Aphelinus sinensis Shirley & Woolley sp. n.

Diagnosis .

Females and males. Legs with procoxa yellow (Fig. 9d) [not brown (Figs 3d, 5d, 7d)], profemur, mesofemur, mesotibia, and metatibia yellow (Fig. 9d) [not brown at base with apex yellow or pale (Figs 3d, 5d, 7d)].

Description.

Female (Figs 9b, 9d, 9f and 10b, 10d-10g).

Color (Figs 9b, 9d, 9f). Head and mesosoma dark brown; radicle and basal portion of scape yellow/white; apical portion of scape and pedicel brown; F1, F2, F3, and club yellow; tip of club dusky; legs with mesocoxa and metacoxa brown, metafemur and protibia yellow; metasoma yellow from base to apex, lateral margins of metasoma darker than mesal area except in basal quarter.

Body length. 0.6-0.9 mm (n=3; slide mounts) (Holotype 0.8 mm).

Head (Figs 9b and 10b). Width 1.2-1.3 × head length in anterior view; frontovertex width 0.4 × head width and 1.0-1.4 × frontovertex length; posterior ocelli diameter 0.6 × posterior ocelli to eye margin distance and 1.5 × posterior ocelli to occipital margin distance; antenna as in Fig. 4b with scape length 5.0-5.9 × scape width; pedicel length 1.5-1.9 × pedicel width; F1 and F2 subquadrate, length of both 0.9-1.0 × width; F3 length 1.4-1.8 × F3 width; club length 3.1-3.3 × club width and 2.5-3.0 × F3 width, club with 8 longitudinal sensilla.

Mesosoma (Figs 9d, 9f and 10g). Mid lobe of mesoscutum length 0.7 × mid lobe width, with two pairs of long setae (one pair lateral and one pair posterior) and 31-33 short setae; side lobes of mesoscutum each with one pair of long setae and one pair of short setae; scutellum with two pairs of long setae (one pair anterior and one pair posterior); mesotibial spur length 0.7-0.80 × mesobasitarsus length; metatibial spur length 0.5 × metabasitarsus length.

Fore wing (Fig. 10d). Length 2.5-2.8 × fore wing width, longest marginal seta 0.1-0.2 × fore wing width; costal cell 0.8 × length of marginal vein, with one line of 6-7 setae on ventral surface and 1-2 dorsal setae in apical quarter; submarginal vein with two setae; marginal vein with two rows of 12-18 large dorsal setae, one row of 7-11 small dorsal setae, and one row of 7-10 ventral setae; interspace between basal cell and linea calva with 18-33 setae arranged in two complete lines and two incomplete lines; linea calva closed with 2-3 setae at its posterior end, setae bordering linea calva proximally are arranged uniformly and evenly to posterior margin of wing.

Hind wing (Fig. 10e). Length 3.7-4.5 × hind wing width; longest marginal seta 0.3-0.5 × hind wing width.

Metasoma (Figs 9d, 9f, and 10f). Length 1.1 × mesosoma length; ovipositor length 1.3 × mesotibia length and 1.2 × metatibia length; third valvula length 0.4 × ovipositor length.

Description. Male (Figs 9a, 9c, 9e and 10a, 10c, 10h). Similar to female except:

Color (Fig. 9a, 9c, 9e). All antennal segments yellow/brown; metasoma yellow at base darkening gradually to light brown at apex.

Head (Figs 9a and 10a). Antenna with scape length 4.9 × scape width, with five pores along mid line of single continuous convex ridge on ventral surface (Fig. 2); pores small, approximately same diameter as base of adjacent setae, pedicel length 1.7 × pedicel width; length of F1 and F2 both 0.5 × their width; F3 length 4.4 × F3 width; club length 4.6 × club width and 1.4 × F3 length.

Metasoma (Fig. 9c, 9e and 10h). Length 1.0 × mesosoma length; phallobase length (including digiti) 6.0 × phallobase width; digiti length 5.1 × digiti width.

Holotype (deposited in USNM). Female, card mounted. Label data: "Texas: Brazos Co. | College Station | TAMU Lab Culture | 15.xii.1992 T92/051 | ex: Diuraphis noxia | on wheat || T92/051 orig. collection | P.R. of China | Ningxia | 21.vi.1992 | Keith Hopper coll. | ex. Diuraphis | Diuraphis agropyronophaga || TAMU-ENTO X0852864".

Paratypes (deposited in USNM, TAMU, BMNH, EMEC, CNC). 30 card mounts (9 female, 21 male). 10 card mounts (2 female, 8 male) from original material with label data reading "P.R. China: Pingluo | Ningxia 19.xi.1992 | T92/051 orig. mat. | Keith Hopper | ex. Diuraphis " (TAMU-ENTO accession numbers: females: X0852882, X0852886; males: X0852878 to -79, X0852883, X0852887, X0852889 to -92). 10 card mounts (7 female, 3 male) from F1 progeny with the same label data as holotype (TAMU-ENTO accession numbers: females: X0852864 to -67, X0852870, X0852873, X0852876; males: X0852874, X0852871, X0852863). 10 (all male) card mounts, voucher specimens from non-destructive DNA extraction, with same label data as original material (TAMU-ENTO accession numbers: X0856046 to -55). 7 slide mounts (5 female, 2 male). 3 slide mounts from original material with same label data as above (females: X0852880, X0852888; male: X0852885). 4 slide mounts from F1 progeny, same label data as above (females: X0852869, X0852875, X0852877; male: X0852868).

Other material examined.

CHINA: Harbin: 3 males, 5 females. TAMU-ENTO X0853040-47 (TAMU) . JAPAN: Honshu: 2 females. CNC HYMEN 019042 and CNC HYMEN 019033 (CNC) .

Hosts.

The original material was collected from Diuraphis tritici (Gillette 1911) (the junior synonym Diuraphis agropyronophaga is given on the holotype label) in the field in China. In lab culture, Diuraphis noxia on wheat was used as the host.

Distribution.

Northern China and Japan.

Discussion.

The collections from China, Pingluo, Ningxia correspond exactly to those discussed in Kazmer et al. (1996). The most notable traits of the type specimens of A. sinensis from Pingluo, China, that distinguish them from other A. asychis group specimens examined, are the presence of yellow procoxae, yellow femora, and yellow tibiae. In all other Aphelinus asychis group species, all coxae are brown, and femora and tibiae are patterned with brown. The series from Harbin, China, exhibits the same leg-pattern coloration as the type series. We are treating the Harbin series as conspecific, noting that the head and metasoma are much darker, almost black, and the antennal club is darker at the apex than in material from Pingluo. There is one specimen from the Honshu, Japan, series that has the same leg coloration patterns as the type series from Pingluo, however, the other specimens in this series resemble A. asychis .