. Pronotum costate and with sparse punctures, dorso-median area with hump-like projection. Mesoscutum coriaceous. Scutellum and metanotum foveolate punctate, shiny. Upper mesopleuron mainly rugosoreticulate, lower third mostly coriaceous. Propodeal dorsum with distinct medial carina, basally with diverging longitudinal ridges which eventually turn out into transverse rugae and remaining part strigate-rugose on both sides of median carina; propodeal posterior surface with vertical median fovea, strigate-rugose to transversely striate on each side; lateral surface of propodeum strigate-rugose to transversely rugose. Fore wing with last abcissa of medial vein and second recurrent vein obsolete. Fore basitarsus with three spines on outer margin, apical spine somewhat longer than half of tarsomere II.

Metasoma. T1 and T2 densely punctate, shiny; T3–T6 and all sterna mostly coriaceous. S2–S6 with few stiff setae posteriorly, S6 with an invagination at apex.

Variation in female paratypes: Body length 5.33–5.72 mm. In some specimens, head and mesosoma metallic bluish green instead of dark metallic greenish blue.

Male ( Figs 11–13 ). Body length 4.63–4.98 mm. Agreeing in almost all aspects with the female, free margin of clypeal lobe more rounded ( Fig. 12 ), clypeus entirely dark metallic greenish blue with apical margin not ferruginous, fore basitarsus only with one short apical spine on outer margin.

Distribution. India: Kerala, Tamil Nadu.

Etymology. The species is named in honour of Dr Kalesh Sadasivan, Plastic Surgeon for his contribution to the natural history studies on ants, butterflies, odonates, cicadas and mantids of the Western Ghats of India.

Remarks. This new species comes to ‘ M. niloticus Honoré (isolated)’ species group in the key to the Palearctic species groups of de Andrade (1960) in having: lower front with two strong, oblique scar-like impressions, the integument forming a small gibbosity immediately below them ( Fig. 6 ); last abcissa of the medial vein and the second recurrent vein of fore wing obsolete; and anterior margin of clypeus without indentations.

Figures

FIGURES 5–13. Miscophus kaleshi Girish Kumar sp. nov., FIGURES 5–10 holotype female. 5, Habitus, lateral view; 6, Head, frontal view; 7, Head and mesosoma, dorsal view; 8, Propodeum, dorsal view; 9, Fore wing; 10, Metasoma, dorsal view. FIGURES 11–13 paratype male. 11, Head, frontal view; 12, Clypeus; 13, Antenna.