Apanteles fraxinus Liu & Chen, 2020

Liu, Zhen, He, Jun-Hua, Chen, Xue-Xin & Gupta, Ankita, 2020, The ater-group of the genus Apanteles Foerster (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Microgastrinae) from China with the descriptions of forty-eight new species, Zootaxa 4807 (1), pp. 1-205 : 86-89

Apanteles fraxinus Liu & Chen , sp. nov.

( Figures 40 , 100 )

Description. Holotype. Female. Body length 2.6 mm, fore wing length 2.9 mm.

Head. Transverse in dorsal view, 1.9× as wide as long, weakly wider than mesoscutum. Vertex between eye and posterior ocellus slightly shiny with indefinite punctures. Temple broad but not prominent, rough with shallow punctures. Face 0.8× as high as wide, dull, rough without punctures, sparsely pubescent, inner margin of eyes parallel-sided. Ocelli small, posterior tangent to anterior ocellus touching posterior ocelli, distance between fore and hind ocellus slightly longer than diameter of hind ocellus, POL:OD:OOL=5.0:2.0:5.5. Antenna distinctly shorter than body length, loosely articulated, penultimate flagellomere indistinctly longer than wide.

Mesosoma. Length:width:height = 42.0:30.0:31.0. Disc of mesonotum slightly shiny with superficial, sparse punctures, interspaces much larger than diameter of puncture, with weak striate punctures at posterior end of notaulic courses. Scutellar sulcus strongly curved, narrow with dense carinae inside. Scutellum highly shiny and polished entirely, median length slightly longer than basal width. Lateral polished field of scutellum reaching half length of scutellum. Propodeum shiny, long, imaginary areola indefinite by vague carinae, V-shaped apically, and depressed medially, without costulae, spiracle distinctly enclosed by keels, elsewhere shiny, smooth, at most weakly rugulose. Mesopleuron shiny, anterior parts with superficial, sparse punctures.

Legs. Hind femur thin, 3.4× longer than wide. Hind coxa shiny with extremely shallow punctures. Spines on outer side of third tibia less numerous. Inner spurs of hind tibia half length of hind basitarsus, outer spur 1/4. Basitarsus of hind leg as long as tarsomeres 2–4 combined, claws of normal size.

Wings. Pterostigma 3.0× as long as its widest part. Vein 1-R1 1.1× as long as pterostigma, 4.6× as long as its distance from apex of marginal cell. Vein r arising from middle of pterostigma, perpendicular to the latter, nearly 1.3× longer than width of pterostigma, 1.8× longer than 2-SR, indistinctly angled at junction, 2-M 2/3 length of 2-SR, and as long as 1-SR, 2-SR+M as long as 2-SR, m-cu weakly longer than 2-SR. First discal cell of fore wing nearly as wide as high (16.0:15.0). Second submarginal cell of hind wing quadrate. Vein cu-a nearly straight. Hind wing broad, length of 1-M distinctly shorter than distance between its distal extremity and apex of vannal lobe, and vannal lobe beyond its widest part concave and hairless.

Metasoma. As long as mesosoma. T1 parallel-sided, indistinctly converged at apex, 1.7× longer than hind width, concave at basal third, turned-over part slightly shiny, rugulose, without longitudinal channel, and apical tubercle polished. T2 shiny and smooth, 3.0× wider than long in the middle, weakly curved apically. T3 1.6× longer than T2. Tergites posterior to T2 shiny, polished and pubescent. Hypopygium shorter than apex of metasoma. Ovipositor sheath 0.8× as long as length of hind tibia, thin, apical attenuation of ovipositor indistinct but long.

Colour. Black. Tegula dark brown. Palpi pale yellow and spurs pale yellowish. Antenna and ovipositor sheath dark brown. Labrum and mandible dark brown. Legs mostly brown to dark brown (hind tibia brown entirely), except fore leg and mid tarsus yellow. Wing membrane hyaline, C+SC+R, 1-R1, border of pterostigma, r, 2-SR and 2-M light yellowish brown, other alar veins more or less light brownish, pterostigma pallid.

Variation. Body length 2.6–2.8 mm, fore wing length 2.9–3.0 mm.

Male. Body length 2.3–2.4 mm, fore wing length 2.6–2.8 mm. Similar to female mostly, except: T1 narrower apically; T2 longer, 2.2× wider than long in the middle; and antenna longer and thinner, penultimate flagellomere 2.0× longer than wide.

Host. According to the label, leafroller on Fraxinus mandshurica Rupr.

Material examined. Holotype: 1♀, Kedong, Heilongjiang, 1974.VI.18, Qian Fanjun, No. 740696, ex lea- froller on Fraxinus mandshurica Rupr . Paratypes: 6♀♀ 3♂♂, ditto .

Distribution. China (Heilongjiang).

Etymology. The specific name “ fraxinus ” derives its host plant Fraxinus mandshurica Rupr.

Remarks. This species is similar to A. prominens Liu & Chen , sp. nov., but differs in the following: second submarginal cell of hind wing quadrate (1.4× wider than high in latter); ovipositor sheath 0.8× length of hind tibia (1.2× length of hind tibia in latter); and hind femur thinner, 3.4× longer than wide (thicker, 2.8× in latter).

Figures

FIGURE 40. Apanteles fraxinus Liu & Chen, sp. nov. Holotype. a. habitus, dorsal view; b. head, dorsal view; c. ovipositor sheath; d. mesopleuron; e. mesonotum and scutellum, dorsal view; f. propodeum; g. head, frontal view; h. hind wing; i. metasoma, dorsal view. Scale line = 0.5 mm.

FIGURE 100. 33–47: Distribution map of ater-group of the genus Apanteles Foerster, 1862. 33: A. dissimile Nixon, 1965; 34: A. distributa Liu & Chen, sp. nov.; 35: A. dryas Nixon, 1965; 36: A. expansus Liu & Chen, sp. nov.; 37: A. flavibasalis Liu & Chen, sp. nov.; 38: A. florus Nixon, 1965; 39: A. folia Nixon, 1965; 40: A. fraxinus Liu & Chen, sp. nov.; 41: A. fundum Liu & Chen, sp. nov.; 42: A. fuscidentalis Liu & Chen, sp. nov.; 43: A. galleriae Wilkinson, 1932; 44: A. gracilicorne Song & Chen, 2004; 45: A. Apanteles importunus Wilkinson, 1928; 46: A. jasmine Liu & Chen, sp. nov.; 47: A. javensis Rohwer, 1919.