Coelichneumon falsificus ( Wesmael, 1845 )

Riedel, Matthias & Watanabe, Kyohei, 2021, The genus Coelichneumon Thomson in Japan (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae, Ichneumoninae), Zootaxa 4948 (4), pp. 501-545 : 521-522

Coelichneumon falsificus ( Wesmael, 1845)

Ichneumon falsificus Wesmael, 1845: 25

Lectotype: ♀ “60; Monographie Exempl. décrit; Ichneumon falsificus ♀ det. C. Wesmael; [red] Lectotype Ichneumon falsificus WESM. Tow. ´65” (Bruxelles), type studied.

Non-type: JAPAN: 1 ♂, Kanagawa Pref., Hadano City, Mt Koubou-yama , 40–211 m alt., 35.22°N 139.14°E, 11.v.2014, K. Watanabe leg.

Description: ♀: Body length 16‒19 mm. Flagellum with 40‒44 flagellomeres, moderately lanceolate; 1 st flagellomere 1.9‒2.4× longer than wide; 2 nd flagellomere 1.8‒2.0× longer than wide, combined length 0.55‒0.60× eye length; c. 9 th flagellomeres square, widest flagellomeres 1.5‒2.0× wider than long. Temple slightly widened behind eye, slightly narrowed apically. OED 1.2‒1.8× ocellar diameter. Face punctate and granulate; clypeus with scattered punctures, smooth between punctures. Gena with scattered punctures ventrally, laterally 1.0‒1.1× as wide as eye. MI 0.4‒0.6.

Mesosoma with pale hairs. Lateral field of mesoscutum densely punctate and partly granulate. Mesopleuron with coarse punctures, partly rugose. Metasoma punctate, partly rugose. Scutellum slightly longer than wide, with scattered punctures, without lateral carina. Area superomedia horseshoe-shaped, slightly wider than long or square, granulate or almost smooth. Hind coxa with scattered punctures ventro-apically, without scopa. Hind femur 3.3‒ 4.0× longer than wide, with scattered punctures on ventral 0.3; 3 rd mid tarsomere c.1.5× longer than wide. Areolet pentagonal, frontal distance between veins 2rs-m and 3rs-m 2× their width; vein 2m-cu distad its middle. Vein 1cu-a postfurcal by 1× its width.

Postpetiolus moderately widened, lateral field 0.5‒0.8× as wide as median field, the latter with 8–15 striae and apical punctures. Thyridium 0.9‒1.1× as wide as the interval. 2 nd tergite 0.9‒1.0× as long as wide; 2 nd and 3 rd tergites densely punctate, coarsely aciculate medially, 4 th tergite with longitudinal striae medially. 7 th tergite slightly longer than wide or as long as wide. Seen from dorsal, ovipositor sheath 0.5‒0.6× as long as 7 th tergite.

Color: Black. Ivory are stripes on flagellomeres 7/9‒13/15, narrow frontal orbit, small spot on vertex, some- times outer orbit, collare and hind edge of pronotum, sometimes subtegular ridge, apical ½ or 2/3 of scutellum and sometimes apical spot on postpetiolus. Metasoma sometimes with ± bluish shine. Legs black, fore and mid femora apically and fore tibia frontally yellowish. Pterostigma ochreous to brown.

♂: Body length 17 mm. Flagellum with 48 flagellomeres, 1 st flagellomere 2.0‒2.1× longer than wide. Tyloids on flagellomeres 7/9‒18/22, linear or long-oval, maximally 0.6‒0.7× as long as the flagellomeres. Temple moderately and roundly narrowed behind eye. OED 0.9‒1.3× ocellar diameter. MI 0.2

Mesoscutum densely punctate and granulate. Scutellum as long as or longer than wide, with lateral carina in basal 0.2‒0.4 and scattered punctures. Area superomedia halfmoon-shaped, ± wider than long. Fore metatarsus with weak apical tooth. Hind femur 3.7‒4.7× longer than wide. Lateral field of postpetiolus 0.6‒0.8× as wide as the median field, median field with 8‒12 striae. 2 nd tergite 0.9‒1.2× as long as wide. Thyridium 1.1‒1.8× wider than the interval.

Color: Black. Ivory are palps, base of mandible, side of clypeus, wide facial orbit, frontal orbit, spot on vertex and on outer orbit, collare and hind edge (rarely upper margin) of pronotum, spot on subtegular ridge, scutellum mainly, frontal spots on fore and mid coxae and trochanters. Legs black; fore and mid femora and tibiae frontally and apically, external stripe on hind tibia and all tarsi except black basal half of hind metatarsus ivory. Pterostigma brown.

Remark: The Japanese male described here differs from the European material by its higher number of flagellomeres and extended ivory coloration of legs. We have not seen Japanese females of this species yet and thus the above description of the female is based on European material.

Distribution: Europe, Japan (Hokkaido and Honshu) ( Uchida 1925, 1926).