Atree indica Singh, Pandey & Ranjith

Pandey, Vijay Prakash, Ranjith, A. P. & Singh, Sudhir, 2024, Description of a new species of the Genus Atree Ranjith, Van Achterberg & Priyadarsanan (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) from India, Zootaxa 5541 (1), pp. 95-100 : 95-97

Atree indica Singh, Pandey & Ranjith ( Figs 1–16 )

Type material. Holotype: female (mounted on a card); India, Uttarakhand, Tehri Garhwal, Chamba ; 17.iii.2009; Sudhir Singh; ex. Pinus sp. wood log infested with borers; Accession No. NFIC -23402 ( FRI).

Paratypes: 2FF on cards, 3 FF dissected and each mounted on a slide and parts of 4 FF card mounted. Data same as holotype .

Description

Female: Body length excluding exerted part of ovipositor 7.69 mm, antenna 6.7 mm, fore wing 6.1 mm, ovipositor sheath 9.9 mm (holotype, Figs 1 & 2 ).

Color: Body blackish brown, head and mesosoma with silvery white hair. Eyes and ocelli dark chocolate brown, labium and maxilla light brown, mandible reddish brown, antenna apically slightly lighter. Legs dark brown, with apical segments slightly paler; wings with light brownish suffusion, veins dark brown. Metasoma with pleurae of first segment dorsally off-white; sterna of first to third segments light brown; epipygium light brown; tip of ovipositor sheath light brown.

Head ( Figs 3 & 4 )

Head punctate with long hairs; length of hairs increasing dorso-ventrally; punctures sparsely scattered on vertex but thickly populated on parascrobal area; scrobal area smooth, densely punctate with long silvery white setae; clypeus not as densely punctate as lower area of face, distinctly separated from face with a narrow smooth strip stretching between anterior tentorial pits. A wide pit (tentorial macula sensu Snodgrass, 1935) is present on dorso-lateral side of face between torulus and eye. Interantennal carina reaching median ocellus, wider dorsally and narrowed ventrally.

In dorsal view ( Fig. 3 ): 1.3 × as wide as mesoscutum (mesonotum), 2.2 × as wide as median length; temple distinctly roundly narrowed posteriorly. Eye 1.4 × as long as temple dorsally. Ocellar triangle with base smaller than its sides. AOL: POL: OD: OOL= 1.25:1:1.75: 6.25. OOL 6.25 × as long as POL. POL about 0.6 × OD, 0.15 × OOL. In frontal view ( Fig. 4 ): 1.3 × as wide as median height, face 0.63 × as wide as head width; 2.5 × as wide as high; 1.4 × as wide as eye height; 1.6 × as wide as median height of face and clypeus combined. Torulus rounded; distance between torulus and anterior ocellus 0.2 × head height. Clypeus 3.4 × as wide as high, ventrally denticulate at the middle, 0.6 × as high as face medially; distance between tentorial pits 0.87 × distance between tentorial pit and eye margin. Mandibles long, 0.63 × as long as distance between mandible bases. Tentorial index 1.1. In lateral view: 5.9 × as high as malar space length; eye oval 1.25 × as high as wide; malar space 0.3 × as long as eye length and 0.9 × as long as basal width of mandible. Malar suture narrow.

Antenna ( Fig. 5 ): Filiform 46 antennomeres, 0.9 × as long as body; scape apex somewhat oblique; 1.8 × as long as maximum width, 2.8 × as long as pedicel. Pedicel subglobular, slightly longer than wide (1.1). First flagellomere 3.0 × as long as wide apically, 1.2 × as long as second flagellomere, both without distinct sensillae. Length of first, second and penultimate flagellomeres 3.0 ×, 2.7 × and 1.0 × of their respective widths; penultimate flagellomere 0.8 × as long as wide, almost half as long as apical flagellomere; flagellomeres gradually shortening apically, flagellomeres from 24–43 increasingly transverse except the apical flagellomere 2.8 × as long as wide. Apical flagellomere pointed but without apical spine.

Mesosoma ( Figs 6−8 , 12, 13 & 15 ).

Mesosoma punctate with long hair and with deep foveolate and crenulate sculpture. Pronotal side smooth, medially and posteriorly foveolate crenulate, densely punctate laterally, pronope wide and deep. Notauli deep and crenulate, posteriorly two to three times broader than anteriorly; mesoscutum punctate laterally and medially. Mesopleuron with sparse and fine punctures, nearly smooth; area near to epicnemial carina crenulate. Precoxal sulcus crenulate running all along lower length of mesopleuron, pleural sulcus crenulate and narrower than precoxal sulcus, mesosternum smooth and punctate. Scutellum weakly convex, smooth and sparsely punctate, scutellar sulcus coriaceous foveolate with six wide and deep costulae; apically with wide posterior crenulate depression. Subalar depression deep and smooth. Metapleuron punctulate dorsally, reticulate-rugose ventrally. Metanotum crenulate; medially with broad U-shaped area bounded by ridge and separated from posterior margin, rugose. Propodeum deep, coarsely rugose-reticulate, without median longitudinal carina, transverse carina and medioposterior area.

Mesosoma including pronotum 1.56 × and excluding pronotum 1.43 × as long as wide or height; mesoscutum 0.6 × as long as its maximum width, median lobe protruding forward and somewhat convex in dorsal view. Scutellar sulcus rather long 0.29 × as long as scutellum. Scutellum 0.5 × longer than its maximum width. Metanotum 0.4 × as long as scutellum.

Wings

Fore wing ( Fig. 10 ): 2.75 × as long as wide. Pterostigma 2.8 × as long as wide with its basal posterior section 1.22 × apical posterior section, half as long as metacarp (1-R1), twice as long as vein r. Radial (marginal) cell wider and weakly narrowed apically, with transverse (r) vein; 4.4 × as long as maximum width. Second radial abscissa (3-SR) 3.7 × as long as first abscissa (r), 0.39 × as long as the third abscissa (SR1) and 1.18 × as first radiomedial vein (2-SR). First radiomedial vein (2-SR) is equal to Cubitus vein (2-M). Second radial abscissa (3-SR) 1.23 × as long as second radiomedial vein (r-m). Second radio-medial (second submarginal) cell almost a pallelogram, 0.75 × as wide as its maximum length, 0.48 × as long as brachial (second subdiscal) cell. r-m cross vein is sinuate and half curved at anterior end. First medial abscissa (1-SR+M) weakly sinuate. Recurrent vein (m-cu) far antefurcal, converging posteriorly, about 2.4 × as long as second abscissa of medial vein (2-SR+M), 0.77 × as long as first radiomedial vein (2-SR), 0.48 × as long as basal vein (1-M). Nervulus (cu-a) postfurcal, making an angle of 50° with 2-Cu1; 0.31 × basal vein (1-M) which is slightly incurved.1-Cu1:2-Cu1=0.26:1. Brachial (second subdiscal) cell distinctly widened apically, 3.9 × as long as maximum width. Vein 1A+2A: 1-1A: 2-1A = 1.1: 1.3:1.Discoidal (first discal) cell sessile anteriorly. Brachial (first subdiscal) cell closed posterio-apically by brachial (Cu1b) vein. First mediocubital abscissa (M+CU) 2.5 × as long as second abscissa (1-M). Transverse anal vein (2A) present. Anal (Plical) lobe medium sized. Vein 2-R1 moderately long about 5.5 × as long as third abscissa (SR1). Vein 3-CU1 3 × CU1b, vein CU1a below level of vein 2-CU1. All the veins are largely sclerotized except SR1, 3-SR and the veins at the junction of 2-SR+M, 2-M & 2-SR. Hind wing ( Fig. 11 ): about 3.75 × as long as wide with three small hamuli. Marginal cell parallel-sided. All veins sclerotized, 2-1A & 2-M reaching and 2- SR not reaching wing margin. Vein cu-a oblique and medium sized. Plical lobe without a distinct cleft apically, medium sized and uni-directionally setose. Vein M+CU 2.5 × as long as 1-M. r-m: 1-M: cu-a =0.86:1:0.90. Second mediocubital abscissa (1-M) 1.15 × as long as basal vein (r-m).

Legs ( Fig. 16 )

Hind leg: Coxa punctate with hairs, almost twice as long as wide; femur large and swollen, 4.5 × as long as wide distally and 0.64× as long as tibia. Femur, tibia and basitarsus 4.5 ×, 10.77 × and 10.57 × as long as wide, respectively; tibia 1.1 × as long as tarsus; inner and outer spurs 0.18 × and 0.22 × as long as basitarsus, respectively; basitarsus 2.6 × as long as tarsomere-2 and 1.2 × as long as tarsomeres 2–4 combined, and as long as fifth tarsomere (without pretarsus); fourth tarsomere 0.5 × as long as fifth tarsomere(without pretarsus). Claw simple, without basal lobe, moderately down curved.

Metasoma ( Figs 9 & 14 ).

Metasoma smooth and less punctate than mesosoma, T1 basally up to laterope concave and smooth between dorsal carinae, dorsal carinae rather distinct in basal 0.8, beyond basal smooth area longitudinally strigose subapically.

Metasoma dorsally sub-sclerotized, 0.85 × as long as head and mesosoma combined, 2.6 × as long as wide. T1 sides diverging posteriorly, weakly converging in subapical 0.6 and again weakly diverging apically; 1.68 × as long as wide apically and 2.8 × basally, 1.4 × length of propodeum. T2 1.5 × and 1.8 × as wide as long basally and apically, respectively; median length 0.66 × its basal width; 1.4 × length of T3. T3 2.57 × and 2.62 × as wide as long basally and apically, respectively. T2+T3 as long as wide, suture between T2 and T3 distinct. T4 basally and apically 3.9 and 3.6 × as wide as long, respectively. Ovipositor sheath setose, straight and pointed, about 1.3 × as long as body, 3.4 × as long as mesosoma, 2.65 × as long as metasoma, 1.6 × fore wing and 8.69 × as long as basitarsus.

Male: Unknown

Distribution: India (Uttarakhand)

Host: Unknown borer infesting log of Pinus species.

Etymology: Named after the country from which this species was collected.

Remarks: This species is near to A. validus ( Chou & Hsu 1998) but is quite different in respect to the body sculpture and following combination of characters (characters given in brackets are those of A. indica sp. nov.):

Head: Setae on frons, face and clypeus almost of same length (setae quite longer and their length increasing dorso-ventrally); tentorial pits on the line joining lower margins of eyes (below the line); interantennal carina swollen ventrally (swollen dorsally); tentorial index 1.2 (1.1); tentorial macula indistinct (distinct); face 0.48× as high as wide and 0.59× as wide as head (0.39 × & 0.63 ×). Antenna 44 segmented (46). Mesosoma: scutellar sulcus with 4 foveae (6). Fore wing: r: 3-SR: SR = 1:2.6:7.1 (1 1:3.7:9.5); 1-Cu1:2-Cu1= 0.34:1(0.26: 1). Marginal cell 3.8 × as long as wide (3.46). Hind wing: r-m: 1-M = 1:1(0.86:1); 1-M: cu-a = 0.93:1 (1.1:1); 2-1A absent (present). Hind leg: Coxa smooth (punctate with hairs); inner and outer spurs of tibia, 0.26 × and 0.22 × (0.18 × and 0.22 ×) as long as basitarsus, respectively. Metasoma: T1 basally rather smooth between dorsal carinae, posteriorly more or less costate to rugose (up to laterope concave and smooth strigose); T2+T3 1.2 × as long as wide (1.7).

Figures

FIGURES 1–9. Atree indica sp. nov., female. (1) complete body of holotype in dorsal view, dark hue on distal third of fore wings is shadow and not infuscation, (2) body of holotype with head, mesosoma and metasoma enlarged, (3) head in dorsal view, (4) head in frontal view, (5) antenna, (6) mesosoma in dorsal view, (7) middle part of mesosoma showing mesoscutum and basal part of scutellum in dorsal view, (8) mesosoma showing part of mesoscutum, scutellum, metanotum and propodeum in dorsal view and (9) first tergite of metasoma in dorsal view.

FIGURES 10–16. Atree indica sp. nov., female. (10) fore wing, (11) hind wing, (12) mesoscutum and scutellum in dorsal view, (13) mesosoma in lateral view, (14) first tergite of metasoma in dorsal view, (15) propodeum in dorsal view and (16) legs, right to left—fore, middle and hind leg.