Netomocera amethysta, Mitroiu, 2019

Mitroiu, Mircea-Dan, 2019, Revision of Netomocera Bouček (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea: Pteromalidae), excluding the Oriental species, European Journal of Taxonomy 568, pp. 1-87 : 19-23

Netomocera amethysta sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:B0B76349-1A0A-44B3-A948-45BFA1F90AD0

Figs 23–31

Diagnosis

Female

Macropterous ( Fig. 23 ). Head yellowish ( Figs 24–25 ). Fore wing ( Fig. 31 ) mainly brownish except for one bare region, swollen and shining violet-blue when examined under some angles of light, and with four hyaline areas covered with white setae: one apically in basal cell, a U-shaped region behind bare region and two subapical spots. Basal half of flagellum yellow, the rest brownish ( Fig. 27 ). Clypeal margin shallowly emarginate ( Fig. 26 ). Upper face and vertex with ten large setae ( Fig. 25 ). Occiput margin blunt ( Fig. 25 ). Mesepimeral sulcus inconspicuous. Propodeum with median area almost without carinae, without a well-defined V-shaped area basally ( Fig. 30 ). Visible part of petiole very short, distinctly transverse, with more or less obliterate sculpture ( Fig. 29 ).

Etymology

The name of the species (noun in apposition) refers to the characteristic blue-violet colour of the fore wing bare region, similar to the colour of amethyst quartz.

Material examined

Holotype

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC • ♀; “ Pedernales, Sierra de Bahoruco, «Las Abejas», 1300m, 17-19.I.1989, L. Masner, cloud forest”; on triangular card, left antenna with fu7 and clava missing; CNC.

Description

Female (habitus: Fig. 23 )

COLOUR. Head ( Figs 24–26 ) mainly orange-yellow, except vertex and genae below eyes brownish. Mandibles orange, teeth reddish-brown. Antenna ( Fig. 27 ) with scape pale yellow; pedicel dorsally brown, ventrally yellowish; anellus brown; fu1–4 yellow, fu5–7 brown; clava mostly brown, becoming lighter towards yellowish apex. Mesosoma ( Figs 28–30 ) dorsally mainly orange, darker on pronotal collar, axillae and propodeum; laterally orange except darker over lower posterior half of mesopleuron and entire metapleuron. Legs with fore coxa whitish, mid and hind coxae brownish; femora mainly whitish but becoming brownish apically; tibiae and tarsi light brown. Fore wing ( Fig. 31 ) mainly brownish except for one bare region, swollen and shining violet-blue when examined under some angles of light, and four hyaline areas covered with white setae: one apically in basal cell, a U-shaped region behind bare region and two subapical spots; venation brown. Hind wing hyaline. Metasoma ( Fig. 23 ) with petiole dark brown; gaster mainly uniformly brown, with a few lighter spots dorsally. Body setation whitish except for several large, symmetrically arranged dark brown setae.

BODY LENGTH. 1.25 mm.

HEAD. Clypeus almost smooth; apical margin very slightly emarginated ( Fig. 26 ). Lower face with shallow piliferous punctures among reticulation. Upper face, including shallow scrobes and adjacent areas, and vertex becoming densely punctulate-reticulate ( Figs 24–25 ). Occiput reticulate-imbricate; margin abrupt, but not sharply defined ( Fig. 25 ). Toruli with lower margins slightly below lower margins of eyes ( Fig. 24 ). Antenna ( Fig. 27 ) with funicle gradually widening towards clava, with clava very slightly asymmetric. Upper face and vertex with ten large setae. Head in dorsal view with width 3.15 × length (60:19) and in frontal view about 1.2 × height (60:50). POL about 4× OOL (18.0:4.5). Eye height about 1.4× length (34:25), about 2.6× malar space (34:13) and about 1.2 × scape length (34:29). Head width 0.95 × length of pedicel plus flagellum (60:63). Fu1 quadrate (5:5); fu7 width 1.5× length (7.5:5.0); clava length 2.5 × width (20:8).

MESOSOMA. Pronotal collar narrower than mesoscutum, with ten large setae ( Fig. 29 ). Mesonotum moderately setose dorsally ( Fig. 29 ). Mesoscutum and axillae with dense punctulate reticulation ( Fig. 29 ). Scutellar disc densely punctulate-reticulate anteriorly and becoming longitudinally striate-reticulate posteriorly; frenal area coriaceous ( Figs 29–30 ). Upper mesepisternum smooth; lower mesepisternum reticulate. Mesepimeron mainly smooth, becoming shallowly punctulate ventrally and posteriorly; mesepimeral sulcus mostly inconspicuous ( Fig. 28 ). Propodeum mainly smooth to slightly wrinkled, except for straight median carina and incomplete plicae ( Fig. 30 ). Macropterous; fore wing ( Fig. 31 ) with basal cell uniformly setose; bare region reaching about middle of marginal vein; setae on infuscate areas darker, longer and thicker than those on hyaline areas; setae below parastigma forming a large patch of conspicuously thicker and longer setation than that on other areas of wing. Mesosoma length about 1.4× width (68:47) and about 1.5× height (47:46). Pronotal collar 0.2× as long as mesoscutum (4:20) and about 0.8 × as wide as mesoscutum (29:28). Mesoscutum width 2.35 × length (47:20). Scutellum length subequal to width (24:26). Propodeum length about 0.5 × scutellum length (15:29). Fore wing length 2.5× width (120:48); MV 7× SV (35:5) and about 4.7× PV (35.0:7.5).

METASOMA. Petiole ( Fig. 29 ) barely visible, transverse, smooth. Gaster ( Fig. 23 ) ovate, length about 1.5× width (75:51); gt1 longest, width about 1.3 × length (51:40), with posterior margin slightly produced; gt2–5 short; syntergum acutely pointed. Ovipositor sheaths not protruding beyond apex of gaster. Cercal setae surpassing apex of gaster.

Male

Unknown.

Distribution

Dominican Republic.

Remarks

This is one of the most remarkable species of the genus due to its unusual coloration and setal pattern of the fore wing ( Fig. 31 ). It is also unusual in having ten large setae on the head ( Fig. 25 ) instead of eight as in most other species and ten large setae on the pronotum rather than six–eight. The propodeum is also unusually without carinae, except for a median carina and plicae ( Fig. 30 ). All of these characters indicate that the new species may belong to a different genus, but at present I prefer to keep it in Netomocera , at least until more Neotropical material is examined.

Figures

Figs 23–27. Netomocera amethysta sp. nov., holotype, ♀. 23. Habitus, lateral view. 24. Head, frontal view. 25. Head, dorsal view. 26. Lower face. 27. Antenna. Scale bars: 0.2 mm.

Figs 28–31. Netomocera amethysta sp. nov., holotype, ♀. 28. Mesosoma, lateral view. 29. Mesosoma, dorsal view. 30. Propodeum, dorsal view. 31. Fore and hind wings. Scale bars: 0.2 mm.