Methocha krombeini Hanima, Girish Kumar & Binoy, 2021

Hanima, Raveendran K. P., Kumar, P. Girish, Binoy, C. & Sureshan, P. M., 2021, A taxonomic study of Methocha Latreille (Hymenoptera: Tiphiidae: Methochinae) from India with description of three new species, Zootaxa 4999 (3), pp. 258-272 : 262-263

2. Methocha krombeini Hanima, Girish Kumar & Binoy , sp. nov.

( Figs 13–24 )

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:78D6C33B-6B3C-4D35-8C1F-59D3AD1BBEB9

Type material. Holotype ♀, mounted on triangular card, India: Kerala, Kozhikode district, Elathur (11°20’01”N & 75°46’17”E, 18 m), 25.xi.2020, Coll. C. Binoy, ( ZSIK) Regd. No. ZSI/ WGRC /IR/INV.15311.

Diagnosis. Female. Frons with sparse setigerous punctures; POD 1.2 × AOD, 0.79 × OOD; apico-medial margin of clypeal lobes weakly emarginated; mandibles with small subapical tooth; scutellum distinctly convex; mesosternum without mesopleural lamella. Male unknown.

Description. Holotype, ♀. Body length 4.89 mm.

Colour. Black with the following parts as follows: scape and pedicel of antenna dark brown with yellowishorange tinge; mandible yellowish-orange on basal half, apically brown; palpi amber coloured with black tinge; Gt 5 and Gt 6 yellowish orange with median black longitudinal band on Gt 6; ovipositor sheath black.

Head. Shining with sparse setigerous punctures; head narrowed behind eyes in dorsal view ( Fig. 19 ); all antennal segments longer than width ( Fig. 16 ); width of head 2.3 × narrowest IOD; eyes with sparse erect setae, inner margin convex ( Fig. 17 ); ocelli arranged in acute triangle; POD 1.2 × AOD, 0.79 × OOD; IOD at posterior ocelli 1.2 × least IOD; lower part of frons immediately above antennal toruli smooth; apico-medial margin of clypeus weakly emarginated, clypeal surface coarsely punctured; mandibles with small subapical tooth ( Fig. 18 ).

Mesosoma. Smooth, shiny with scattered setigerous punctures; prothorax, mesothorax and metathorax forming three distinct convex regions with distinct transverse furrows in between pronotum and scutum and in between scutellum and propodeum; pronotum dorso-anteriorly reticulate with buttressing ridges joining into posterior shiny convex part; scutum and scutellum fused in to distinctly rounded convex node ( Fig. 20 ); pronotum 0.5 8 × HW (in frontal view) and 1.27 × propodeal width; lateral side of pronotum with carina running into base of fore coxa; longitudinal furrows present on anterior part of scutum and also in between scutellum and metanotum in lateral view with, remaining areas smooth, shiny with sparse setigerous punctures ( Fig. 21 ); legs long, covered with moderate setosity; propodeum posteriorly with straight transverse ridge.

Metasoma. Smooth with scattered setigerous punctures; anterior part of Gt 1 petiolate with ridges, apical width wider than basal width ( Fig. 23 ); pygidium conical shaped; ovipositor sheath visible dorsally ( Fig. 24 ); length of metasoma 1.43 × mesosoma.

Etymology. The species is named after renowned hymenopterist Dr. Karl V. Krombein, for his quintessential contributions in the field of taxonomy of Tiphiidae describing many species of Methocha .

Distribution. India: Kerala.

Remarks. As per the key by Krombein (1982), this new species comes close to Methocha taprobane Krombein from Sri Lanka in having the head strongly narrowed behind eyes in dorsal view, ocelli in acute triangle, head 2.3 × as wide as narrowest part of frons, apico-medial margin of clypeus slightly emarginated but distinctly differs as follows: IOD at posterior ocelli 1.2 × least IOD (in M. taprobane, IOD at least 1.7 × IOD); scutellum distinctly convex or greatly bulging in profile (in M. taprobane , scutellar convexity not prominent (see Fig. 20 of Krombein (1982): 110); apical half of clypeal lobe black (in M. taprobane , clypeal lobe light red medio-apically); eyes sparsely setose (in M. taprobane , eyes coarsely setose (see Fig. 18 of Krombein (1982): 110).

Females of only three species viz. Methocha bicolor , M. keralaensis and M. litoralis are reported from India. This new species differs from M. keralaensis in having: POD 1.2 × AOD, 0.79 × OOD (in M. keralaensis, POD 1.06 × AOD, 0.47 × OOD); the lower frons, immediately above the antennal torulus, smooth without punctures (in M. keralaensis , lower frons, immediately above antennal torulus, weakly coriaceous); the apico-medial margin of the clypeal lobe slightly emarginated (in M. keralaensis , apico-medial clypeal lobe rounded). The new species differs from M. bicolor in having: the basal segment of metasoma black (in M. bicolor , basal segment of metasoma rufous); the coxae, trochanters and inner faces of the femora and tibiae yellowish orange (in M. bicolor , legs black except tarsi obscure testaceous). The new species differs from M. litoralis in the having: POD 1.2 × AOD (in M. litoralis, POD 1.7 × AOD); HW 2.3 × least IOD (HW 1.6 × least IOD); the posterior half of the mesopleuron smooth (in M. litoralis , posterior half of mesopleuron with weak oblique rugulae); body length, 4.89 mm (in M. litoralis , body length 6.3 mm).

Figures

FIGURES 13–20. Methocha krombeini Hanima, Girish Kumar & Binoy, sp. nov. Holotype ♀. 13. Habitus, lateral view; 14. Habitus, dorsal view; 15. Head, and mesosoma, lateral view; 16.Antenna; 17. Head, frontal view; 18. Lower half of head, frontal view; 19. Head, dorsal view; 20. Mesosoma, dorsal view.

FIGURES 21–24. Methocha krombeini Hanima, Girish Kumar & Binoy, sp. nov. Holotype ♀. 21. Mesosoma, lateral view; 22. Metasoma, lateral view; 23. Metasoma, dorsal view; 12. Apical metasomal segments and ovipositor, dorsal view.