Pholetesor indicus, Ahmad, Zubair, Ghramh, Hamed A. & Pandey, Kavita, 2020

Ahmad, Zubair, Ghramh, Hamed A. & Pandey, Kavita, 2020, Parasitoids of the genus Pholetesor Mason, 1981 (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Microgastrinae) from the leafminers Lepidoptera, with the description of three new species from India, European Journal of Taxonomy 726, pp. 24-37 : 31-34

Pholetesor indicus sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:A0F294EB-CC47-4DF7-A9FE-DA2201BECCA2

Fig. 3

Diagnosis

Pholetesor indicus sp. nov. is closely related to P. bicolor (Ness, 1874) in the European keys to the species of ʻ circumscriptus -groupʼ ( Nixon, 1973; Papp 1983) on the basis of the following characters: metanotum strongly retracted from scutellum anteriorly, exposing mesothoracic postphragma; pterostigma almost 3.0× as wide as long; vein 1-R1 (metacarp) clearly as long as or shorter than pterostigma, vein r and 2-SR meeting angularly; propodeum largely smooth; T1 largely smooth, polished and strongly narrowed apically; T2 +3 smooth and polished, metasomal tergites and legs more often yellowish. However, it differs from P. bicolor in the following characters: mesoscutum punctations are prominent all along the mesoscutum surface (punctations becoming indistinct posteriorly near scutellum in P. bicolor ); tegulae blackish brown (tegulae yellowish to pale yellowish in P. bicolor ) pterostigma about 3.0× as wide as long (pterostigma about 2.5× as wide as long in P. bicolor ); hind coxae black (hind coxae often yellowish in P. bicolor ); ovipositor sheaths 0.9 × as long as hind basitarsi, small and thick (ovipositor sheaths 1.1–1.2× as long as hind basitarsi, comparatively large with blunt apex in P. bicolor ); F2 2.3× as long as wide (F2 3.5× as long as wide in P. bicolor ); F5–F11 with double rank of placodes (F5–F6 with double rank of placodes in P. bicolor ).

The new species is also very similar to P. circumscriptus . However, it differs from P. circumscriptus in the following characters: vein 1-R1 (metacarp) as long as or shorter than pterostigma (vein 1-R1 (metacarp) clearly longer than pterostigma in P. circumscriptus ); T2 subtriangular, 2.0× as wide as long posteriorly, hence more transverse (T2 strongly triangular, 3 × as wide as long posteriorly in P. circumscriptus ); forewing vein r and 2-SR meeting angularly (forewing vein r and 2-SR meeting each other less angularly in P. circumscriptus ).

Apart from the similarities with P. bicolor , the new species also runs close to P. teresitergum Liu & Chen, 2016 in the key to the Chinese species of the genus Pholetesor ( Liu et al. 2016) . However, it differs from P. teresitergum in the following characters: eyes 2.2× as long as temple in dorsal view (eyes 1.6× as long as temple in dorsal view in P. teresitergum ); ocelli large (ocelli relatively small in P. teresitergum ); scutellum highly polished (scutellum punctate with hairs in P. teresitergum ); ovipositor sheaths small and thick, slender with a bluntly rounded tips, (ovipositor sheaths small and subfusiform in P. teresitergum ); tegulae blackish brown (tegulae yellowish in P. teresitergum ).

Material examined

Holotype INDIA • ♀; Uttar Pradesh, Aligarh; 27°54′51.0″ N, 78°04′24.7″ E; 27 Oct. 2005; Z. Ahmad leg.; ex. Acrocercops phaeospora Meyrick, 1914 on Syzygium cuminii (L.) Skeels; ZDAMU.

Paratypes INDIA • 5 ♀♀, 2 ƋƋ; same collection data as for holotype; ZDAMU .

Etymology

The new species is named after its type locality.

Description

Female

MEASUREMENTS. Body lenght = 1.7–1.8 mm; length of antenna =2.0 mm; Length of fore wing= 1.7 mm.

HEAD. Transverse, almost 2 × as wide as long in dorsal view; eyes 2.2× as long as temple in dorsal view; eyes 1.3 × as long as wide, setose; temple and vertex punctate with hairs; OOL: POL: AOL: OD = 4: 3: 2: 2; frons concave, smooth, shiny, punctate with hairs; face medially convex, punctate with white pilosity, 1.3× as wide as long; clypeus smooth, punctate with hairs; malar space 1.5× as long as basal width of mandible; antennae longer than body, scape 1.2× as long as wide, pedicel 0.66 × as long as wide, F2 2.3× as long as wide, F14 1.5 × as long as wide, F5–F11 with double rank of placodes, apical segment pointed.

MESOSOMA. 1.5 × as long as wide; mesoscutum as wide as head and strongly punctate with hairs, punctations prominent all along mesoscutum surface; scutellar sulcus narrow and crenulate; scutellum smooth and polished, side of scutellum smooth and shiny; propodeum almost 2× as wide as long, largely smooth except antero-medially punctate with long hairs, posterior corners somewhat weakly rugulose; propleuron smooth and shiny; mesopleuron concave, smooth and shiny, antero-lateral, punctate with hairs; metapleuron smooth and shiny with few hairs.

WINGS. Fore wings hyaline, about 3.0× as long as wide, pterostigma about 3.0× as wide as long, 1-R1, about 0.9× as long as length of pterostigma, r and 2-SR meeting angularly; venal lobe of hind wing convex.

LEGS. Hind coxae hairy, length of hind femur, tibia and basitarsus 2.6, 5.0 and 2.6 × their width, respectively, outer tibial spur 0.5× as long as hind basitarsus.

METASOMA. 1.7× as long as wide; T1 3.6× as long as its apical width and 1.8× its basal width, distinctly narrowed apically, smooth and shiny; T2 subtriangular, 3 × as wide as long, smooth except few punctations; hypopygium sclerotized, folded medially and blunt at apex; ovipositor sheaths small and thick, slender with bluntly rounded tips, 0.7× as long as hypopygium and 0.9× longer than hind basitarsi, hairy at apical one third, arising below at mid length of valvifer; ovipositor weakly curved downward.

COLOUR. Body blackish brown except for the following: ocelli testaceous; palpi, labarum, fore leg, mid leg and hind leg yellowish except coxae; tegulae blackish brown; scape, pedicel, latero-tergites of T1 and T2 and ovipositor yellowish brown; antennae brown; ovipositor sheaths, fore, mid and hind coxae black; mid and hind femur infuscate; pterostigma, vein C+ SC+R, 1-R1, 2-SR, Cu-a, 1-Cu1, 2-Cu1 and 2-M brown; remaining veins colourless, wings hyaline.

Male

Same as holotype except antennae longer than body length, F1–F3 with double rank of placodes.

Host

Acrocercops phaeospora .

Distribution

India: Uttar Pradesh.

Remarks

Pholetesor indicus sp. nov. can be distinguished from all previously described species by the unique combination of characters as follows: ocelli large; scutellum highly polished; propodeum almost 2 × as wide as long, largely smooth except antero-medially punctate with long hairs, posterior corners somewhat weakly rugulose; T1 3.6 × as long as its apical width and 1.8 × its basal width, distinctly narrowed apically, smooth and shiny; T2 subtriangular, 3× as wide as long, smooth except few punctations; T3 rectangular, 1.40× as long as T2, unsculptured; hypopygium sclerotized, folded medially and blunt at apex; ovipositor sheaths small and thick, slender with a bluntly rounded tips, 0.7× as long as hypopygium, hairy at apical one third, arising below at mid length of valvifer; ovipositor weakly curved downward.

Figures

Fig. 3. Pholetesor indicus sp. nov., paratype, ♀ (ZDAMU). A. Mesosoma, dorsal view. B. Propodeum, dorsal view. C. Metasoma, dorsal view. Scale bars: 0.25 mm.