Bicurta Sheng, Broad & Sun, 2012

Liu, Jing-Xian, Yan, Jia-He & Broad, Gavin R., 2019, A new species of Bicurta Sheng et al. from China (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae, Collyriinae), a parasitoid of Stenocephus fraxini Wei (Hymenoptera, Cephidae), Journal of Hymenoptera Research 74, pp. 93-104 : 93

Genus Bicurta Sheng, Broad & Sun, 2012

Type species.

Bicurta sinica Sheng et al., 2012.

Diagnosis.

This genus is distinguished from Collyria by the epicnemial carina indistinct because of sculpture on the mesopleuron; ovipositor straight and smooth ( Fig. 12 ), lacking teeth on the ventral valve; and the fore and mid tarsal claws each having an acutely lobed tooth ( Figs 10 , 24 ) ( Sheng et al. 2012), while in the other two other collyriine genera, Aubertiella and Collyria , fore and mid tarsal claws with a median tooth, rather than a lobe.

Biology.

Adults of the new species emerged from larvae of Stenocephus fraxini Wei ( Hymenoptera , Cephidae ) from March to May 2019 in Northern China. This is the first report of a host of Bicurta , which is consistent with the known biology of Collyria , as parasitoids of stem-sawflies ( Hymenoptera , Cephidae ).

Based on the field work survey during 2018 to 2019, the parasitism rate of this species on S. fraxini was 59.3% on average in the downtown of Shenyang city (J.H. Yan, unpublished data).

Figures

Figures 8 - 12. Bicurta hejunhuai sp. nov. (female holotype) 8 head and antenna, lateral view 9 scutellum and propodeum, dorsal view 10 mid claw, lateral view 11 fore wing 12 apex of metasoma and ovipositor, lateral view.

Figures 19 - 24. Bicurta hejunhuai sp. nov. 19 male face, front view 20 face of female paratype 21 head and mesosoma of male paratype, lateral view 22 head and mesosoma of male paratype, dorsal view 23 head and mesosoma of female type, lateral veiw 24 mid claw of female paratype.