Bracon rugulifer van Achterberg and Ng, 2009

Achterberg, C. van, Hosaka, T., Ng, Y. F. & Ghani, Idris B. A., 2009, The braconid parasitoids (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) associated with seeds of Dipterocarpaceae in Malaysia, Journal of Natural History 43 (11 - 12), pp. 635-686 : 659-661

Bracon rugulifer van Achterberg and Ng , sp. nov.

( Figures 4I–K , 5A,B )

Holotype

Female, length of body 4.3 mm, length of forewing 4.2 mm.

Head

Antenna incomplete, with 34 segments remaining, densely covered with short bristly setae, scapus ovoid and apically truncate, length of third segment 1.1 times fourth segment, third and fourth segments 2.8 and 2.6 times their maximum width, respectively; length of maxillary palp 0.6 times height of head; face slightly convex, rather matt and superficially granulate; clypeus slightly convex dorsally and largely smooth, its ventral rim wide lamelliform protruding and medially below lower level of eyes ( Figure 4I,J ); frons nearly flat medially, granulate and with short setae, with a short median groove in front of anterior ocellus; vertex distinctly convex (distinctly protruding above upper level of eye in lateral view), smooth and setose; hypoclypeal depression 0.6 times wider than face; OOL: diameter of posterior ocellus: POL 9: 5: 7; in dorsal view length of eye 1.6 times temple; eye largely glabrous; temples largely smooth and weakly narrowed behind eyes; length of malar space 0.6 times basal width of mandible; height of eye 3.8 times length of malar space; occipital flange narrow.

Mesosoma

Length of mesosoma 1.3 times its height; side of pronotum medially granulate, posteriorly setose and remainder largely smooth and glabrous; mesopleuron densely setose, ventral half of mesopleuron granulate and remainder largely smooth; metapleuron smooth and its flange small; mesoscutum densely setose, lateral lobes densely punctate, middle lobe sparsely punctate and with some very superficial microsculpture; notauli narrow, smooth, shallowly impressed anteriorly, obsolescent posteriorly; scutellar sulcus medium-sized and densely crenulate; scutellum flat, smooth and densely setose; metanotum with a very short median carina, not protruding; propodeum convex, without protuberance near spiracle, oblique, smooth anteriorly and remainder superficially granulate, its median carina absent, except for short part posteriorly with some short oblique rugae.

Wings

Forewing. Angle of 1-SR with C+SC+R about 80 ° ( Figure 5A ); r: 3-SR: SR1 7: 29: 40; 2-SR: 3-SR: r-m 19: 29: 10; SR1 reaching wing apex; 1-SR+M straight subbasally; r-m largely sclerotized; cu-a vertical; CU1b short.

Hind wing. cu-a distinctly reclivous and surrounded with setae; antero subbasally with long setae and without a bristle; M+CU: 1-M: 1r-m 2: 7: 1; 1-M slightly sinuate and basally weakly widened; 1r-m twice as long as vein 2-SC+R.

Legs

Hind coxa largely smooth and with long erect setae; tarsal claws moderately robust and with a medium-sized, black and apically truncate, lamelliform lobe; lengths of femur, tibia and basitarsus of hind leg 3.4, 8.0 and 4.4 times their maximum width, respectively; fourth hind tarsal segment 1.5 times as long as wide; hind tibia 0.65 times as wide as hind femur and rather compressed; fore tibia with a regular row of medium-sized spiny setae; both hind tibial spurs 0.35 times as long as hind basitarsus, hind basitarsus compressed.

Metasoma

Length of first tergite 0.8 times its apical width, dorsolateral carinae strongly developed, lateral area medium-sized, smooth, except for some short crenulae and remainder of dorsal part largely coriaceous and distinctly convex, oblique middle part with obsolescent median groove and largely smooth ( Figure 5B ); second tergite densely and rather coarsely longitudinally and partly obliquely rugose, matt, without a mediobasal area or sublateral depressions ( Figure 5B ); second metasomal suture moderately wide medially, deep and densely crenulate; metasoma without a constriction at level of second suture ( Figure 5B ); third tergite densely and finely rugulose, slightly longer than second tergite, without median ridge or carina, or a distinct subapical transverse groove, 2.7 times as wide as long medially ( Figure 5B ); fourth to eighth tergites granulate, matt, medially flattened behind basal groove; eighth tergite truncate posteriorly; second to fifth tergites with a weakly acute lateral margin; length of ovipositor sheath 1.31 times as long as forewing and 1.3 times as long as body, sheath moderately setose, apex of ovipositor normal, with small nodus and with minute but distinct ventral teeth; hypopygium triangular apically and just surpassing apex of metasoma.

Colour

Yellowish-brown; antenna largely, stemmaticum, telotarsi apically, ovipositor sheath and pterostigma (except for its basal third) dark brown; mesoscutal lobes largely, second tergite laterally, third and fourth tergites more or less infuscate; veins brown, but 1-R1, A, r, 3-SR and SR1, basal third of pterostigma and parastigma yellowish; wing membrane subhyaline.

Biology

Parasitoids of larvae in seeds of Dipterocarpus crinitus . No weevils but some Damnux spp. ( Coleoptera : Apionidae ) emerged from the seeds ( Table 1) so they might be the hosts of Bracon rugulifer .

Notes

Among the c. 65 described Oriental species in the genus Bracon the new species is similar to Bracon cecidobius Kieffer, 1905 , because of having the ovipositor sheath somewhat longer than the body, and the vertex and the hind femur yellowish-brown. However, B. cecidobius has the first to fifth tergites rugose, part of the mesoscutum, the propodeum and the first tergite medially, base of pterostigma and a triangular patch of the second tergite dark brown, and with dark bands on the third to fifth tergites of the female.

Material examined

Holotype female, ‘‘ Malaysia, N. Sembilan Pasoh Forest Reserved [sic!], 19 August 2002, Y.F. Ng and Hosaka’ ’, ‘‘Collected from D[ipterocarpus] crinitus (171320)’’, ‘‘C 6’’, ‘‘ Centre for Insect Systematics, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia’ ’ ( UKM).

Figures

Figure 4. (A–D) Schizoprymnus torreadorides, female, holotype; (E–H) Bracon singaporensis, female, Malaysia, Pasoh Forest; (I–K) Bracon rugulifer, female, holotype. (A) Metasoma, dorsal aspect; (B) scutellum, dorsal aspect; (C, G, I) head, anterior aspect; (D) apex of third tergite, dorsoventral aspect; (E) part of forewing; (F, K) head, dorsal aspect; (H, J) head, lateral aspect. Scale bars: 1.0×(A–D); 1.3×(E, K); 1.8×(F–H); 1.4×(I, J).

Figure 5. (A, B) Bracon rugulifer, female, holotype; (C–G) Bracon nitidisoma, female, holotype; (H, I) Syntomernus shoreatus, female, holotype. (A, C) Part of forewing; (B, G, I) first to third metasomal tergites, dorsal aspect; (D) head, dorsal aspect; (E, H) head, anterior aspect; (F) head, lateral aspect. Scale bars: 1.0×(A); 1.3×(B, C); 1.4×(D–G); 1.8×(H, I).