Centistidea tihamica Ghramh & Ahmad

Ghramh, Hamed A., Ahmad, Zubair & Pandey, Kavita, 2019, Three new species of the genus Centistidea Rohwer, 1914 (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Miracinae) from India and Saudi Arabia, ZooKeys 889, pp. 37-47 : 37

Centistidea tihamica Ghramh & Ahmad sp. nov. Figs 11-13

Material examined.

Holotype: Saudi Arabia • ♀; Abha, Tihama, 5.x.2015; malaise trap (coll. Z Ahmad). Paratype: 3 ♀; with same data as holotype (HB-139, ZDAMU).

Diagnosis.

Following the key to East Palaearctic and Oriental species of the genus Centistidea Rohwer ( Ranjith et al. 2018), C. tihamica sp. nov. keys near C. zhaoi Chen et al., 1997; however, it differs in the following characters: (i) mesoscutum blackish brown (mesoscutum yellowish), (ii) dorsal length of eye 1.5 × temple (dorsal length of eye 1.80 × temple), (iii) first flagellomere 1.25 × as long as second flagellomere (first flagellomere 1.30 × as long as second flagellomere), (iv) mesonotum complete dark brown (mesonotum tinged with brown).

Description.

Holotype: Female: body length: 1.8 mm; length of forewing: 1.9 mm; length of antenna: 1.8 mm.

Head: 2.0 × as wide as long in dorsal view, distinctly wider than the mesosoma dorsally; length of eye 1.5 × temple in dorsal view: head and vertex indistinctly punctate; OOL: POL: AOL: OD = 4: 2: 1: 2; inner margin of eyes subparallel; face distinctly convex medially, flattened laterally smooth; clypeus smooth and evenly convex; malar space 0.9 × as long as basal width of the mandible; antenna with 14 segments, F1 ca. 6 × as long as wide, 1.25 × longer than F2, penultimate flagellomere 2.5-3.0 × as long as wide, and apical flagellomere pointed.

Mesosoma: 1.5 × as long as wide; mesoscutum shiny with few distinct punctures, notauli only anteriorly impressed; prescutellar furrow distinct, present as a narrow groove and crenulations; scutellum almost smooth and shiny, medio-posterior depression of scutellum semicircular; propodeum almost smooth with a complete median longitudinal carina bifurcate posteriorly, median carina of propodeum absent behind level of costulae, posterior part clearly differentiated from dorsal part of propodeum; mesopleuron and metapleuron smooth.

Wings: Pterostigma with a long slender, apical expansion, 2.2 × longer than wide; vein r very prominent and 0.2 × as long as the height of pterostigma, vein 1-M 1.5 × longer than vein m-cu; vein 1-CU1 of fore wing 0.7 × as long as vein 2-CU1.

Legs: Hind coxa smooth, lengths of hind femur, tibia, and basitarsus of hind leg 3.0, 7.0, and 4.0 × their maximum widths, respectively; length of hind tibial spurs 0.23 × and 0.32 × as long as hind basitarsus.

Metasoma: Ca. 2.0 × as long as wide; first tergite, smooth, widening medially, distinctly narrowing basally and apically, 4.0 × as long as its maximum width; T2 subtriangular, smooth, laterally membranous, and longitudinally striated; T3 longitudinally striated; ovipositor sheaths 0.15 × as long as forewing; hypopygium smooth, medially folded, truncate apically, weakly sclerotized, and setose.

Color: Yellowish brown except for the following: head and legs yellowish; antennae, mesosoma, and metasoma dark brown to blackish brown; laterotergites yellowish; wings slightly infuscate.

Male.

Unknown.

Host.

Unknown.

Distribution.

Saudi Arabia: Abha.

Etymology.

The new species is named after its locality.

Figures

Figures 11 - 13. Centistidea tihamica sp. nov. 11 mesosoma, dorsal view 12 metasomal T 1 and T 2 13 forewing.