Baeus nicobarensis Veenakumari, 2020

Kamalanathan, Veenakumari, Mohanraj, Prashanth, Samuel, D. K. & Reddy, M. Krishna, 2020, Revision of Indian species of Baeus Haliday (Hymenoptera: Platygastroidea: Scelionidae), Journal of Natural History 54 (13 - 14), pp. 813-917 : 877-879

Baeus nicobarensis Veenakumari , sp. n. ( Figure 23 (a–f))

http://www.zoobank.org/ urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:57E4E603-885E-48F6-859F-09DA653C2382

Holotype. Female; body length = 0.73 (0.65–0.77) mm; n = 5

Colour ( Figure 23 (a)). Head, mesonotum and metasoma honey brown, with black patches on vertex and mesoscutum; hyperoccipital carina black; posterior margin of mesoscutum, anterior and posterior margins of mesoscutellum with a black band; antenna dark brown with yellowish brown clava; legs brownish black.

Head ( Figure 23 (a–e)). Head 1.19 (1.10–1.21)× as wide as high; IOS short, 0.32 (0.30–- 0.34)× width of head and 0.65 (0.61–0.68)× eye length; eye (L: W = 10.6:13.0), densely setose, touching hyperoccipital carina posteriorly; head height 2.0 (1.98–2.16)× eye length; POL>LOL in ratio of 17.1:11.1; lateral ocellus contiguous with orbit; distance from posterior margin of lateral ocellus to hyperoccipital carina 0.47 (0.45–0.49)× MOD; pilosity dense, setae of medium length, shorter than those on mesonotum and metasoma; interantennal process triangular, with weak rugae; central keel very long, reaching 0.80 (0.78–0.84)× distance to median ocellus; facial striae very long extending up to lower orbit; malar striae sparse; frons and vertex smooth; gena smooth, with costae on posteroventral margin, 2.51 (2.46–2.54)× as long as wide; anterior margin of gena in contact with 0.74 (0.72–0.76)× length of ventral margin of eye; length of A1 subequal to that of clava; length of A2 0.4 (0.38–0.43)× that of A1.

Mesosoma ( Figure 23 (a,c,e,f)). Mesoscutum and mesoscutellum 0.44 (0.42–0.49)× and 0.23 (0.19–0.26)× as long as wide, respectively; mesoscutum weakly imbricate; mesoscutellum semicircular, imbricate; metascutellum visible medially, smooth; propodeum smooth dorsally, 0.33 (0.30–0.36)× length of mesoscutellum medially; pilosity dense, setae of medium length; lateral pronotal area dorsally coriaceous reticulate followed by weak transverse carinae posteriorly, anteriorly weakly vertically striate, postero-medially weakly foveate, ventrally weakly carinate; postero-dorsal margin of lateral pronotal area with two short, weak projections; ventral margin of lateral pronotal area extending as a short blunt projection; transverse carinae on dorsal mesopleuron terminate above the level of dorsal metapleuron; mesopleuron ventrally with a coriaceous reticulate patch, followed by several oblique carinae, remainder smooth; mesopleuron with a short projection ventrally; mesopleural pit elongate; metapleuron smooth, with weak oblique striae dorsally and uneven coriaceous reticulations ventrally; posterior suture of metapleuron straight, curving dorsally towards mesopleuron touching posterior mesopleural suture; dorsal level of posterior metapleural suture level with antero-lateral margin of T 2; sculpturing of propodeum anterior to spiracular with a fovea followed by short transverse carinae, region posterior to spiracle smooth with two transverse carinae; region ventral to spiracle with uneven crescent shaped carina enclosing two short transverse carinae; remainder of lateral propodeum with impressions of shallow foveae on anterior margin, remainder smooth with sparse transverse carinae ventrally; propodeal spiracular opening big and round.

Metasoma ( Figure 23 (a,c,e,)). Length and width of metasoma subequal; pilosity dense, setae of medium length; T 2 anteriorly weakly imbricate, posteriorly smooth; remaining tergites smooth.

Material examined. Holotype: Female ( ICAR / NBAIR / P3505 ), INDIA: Great Nicobar: Campbell Bay, 7 ° 00 ʹ 77 ʹ ’N 93 ° 91 ʹ 47 ʹ ’E, 13 m, SN, 20.III.2016 ; Paratypes: 17 females ( ICAR / NBAIR /P3506–P3515, P3592–PP3598), same data as holotype.

Etymology. The island of Great Nicobar, the type locality of this species is the basis for this name. The name is treated as an adjective.

Diagnosis. This species is different from all other species in having the following combination of character states: short IOS, dense pilosity, a long central keel, mesoscutellum semicircular and metascutellum visible.

Figures

Figure 23. Baeus nicobarensis sp. n. (a) Habitus (colour); (b) Frons; (c) Habitus; (d) Antenna; (e) Habitus (lateral view); (f) Mesonotum.