Methocha keralaensis, Hanima, Raveendran K. P., Kumar, Puthuvayi Girish & Sureshan, Pavittu M., 2019

Hanima, Raveendran K. P., Kumar, Puthuvayi Girish & Sureshan, Pavittu M., 2019, A new species of the genus Methocha LATREILLE (Hymenoptera, Tiphiidae, Methochinae) Irom India, Linzer biologische Beiträge 51 (1), pp. 63-67 : 64-65

Methocha keralaensis HANIMA & GIRISH KUMAR nov.sp. ( Figs 1-8 )

P r i m a r y t y p e: Holotype ♀: INDIA, Kerala, Kozhikode district, Kakkattil , 11 m, 26.xi.2018, K. Anju, ZSIK Regd. No. ZSI/ WGRC /IR/INV.12007.

D i a g n o s i s: This species is characterised by having rounded apical margin of clypeal lobe, POL 1.06x LOL, POL 0.47x OOL, scattered punctures of scutum and scutellum as that of pronotum or propodeum, basal segment of abdomen black, legs black to blackish brown except mid and hind coxae ventrally, all trochanters, base of all tibiae, all tibial spurs and all tarsi brown, vestiture on thoracic dorsum dull white mixed with dark brown.

D e s c r i p t i o n: Holotype ♀. Head: Shining, impunctate with setigerous punctures; head width 2.36x least interocular distance ( Fig. 3 ); eye with erect setae; ocelli forming acute triangle ( Fig. 4 ); POL 1.06x LOL and 0.47x OOL; lower front just above antennal toruli weakly coriaceous and above that with few small irregular droplet like structures; clypeus with convex swelling in middle, lower portion with transverse lineolate markings ( Fig. 5 ); mandible long, curved and upper and lower margin with sparse and almost uniformly spaced setae, with ridges or grooves, and with a small subapical teeth; antennae 12-segmented, stout, covered with setae, becoming slightly and very gradually thickened towards apex ( Figs. 1 & 2 ); pedicel not concealed; length of scape: pedicel: F1: F2: F3: F4: F5: F6: F7: F8: F9: F10 = 0.161: 0.087: 0.109: 0.112: 0.111: 0.110: 0.095: 0.088: 0.087: 0.087: 0.089: 0.140 measured in profile view.

Mesosoma: Mesosoma smooth and polished with scattered setigerous punctures ( Fig. 6 ); collar irregularly striated, with few reticulations antero-medially; prothorax, mesothorax, and metathorax-propodeum forming three distinct, similar, and almost equal regions; striated constrictions present in between pronotum and mesonotum and also in between mesonotum and metanotum; pronotum 0.56x head width and 1.39x propodeal width; disk of scutum 1.47x as wide as long; mesopleuron smooth and with long white setae; propodeum smooth, with setigerous punctures and with few transverse striations towards posterior margin. Legs long, slender and covered with setae, tibial spurs comb-like dorsally.

Metasoma: Smooth with scattered setigerous punctures ( Fig. 7 ); metasoma 1.5x as long as mesosoma; T1 0.93x as long as wide and T2 0.63x as long as wide; third to last metasomal tergites and sternites basally bare; apical tergite without pygidium ( Fig. 8 ).

Colour: Body black and shining except following parts brown: apex of mandible, five basal segments of antennae, pygidium, and ovipositor. Legs black to blackish brown except mid and hind coxae ventrally, all trochanters, base of all tibiae, all tibial spurs and

all tarsi brown. Body setae silvery white except dorsal aspect dull white mixed with dark brown coloration.

Measurements (mm): HL ̅ 0.769; HW ̅ 0.690; WF ̅ 0.319; EL ̅ 0.421; length of eye seta ̅ 0.037; IOD ̅ 0.292; POL ̅ 0.065; LOL ̅ 0.061; OOL ̅ 0.137; pronotum width ̅ 0.387; propodeal width ̅ 0.278; width of scutum ̅ 0.304; length of scutum ̅ 0.447; length of mesosoma ̅ 1.257; length of metasoma ̅ 1.895; length of T1 ̅ 0.339; length of T2 ̅ 0.388; width of T1 ̅ 0.364; width of T2 ̅ 0.609; TL ̅ 3.672.

Male: Unknown.

D i s c u s s i o n: The female of this new species distinctly differs from the female of Methocha bicolor (CAMERON, 1897) from India in having: (1) Basal segment of the abdomen black (Basal segment of abdomen is rufous in M. bicolor) and (2) Legs black to blackish brown except mid and hind coxae ventrally, all trochanters, base of all tibiae, all tibial spurs and all tarsi brown (Legs black in M. bicolor).

This new species also differs from the female Methocha ceylonica KROMBEIN, 1982 from Sri Lanka in having: (1) Apical margin of clypeal lobe rounded (in M. ceylonica, apical margin of clypeal lobe slightly emarginated); (2) POL 1.06x LOL (in M. ceylonica, POL 2x LOL); (3) POL 0.47x OOL (in M. ceylonica, POL 1.1x OOL); (4) Scutum and scutellum with scattered punctures as that of pronotum or propodeum (in M. ceylonica, scutum and scutellum with more scattered punctures than either pronotum or propodeum); and (5) Vestiture on thoracic dorsum dull white mixed with dark brown (in M. ceylonica, vestiture on thoracic dorsum silvery).

E t y m o l o g y: The species name is derived from ̒ Kerala ̕ from which the holotype is collected.

D i s t r i b u t i o n: India: Kerala.

Figures

Figs 1-8: Methocha keralaensis HANIMA & GIRISH KUMAR nov.sp. (1) habitus in profile view; (2) habitus in dorsal view; (3) head in frontal view; (4) head in dorsal view; (5) lower half of head in frontal view; (6) mesosoma in dorsal view; (7) metasoma in dorsal view; (8) apical metasomal tergite.