Bracon (Pseudochivinia) tobiasi Long

Long, Khuat Dang, Achterberg, Cornelis Van, Dzuong, Nguyen Van, Oanh, Nguyen Thi & Mai, Pham Quynh, 2023, The identity of Chivinia Shestakov (Hymenoptera: Braconidae, Braconinae), with description of a similar species from the Oriental region, Zootaxa 5343 (6), pp. 531-538 : 534-537

Bracon (Pseudochivinia) tobiasi Long & van Achterberg, sp. nov.

( Figs 2–3 )

Type material. Holotype ( IEBR), female, “Bracn. 987”, “NW Vietnam: Hoa Binh, Mai Chau, Pa Co , 1000m, forest, [collected with] sweep [net], 12.x.2009, K.D. Long ”.

Diagnosis. Antenna with 30 flagellomeres (32 antennomeres); apical flagellomere short, accuminate; flagellomeres longer than wide, with 4 placodes; scape stout, shorter ventrally than dorsally; eye glabrous; in dorsal view, head transverse; temple weakly roundly narrowed posteriorly ( Fig. 3A ); frons with median prominence, deeply depressed laterally ( Fig. 3A, B ); clypeal sulcus separated from face, clypeus without a transverse carina or crest dorsally ( Fig. 3A, B ); malar suture absent; notauli slightly depressed anteriorly, mostly absent ( Fig. 3D ); mesoscutum flat posteriorly; scutellar suture narrow, straight, weakly crenulate; median area of metanotum without dorsal carina; propodeum smooth, with mid-longitudinal lamella-like protuberance posteriorly ( Fig. 3E ); hind tarsal claw simple, with rather large basal lobe ( Fig. 3H ); fore wing vein 1-SR short, angle between veins 1-SR and C+SC+R more than 80°; vein cu-a vertical, interstitial; pterostigma widened; discal cell strongly narrowed distally; hind wing vein 1r-m much shorter than vein SC+R1; vein 1-SC+R curved apically; apex of vein C+SC+R with one long stright bristle; laterope absent; first metasomal tergite with wide developed antero-median crenulate groove; postero-lateral groove crenulate ( Fig. 3C ); second metasomal suture narrow, sparsely crenulate ( Fig. 3F ); second metasomal second tergite without medio-basal triangular area, largely rugolose-striate; third-fourth metasomal tergites and fifth tergite basally longitudially striate; remaider of tergites coriaceous; hypopygium short, largely sclerotized and sharply pointed at apex, sparsely setose ( Fig. 3G ); ovipositor sheath much shorter than hind tibia, with dense oblique setae throughout; ovipositor straight, smooth dorsally, with a strongly pre-apical dorsal nodus, and ventral valve distinctly pre-apically serrate.

Description. Holotype, female, body length 3.5 mm, fore wing length 3.9 mm, antenna 3.2 mm, ovipositor sheath 0.5 mm ( Fig. 2 ).

Head. Antenna with 30 flagellomeres; terminal flagellomere acuminate; scape longer dorsally than ventrally, 1.5 × as long as, its maximum width, and 1.5 × as long as pedicellus; second flagellomere almost as long as third flagellomere, and 2.3 × their width; middle antennomere 1.25 × as long as wide; subterminal flagellomere as long as terminal; in dorsal view, head width 1.8 × its median length; head slightly roundly narrowed behind eyes ( Fig. 3A ); height of eye 1.4 × as long as temple; ocelli rather small, in high triangle, POL: OD: OOL: lateral side = 4: 4: 12; in lateral view eye 1.1 × temple ( Fig. 3A ); in frontal view, face width 1.8 × length of face and clypeus combined; clypeus straight and emarginated ventrally ( Fig. 3B ); clypeal suture absent; malar suture absent; malar space 0.9 × basal width of mandible; width of hypoclypeal depression 0.9 × distance from edge of depression to eye; distance between tentorial pits as long as distance from pit to eye ( Fig. 3B ).

Mesosoma. Length 1.4 × its height; mesoscutum robust, in lateral view, roundly elevated above pronotum; notauli mostly absent but shallow anteriorly and widely flat posteriorly ( Fig. 3D ); propleuron smooth; mesopleuron smooth to coriaceous; mesonotum mostly shiny, smooth with short pubescence; prescutellar depression narrow, deep, weakly crenulate; metanotum without carina; propodeum with median carina posteriorly, lateral areas of propodeum coriaceous ( Fig. 3E ).

Wings. Length of fore wing 2.7 × as long as its maximum width; angle between veins 1-SR and C+SC+R more than 80°; vein 1-SR+M straight; vein r omitting before middle of pterostigma ( Fig. 3I ); vein 1-R1 1.65 × pterostigma; pterostigma broad, length of pterostigma 1.9 × its width; vein r 0.8 × as long as vein 2-SR; r: 2-SR: 3-SR+SR1 = 10: 12: 62; r: 2-SR: 2-RS+M = 10: 12: 7; vein cu-a mostly interstitial ( Fig. 3I ). Length of hind wing 3.75 × as long as its maximum width; hind wing vein M+CU: 1-M: 1r-m = 14: 45: 6; vein 1r-m: SC+R1 = 16: 5 ( Fig. 3J ).

Legs. Middle basitarsus 3.3 × as long as its width; and 0.55 × tarsal segments 2–4 combined; hind femur robust, 0.6 × as long as hind tibia; hind femur, tibia, basal tarsus 2.9, 7.85 and 3.25 × their maximum width, respectively; hind basitarsus 0.2 × hind tibia; and 0.6 × tarsal segments 2–4 combined ( Fig. 3H ); tarsal claws simple, with rather large basal lobe ( Fig. 3H ).

Metasoma. Metasoma 0.9 × as long as head and mesosoma combined; length of first tergite 0.6 × as long as its maximum width ( Fig. 3C ); first metasomal tergite with wide and deep antero-median depression, and posteriordorsal groove crenulate, dividing tergite into two parts; postero-lateral groove wide and sparsely crenulate ( Fig. 3C ); second tergite without medio-basal area, largely rugose-striate ( Fig. 3F ); second metasomal suture straight, finely crenulate; tergite length of second tergite 0.6 × its basal width, and 1.3 × third tergite; second and third tergites with partly impressed antero-lateral grooves ( Fig. 3F ); third-fourth tergites entirely and fifth tergite basally evenly and densely striate; remaining tergites coriaceous; hypopygium short, sclerotized acute, with sparse setae; ovipositor sheath densely setose, 1.8 × as long as hind basitarsus, and 0.1 × fore wing.

Colour. Body reddish yellow; scape and pedicellus yellow; flagellum dark brown; stemmaticum black; all legs yellow; wing veins yellowish brown; wing membrane yellow; third-fourth metasomal tergites yellowish brown, yellow laterally; ovipositor sheath brown; ovipositor yellow.

Male. Unknown.

Biology. Unknown.

Distribution. NW Vietnam (Hoa Binh).

Etymology. Named in honour of the late Prof. Vladimir Ivanovich Tobias (1929-2011), a great braconidologist working for a large part of his life in the Former Soviet Union.

Figures

FIGURE 2. Lateral habitus of Bracon (Pseudochivinia) tobiasi Long & van Achterberg, sp. nov., holotype, female.

FIGURE 3. Bracon (Pseudochivinia) tobiasi Long & van Achterberg, sp. nov., holotype, female. A Head, dorsal, B Head, frontal, C First metasomal tergite, D Mesonotum, E Propodeum, F Second-fifth metasomal tergites, G Hind tarsus, H Apex of metasoma, lateral, I Fore wing, J Hind wing.