Apanteles (Choeras) longitergitus Song & Chen

Song, Sheng-Nan, He, Jun-Hua & Chen, Xue-Xin, 2014, The subgenus Choeras Mason, 1981 of genus Apanteles Foerster, 1862 (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Microgastrinae) from China, with descriptions of eighteen new species, Zootaxa 3754 (5), pp. 501-554 : 523-526

Apanteles (Choeras) longitergitus Song & Chen , sp. n.

( Figure 9. a–j )

Description. Female. Length of body 2.6 mm, of fore wing 3.1 mm.

Head. 2.2 times as wide as long, wider than the mesoscutum. Antenna with 18 segments, with short setae, almost equal to body length, subapical antennal segments elongated, length of 16th segment 0.9 times as long as 15th segment, length of third segment 1.1 times as long as fourth segment, length of third, fourth, 15th, 16th and penultimate segments 3.8, 3.2, 1.8, 1.4 and 1.5 times as long as their width, respectively. In dorsal view length of eye 1.6 times as long as temple length. Ocellar triangle sparsely pubescent and shiny. Ocelli in a moderately high triangle, the posterior transverse tangent to the median ocellus hardly touching the posterior pair; ocelli large, their diameter longer than the distance between the hind and fore ocellus. OOL: OD: POL= 13: 8: 9. Frons smooth and distinctly concave medially, narrowly punctulate and setose laterally and posteriorly. Temple and vertex smooth, shiny, finely and densely pubescent. Face and clypeus smooth, densely setose and strongly shiny. Face with a median longitudinal carina, the 0.3 part near the antennal sockets more distinct. Length of malar space 0.6 times as long as basal width of mandible.

Mesosoma. Length of mesosoma 1.3 times as long as its height. Side of pronotum slightly rugose and strongly shiny, with a narrow ventral furrow with several longitudinal carinae. Propleuron smooth and strongly shiny. Prepectal carina absent. Precoxal sulcus deep and smooth. Mesopleuron largely smooth, glabrous and shiny, but densely punctulate and setose anterio-ventrally. Mesoscutum finely, densely punctulate and setose, strongly shiny. Notauli almost absent, only with a shallow trace. Scutellar sulcus narrow with a few longitudinal carinae, its width about equal to length of scutellum. Scutellum densely setose and punctulate, strongly shiny. Side of scutellum with relatively wide crenulate depression, lunula small-sized and obtusely triangular. Propodeum largely smooth and shiny but rugose laterally, with a strongly rugose median band which with a complete and strong irregular median carina.

Wings. Fore wing evenly covered with brown setae, denser towards the apex. Pterostigma with a big bright spot at the base and relatively wide, 2.5 times as long as wide. Vein 1-R1 1.3 times as long as pterostigma and 4.5 times as long as the distance from it to the top of marginal cell. Vein r slightly curved and equal to length of 2-SR, r arising far beyond the middle of pterostigma and shorter than breadth of pterostigma. Vein 2-SR straight. Areolet very large and distinctly quadrangular, vein r-m arising from the junction of vein 2-SR and r, r-m distinctly curved. 1-CU1: 2-CU1= 7: 8. Vein 1-SR pointing to the junction of 1-CU1 and 2-CU1. Hind wing evenly covered with brown hairs, setose. M+CU:1-M =22: 25. Vein cu-a curved. Edge of vannal lobe beyond its widest part more or less straight and without a fringe of hairs.

Legs. Hind coxa shiny and smooth, sparsely pubescent medio-laterally, but densely pubescent remainder parts. Length of hind coxa longer than half of mesosoma. Tarsal claws setose. Hind basitarsus relatively long and thin. Longer spur of middle tibia not reaching apex of middle basitarsus. Length of femur, tibia and basitarsus of hind leg 3.3, 5.7 and 5.5 times as long as their width, respectively. Length of hind tibial spurs 0.3 and 0.6 times as long as hind basitarsus respectively. Hind femur relatively sparsely setose and punctulate.

Metasoma. Tergite I very long and narrow, distinctly quadrangular and its basal width 1.9 times as long as its apical width which is 1.4 times as long as median length of tergite II, lateral sides more or less parallel basally half and the remainder sharply narrowed; basal half with a relatively wide and shallow excavation which is smooth and shiny, the remainder half rugose and sparsely setose. Tergite II subtriangular, apical side straight which is 0.3, 4.3 times as long as basal width and its length respectively; shiny, smooth medially and the remainder rugose. Remaining tergites smooth, shiny and sparsely setose. Ovipositor sheath robust, slightly curved and finely hairy, very slender at base, but wide medially, its length (total length) 0.7 times as long as hind tibia. Hypopygium largely sclerotized, only near median line membranous and tightly folded along the middle line, laterally with longitudinal creases and acute apically.

Colour. Head black. Labrum yellow. Clypeus yellowish brown medially and the remainder brown. Mandibles largely yellow but brown apically. Face largely black but brownish medially near the antennal sockets. Scape and pedicel largely yellowish but dark brown laterally. Flagellum dark brown. Mesosoma black except propleuron brown. Wing membrane hyaline and weakly brownish. Pterostigma largely dark brown but basal third of pterostigma conspicuously light yellowish brown, contrasting with remainder of pterostigma. Veins of fore wings dark brown, except r-m, 2-SR+M, the junction of vein 2-M and 2-SR subhyaline. Veins of hind wings light brown except cu-a subhyaline. Fore and middle legs yellow except coxae pale yellowish and tarsal claws black. Hind coxa yellow but brown dorsally and apically. Hind trochanter yellow. Hind femur reddish yellow and in a small area at the apex dark brown. Hind tibia reddish yellow basal 0.7 and remainder dark brown. Hind tarsus dark brown. Tibial spurs pale yellow. Tergite I dark brown apically half and the remainder yellow. Remaining tergites dark brown and with narrowly white streaks between tergite III and IV. Ovipositor reddish brown, its sheath dark brown.

Variation. Body length 2.4–3.1mm. Fore wing length 2.8–3.5mm. Length of ovipositor sheath (total length) 0.6–1.0 times as long as hind tibia. And some individuals slightly different in colour pattern.

Male. Unknown.

Biology. Unknown.

Material examined. Holotype, ♀, China, Hunan Prov., Shimen, Hupingshan, Sanhecun, 2009. VII. 11, Ma Li, No. 200901941( ZJUH). Paratypes (all in ZJUH): 1♀, China, Zhejiang Prov., Tianmushan, Laodian (light trap), 1998. VII. 27, Zhao Mingshui, No. 20000970; 1♀, China, Zhejiang Prov., Hangzhou, 1981. VIII. 8, Chu Jiming, No. 815152; 1♀, China, Zhejiang Prov., Hangzhou, Yunqi, 2004. VIII. 16, Chen Xuexin et al., No. 200904635; 1♀, China, Fujian Prov., Nanjing, Letu, 1991. V. 23, Liu Changming, No. 20006019; 1♀, China, Fujian Prov., Longqishan, 1991. X.11, Chen Xuexin, No. 920554; 1♀, China, Fujian Prov., Fuzhou, 1991. IX.6, Zhao Xiufu, No. 967791; 1♀, China, Guangdong Prov., Ruyuan, Nanling, 2003. VII. 23, Xu Zaifu, No. 20049025; 2♀, China, Guangdong Prov., Longmen, Nankunshan, 2003. VII. 14–15, Xu Zaifu, No. 20050113, 20050276; 1♀, China, Guangdong Prov., Yunan, Tongledashan, 2003. VIII. 12–13, Xu Zaifu, No. 20054665; 3♀, China, Guangdong Prov., Meizhou, Fengxi, 2003. VII. 29, Chen Jujian, No. 20048492, 20048624, 20048710; 1♀, China, Hainan Prov., Jianfengling, Tianchi, 2007. X. 22–23, Liu Jingxian, No. 200710790; 1♀, China, Hainan Prov., Yinggeling, 2007. X. 18, Liu Jingxian, No. 200709721; 1♀, China, Hainan Prov., Yinggeling, 2007. V. 24–25, Liu Jingxian, No. 200702755; 1♀, China, Guizhou Prov., Leigongshan, Xiaodanjiang, 2005. VI. 4, Zhang Hongying, No. 200606199.

Distribution. China (Zhejiang, Fujian, Hunan, Guangdong, Hainan, Guizhou) ( Fig. 21 ).

Remark. The new species is similar to Apanteles (Choeras) tiro (Reinhard, 1880) , but can be distinguished by the tergite I much narrowed apically (the latter more or less parallel-sided or sometimes slightly narrowed); the antenna almost as long as the body (the latter shorter than body); and the propodeum largely smooth and shiny, laterally rugose and with rugose median band (the latter rugose, dull).

Etymology. The specific name “ longitergitus ” derives from the Latin prefixion “longi-” and noun “tergite”, referring to the very long tergite I.

Figures

FIGURE 21. Distribution map of Choeras species in China II. ●: Apanteles (Choeras) flavicorpus Song & Chen, sp. n.; ■: Apanteles (Choeras) fujianensis Song & Chen, sp. n.; ▲: Apanteles (Choeras) grammatitergitus Song & Chen, sp. n.; Δ: Apanteles (Choeras) infirmicarinatus Song & Chen, sp. n.; ┼: Apanteles (Choeras) longitergitus Song & Chen, sp. n.; ○: Apanteles (Choeras) longus Song & Chen, sp. n..

FIGURE 9. a – j. Apanteles (Choeras) longitergitus Song & Chen, sp. n. a, habitus, lateral view; b, antenna; c, fore wing; d, hind wing; e, head, frontal view; f, head, dorsal view; g, mesosoma, dorsal view; h, mesosoma, lateral view; i, T 1 – T 3, dorsal view; j, metasoma, lateral view.