Monstranusia brachyptera Hayat

Hayat, Mohammad & Veenakumari, Kamalanathan, 2015, Description of four new species of brachypterous Encyrtidae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea) from India, Zootaxa 3990 (2), pp. 259-271 : 266-267

3. Monstranusia brachyptera Hayat , sp. nov.

( Figs 18–23 )

Female. Holotype. Length, 1.11 mm Brachypterous form ( Fig. 18 ). Head yellow; vertex with a dark brown band behind each posterior ocellus, which meets with a brown band on each side of occipital foramen; frontovertex and face with two narrow brown to dark brown bands, each beginning above torulus and ending at posterior ocellus, and with a transverse band at posterior ocelli connecting these two longitudinal bands; from toruli to mouth margin and malar space dark brown ( Fig. 19 ); occiput on each side of foramen with a brown band that extends ventrally; temple with a narrow brown band continuing behind eye and extending ventrally to three-fifths eye height ( Fig. 18 ). Antenna brown, gradually becoming dark brown from F2 onwards, with only third segment of clava white in about apical half. Mesosoma dark brown, medially with a narrow, white longitudinal band from apex of pronotum to near apex of scutellum ( Fig. 20 ), interrupted by a brown transverse band at level of scuto-scutellar suture; scutellum with a narrow yellow U-shaped band on sides and apex; tegula brown; mesopleuron brown; metapleuron dark brown. Fore wing rudiment infuscate, medially hyaline ( Fig. 22 ); hind wing hyaline, lightly infuscate basally and apically ( Fig. 23 ). Legs, including coxae, white, except as follows: fore and mid tarsal segments 1–4 yellow to pale brownish yellow, fifth segment dark brown; hind coxa in basal half brown, apical half white; hind femur whitish with base and apex slightly infuscate brown; hind tibia basally pale yellowish brown, becoming whitish apically; tarsal segments 1 and 2 yellow, 3 brownish yellow, 4 brown and 5 dark brown. Metasoma with petiole brownish yellow; gaster dark brown.

Head, subprognathous, higher than broad; head, in dorsal view, with frontovertex 0.43× head width; ocelli small; ocellar triangle with apical angle a right angle; POL:OOL:OCL:AOL, 5:1:2.5:4; head, in frontal view ( Fig. 19 ), 1.34× as high as broad; eye height 3× malar space; head with silvery white setae. Antenna ( Fig. 21 ) flattened; scape slightly longer than head width, 0.83× head height, and 2.46× as long as broad; pedicel triangular, short; F1 as long as broad, 2.72× as long as pedicel, and 1.36× as long as F2; F1–F5 subequal in width; F2–F5 gradually, but slightly decreasing in length; F6 distinctly shorter and narrower than F5; clava 1.52× as long as broad, and very slightly longer than F5 and F6 combined. Relative measurements (holotype, on card)—head dorsal width, 23; frontovertex width, 10; head frontal height, 31; eye height (head in profile), 24; malar space, 8; antennal scape length, 26.

Mesosoma ( Fig. 20 ) slightly longer than metasoma (41:39); pronotum slightly longer than mesoscutum and 1.3× as broad as long; mesoscutum 1.58× as broad as long; scutellum 1.47× as long as broad; propodeum median length 0.24× scutellum length; setae on thorax short, pale brown; apical pair of scutellar setae detached. Fore wing ( Fig. 22 ) 4.14× as long as broad; hind wing ( Fig. 23 ) 5.14× as long as broad. Relative measurements (holotype)— pronotum length (width), 13 (17); mesoscutum length (width), 12 (19); scutellum length (width), 12.5 (8.5); propodeum median length, 3.

Metasoma ( Fig. 18 ). Hypopygium extending to apex of gaster.

Male. Unknown.

Material examined. Holotype, ♀ (on card, with right antenna and right wings on slide, No. EH.1780), labelled “ INDIA: KARNATAKA: Hessaraghatta, Fisheries Div[ision]., 26.iii.2014 (YPT), Coll. K. Veenakumari” ( NBAIR, registration No. ICAR / NBAIR /EN.42).

Distribution. India: Karnataka.

Etymology. Greek, brachys = short, pteron = wing; refers to the short wings in this species.

Comments. This is the first record of brachyptery in Monstranusia Trjapitzin. This new species, excluding the short wings, is similar to the Indian species, M. antennata (Narayanan) , but differs mainly as follows: two longitudinal brown to dark brown bands on frontovertex and face connected by a transverse band at level of posterior ocelli ( Fig. 19 ); median longitudinal white band beginning at anterior end of pronotum and ending slightly anterior to apex of scutellum narrow throughout its length; scutellum with a narrow, U-shaped yellow band along margins ( Fig. 20 ); median length of pronotum slightly greater than median length of mesoscutum. In M. antennata : two longitudinal brown to dark brown bands on frontovertex and face connected at level of anterior ocellus by a transverse pale brown to dark brown band ( Fig. 17 ); median longitudinal white band beginning at anterior end of pronotum and ending at apex of scutellum gradually becoming wider towards apex; scutellum without a U-shaped yellow band along margins ( Fig. 17 ); median length of pronotum distinctly less than that of mesoscutum (median length of pronotum 0.76× mesoscutum length, in a slide-mounted mesosoma, and 0.86× mesoscutum length in a card-mounted specimen from Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, not illustrated). See Noyes & Hayat (1994) for diagnosis and figures of this species.

Figures

FIGURES 17, 18. (17) Monstranusia antennata (Narayanan). Female, Odisha specimen: body, dorsal. (18) Monstranusia brachyptera Hayat, sp. nov. Female: holotype: body, lateral view.

FIGURES 19 – 23. Monstranusia brachyptera Hayat, sp. nov. Female: holotype: 19, head, frontal view; 20, head and mesosoma, dorsal view; 21, antenna; 22, fore wing; 23, hind wing.