Testudobracon malabaricus Sheeba

Sheeba, M., Ranjith, A. P. & Narendran, T. C., 2017, Review of Testudobracon Quicke (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) with descriptions of four new species from south India, Zootaxa 4232 (3), pp. 331-346 : 336-339

Testudobracon malabaricus Sheeba sp. nov.

( Figs 3–4 )

Material examined. Holotype, female, (♀) “ India : Kerala, Malappuram , Calicut University Campus, 20.viii.2001, coll. P.V. Anitha ” . Paratypes, 5(♀), “ India : Kerala, Kozhikode , Kallai, 24.vi.1987, coll. P.K. Sumodan ”; “ India : Kerala, Malappuram , Vallikkunnu, 27.viii.1987, coll. Sumodan ”; “ India : Kerala, Ernakulam , 9.ii.1989, coll. P.K. Sumodan ”; “ India : Kerala, Alapuzha , Kayamkulam, 21.ii.1989, coll. P.K. Sumodan ”; “ India : Kerala, Malappuram , Karimpuzha, 23.iv.1989, coll. P.K. Sumodan ” ( DZUC) .

Description. Holotype, female, length of body 2.85 mm, antenna 2.13 mm, fore wing 2.42 mm, ovipositor 1.31 mm.

Head. Antenna with 22 segments. Length of first flagellomere 1.17× as long as second. First, second and penultimate flagellomeres 2.80, 2.40, and 2.00× their maximum width, respectively. Head 1.31, 2.19× as wide as long medially in anterior and dorsal view respectively. Frons and vertex granulate, moderately setose ( Fig. 3 C). Frons with shallow mid longitudinal groove. OOL: diameter of posterior ocellus: POL = 18: 8: 17. Length of eye 2.38× as long as temple in dorsal view. Lateral temples smooth shiny and sparsely setose. Height of eye: width of face: width of head in anterior view = 27:33:59. Face granulate with a median longitudinal ridge ( Fig. 3 B). Height of clypeus: inter-tentorial distance: tentorio-ocular distance = 3.5:15:95. Clypeus with weak dorsal carina. Length of malar space 1.40× basal width of mandible.

Mesosoma . Length of mesosoma 1.30× its height. Pronotum smooth, shiny, laterally with crenulate groove, glabrous. Mesoscutum moderately and closely punctate, moderately setose, middle lobe with moderately developed mid longitudinal ridge ( Fig. 3 D). Notaulus complete without crenulations ( Fig. 3 D). Scutellar sulcus wide deep with six carinae ( Fig. 3 D). Scutellum smooth shiny, setose with a pit medio-anteriorly. Mesopleuron rugose and moderately setose antero-dorsally, punctate and setose antero-ventrally, rest smooth shiny, setose except around precoxal sulcus glabrous ( Fig. 3 E). Precoxal sulcus faintly crenulated ( Fig. 3 E). Median area of metanotum with short mid longitudinal carina. Propodeum with a row of few hairs anteriorly and a long median carina, glabrous medially faintly rugose and setose laterally ( Fig. 3 F).

Wings. Fore wing vein 1-SR 0.47× as long as 1-M. Ratio of length of fore wing veins, r: 3-SR: SR1 = 6:11.5: 35.5 and 2-SR: 3-SR: r-m = 10.5: 11.5: 6.5. Hind wing vein C+SC+R with single hamulus apically. Ratio of length of hind wing veins 1r-m: SC+R1 = 5:11.

Legs. Length of fore femur: tibia: tarsus = 22: 22.5: 25. Hind coxa smooth, shiny, sparsely setose. Length of hind femur: tibia: basitarsus = 28:34.5:13.5.

Metasoma. First metasomal tergite 0.58× as long as wide apically with a posterior carinated area. Second metasomal tergite 2.50×wider than long, foveate-rugose, median anterior half slightly raised in relation to lateral parts and with a pair of parallel sublateral carinae ( Fig. 4 A). Third metasomal tergite longitudinally rugosereticulate, rugose laterally ( Fig. 4 A). Fourth to sixth metasomal tergites rugose. Fourth and fifth metasomal tergites slightly rounded postero-laterally. Sixth metasomal tergite, slightly rounded postero-laterally, medial emargination 0.64× as long as tergite medially. Ovipositor 0.86× and 0.53× as long as metasoma and fore wing respectively.

Colour. Body yellowish brown ( Fig. 3 A) except following: antenna, tip of mandible ( Fig. 3 B) stemmaticum ( Fig. 3 B), wing veins ( Fig. 4 B), pterostigma, claws, fourth and fifth tergites laterally ( Fig. 3 A), distal half of tibiae and ovipositor sheath brown, third tergite medially and apically light brown ( Fig. 4 A), ocelli shiny yellow ( Fig. 3 C), ovipositor shiny orange, apically brown.

Male. Unknown.

Distribution. India (Kerala) ( Fig. 9 ).

Host. Unknown.

Etymology. The species is named after the region (Malabar region of Kerala) from where the holotype was collected.

Comments. Testudobracon malabaricus sp. nov. is similar to T. asphondyliae in having a granulated vertex. However, it differs from T. asphondyliae in having the following characters: frons and face granulate (punctulate in T. asphondyliae ), propodeum faintly rugose laterally (granulate in T. asphondyliae ), second metasomal tergite foveate-rugose (reticulate in T. asphondyliae ), third metasomal tergite longitudinally rugose-reticulate (reticulate in T. asphondyliae ), fourth to sixth metasomal tergites rugose (granulate in T. asphondyliae ). This new species is similar to T. niger in having postero-lateral protuberences of sixth metasomal tergite rounded. However it differs from T. niger in having the following characters: frons granulate (frons coriaceous in T. niger ), vertex granulate (vertex coriaceous in T. niger ), pronotum smooth, shiny with crenulate groove laterally (pronotum partially setose, rugose posteriorly in T. niger ), middle lobe of mesoscutum with moderately developed median longitudinal ridge (middle lobe of mesoscutum with weak mid longitudinal ridge in T. niger ), fore wing vein 1-SR+M straight (1- SR+M slightly curved basally towards posterior margin in T. niger ).

This new species is also similar to T. travancorensis sp. nov. in having frons granulate; pronotum smooth, shiny with crenulate grooves laterally; 1-SR + M straight and scutellar sulcus with six carinae. However, it differs from T. travancorensis sp. nov. in having the following characters: vertex granulate, middle lobe of mesoscutum with moderately developed median longitudinal ridge (vertex granulate anteriorly, rugose posteriorly, middle lobe of mesoscutum with a weak median longitudinal ridge in T. travancorensis sp. nov.), mesopleuron rugose, moderately setose antero-dorsally, punctate and setose antero-ventrally, smooth, shiny and setose posteriorly except around pleural sulcus glabrous (mesopleuron rugose-striate, moderately setose except postero-ventrally glabrous in T. travancorensis sp. nov.), sixth metasomal tergite slightly rounded postero-laterally (sixth tergite with small angular protuberences postero-laterally in T. travancorensis sp. nov.), semicircular emargination of sixth metasomal tergite 0.64× its medial length (semicircular emargination of sixth metasomal tergite 0.80× its medial length in T. travancorensis sp. nov.).

Figures

FIGURE 3. Testudobracon malabaricus Sheeba sp. nov., female, holotype; (A) Habitus, in lateral view; (B) Head, in anterior view; (C) Head, in dorsal view; (D) Mesosoma, in dorsal view; (E) Head (in part) & mesosoma, in lateral view; (F) Propodeum, in dorsal view.

FIGURE 4. Testudobracon malabaricus Sheeba sp. nov., female, holotype; (A) Metasoma, in dorsal view; (B) Wings.

FIGURE 9. Distribution map of Testudobracon athashi Ranjith sp. nov. (Black circles), T. malabaricus Sheeba sp. nov. (Red circles), T. shameeri Ranjith sp. nov. (Yellow circle) and T. travencorensis Sheeba sp. nov. (Brown circles).