Netomocera africana Hedqvist, 1971

Mitroiu, Mircea-Dan, 2019, Revision of Netomocera Bouček (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea: Pteromalidae), excluding the Oriental species, European Journal of Taxonomy 568, pp. 1-87 : 12-13

Netomocera africana Hedqvist, 1971

Figs 1–11

Netomocera africana Hedqvist, 1971: 238 (holotype (♀) in BMNH, examined).

Diagnosis

Both sexes

Macropterous ( Figs 1 , 10 ). Mesepimeral sulcus conspicuous ( Fig. 6 ). Propodeum with a well-defined V-shaped area basally ( Fig. 8 ). Visible part of petiole quadrate, with a few conspicuous longitudinal carinae ( Fig. 8 ).

Female

Occiput margin blunt ( Fig. 3 ). Eye height 1.35–1.50 × length. Toruli with lower margins from slightly below to about same level as lower margins of eyes ( Fig. 2 ). Scape from very slightly shorter than to as long as eye height.

Male

Toruli with lower margins at about same level as lower margins of eyes.

Material examined

Holotype

SOUTH AFRICA • ♀; “ Holotype ”; “ Port St. John , Pondoland. 6-25. Feb. 1924 ”; “ S. Africa. R. E. Turner. Brit. Mus. 1924-136”; “ HOLOTYPUS Netomocera africana sp. n., K-J Hedqvist det. 1971”; “B.M. TYPE HYM. 5.2256”; BMNH 5.2256 .

Paratypes

SOUTH AFRICA • 1 ♀; “ Paratype ”; “ Port St. John , Pondoland. 6-25. Feb. 1924 ”; “ S. Africa. R. E. Turner. Brit. Mus. 1924-136”; “ PARATYPUS Netomocera africana sp. n., K-J Hedqvist det. 1971”; BMNH • 1 ♂; same data as for preceding; BMNH • 2 ♀♀; same data as for preceding; “ Dec. 1923 ”; BMNH .

Other material

SOUTH AFRICA • 2 ♀♀; “ Port St. John , Pondoland. 6-25. Feb. 1924 ”; “ S. Africa. R. E. Turner. Brit. Mus. 1924-136”; NMPC • 1 ♂; same collecting data as for paratypes; BMNH • 3 ♂♂; same collecting data as for preceding; NMPC • 2 ♂♂; “ Port St. John , Pondoland. June 12-30. 1923 ”; “ S. Africa. R. E. Turner. Brit. Mus. 1923-363”; NMPC • 1 ♂; “ South Africa , TVL., Entabeni Forest Res., Soutpansberg, 23.00S 30.16E. 3-7.xi.1980, G. L. Prinsloo ”; “National Coll. Of Insects Pretoria, S. Afr.”; NMPC .

Description

Female (habitus: Fig. 1 )

COLOUR. Head ( Figs 2–4 ) black. Mandibles reddish-brown. Antenna ( Fig. 5 ) with scape mainly whitish, light brown apically; pedicel light brown; funicle with fu1–3 yellowish, fu4–7 and clava dark brown. Mesosoma ( Figs 6–8 ) dorsally black, dark brown laterally. Legs with fore and mid coxae brown, hind coxa mainly whitish but brownish dorsally; fore and mid trochanters, trochantelli and femora brown, hind trochanter and trochantellus whitish, hind femur brown except apices whitish; tibiae yellowishbrown, apices lighter; tarsi whitish, pretarsi brown. Fore and hind wings slightly and uniformly infumate; venation brown; setation brown. Metasoma with petiole dark brown ( Fig. 8 ); gaster mainly dark brown, sometimes paler between gt2 and syntergum. Body setation, including large, symmetrically arranged setae, mainly brown, except with whitish setae on mesoscutal lateral lobes ( Fig. 7 ).

BODY LENGTH. 2.5–3.2 mm.

HEAD. Clypeus finely coriaceous ( Fig. 4 ); apical margin very slightly produced. Lower face with shallow piliferous punctures among reticulation. Upper face reticulate, with reticulation becoming denser towards vertex; scrobes moderately deep, smooth; parascrobal area with elongate cells ( Fig. 2 ). Occiput alutaceous; margin blunt ( Fig. 3 ). Toruli with lower margins from slightly below to about same level as lower margins of eyes ( Fig. 2 ). Antenna ( Fig. 5 ) with funicle strongly widening towards clava, with clava conspicuously asymmetric. Upper face and vertex with eight large setae. Head in dorsal view with width about twice length in dorsal view and in frontal view about 1.2× height. POL about 3.1× OOL. Eye height 1.5 × length, about 3.3× malar space and about 1.1 × scape length. Head width about 0.9× length of pedicel plus flagellum. Fu1 length about 2.1 × width; fu7 width about 1.9 × length; clava length about 2.1 × width.

MESOSOMA. Pronotal collar conspicuously narrower than mesoscutum, with six–eight large setae ( Fig. 7 ). Mesonotum moderately setose dorsally ( Fig. 7 ). Mesoscutum and axillae with dense reticulation. Scutellar disc similarly sculptured as mesoscutum and longitudinally striate-reticulate on frenal area ( Fig. 7 ). Mesepisternum transversely striate-reticulate. Mesepimeron very superficially wrinkled; mesepimeral sulcus well developed ( Fig. 6 ). Propodeum with intricate pattern of carinae forming a V-shaped area anteriorly and two large, smooth areas posterior and lateral to it; interspaces smooth to slightly wrinkled ( Fig. 8 ). Macropterous; fore wing ( Fig. 9 ) uniformly and densely setose except for small, elongate bare region. Mesosoma length 1.5× width and about 1.7 × height. Pronotal collar about 0.5× as long as mesoscutum and about 0.9× as wide as mesoscutum. Mesoscutum width 2.9× length. Scutellum length about equal to width. Propodeum length about 0.5× scutellum length. Fore wing length about 2.5× width; MV about 5 × SV and 3.3 × PV.

METASOMA. Petiole ( Fig. 8 ) large, visible part quadrate, with several longitudinal costulae. Gaster ( Fig. 1 ) acuminate, length about 2.5× width; gt1 longest, length about equal to width, with hind margin broadly emarginate; gt2–5 short, transverse; gt6 wider than long, triangular; syntergum acutely pointed. Ovipositor sheaths conspicuously protruding beyond apex of gaster ( Fig. 1 ). Cercal setae almost reaching gaster apex.

Male (habitus: Fig. 10 )

Differs from female mainly as follows. Body length: 2.25–2.50 mm. Antenna ( Fig. 11 ) with scape yellowish-brown; pedicel brown; flagellum dark brown. Coxae brown. Fu1 length about 3.1× width; combined length of pedicel plus flagellum about 2.1× head width. Propodeum more densely sculptured, with V-shaped area less conspicuous and smooth posterior areas indistinct. Petiole with visible part transverse. Gaster (when not inflated) much shorter than mesosoma, with only gt1 visible.

Distribution

South Africa.

Remarks

This species, together with N. alboscapus , N. nigra and N. maculata (the latter two very similar to each other and not treated here), belong to a small group of species with Afrotropical and Oriental distributions, which are easily recognized by the well-developed petiole and a V-shaped area on the propodeum, which is more distinct in females ( Fig. 8 ). Netomocera africana differs from both N. nigra and N. maculata in having the face only slightly protruding at the level of the toruli ( Fig. 1 ); mesoscutum and scutellum (except frenum) strongly reticulate, appearing dull ( Fig. 7 ); scape about as long as eye height ( Fig. 2 ); fore wing hyaline ( Fig. 9 ); mesosoma uniformly dark brown ( Fig. 1 ); clava brown ( Fig. 5 ). For differences between N. africana and N. alboscapus , see the key.

Figures

Figs 1–5. Netomocera africana Hedqvist, 1971. 1. Paratype, ♀, habitus, lateral view. 2. ♀, head, frontal view. 3. Paratype, ♀, head, dorsal view. 4. ♀, lower face. 5. Paratype, ♀, antenna. Scale bars: 0.2 mm.

Figs 6–11. Netomocera africana Hedqvist, 1971. 6. ♀, mesosoma, lateral view. 7. Paratype, ♀, mesosoma, dorsal view. 8. Paratype, ♀, propodeum, dorsal view. 9. Paratype, ♀, fore wing. 10. Paratype, ♂, habitus, lateral view. 11. Paratype, ♂, antenna. Scale bars: 0.2 mm.