Therophilus elongator, 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 : 84-85

Therophilus elongator sp. n. Figs 267-275

Type material.

Holotype, ♀ (RMNH), "C. Vietnam: Ha Tinh, Vu Quang N.P., 97 m, 18°19'43N; 105°26'29E, 23.ix.-5.x.2009, Mal[aise] trap 21, C. v. Achterberg & R. de Vries, RMNH’09”.

Diagnosis.

Close to Therophilus punctiscutum sp. n. and differs mainly by its pale colour (cf. Figs 267, 356) and more robust mesopleuron (cf. Figs 268, 357).

Description.

Holotype, ♀, length of body 4.6 mm, of fore wing 3.7 mm, ovipositor sheath 4.3 mm.

Head.

Antenna with 35 segments, length of third segment 1.3 times fourth segment, length of third, fourth and penultimate segments 3.8, 3.0 and 1.7 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 directly narrowed posteriorly (Fig. 275); ocelli in low triangle, POL:OD:OOL= 8:5:11; face shiny, largely smooth and punctulate; clypeus largely smooth and moderately convex; frons with obsolete medial ridge, with wide flattened triangular area in front of anterior ocellus, weakly depressed behind antennal sockets, smooth but sparsely punctulate laterally; vertex and temple shiny and smooth, but temple with sparse punctures.

Mesosoma.

Length of mesosoma 1.7 times its height; pronotum largely smooth, but with three carinae anteriorly, with some punctures dorso-posteriorly and posterior groove finely crenulate; area near lateral carina of mesoscutum indistinctly crenulate; mesoscutum spaced punctulate, medio-posteriorly lobes flattened posteriorly; notauli complete and narrowly crenulate, ending distinctly in front of scutellar sulcus; scutellar sulcus half as long as dorsal face of scutellum, shallow, curved and with 3 short carinae; scutellum shiny and smooth (except for some punctures), subposterior crest absent (Fig. 269) and medio-posterior depression narrow, small and smooth; mesopleuron comparatively robust (Fig. 268); precoxal sulcus narrow, rather deep, narrowly crenulate and anteriorly absent (Fig. 268); mesopleuron below precoxal sulcus spaced punctulate; remainder of mesopleuron shiny and largely smooth, but distinctly punctate below scrobe; metapleuron moderately densely setose, dorsally rather coarsely punctate and ventrally rugose; dorsal face of propodeum elongate, moderately rugose, without median carina, and with a small incomplete areola posteriorly (Fig. 269); propodeal spiracle rather small and round.

Wings.

Fore wing: second submarginal cell medium-sized and petiolate, petiolus 0.7 times vein r-m and sides of cell curved (Fig. 271); vein SR1 straight; vein 1-R1 distinctly shorter than vein 2-R1; vein r very short, r:3-SR+SR1 = 1:52; apical half of subbasal cell moderately setose. Hind wing: vein M+CU 0.6 times as long as vein 1-M; surroundings of vein cu-a largely glabrous.

Legs.

Length of hind femur, tibia and basitarsus 3.8, 8.9 and 9 times their width, respectively; hind femur finely pimply or punctulate and with short setae (Fig. 272); length of outer and inner spur of middle tibia 0.3 and 0.4 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 0.2 and 0.4 times hind basitarsus, respectively; tarsal claws with large lobe.

Metasoma.

First tergite subparallel-sided, with distinct dorsal carinae in its basal half, its length 2.5 times its apical width and rather coarsely longitudinally striate (Fig. 270); second tergite elongate and anteriorly slightly narrowed (Fig. 270), densely and moderately coarsely striate and with a distinct transverse groove; remainder of metasoma (including shallow second suture) smooth; ovipositor sheath 1.18 times as long as fore wing.

Colour.

Yellowish-brown; antenna blackish-brown; tegulae, middle coxa, base of middle femur and hind spurs brown; malar space, base of first tergite, basal half of second tergite, ventral half of metasoma and basal ring of hind tibia white; remainder of metasoma and of hind leg dark brown; mandible ivory; palpi, fore leg and remainder of middle leg brownish-yellow; veins and pterostigma dark brown; wing membrane subhyaline but slightly infuscate apically.

Distribution.

C Vietnam: Ha Tinh.

Biology.

Unknown.

Etymology.

From “elongatus” (Latin for “prolonged”), because of the elongated first metasomal tergite.