Prosaspicera kiefferi Ros-Farré, 2006

Ros-Farré, P. & Pujade-Villar, J., 2006, Revision of the genus Prosaspicera Kieffer, 1907 (Hym.: Figitidae: Aspicerinae), Zootaxa 1379 (1379), pp. 1-102 : 37-38

Prosaspicera kiefferi Ros-Farré n.sp.

( Figs 35a & 36a)

Type material: ( 1 ♀). HOLOTYPE female ( NHM), 6-XII-1979, Mendoza above Uspallata , 1.940 m., ARGENTINA, C & M Vardy col.

Diagnosis. Prosaspicera kiefferi is similar to P. carinata because the scutellar spine is long and longitudinally carinated, and the scutellar foveae are shallow, smooth, big and without posterior margin. In P. kiefferi the scutellar spine ( Fig. 35a) is less carinated than in P.carinata ( Fig. 33b). Moreover, in P. kiefferi the frons is coriaceous and finely rugose, the occipital carina is rounded behind the dorsal 1/3 of eye, the vertex only weakly concave, the ocelli are slightly prominent and the parascutal sulcus is quite narrow, effaced from tegulae to anterior end of notauli.

Description. Length. Female 2.2 mm; male unknown.

Coloration. Head and metanotum black. Mesosoma light brown, except for apex of scutellar spine and area between notauli black. Antenna light brown. Legs light brown.

Head. Frons coriaceous and finely rugose, with oblique carinae between lateral and central ocelli. Lateral frontal carinae strong ventrally and weak dorsally, area between them and eye with transverse carinae. Occipital carina rounded behind dorsal 1/3 of eye. Gena not expanded, rugose-striated, sparsely pubescent. Vertex weakly concave, smooth and shining centrally, with one or two transverse carinae and slightly coriaceous laterally, in posterior part rugose and coriaceous with one longitudinal carina on each side of median vertical groove, which is smooth. Ocelli slightly prominent. Occiput with short transverse carinae, smooth.

Antenna. Filiform. Antennal formula: 3(2.5): 2(2): 5(2): 4(2): 4(2): 4(2): 4(2). Remaining flagellomeres lost.

Mesosoma. Lateral surface of pronotum weakly coriaceous and rather densely pubescent. Subpronotal plate coriaceous and sparsely pubescent laterally, glabrous and with very weak sculpture centrally. Mesoscutum densely pubescent, glabrous between notauli and lateral lines. Antero-admedian lines prominent reaching the middle of the scutum and slightly confluent. Median ridge prominent, not divided before median mesoscutal furrow. Notauli rather wide, smooth and shining. Median mesoscutal furrow coriaceous near margins. The area between notauli and end of median mesoscutal furrow weakly prominent. Parascutal sulcus quite narrow, narrower from tegulae to anterior end of notauli, smooth and with some scattered setae. Mesopleura only weakly sculptured near anterior margin. Scutellum 1.61 times length of scutum. Scutellar foveae transversely oval, shallow smooth and shining, without posterior margin; interfoveal line and lateral carinae prominent and going to end of spine. Scutellar disc coriaceous, the spine coriaceous and striated. Scutellum, from lateral view, slightly sloping from posterior margin of scutellar foveae to end of scutellar spine, which arrives almost to the middle of radial cell of wing.

Wings. Forewing membrane hyaline. Radial cell 2.29 times longer than wide. Marginal pubescence very sparse and short, beginning after R1. R1 very short, Rs straight on basal 2/3 and dorsally.

Derivatio nominis. This name was chosen to honour to the himenopterist Jean Jacques Kieffer (1857–1925), who established the genus Prosaspicera .

Biology. Unknown.

Distribution. Neotropical. Known only from Argentina.