Scelio leipo Yoder, 2009

Yoder, Matthew, Polaszek, Andrew, Masner, Lubomir, Johnson, Norman & Valerio, Alejandro, 2009, Revision of Scelio pulchripennis - group species (Hymenoptera, Platygastroidea, Platygastridae), ZooKeys 20 (20), pp. 53-118 : 81-83

Scelio leipo Yoder , sp. n.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:37E658AC-FA83-4FDA-AF88-C6C57328F028 urn:lsid:biosci.ohio-state.edu:osuc_concepts:238055

Figs 2, 49–54; Morphbank 18

Description. Female body length: 2.72–3.25 mm (n=10). Color of antenna in female: A1 brown to dark brown, tip of A2 and A3 slightly lighter (to yellow), remaining brown to dark brown. Color of head in female: black. Color of mesosoma in female: light brown to brown. Color of coxae in female: brown to dark brown. Color of leg past coxa in female: brown to dark brown. Color of metasoma in female: brown to dark brown.

Sculpture of lower frons in female: predominantly transverse to slightly arcuate striae. Sculpture of ventrolateral frons in female: smooth, with some clearly defined fine umbilicate sculpture. Form of malar sulcus in female: sulcus percurrent, slit, groove or carina extremely narrow but course well defined. Sculpture of upper frons of female: rugulose, with dorsoventral trend. Sculpture of dorsal head between and posterior to lateral ocelli in female: rugulose, obliterated in spots or not. Mandible of female: upper tooth typically developed, lower tooth very short but clearly present, truncate to pointed.

Transverse pronotal carina in female: absent mesad, transition from dorsal shoulder to anterior pronotum not sharply delimited but rather slightly curved, if appearing slightly present then either obliterated medially or composed of adjacent subpolygonal sculpture. Sculpture of medial mesoscutum in female: slightly flattened and rounded reticulations, sometimes few reticulations broken result- ing in irregular rugulae. Sculpture of notaular course in female: more or less undifferentiated to slightly more robust and coarse relative to medial sculpture. Sculpture of lateral mesoscutum in female: present. Sculpture of mesoscutellum in female: predominantly irregular reticulate to rugulose, carinae slightly to strongly flattened, with or without slight longitudinal trend. Sculpture of lateral pronotum in female (excluding interstitial sculpture): with smooth to obliterated patch immediately below lateral epomial carina, otherwise reticulate with few to moderate longitudinal elements. Pronotal verricule in female: apparently absent.

Figures 49–54 .57 Scelio leipo sp. n. female (CASENT 2043931) 49 Habitus, dorsal view 50 Habitus, lateral view 5Ι Head and mesosoma, dorsal view 52 Head and mesosoma, lateral view 53 Head, anterior view 54 Metasoma, lateral view. Scale bars in millimeters.

Pronotal setal patch posteroventral to end of lateral epomial carina in female: dense (around 5 to many) small patch of appressed to slightly semi-decumbent setae. Sculpture of mesopleural depression in female: predominantly irregularly reticulate. Pilosity of anteroventral metapleuron in female: glabrous, or sparsely setose. Dorsal surface of hind tibia in female: typical distribution and moderate length, setae appressed to loosely appressed, more or less straight. Shape of hind femur in female: narrow, dorsal and ventral surfaces relatively symmetrical. Basal pigmented spot of fore wing in female: percurrent from submarginal vein to posterior margin, striplike (a band), divided only by hyaline course of M+Cu. Basal fascia of fore wing in female: subrectangular, striplike, percurrent from anterior to posterior margin. Apical fascia of fore wing in female: absent, fore wing past marginal vein gradually lightening.

Sculpture of dorsal T 1 in female: longitudinally striate, with few to no transverse divisions or reticulations, interstices smooth or with very slight irregular microsculpture. Sculpture of dorsal T 2 in female: fine parallel to slightly reticulate striae with minutely colliculate to transverse sculpture within interstices. Sculpture of anterior T2 through anterior depression in female: interrupted with by a smooth strip, majority of sculpture not contiguous with that of posterior T2. Sculpture of dorsal T 3 in female: fine parallel to irregular longitudinal striae, with reticulation absent to moderately present. Medial sculpture of T 4 in female: present. Medial sculpture of T 5 in female: obliterated to smooth. Sculpture of T2–T5 curved transition from dorsal to lateral terga in female: sculptured. Profile of female metasoma in lateral view: dorsal and ventral surfaces more or less evenly convex. Sculpture of lateral T2–T 6 in female: fine irregular longitudinal striae throughout. Pilosity of laterotergites in female: present on T1–T3, present on T1–T2, or present on T2.

Diagnosis. Diagnosable from all other species by the combination of the absence of an apical fascia on the fore wing and the incomplete transverse pronotal carina.

Etymology. From the Greek meaning wanting or without, also eclipse. In reference to the “eclipsed” or absent apical fascia and the incomplete transverse pronotal carina.

Link to distribution map. [http://osuc.biosci.ohio-state.edu/HymOnline/maplarge.html?id=238055]

Material examined. Holotype female: MADAGASCAR: Toliara Auto. Prov., Andohahela N.P., parcel II, transitional forest, MA-02-20-30, Tsimelahy , 24°56.21’S 46°37.60’E, 180 m, 22.VI–29.VI.2003, Malaise trap, M. Irwin, F. Parker & R. Harin’Hala, CASENT 2043551 (deposited in CASC) . Paratypes: MADAGASCAR: 9 females, CASENT 2043353, 2043552, 2043930–2043931, 2132586, 2133303– 2133304, 8106500 ( CASC) ; OSUC 214170 ( OSUC) .

Comments. The sculpture of the mesoscutum, while at first glance appearing similar to that of S. parapulchripennis , is fairly consistently different. There are distinctly fewer closed reticulations in S. leipo , and the overall pattern is somewhat more random. The sculpture of the tergites laterally is finer and more confused than that in S. parapulchripennis . Th e sculpture of the anterior mesopleural depression is consistently slightly obliterated.