Methocha paraceylonica 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 : 265-266

4. Methocha paraceylonica Hanima, Girish Kumar & Binoy , sp. nov.

( Figs 25–36 )

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:ED6D08FD-1AEB-40C1-926D-0DD52E1AAC13

Type material. Holotype ♂, pinned specimen, India: Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram district, Agasthyamalai Biosphere Reserve, Peppara Wildlife Sanctuary (8°37’24”N & 78°08’09”E, 119 m), 19.i.2019, Coll. P. Girish Kumar, ( ZSIK) Regd. No. ZSI/ WGRC /IR/INV.15312 . Paratype: 1 ♂, India: Karnataka, Dakshina Kannada district, Bajpe (12°58’54”N & 74°53’02”E, 69 m), 28.ii.2013, Coll. K. Nikhil, ( ZSIK) Regd. No. ZSI/ WGRC /IR/INV.15313 .

Diagnosis. Apico-medial margin of clypeal lobe without deep emargination; pronotal disc without anterior ridge, with few transverse carinae; mesopleuron without a median, ovate, impressed, densely setose fossa; tegula yellowish brown.

Description. Holotype ♂. Body length 8.4 mm; fore wing length: 4.8 mm.

Colour. Black with following parts as follows: mandibles with base and apex dark brown, medially yellowish brown; palpi amber coloured; tegula yellowish brown; legs with inner surface of foretibia, all tarsi and some parts of other leg areas yellowish orange, remainder dark brown; vestiture brownish.

Head. Head (in frontal view), width 1.45 × height (measured from apex of clypeus to anterior ocellus); IOD at anterior ocellus 1.3 × least IOD; antero-medial clypeal margin without deep emargination ( Fig. 30 ); OOD 2.1 × POD; fl 3 as long as fl 2, 1.5 × as long as fl 1.

Mesosoma. Pronotal disc anteriorly without ridge, with few transverse carinae, surface behind with small setigerous punctures separated by more than one puncture diameter ( Fig. 31 ); scutum anteriorly with transverse wrinkles; scutum and scutellum with punctures separated by more than the diameter of one puncture; scutellum anteriorly with a linear furrow subdivided by small longitudinal ridges, posteriorly with curved ridge ( Fig. 32 ); mesopleuron with omaulus with obscure crenulations anteriorly, punctures separated by more than one puncture diameter ( Fig. 33 ); dorsal propodeum anteriorly with deep crenulations, below with oblique, obscure longitudinal ridges tending to transverse irregular rugulae towards middle and becomes weaker toward posterior apex ( Fig. 32 ); lateral propodeal surface anteriorly smooth with irregularly and sparsely arranged faint oblique rugulae, posteriorly with oblique irregular rugulae ( Fig. 33 ).

Metasoma. Metasomal dorsum with sparse punctures, punctures separated by more than diameter of a puncture; Gt 1 –Gt 5 apically with reticulate sculpturing, below with small band of longitudinal ridges ( Fig. 35 ).

Female. Unknown.

Etymology. The species epithet is derived from its close affinity with M. ceylonica Krombein , described from Sri Lanka.

Distribution. India: Kerala, Karnataka.

Remarks. This new species forms an intermediate between M. ceylonica Krombein, 1982 and M. anomala Krombein, 1982 , but differs from each as follows.

Methocha paraceylonica sp. nov. differs from M. ceylonica in having: punctures on mesopleural disc mostly separated by more than 3 × the diameter of a puncture (in M. ceylonica , punctures on mesopleural disc mostly separated by half the diameter of a puncture); legs with inner surface of foretibia, all tarsi and some parts of other leg areas, yellowish orange, remainder dark brown (in M. ceylonica , legs dark brown with tarsi paler); body length 8.4 mm (in M. ceylonica , body length 9.7 mm); length of fore wing 4.8 mm (in M. ceylonica , length of fore wing 7.2 mm); tegula yellowish brown (in M. ceylonica , tegula dark red); punctures behind few transverse carina of anterior pronotum mostly separated by more than 2 × diameter of a puncture (in M. ceylonica , punctures behind few transverse carina of anterior pronotum mostly separated by the diameter of a puncture); mesopleuron with continuous groove dorso-anteriorly, crenulations restricted only on anterior part of groove (in M. ceylonica , mesopleuron with continuous groove dorso-anteriorly, with crenulations throughout the groove); propodeal surface not shagreened on lateral sides (in M. ceylonica , propodeal surface shagreened on lateral sides).

This new species differs from M. anomala Krombein in having: OOD 1.95 × POD (in M. anomala OOD 2.5 × POD); propodeal surface not shagreened on lateral sides (in M. anomala , propodeal surface laterally strongly shagreened on lateral sides); length of fore wing 4.8 mm (in M. anomala , length of fore wing 6.2 mm); legs with inner surface of foretibia, all tarsi and some parts of other leg areas yellowish orange, all other parts dark brown (in M. anomala , legs light red, tarsi occasionally brown); propodeal surface antero-laterally with irregularly and sparsely arranged oblique rugulae, anterior half mostly smooth (in M. anomala , propodeal surface laterally with close oblique rugulae on anterior half); vestiture on some area of head, mesosoma and metasoma brown (in M. anomala , vestiture glittering white).

This new species differs from M. violaceipennis Cameron in having: wings hyaline (in M. violaceipennis , wings fusco-violaceous); scape covered with sparse brown setae (in M. violaceipennis , scape thickly covered with long fuscous setae); clypeal surface punctured (in M. violaceipennis , clypeus strongly aciculated,); mesosoma with sparse setae (in M. violaceipennis , mesosoma thickly covered with setae); propleura and mesopleura entirely with sparse punctures except a small area of mesopleuron in lower part with closely arranged punctures (in M. violaceipennis , propleura and mesopleura closely punctured except at apices); legs with inner surface of foretibia, all tarsi and some parts of other leg areas yellowish orange, remainder dark brown (legs black in M. violaceipennis ); propodeum longitudinally rugose anteriorly, posteriorly with irregular transverse rugae (in M. violaceipennis , propodeum closely rugosely punctured with transversely striations anteriorly, striae running into reticulations).

This new species differs from M. litoralis Krombein in having: apico-medial margin of clypeal lobe without deep emargination (in M. litoralis , clypeal lobe apico-medially deeply emarginated); frons without confluent punctures, with scattered punctures (in M. litoralis , frons with small confluent punctures); OOD 2.1 × POD (in M. litoralis, OOD 2.1 × POD); pronotal disc anteriorly without ridge (in M. litoralis , pronotal disc anteriorly with ridge); mesopleuron without a median, ovate, impressed, densely setose fossa (in M. litoralis , mesopleuron with median, ovate, impressed, densely setose fossa); propodeum anteriorly with longitudinal rugae, posteriorly irregularly transversely rugate (in M. litoralis , propodeum finely ruguloso-reticulate); metasomal segments apically with sparse punctures (in M. litoralis , metasomal segments apically with a row of closer punctures).

Figures

FIGURES 25–32. Methocha paraceylonica Hanima, Girish Kumar & Binoy, sp. nov. Holotype ♂. 25. Habitus, lateral view; 26. Habitus, dorsal view; 27. Head, lateral view; 28. Antenna; 29. Head, frontal view; 30. Lower half of head, frontal view; 31. Head and pronotum, dorsal view; 32. Mesosoma, dorsal view.

FIGURES 33–36. Methocha paraceylonica Hanima, Girish Kumar & Binoy, sp. nov. Holotype ♂ 33. Mesosoma, lateral view; 34. Fore wing; 35. Metasoma, dorsal view; 36. Metasoma, lateral view.