Therophilus planifrons, van Achterberg, Cornelis & Long, Khuat Dang, 2010

van Achterberg, Cornelis & Long, Khuat Dang, 2010, Revision of the Agathidinae (Hymenoptera, Braconidae) of Vietnam, with the description of forty-two new species and three new genera, ZooKeys 54, pp. 1-184 : 103-104

Therophilus planifrons sp. n. Figs 347-355

Type material.

Holotype, ♀ (RMNH), "NW. Vietnam: Tonkin, Hoang Lien N.P., 15 km SW Sa Pa, c 1900 m, 15-21.x.1999, Malaise traps, C. v. Achterberg, RMNH’99”.

Diagnosis.

Differs from other known species by the combination of the flattened frons, the less transverse head, the comparatively short ovipositor sheath (about 0.5 times fore wing), the lack of a triangular area in front of the anterior ocellus and the tegulum paler than the humeral plate.

Description.

Holotype, ♀, length of body 3.4 mm, of fore wing 3.0 mm, ovipositor sheath 1.3 mm.

Head.

Antenna with 28 segments, length of third segment 1.2 times fourth segment, length of third, fourth and penultimate segments 3.7, 3.0 and 2.0 times their width, respectively; length of maxillary palp 0.7 times height of head; malar space 1.8 times as long as basal width of mandible; in dorsal view length of eye 4.0 times temple; temple roundly narrowed posteriorly (Fig. 354); ocelli in low triangle, POL:OD:OOL = 9:5:11; face shiny and distinctly punctulate; clypeus smooth medially, remainder finely punctate and rather weakly convex; frons flattened posteriorly, without a medial ridge or triangular area, but with a short groove medio-anteriorly, smooth medially and distinctly punctulate laterally; vertex and temple shiny and largely smooth, with sparse punctulation.

Mesosoma.

Length of mesosoma 1.7 times its height; pronotum smooth, with distinct epomial and deep subpronope anteriorly, finely sparsely punctate dorso-posteriorly and posterior groove indistinctly crenulate ventrally; area near lateral carina of mesoscutum crenulate; mesoscutum spaced punctulate but finely punctate near notauli, medio-posteriorly lobes flattened; notauli complete and narrowly crenulate anteriorly and becoming wider posteriorly, coalescent part rather widely crenulate; scutellar sulcus half as long as dorsal face of scutellum, shallow and with one short carina; scutellum shiny and with a few punctures, subposterior crest obsolescent but with distinctly crenulate groove and medio-posteriorly with semi-circular crenulate depression (Fig. 349); precoxal sulcus rather shallow, weakly and narrowly crenulate and anteriorly absent (Fig. 348); remainder of mesopleuron spaced punctulate; metapleuron rather densely setose, spaced finely punctate dorsally and antero-ventrally rugose; propodeum coarsely areolate dorsally and rather finely reticulate posteriorly, with a coarse transverse carina, a triangular areola and a short median carina dorsally, partly smooth anteriorly (Fig. 349); propodeal spiracle rather small, round.

Wings.

Fore wing: second submarginal cell medium-sized and petiolate (Fig. 351); vein SR1 distinctly bent towards pterostigma and close to it (Fig. 351); pterostigma wide and vein r short, r:3-SR+SR1 = 1:21; r-m slightly longer than petiolus (Fig. 351); apical half of subbasal cell densely setose. Hind wing: vein M+CU as long as vein 1-M.

Legs.

Length of hind femur, tibia and basitarsus 2.9, 6.1 and 7.4 times their width, respectively; hind femur shiny, largely smooth and with rather short setae (Fig. 352); length of outer and inner spur of middle tibia 0.35 and 0.45 times middle basitarsus, respectively; outer side of middle tibia with a row of 3 pegs and 2 pegs at apex; length of outer and inner spurs of hind tibia 0.35 and 0.50 times hind basitarsus, respectively; tarsal claws with large lobe.

Metasoma.

First tergite widened posteriorly, largely smooth, with a few striae laterally, its basal half with weak dorsal carinae, its length 1.4 times its apical width (Fig. 350); second and following tergites (including second suture) smooth; second tergite somewhat narrowed anteriorly and with a curved transverse groove (Fig. 350); ovipositor sheath 0.42 times as long as fore wing.

Colour.

Black; antenna, humeral plate, fore coxa basally, fore and middle tarsi largely, middle coxa largely, hind femur, apical third of hind tibia, hind tarsus (except whitish basal third of basitarsus), metasoma apically and ventrally (but antero-ventrally largely pale yellowish), ovipositor sheath, veins and pterostigma dark brown; palpi and mandible pale yellowish; remainder of fore and middle legs, hind trochanter and trochantellus, subbasal patch of hind tibia and tegulum brownish-yellow; spurs and remainder of hind tibia whitish; wing membrane slightly infuscate (Fig. 351).

Distribution.

NW Vietnam: Lao Cai.

Biology.

Unknown.

Etymology.

From “planus” (Latin for “flat”), and “frons” (Latin for "fore part"), because of the flat frons.