Balcha splendida (Girault) Gibson, 2005

Gibson, Gary A. P., 2005, The world species of Balcha Walker (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea: Eupelmidae), parasitoids of wood-boring beetles, Zootaxa 1033 (1), pp. 1-62 : 50-53

Balcha splendida (Girault) n. comb. ( Figs. 18 , 24, 40)

Calosota splendida Girault, 1927 [415]: 553. Type data: Philippines, Cuernos Mountains , Occidental Negros, Negros, 24160, Baker. Holotype female by monotypy (QMBA), see Discussion.

Calosota splendida ; Girault, 1928 [425]: 449 (additional specimens); Narendran, 1996: 79 (comparison).

Additional material examined. ORIENTAL. MALAYSIA: [Sabah], Sandakan, Baker, 13904 (1♀ USNM) . PHILIPPINES: Arorog , Masbate, 7.17, Böttcher (2♀ BMNH) ; Biliran, Baker (1♀ USNM) . Luzon, Limay (1♂ NHRS) ; Kolambugan , 1.15, Böttcher (1♀ BMNH) ; Mt. Makiling, Baker , 6348 (1♀ USNM) , 6352 (1♂ USNM) ; Port Banga, 12.14, Böttcher (1♀, 1♂ BMNH); Puting Lupa , Calamba , 23.VIII.1986, C.L. Habito (1♀ UPPC) . Mindanao, Dapitan, Baker , 13895 (1♀ USNM) ; Mati , Davao, P. [?]I. 13.VI.1927, R.C. McGregor (1♀ USNM) ; Surigao (1♀ NHRS) ; Zamboanga, Baker (1♀, 1♂ USNM) . Negros, Cuernos Mts., Baker (1♀ BMNH; 4♀, 1♂ USNM), 24160 (1♀ USNM) . Negros Oriental, Camp Lookout nr Valencia , 16 km. W. Dumaquete, 14­16.V.87, D.C. Darling (1♀ ROMT) . Panay, N.W., Baker (1♀ USNM) . Samar, Baker (1♀ USNM) , 24237 (2♀ USNM) , 24238 (2♀ USNM, one labelled as “cotype”). Sibuyan, Baker (1♀ USNM) .

Description. FEMALE. Length, 7–14 mm. Antenna usually dark except scape variably extensively yellowish basally and sometimes pedicel and base of flagellum light brown to yellowish; scape widened apically but spindlelike and with outer surface uniformly setose; Fl 1 about 1.8–2.0 x as long as wide and about 0.75 x length of pedicel;

Fl 2 about 5.5–6.0 x as long as wide and about 1.6–2.2 x as long as clava. Head with punctures and interstices not contrasting distinctly in color, the face bright green to bluish or purple under some angles of light; ocellar region and vertex medially in region behind ocelli dark, but upper inner orbit, occiput and along outer orbit bright metallic, varying from greenish­blue to purple under different angles of light. Face with setiferous punctures (Fig. 24), the punctures on lower face crowded and irregular or with granular­ to reticulate­coriaceous interstices so as to appear reticulate­rugulose toward oral margin, but punctures more distinct with variably distinct coriaceous interstices on parascrobal region, except about dorsal quarter to third of region abruptly flat, distinctly coriaceous, and uniformly setose with white to light brown setae. Scrobal depression with scrobes transversely strigose to reticulate and dark; channel ventrally with smooth and shiny, transverse or V­ like green to purple band, otherwise dark or with slight coppery luster and increasingly distinctly coriaceous and setose dorsally.

Pronotum ( Fig. 18 ) variably purple to green under some angles of light; shiny but very finely coriaceous to coriaceous­aciculate. Tegula brown to yellowish­brown, with inner margin sometimes having metallic luster. Mesoscutum variably bright green to bluish laterally, dorsally with black or coppery parapsidal and notaular bands forming ­like ( Fig. 18 ) or more obscurely T­like pattern, the bands usually united posteriorly but sometimes green to blue paranotaular band continued posteriorly as single line of metallic punctures, but parapsidal band not extending posterior of junction with notaular band toward inner angle of axilla and notaular band extending to and broadly truncate along base of scutellum. Mesoscutum ( Fig. 40 ) alveolate laterally, dorsally the punctures much smaller and shallower; without evident depression anterior to level of inner margin of axilla; with brown, quite uniform hairlike setae. Scutellum ( Fig. 18 ) mostly green to blue but with variably distinct median dark band over about anterior half, the dark region often having coppery to violaceous luster under some angles of light; usually coriaceous with scattered setiferous punctures but if shallowly reticulate then reticulations not distinctly aligned longitudinally ( Fig. 40 ). Metanotum green to purple, with posterior surface of dorsellum usually purple; dorsellum thick, with crenulate dorsal surface and coriaceous posterior surface, the coriaceous region bare but sometimes with single seta projecting from dorsal carinate margin paralaterally; precrenular region of panel with single line of setae near anterior margin. Acropleuron with distinct, coriaceous­granular subalar region separating punctate­alveolate prealar region from variably sculptured postalar region, the postalar region having at least some longitudinally aligned punctate­reticulate sculpture ventrally (cf. Fig. 51 ) and sometimes extensively punctate­reticulate (cf. Fig. 54 ); prealar region with at least ventral half dark or with slight greenish luster and separated from dorsal­most blue to bright green region by oblique violaceous to purple band, with subalar area dark or variably violaceous to purple or green similar to postalar region. Lower mesepimeron variably extensively coriaceous, but at least distinctly punctate­reticulate ventrally. Metapleuron distinctly coriaceous to shallowly coriaceous­reticulate, except for crenulate furrow along posterior margin and anterior margin ventrally. Propodeum green to blue or purple except plical region usually dark and vertical surface of callus usually violaceous under some angles of light; paraspiracular region bare, the setae anterior to spiracle extending mesally at most about half way to plical region in single line along anterior margin; callus shiny and smooth between setal pores or vertical surface sometimes with fine, usually inconspicuous coriaceous sculpture; plical region bare, with carinate margin of foramen ­like recurved to anterior margin of propodeum as variably strong median carina similar in appearance to crenulae lateral to median carina. Forewing with vannal area and medial fold beyond basal cell variably distinctly brownish; vannal area with subcubital setal line extending almost to base. Legs uniformly yellowish to orange beyond coxae.

Petiole composed of anterior carina and smooth and shiny or only finely sculptured lunate horizontal surface ( Fig. 40 ). Gaster in dorsal view dark with slight coppery to purple luster, in lateral view all terga except syntergum bright green to blue dorsally and blue to purple ventrally; length of gaster and syntergum highly variable depending on size, the gaster about 1.3–1.8 x combined length head and mesosoma and syntergum in lateral view about 0.25–0.65 x as long as remaining gaster and 2.3–6.5 x as long as high, but syntergum uniformly setose, sculptured and tapered posteriorly, with cercus at basal margin.

MALE. Similar to female except as follows: length, 5–8.3 mm; black regions dorsally on mesonotum not as distinctly delimited, the parapsidal and notaular bands separated posteriorly by slender paranotaular band, similar to some females, but notaular band often indistinct posteriorly on mesoscutum and on scutellum; tegula often more distinctly yellowish; dorsellum without dorsolateral setae; acropleuron posteriorly sometimes more extensively and strongly reticulate; propodeum longer, the plical region with an inverted Y­shaped median carina and somewhat sinuous to obliquely angled paramedial carinae; petiole longer, lunate to almost semicircular; gaster with Gt 1 and Gt 2 smooth and shiny, subsequent terga finely coriaceous and comparatively sparsely setose, with Gt 5 and posterior half of Gt 4 bare medially.

Biology. Unknown.

Discussion. In the introduction of his paper, Girault (1927) stated that specimens of the species described therein were received from C. F. Baker and that types of the species were in the Queensland Museum. The USNM has additional specimens that, based on label data, were collected as part of the same series as the QMBA specimen, plus a female from Samar labelled as “cotype”, which possibly is the female designated as “cotype” by Girault (1928). However, the females from Samar and Sibuyan that Girault (1928) listed as cotypes were designated subsequent to the original description without any evidence that he had these specimens at the time of the original description. The original description of B. splendida states “a” female and I therefore consider the single female labelled as “type” in the QMBA to be the holotype.

Smaller females tend to have the scutellum more reticulate than coriaceous, similar to most males, which are also comparatively small. Length of the female gaster and syntergum appears to be correlated with specimen size, i.e. larger females have a longer gaster and more elongate­slender syntergum compared to small females, as for most other species of the genus for which longer series are known. All observed males have the dorsellum completely bare, but too few have been seen to assess whether the presence of a single paralateral seta dorsally is variable in both sexes or is characteristic only of some females. Despite the presence of at most two setae on the dorsellum, I include B. splendida in the laciniosa ­group. Individuals are most readily distinguished from other laciniosa ­ group species by their unique mesonotal color pattern, the only species having the dark notaular band extending also onto the scutellum ( Fig. 18 ). Some B. indica have only a very few dorsellar setae but have a different mesonotal color pattern ( Fig. 12 ) as well as distinctly contrasting punctures and interstices on the face (cf. Fig. 2) and a rimlike rather than lunate petiole.

Figures

FIGURES 9–18. Mesosoma dorsal: 9, Balcha laciniosa; 10, B. cylindrica; 11, B. elegans; 12, B. indica (N. Am.); 13, B. eximia; 14, B. eximiassita; 15, B. dictyota; 16, B. reticulata; 17, B. anemeta; 18, B. splendida (nob = notaular band, pnb = paranotaular band, ppb = parapsidal band).

FIGURES 39–46. 39–42. Mesosoma, dorsal: 39, Balcha cylindrica; 40, B. splendida; 41, B. camptogastra; 42, B. enoptra. 43–46. Metanotum and propodeum: 43, B. levicollis; 44, B. punctiscutum; 45, B. enoptra (cal = callus, dor = dorsellum, pcr = precrenular region of metanotal panel, ppr = propodeal plical region, psr = paraspiracular region); 46, B. elegans.

FIGURES 47–54. 47. Metanotum and propodeum: Balcha eximia. 48. B. indica (N. Am.): dorsellum and propodeal plical region. 49 and 50. Mesosoma, lateral: 49, B. punctiscutum; 50, B. indica (N. Am.). 51–54. Posterior half of acropleuron: 51, B. indica (holotype); 52, B. eximiassita; 53, B. anemeta; 54, B. levicollis (sar = subalar region of acropleuron).