Bracalba hesperia Burks

Burks, Roger A., Masner, Lubomir, Johnson, Norman F. & Austin, Andrew D., 2012, Taxonomic revision of Bracalba Dodd (Hymenoptera, Platygastridae s. l.), a parasitoid wasp genus endemic to Australia, ZooKeys 236, pp. 1-53 : 16-18

Bracalba hesperia Burks sp. n. Figures 19-23Morphbank19

Description.

Female. Body length 5.76-6.06 mm (n=2). Color of antenna beyond radicle: entirely dark. Radicle color: same as scape. Number of claval segments with ventral gustatory sensilla: 7. Number of ventral gustatory sensilla on A6: 1.

Ocular setae: short and sparse. Frontal depression: smooth dorsally, torular triangle foveolate with transverse carinae lateral to this area. Smooth depression extending dorsolaterally from antennal foramen: present. Dorsal clypeal margin: wrinkle-like with a median peak. Clypeal median carina: present. Ventral clypeal margin: with a small median point. Mandibular color: dark basally and at teeth, becoming lighter reddish brown between these areas. Mandibular teeth: three of roughly equal size. Smooth area obliquely posterior to lateral ocellus: present. Genal sculpture: reticulate-rugose without any strong carinae.

Dorsal pronotal area: not set off by carina ventrally. Anterolateral corner of dorsal pronotal area: weakly rounded anteriorly. Sculpture of posteromedian area of mesoscutum: densely foveolate. Lateral margin of dorsal axillar area: with a semicircular expansion, broadest near midlength. Mesoscutellar sculpture: densely foveolate with one or two median longitudinal channels. Metascutellum in dorsal view: trapezoidal with broad apex. Dorsal surface of metascutellum: convex. Femoral depression: centrally smooth, peripherally foveolate. Leg color: dark except for trochanters, tips of femora and tibiae, and tarsomeres 1-4. Anterior corner of lateral propodeal carina: flat, without tooth. Posteromedial corner of lateral propodeal area: protruding posteriorly.

Metasoma color: black to dark reddish brown. Median lobe of T1: with 7 or more longitudinal carinae. Metasoma at middle of T4: with metasomal bend and abrupt transition in sculpture. Posterolateral margins of metasomal terga: without protrusions. T5 median carina: absent. or present. Longitudinal sculptural septa on T5: weak, blunt and hardly raised. Transverse sculptural septa on T5: about as strong as the longitudinal septa. T5 setae: directed posteriorly, arising from anterior edge of sculptural mesh. T6: longer than broad. T6 laterotergite: overlapped by rim from S6. S4 median carina: absent. Transverse sculptural septa on S5: weak or absent, much weaker than the longitudinal septa. S5 setae: not directed posteriorly, arising from center of sculptural mesh. Lateral carinae of S6: absent. Apex of S6: without notch.

Male. unknown.

Diagnosis.

Female. A6 with 1 large ventral sensillum; 3 mandibular teeth of approximately equal length; metascutellum broadly trapezoidal with a broad and slightly concave apex; metasomal bend present but weak; sculpture posterior to metasomal bend with transverse septa about as strong as the longitudinal septa; T4-T6 and S4-S6 without median carina; T6 longer than broad; S6 without apical notch. This species is similar to Bracalba tridentata , but in that species S6 has a strong apical notch. It is also near Bracalba nigrescens , but no complete female specimens of that species are known.

Etymology.

Latin adjective, referring to the geographic distribution of this species.

Link to distribution map.

http://hol.osu.edu/map-full.html?id=302154

Material examined.

Holotype, female: AUSTRALIA: WA, 3km W Walpole, Keystone Road, 34°59.01'S, 116°40.76'E, no date, yellow pan trap, George, Hawks & Munro, OSUC 148713 (deposited in WAMP). Paratypes: AUSTRALIA: 2 females, OSUC 148702, 238154 (CNCI).

Comments.

Some singleton specimens similar to Bracalba hesperia have been examined but left undescribed, most collected from Western Australia. They all exhibit a stronger metasomal bend and stronger longitudinal sculpture posterior to the bend than in Bracalba hesperia , but are variable in these and other characters. Together these specimens and Bracalba hesperia may represent members of a species complex. Some specimens within this complex possess longitudinal median grooves on the mesoscutellum, but this character may be variable within species.