Metaphycus prengoi, Guerrieri & Ghahari, 2018

Guerrieri, Emilio & Ghahari, Hassan, 2018, New records, descriptions and notes on Encyrtidae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea) from Iran, Zootaxa 4444 (3), pp. 316-326 : 319-320

Metaphycus prengoi sp. nov.

( Figs 8–12 )

Description. Female (Holotype). Length, 1.3 mm. Body mostly orange and the following parts brown: lower half of gena, a stripe along anterior margin of mesoscutum, metanotum, dorsum of gaster (particularly T1); antenna ( Fig. 8 ) with scape yellowish with a subapical brown rhomboidal spot not reaching the ventral margin, base of pedicel brown, apex yellowish, funicular segments brown fading to pale brown towards apex (so that F5–F6 appear distinctly paler than preceding ones), clava brown save paler apex; forewing ( Fig. 9 ) strongly infuscate with a paler transversal stripe in the middle just after post marginal vein; venation ( Fig. 9 ) dark brown; legs yellow, all tibiae with joints brown, and each with 2 incomplete dark rings, fore and mid tarsi brown (paler at base), hind tarsi yellowish darker at apex.

Head about 4× as wide as frontovertex; ocelli forming an acute angle of about 30°; antenna ( Fig. 8 ) with scape about 5× as long as broad, F1 subquadrate and about 0.33× as long as pedicel; clava slightly truncate at apex; linear sensilla on F5 and F6 and on clava. Palpi formula: 3-3. Relative measurements: HW 50, FV 12, POL 4, OOL 2, OCL 4, OD 2, SL 24, SW 5.

Mesoscutum 1.6 × as wide as long, with notaular lines complete, almost reaching its posterior part, a little shorter than scutellum (12:13); forewing ( Fig. 9 ) about 2.8× as long as broad; postmarginal vein ( Fig. 10 ) absent; marginal vein 0.25× stigmal vein. Relative measurements: FWL 120, FWW 42, MV 2, SV 2.

Gaster with ovipositor ( Fig. 11 ) distinctly exserted. Paratype: hypopygium ( Fig. 11 ) 2.25 × as wide as long; ovipositor ( Fig. 12 ) about 1.7× as long as mid tibia and 4× gonostylus. Relative measurements: MT 70, OL 120, GL 30.

Male. Unknown.

Variation. Very little in the material at hand. One female has body largely suffused with brown. Length ranges from 1.2–1.4 mm.

Hosts. Eulecanium sp. ( Hemiptera : Coccidae ) on Amygdalus lycoides Spach (Rosaceae) .

Distribution. Iran.

Material examined. Holotype ♀, Iran, Kermanshah province, Kermanshah, 34°24'N 47°08'E, 12.vi.2009, ex Eulecanium sp. ( Hemiptera : Coccidae ) on Amygdalus lycioides (Rosaceae) , K. Jalilvand leg. Paratypes: 4 ♀, same data as holotype. Holotype and 3 paratypes will be deposited at NHM; 1 paratype will be deposited at DEZA.

Comments. Metaphycus prengoi belongs to the insidiosus species group and is very similar to M. eruptor (with which shares the well exserted ovipositor) and to M. petitus (with which shares the complete notaular lines). The female of M. prengoi can be separated from those two species by having all tibiae with 2 incomplete dark rings (immaculate in eruptor and petitus ). In addition, they can be separated from that of eruptor by having F1 similar in length to F2 (in eruptor F1 distinctly shorter than remaining segments), linear sensilla only on F5–F6 (in eruptor linear sensilla on F2 to F6) and thorax with notaular lines complete (reaching halfway in eruptor ). It can be separated from petitus by the shorter scape (3× as long as wide versus 5×).

Figures

FIGURES 8–12. Metaphycus prengoi sp. nov. ♀: 8. Antenna. 9. Forewing. 10. Forewing venation. 11. Hypopygium. 12. Ovipositor.