Quasimodorogas, Quicke & Butcher, 2011

Quicke, Donald L. J. & Butcher, Buntika Areekul, 2011, Two new genera of Rogadinae (Insecta, Hymenoptera, Braconidae) from Thailand, Journal of Hymenoptera Research 23, pp. 23-34 : 27-29

Quasimodorogas gen. n. Figs 3 4

Type species.

Quasimodorogas confusus sp. n. by monotypy

Morphology.

Head. Antennae much longer than fore wing, with more than 50 flagellomeres. Terminal flagellomere strongly acuminate. Median flagellomeres longer than wide, with setae mostly longer than width of flagellomere. Malar suture deep. Face with fine transverse striation. Occipital carina complete. Labial and maxillary palps (of female) without swollen segments.

Mesosoma. Very short and tall, hardly longer than high; largely smooth and shiny. Pronotum not produced into a conspicuous neck. Mesoscutum with well-developed crenulate notauli. Middle lobe of mesoscutum with deep, crenulated longitudinal groove posteriorly. Propodeum with short midlongitudinal carina anteriorly.

Fore wing. Vein 1-M rather strongly curved and with a small basally directed knob near it’s junction with M+CU. Vein 1-SR+M nearly straight, slightly curving posteriorly. Vein m-cu weakly curved but not forming a continuous curve with vein 2-CU1. Basal cell largely glabrous on posterior half. 2nd submarginal cell long and narrow. Subbasal cell largely glabrous except at apex. Vein cu-a rather strongly curved. Vein CU1a well developed, tubular for more than half its length.

Hind wing. Vein 1-M distinctly bent just before apex. Vein m-cu absent. Vein SR1 not strongly widening distally, more or less parallel to anterior margin of wing. Vein 1r-m curved. Vein 1-1A distinct.

Legs. Claws with large pointed, pale coloured basal lobe. Hind tibia with large, apico-medial and apico-ventral comb of specialised adpressed setae; the ventral portion not divided by gap at level of inner spur. Hind tibial spurs setose and distinctly but not strongly curved.

Metasoma. Metasoma short, tergites 2 to 5 with strong sculpture. First tergite strongly narrowed subbasally; dorsal carinae uniting to form irregular but distinct midlongitudinal carina. Tergite 2 with a small mid-anterior triangular area produced into a complete midlongitudinal carina. 2nd suture deep and crenulated. Tergites 2-5 with well-developed lateral crease. Hypopygium small, weakly sclerotized, weakly convex ventrally,

Etymology.

Named after the famous character in the novel The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo, and the generic name Rogas.

Notes.

Within the Rogadinae s.s. those taxa with a large pointed basal lobe appear to belong to a monophyletic group, though not all members of that group have a claw with a pointed basal lobe. This group was referred to as the Rogadini by Zaldivar-Riverón et al. (2009). Riverón and in S. E. Asia comprises the genera Canalirogas van Achterberg & Chen, Colastomion Baker, Conspinaria Schulz, Cystomastocoides van Achterberg, Darnilia van Achterberg, Gyroneuronella Baker, Iporhogas Granger, Macrostomion Szépligeti, Megarogas Szépligeti, Rogas Nees, Rogasella Chen & He, Rogasodes Baker , Triraphis Ruthe, Troporogas Cameron and Trigonoplatnus Cameron. Within this group, Colastomion , Cystomastocoides , Macrostomion and Megarogas have the first metasomal tergite rather elongate and strongly narrowed sub-basally, almost certainly an apomorphic state, associated with a long metasoma as an whole, and usually with a ventrally convex hypopygium. In addition, these genera have largely glabrous and strongly curved hind tibial spurs, as do the extralimital genera Myocron van Achterberg and Cystomastax Enderlein. Quasimodorogas gen. n. differs from all of these in having a short, stout body with the mesosoma less than 1.1 times longer than high, and with the hypopygium small and only weakly convex ventrally and the hind tibial spurs completely setose and not strongly curved. It is therefore possible that the anteriorly narrowed 1st metasomal tergite in the new genus represents a parallelism rather than synapomorphy. It differs from all other Asian Rogadinae , except Confusocentrus gen. n., in its strongly foveolate metasomal sculpture.

Preliminary molecular analyses suggest that Quasimodorogas gen. n. is relatively closely related to Rogasella Baker, Rogasodes Chen & He, Gyroneuron Kokujev, Gyroneuronella Baker, but is not nested within any of these genera.

Figures

Figure 3. Quasimodorogas confusus sp. n. holotype, CellD ® light micrographs A Habitus B top of head; C mesonotum and scutellum D head and mesosoma, lateral view E metanotum and propodeum.

Figure 4. Quasimodorogas confusus sp. n. holotype, CellD ® light micrographs A Wings and anterior metasoma, lateral view B 1 st metasomal tergite, slightly postero-dorsal view C metasomal tergites 2 - 5, dorsal view D ventro-lateral view of apex of hind tibia showing specialised setal comb, and closely spaces spurs.