Pentelicus depunctatus Manickavasagam & Chaitanya

Manickavasagam, S. & Chaitanya, T. Krishna, 2015, Description of three new species of Pentelicus Howard (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) from India, with a key to world species, Zootaxa 3946 (2), pp. 221-232 : 229-231

Pentelicus depunctatus Manickavasagam & Chaitanya , sp. nov.

( Figs 13−18 )

Diagnosis. Female body ( Fig. 13 ) dark blue to black; scape dark brown except apex yellow, flat and 2.9× as long as wide; pedicel dark brown with paler apex and 2.3× as long as wide; funicle dark brown except F6 and apex of F5 yellow; clava apically conspicuously, obliquely truncate; frontovertex with silvery white setae with very faintly imbricate between posterior ocelli; fore wing distinctly infuscate basally behind submarginal vein and more lightly infuscate beyond level of stigmal vein except for more hyaline streak across wing at apex of stigmal vein, and along posterior margin and apically; stigmal vein 2.5× as long as marginal vein.

Female. Holotype. Length, 1.3 mm. Head with frontovertex metallic green to blue ( Fig. 14 ), scrobal cavity with metallic green lustre, interantennal prominence bluish green. Antenna ( Fig. 15 ) with radicle dark metallic bluish; scape and pedicel dark brown except apices yellow; funicle dark brown except F6 and F5 ventroapically yellow, F4 ventrally light brown; clava brown. Mesosoma in dorsal view with nota ( Fig. 17 ) dark bluish to black and tegula black. Fore wing ( Fig. 16 ) distinctly infuscate basally behind submarginal vein and more lightly infuscate beyond level of stigmal vein except for more hyaline streak across wing at apex of stigmal vein, and along posterior margin and apically; hind wing hyaline except for two faint patches basally behind venation. Legs with coxae and trochanters dark brown; femora brown except apices light yellow; fore and hind tibiae dorsally and ventrally brown and laterally light yellow, and middle tibia brown except apically yellow; tarsi yellowish brown. Metasoma dark metallic brown, hypopygium dark brown.

Head ( Fig. 14 ) in frontal view broader than high (51.5:38); posterior ocellus separated from eye by less than its own diameter; interantennal prominence raised and convex; antennal torulus situated below lower margin of eye; eye in frontal view 1.33× as high as wide; frontovertex with silvery white setae with very faintly imbricate between posterior ocelli. Antenna ( Fig. 15 ) with scape flattened, 2.9× as long as wide; pedicel 2.3× as long as wide; funicle gradually increasing in width; F1 1.7× as long as wide and slightly longer than F2, F5−F6 quadrate; clava apically conspicuously, obliquely truncate and a little longer than F4−F6 combined (14:12.5). Relative measurements —head width 51.5; head height 38; eye height:width, 24:18; frontovertex width 15.5; POL 8; OOL 1; OCL 1; scape length:width, 20:7; pedicel length:width 7:3; funicle length:width, F1, 5:3; F2, 4.5:3.5; F3, 4.5:3.5; F4, 4.5:4; F5, 4:4; F6, 4:4; clava length:width, 14:6.

Mesosoma 1.09× as long as wide; mesoscutum 1.9× as wide as long; pronotum, mesoscutum and axillae imbricate; scutellum about as long as wide, faintly imbricate except apically smooth. Fore wing ( Fig. 16 ) 2.1× as long as wide; costal cell 12.3× as long as wide; postmarginal vein 2× as long as marginal vein and a little shorter than stigmal vein; filum spinosum with 3 setae; hind wing about 3× as long as wide. Relative measurements — mesosoma length:width, 45:41; mesoscutum length:width, 19:37; scutellum length:width, 24:25; fore wing length:width, 94:44; costal cell length:width, 37:3; marginal vein length:width, 2:3; postmarginal vein length 4; stigmal vein length 5; hind wing length:width, 80:27; mid tibia length 36; mid basitarsus length 11; mid tibial spur length 11.

Metasoma slightly longer than mesosoma (47:45); gaster with very faintly imbricate; hypopygium not extending to apex of gaster. Relative measurements —metasoma length 47; syntergum length (from anterior margin of cercal plate to apex) 36; ovipositor length, 20 ( Fig.18 ).

Variation. Length 1–1.3 mm. There is some variation in the intensity of the brown colour of the funicle, in some specimens F4 is light brown and in others dark brown. There is also corresponding variation in the intensity of the brown colour of the legs. In some specimens the mesosoma is dark bluish to brown, whereas in others it is dark brown.

Material examined. Holotype, female (on card) labeled “ INDIA: Tamil Nadu, Salem, Yercaud, (N11 47. 735, E 0 78 12), 09.iii.2014, Krishna Chaitanya. T. and S. Palanivel” deposited with ( EDAU, Registration No. Enc/0 0 8/2015).

Paratypes. 1 female (on slide under 5 cover slips) and 4 females (on card) same data as holotype deposited with ( EDAU, Registration No. Enc/0 0 8P /2015); 1 female on card deposited with NBAIR.

Male. Unknown.

Host. Unknown.

Comments. This species is similar to P. orientalis and P. bharatensis in having the scape 3× as long as wide, but differs in having the scape evenly, convexly expanded so that its maximum width is at about middle; pedicel 2.33× as long as wide, POL = 8, and hypopygium not extending to apex of gaster ( P. orientalis with scape most expanded in apical third, pedicel 2.5× as long as wide, POL = 10, and hypopygium extending to apex of gaster). It differs from P. bharatensis in having F4−6 variably yellow, hind wing 3× as long as wide and hypopygium not extending to apex of gaster ( P. bharatensis with funicle segments dark brown, hind wing 3.45× as long as wide and hypopygium extending nearly to apex of gaster).

Etymology. The species is named after the smooth vertex and mesosoma.

Figures

FIGURES 13 − 15. Pentelicus depunctatus sp. nov., ♀ holotype: 13, habitus image; 14, head frontal view; 15, antenna.

FIGURES 16 − 18. Pentelicus depunctatus sp. nov., ♀ paratype: 16, fore wing; 17, dor sal view of nota; 18, ovipositor.