Acmopolynema pseudotachikawai Manickavasagam & Palanivel, 2017

Manickavasagam, Sagadai, Palanivel, Selvaraj & Triapitsyn, Serguei V., 2017, Two new species and additional distributional records of Acmopolynema Ogloblin (Hymenoptera: Mymaridae) from India, Journal of Natural History (J. Nat. Hist.) 51 (33 - 34), pp. 1971-1987 : 1979-1983

Acmopolynema pseudotachikawai Manickavasagam & Palanivel , sp. nov.

( Figures 4–6 )

Type material

Holotype, ♀, ( EDAU; registration No. Mym /23/2017) on slide under four coverslips, labelled ‘ INDIA: Tamil Nadu, Salem, Yercaud, Grass, 24.viii.13. (SN), Coll. S. Palanivel & Sunilkumar’.

Diagnosis

In Triapitsyn and Berezovskiy (2007), this new species tentatively keys to A. tachikawai Taguchi. A modified couplet 1 for the key of Triapitsyn and Berezovskiy (2007, p. 8) is provided here to differentiate them.

1 Fore wing disc with distinct apical dark band extending to wing apex ( Figures 4 (a), 5 (a), 8) .......................................................................................................................................................... 1 ʹ

– Fore wing disc either hyaline or with different colour patterns; if apical dark band present, then it does not extend to wing apex ...................................................................... 2

1 ʹ (1) F6 brown ( Figure 8 ); propodeum with incomplete median groove, extending from anterior margin of propodeum to about its middle (fig. 2 of Triapitsyn and Berezovskiy 2007, p. 10); fore wing with apical band about 0.18× wing length; hind wing 31–32× as long as wide ................................................................ A. tachikawai Taguchi

– F6 yellowish ( Figure 4 (c)); propodeum without median groove ( Figure 6 (a)); fore wing with apical band about 0.3× wing length; hind wing about 47× as long as wide ................. ................. A. pseudotachikawai Manickavasagam & Palanivel , sp. nov.

Female

Head below transverse trabecula and compound eyes yellow, above transverse trabecula yellowish-brown, especially around ocelli. Scape, pedicel, F1, F4–F6 yellow, F2 and F3 light to dark brown, clava dark brown to black. Mesosoma yellowish, laterally slightly darker than dorsally, petiole white. Procoxa and protrochanter white, remainder of fore leg gradually becoming yellowish towards apex of tarsi, with claw brown; mesotibia basally white, apically yellowish and medially dark brown; meso- and metatarsi yellowish; apical one-third of metafemur and apical three-quarters of metatibia dark brown and its remainder whitish. Gaster yellow with a brown band in the middle, ovipositor black ( Figure 4 (a)).

Head about 0.9× as long as wide ( Figure 4 (b)). Torulus less than one torular diameter from transverse trabecula. Vertex, scape, pronotum and metacoxa with short, blunt setae.

Antenna. Scape ( Figure 4 (c)) with cross-ridges on inner surface, 2.2× as long as wide; pedicel 0.7× as long as F1; F2 the longest funicle segment, 1.1× as long as F3; F4−F6 length slightly progressively increasing (50: 55: 60); all funicle segments without mps; clava 2.0× as long as wide, with eight mps.

Mesosoma ( Figure 6 (a)) 2.1× as long as wide; pronotum entire, 0.8× as long as mesoscutum. Mesoscutum smooth, 1.6× as long as scutellum. Axilla with three or four foveae, scutellum with two foveae ( Figure 6 (b), indicated by arrows). Propodeum with one pair of long setae; submedian carinae extending to about one-half length of propodeum.

Fore wing ( Figure 5 (a)) 3.2× as long as wide; parastigma with two short dorsal macrochaetae; longest marginal seta 0.3× maximum wing width; disc with three brown bands: the smaller, basal band just behind apex of venation, a larger band in the middle, and the largest, apical band (about 0.3× total wing length) reaching wing’ s apex. Hind wing ( Figure 5 (b)) 47.4× as long as wide, longest marginal seta 5.2× maximum wing width, disc slightly infumate apically.

Metacoxa and metafemur reticulate. Protibia with two rows of 15 conical sensilla.

Petiole 1.1× as long as metacoxa. Ovipositor ( Figure 6 (c)) about 1.1× as long as gaster, exserted beyond gastral apex by 0.17× total ovipositor length, 1.3× as long as metatibia.

Measurements in µm (holotype, as length or length: width): Head, 260: 290. Antenna: scape (minus radicle), 100: 45; pedicel, 63: 40; F1, 88: 18; F2, 125: 18; F3, 115: 20; F4, 50: 25; F5, 55: 28, F6, 60: 30; clava, 195: 95. Fore wing, 1425: 440; longest marginal seta, 158; hind wing, 1185: 25; longest marginal seta, 130. Mesosoma, 518: 245; pronotum, 163: 180; mesoscutum, 195: 213; scutellum, 118: 145; petiole, 213: 50; metanotum, 38: 150; propodeum, 138: 240; gaster, 605: 260; ovipositor, 680: 125. Legs (given as coxa, femur, tibia, tarsus): pro: 143, 313, 283, 313; meso: 130, 288, 393, 381; meta: 195, 363, 508, 426.

Male

Unknown.

Etymology

This is the second species of Acmopolynema (besides A. tachikawai Taguchi ) with known females in which the fore wing apical dark band reaches the wing apex, hence the name ‘ pseudotachikawai ’. It is also possible that an unknown female of Acmopolynema philippinense Soyka from the Philippines might have such an apical band, as a strong sexual dimorphism in some Oriental species of this genus often includes fore wing colour patterns.

Figures

Figure 4. Acmopolynema pseudotachikawai sp. nov., ♀ holotype: (a) habitus; (b) head (frontal view); (c) antenna.

Figure 5. Acmopolynema pseudotachikawai sp. nov., ♀ holotype: (a) fore wing; (b) hind wing.

Figure 6. Acmopolynema pseudotachikawai sp. nov., ♀ holotype: (a) mesosoma; (b), scutellum magnified; (c) metasoma.

Figure 8. Acmopolynema tachikawai Taguchi: habitus (♀ from Tamil Nadu, India).