Callaspidia formosana Hedicke 1913

Ros-Farré, P. & Pujade-Villar, J., 2009, Revision of the genus Callaspidia Dahlbom, 1842 (Hym.: Figitidae: Aspicerinae), Zootaxa 2105 (1), pp. 1-31 : 18-20

Callaspidia formosana Hedicke 1913

( Figs 5a , 8a )

Callaspidia formosana Hedicke, 1913: 441 Type material 4 ♂ (ZMB), LECTOTYPE: 1♂ label data: yellow label “Taihorin, formosa III.1910 ”, red label “type”, “ Callaspidia formosana Hed ”, “Zool. Mus. Berlin ”, red label “ Lectotype Callaspidia formosana ♂ desig. P. Ros-Farré 2003. PARALECTOTYPES: 3 ♂ label data: yellow label “Taihorin, formosa III.1910 ” (one of them has the name of the collector: H. Sauter), red label “type”,”Zool. Mus. Berlin ”, “Formosana”, red label “ Paralectotype Callaspidia formosana desig. P. Ros-Farré 2003 ”.

Additional material: CHINA: 1♀ ( ZMLU), 01–20.VII.1992: col. Zhiwel Liu. INDIA: 2 ♀ ( ZMLU, UB), U. P., Kumaon Himalaya, District Almora, Chaubattia (alt. 1’ 800 m), V.1981: leg. C. Holzschuh.

Diagnosis. This species is similar to C. japonica , the scutum has a strong protuberance when seen in profile and the pronotum is transversely carinated. In C. formosana the scutum is more transversely carinated than in C. japonica and the gena is nearly angled.

Redescription. Length. Male 5.5 to 5.7mm.; Female 5.6 to 5.8.

Coloration. Head black. Pronotum black with some orangeish areas anteriorly. Mesosoma black except for some orange areas (propodeum, mesopleura, scutellum and petiole). Leg dark brown except for lighter coxae.

Head. Frons coriaceous, strongly rugose, frontal carina present. Lateral frontal carina thin, space between it and compound eye coriaceous. Vertex rugose-carinated and shining. Gena coriaceous, nearly angled, strongly carinated transversely. Occiput with transverse carinae and coriaceous behind vertex.

Mesosoma. Lateral surface of pronotum strongly coriaceous, carinated transversely, usually carinae as wide in dorsal as in ventral half. Mesoescutum coriaceous, with few transverse carinae, thin, straight and fairly abundant between notauli, thinner between notauli and parascutal sulcus. Notauli narrower posteriorly than median mesoscutal furrow, which is striated. Notauli practically as wide posteriorly as anteriorly, with transverse carinae inside. Median ridge strongly prominent, coriaceous, very sinuous; antero-admedial signum flat, coriaceous, reaching 1/3 scutum length, slightly convergent. Parascutal sulcus shining with conspicuous transverse carinae. Mesonotum, in lateral view, with a strong inflexion where the medial sulcus terminates; a weak protuberance is also noticeable in the anterior part of mesonotum. Interfoveal carinae, in lateral view, slightly below level of lateral margins of scutellum, these are parallel in posterior half. Propodeal carinae almost straight, not very wide nor very prominent, smooth dorsally, a bit sculptured basally. Central area of propodeum slightly rugose.

Wings. R1 absent. R2 curved.

Biology. Unknown.

Distribution. Oriental. Known from Taiwan; also from China and India new cites in this study.

Comments. It is not ruled out that Callaspidia formosana and Callaspidia japonica may be the same species. The scarce material studied does not allow us to confirm this possibility. Both species are differentiated mainly by sculptural features that could vary within the range of intraspecific variability (see the species identification key), given the observed differences in size of the type material. On the other hand, despite the fact that Hedicke (1913) states that the type material is formed by four males and a female, we were not able to find the female.

Figures

FIGURE 5. Head and mesosoma in lateral view of: (a) Callaspidia formosana and (b) C. japonica.

FIGURE 8. Head and mesosoma in dorsal view of: (a) Callaspidia formosana and (b) C. japonica.