Acerotella tschirnhausi, Buhl, 2014

Buhl, Peter Neerup, 2014, New species and new records of Platygastrinae and Sceliotrachelinae from Togo (Hymenoptera: Platygastridae), African Invertebrates 55 (1), pp. 68-68 : 68-69

Acerotella tschirnhausi sp. n.

Figs 1, 2

Etymology: Named after the collector, M. von Tschirnhaus.

Diagnosis:A small species with a strong, 3-segmented antennal clava in female, brightly coloured A1 and legs; notauli distinct in anterior half, absent in posterior half; female metasoma 1.2× as long as rest of body.

Description:

Female.

Body length 0.85–1.00 mm. Black,A1 and legs including coxae light brownish; A2–A10, mandibles, tegulae and last segment of tarsi dark brown. Head from above 1.65× as wide as long, hardly noticeably wider than mesosoma, rather dull reticulate-coriaceous, frons slightly smoother in lower half. OOL very short, lateral ocelli almost touching inner orbits. Head in frontal view 1.3× as wide as high. Antenna ( Fig. 1 ) with A1 0.8× as long as height of head, as long as distance between inner orbits. Mesosoma 1.25× as long as wide, 1.3× as wide as high. Sides of pronotum finely leathery except posteromedially. Mesoscutum with a few scattered setae, finely leathery, smooth in slightly more than posterior half except laterally; notauli distinct in about anterior half, absent in most of posterior half. Mesopleuron finely leathery almost all over, in upper half with about four short longitudinal wrinkles posteriorly. Scutellum finely leathery and with a few setae. Metapleuron dull coriaceous, with adpressed pilosity in slightly more than posterior half. Fore wing 0.75× as long as entire body, 2.45× as long as wide, reaching apex of metasoma approximately, and clear with fine and dense microtrichia; subcostal vein medium brown, 0.25× as long as wing; marginal cilia about 0.05× width of wing. Hind wing 6.3× as long as wide; marginal cilia slightly more than one-third the width of wing. Metasoma ( Fig. 2 ) 1.2× as long as head and mesosoma combined, 0.8× as wide as mesosoma. T1 dull, with four weak and short longitudinal crenulae around middle, along each side having a fine and complete longitudinal carina close to lateral margin. T2 longer than wide (16:13), smooth except for three slightly dull basal foveae which reach less than 0.2 of length. T3–T4 with very weak, T5 with stronger, and T6 with even stronger reticulate-coriaceous microsculpture. Apical tergites with setae inserted in shallow punctures (about four on T3, eight on each of T4 and T6, six on T5).

Comparison:Assigned to the “ boter -group” sensu Masner (1980) because of conformation of antennae, but with shorter notauli, brighter-coloured body appendages and smaller body size than Palaearctic A. boter (Walker, 1838) and A. humilis ( Kieffer, 1913) , and Nearctic A. nearctica Masner, 1980 . A. tschirnhausi is most similar to A. aldrovandii

Buhl, 2002, from Panama, but that species has more slender basal flagellar segments and shorter metasoma than A. tschirnhausi .

Holotype: ♀ TOGO: Région des Plateaux, Abriwa­Nko, about 5 km N of Badou, at creek Ègnulu–Agbadja (07°37'18"N 00°36'13"E), 24.iv. 2008, 310 m, swept in cocoa and avocado plantation, M. von Tschirnhaus . Paratype: 1♀ Région des Plateaux, N of Kessibo­Wawa, at the border to Ghana (N of Badou), at Wawa river (07°42'11"N 00°35'26''E), 24.iv. 2008, 180 m, forest understorey, cocoa plantation and sun-exposed vegetable fields, some Cyperaceae , swept, M. von Tschirnhaus .

Figures

Figs 1, 2. Acerotella tschirnhausi sp. n.: (1) female antenna; (2) female metasoma in dorsal view.