Formosiepyris agraensis ( Kurian, 1955 ) Singh & Colombo & Shreevihar & Pandey & Tribull, 2021

Singh, Sudhir, Colombo, Wesley D., Shreevihar, Santhosh, Pandey, Vijay P. & Tribull, Carly M., 2021, Rediscovery of Kurian’s types of Hymenoptera at Forest Research Institute, Dehradun, India with notes on Indian bethylid fauna, Zootaxa 5019 (1), pp. 1-90 : 53-57

33. Formosiepyris agraensis ( Kurian, 1955) comb. nov.

Fig. 33 , A–L

Rhabdepyris agraensis Kurian, 1955 , 4: 98–100, Figs: 112–117.

Type locality: Agra , India (♀ holotype, NFIC-FRI) .

Diagnosis. Female. Length about 5.0 mm. General colour black with apex of metasoma reddish-brown. Head longer than wide; frons strongly coriaceus; ocelli distinct, crossing to supra-ocular line; eye glabrous; median clypeal lobe conspicuous, anterior margin rounded, longer than lateral ones; mandible tridentate; antenna with dense pubescence, scape 2.0 × longer than pedicel, pedicel longer than first flagellomere. Pronotum strongly coriaceous; mesonotum shorter than pronotal dorsal area; notauli indistinct, as long as parapsidal signum; mesoscuto-mesoscutellar suture sulcate, trabeculate, deep. Metapectal-propodeal disc as long as wide; metapostnotal median carina present; first abdominal spiracle dorsally placed. Tarsal claw bifid. Wings nearly hyaline; forewing with pterostigma brown; hind wing with four hamuli. Metasoma polished. Male. Unknown.

Material examined. Holotype: [ INDIA, Uttar Pradesh,] Agra, St John’s College, 23-III-l950, S.N. Rao coll.

Type conditions. Holotype partly dissected on slide Nº. 22/B and remaining rested on the pin. Pinned: Body intact, with left antenna, mesolegs and right metaleg. On slides : S1 C1—one proleg with detached coxa; one antenna. S1 C2—one forewing and one hind wing. S2 C1—one proleg; one metaleg without coxa.

Remarks. This species was originally allocated in Rhabdepyris . Azevedo et al. (2018, p. 156) synonymized Rhabdepyris with Epyris and transferred R. agraensis to Epyris . We observed the eyes remarkably large with setae, the dorsal pronotal area foveolate posteriorly, the mesoscuto-scutellar suture sulcate and trabeculate, and the notauli and parapsidal signum present and weak. These observations support moving this species to Formosiepyris .

Hosts. Unknown.

Genus Holepyris Kieffer, 1904b

Holepyris Kieffer, 1904b , 1: 309.

Type species: Holepyris africanus Kieffer, 1904b by subsequent designation.

Here, we are transferring the species Epyris patnae Kurian, 1955 and Sclerodermus raonis ( Kurian, 1955) to Holepyris . So, Holepyris now has two species described by Kurian.

Figures

FIGURE 33. A–L. Formosiepyris agraensis (Kurian, 1955) comb. nov. Holotype. A. Habitus, dorsal view; B. Habitus, lateral view; C. Head, frontal view; D. Antenna; E. Head, lateral view; F. Mouth margin of head showing mandibular dentition; G. Mesosoma, dorsal view; H. Mesosoma, lateral view; I. Legs, left pro- and right metaleg; J. Forewing; K. Two slides of holotype; L. Labels.