Selitrichodes madhucae Singh & Kaneria, 2022

Singh, Sudhir, Kumar, Arvind & Kaneria, Manish, 2022, Description of five new eulophid species (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) associated with leaf vein galls of Madhuca longifolia (J. Koenig) (Sapotaceae) in India, Zootaxa 5129 (1), pp. 1-36 : 4-11

1. Selitrichodes madhucae Singh & Kaneria sp. nov.

( Figs 6–32 )

Diagnosis. FEMALE. Body elongate, non-metallic, yellowish with brown areas. Head globose with curved malar sulcus; gena swollen; toruli placed in the middle of face, their lower margins half their length above a line joining the lower margins of the eyes; clypeus bilobed, anterior tentorial pits distinct; malar space about 0.8× as long as eye length. Antenna with scape 2.8× as long as wide; pedicel longer than any of the funicle segments; 3 anelli, basal longest, remaining 2 lamelliform; funicle and club each 3-segmented; club with apical seta. Mesosoma elongate, about twice as long as wide; pronotum long, about a third the length of mesoscutum; midlobe of mesoscutum without median line, with 7–8 adnotaular setae; scutellum with 4–5 pairs of setae; propodeum with inconspicuous median carina, paraspiracular carina absent; propodeal callus with 4 setae. Forewing SMV with small, inconspicuous 3–4 dorsal setae; marginal vein 4.4× and postmarginal vein 0.9× as long as stigmal vein. Cercus with 4 slightly curved setae; longest 2 setae subequal in length, smaller ones 0.5 to 0.7× the length of longer setae. Hypopygium reaching half the length of the gaster. Ovipositor sheaths slightly protruding by about the length of dorsellum.

MALE. Similar to female except that the body is pale yellow and with fewer brown areas on mesosoma and gaster. Antenna with scape 2.6× as long as wide, distal ventral margin of scape with plaque covering about half the length of the scape margin. Forewing with postmarginal vein as long as and marginal vein, 3.2× stigmal vein.

Description. FEMALE ( Figs 6–22 ). Body size 1.71 ± 0.13 mm (freshly killed in alcohol; n = 10, range 1.54 to 1.88 mm). Holotype 1.60 mm (Card-mounted).

Color/Sculpture. Body ( Fig 6a–d ) non-metallic, generally deep yellow dorsally, pale yellow laterally and ventrally; some individuals whitish with pale yellow tinge, with brown patches. Head with brownish tinge on occipital area, with a horizontal diffused brown band behind eye above occipital foramen; vertex and lower face with reticulate sculpture; with pale short setae on frontal ( Fig. 9 ) and posterior ( Fig. 10 ) sides. Eyes chocolate brown, ocelli deep red. Antenna ( Fig. 11 ) with scape creamy white with dark brown dorsal margin; remainder of antenna brown, dorsal margin of pedicel darker. Mesosoma yellow with various brown tinged areas: pronotal collar pale brown to brown; median lobe of mesoscutum with 2 triangular diffused patches on anterior part, or with a central dark brown patch; anterior margin of lateral lobe of mesoscutum, axillae laterally, diffused bands on median and lateral lobes of scutellum (in some specimens), metanotum completely ( Fig 6a, b, d ) or with its posterior margin ( Fig. 6c ) dark brown; dorsellum generally yellow but brown ( Fig.6d ) in specimens with brown patch on median lobe; propodeum dark brown except yellowish spiracles, median part and posterior margin yellowish brown. Mesosoma laterally and ventrally pale yellow; propleuron, metapleuron and a spot each on mesepisternum and upper mesepimeron pale brown. Mid lobe of mesoscutum shallowly reticulate without median line ( Fig. 21 ), 7–8 adnotaular setae, anteriorly with 2–3 additional setae between adnotaular line of setae and notaulus; notauli quite deep; scapula with 14–16 setae, sculptured as lateral sides of mid lobe. Scutellum with fine and delicately engraved longitudinal reticulation; with 4–5 pairs of setae, anterior most pair situated before the middle, second at about in the middle, third at threefourths and fourth pair at distal margin of scutellum. Propodeum with a very faint and hardly discernible median carina; paraspiracular carina absent; callus with 4 setae, 3 anterior and one posterior to spiracle. Wings hyaline. Forewing with SMV with 3–4 dorsal setae; costal cell ventrally with a line of 5–6 setae at basal half; cubital setal line missing basally, basal setal line absent. Legs pale yellow; procoxa, metacoxa, basal two-thirds of all femora and tibiae with light brown tinge. Gaster yellow; Gt2–5 dorsally brownish, progressively darkening posteriorly such that Gt2 and Gt3 with faint brown and Gt4 dark brown, Gt5 with two triangular dark brown patches joined by a pale brown ( Figs 6c, d ) or dark brown ( Figs 6a, b ) narrow band; cercus ( Fig. 22 ) with 4 slightly curved setae, longest 2 setae subequal in length, smaller ones 0.5 to 0.7× as long as longer setae; gaster pale yellow ventrally, sternites laterally, posterior margin of hypopygium and outer plate of ovipositor with a brownish tinge. Ovipositor sheaths yellow.

Structure. Head ( Fig. 9 ) as wide as mesosoma, 1.1× as wide as high (416: 362), 1.7× as wide as frontovertex. Ocellar triangle surrounded by groove ( Fig. 7 ); POL about 2.5× OOL (114: 47). Scrobal area without distinct median carina; toruli placed in the middle of face, their lower margin half a torular length above a line joining the lower margin of eyes; eyes about 2.5× as long as wide (192: 75); malar space about 0.8× as long as eye length (150: 192); mouth opening 1.2× malar space. Gena swollen ( Fig. 11 ), malar sulcus curved ( Figs 8 , 17 ). Mandible bidentate, clypeus bilobed, anterior tentorial pits distinct (arrows, Fig. 8 ). Antenna ( Figs 11 , 18 ) with scape 2.8× as long as wide (173: 61), 2.5× as long as pedicel; pedicel about 2× as long as wide (68: 34); with 3 anelli, basal anellus longest, remaining 2 lamelliform ( Figs 12 , 19 ); funicle 3-segmented, segments lengthening and broadening distally; F1 1.1× (44: 38), F2 slightly longer and wider than F1 (47: 41), F3 as long as wide (47:47); club 3-segmented, 2.3× (133: 60) as long as wide, with short terminal spine with apical seta ( Fig. 20 ).

Mesosoma ( Figs 6 , 21 ) 1.9× as long as wide. Pronotum long, about 0.3× as long as mesoscutum; mesoscutum about 1.7x as long as scutellum; scutellum about as long as wide, part between submedian lines 3× as long as wide. Dorsellum rounded posteriorly and not overhanging propodeum, about 3× as wide as long; propodeum inclined at about 25º, medially 1.7× as long as dorsellum; propodeum with inconspicuous median carina, a wide smooth strip visible in some angle of view. Forewing ( Figs 14, 15 ) 2.4× as long as wide (1428: 602), costal cell as long as marginal vein (409: 409); marginal vein 4.4× (409: 92) and postmarginal vein 0.9× (80: 92) as long as stigmal vein.

Gaster ( Figs 6 , 17 ) pointed distally, wider than mesosoma; about 1.3× as long as mesosoma; hypopygium reaching half the length of the gaster. Ovipositor sheaths slightly protruding, by about the length of dorsellum, beyond apex of gaster in freshly killed specimens in alcohol, but not exserted in dried specimens. Ovipositor ( Fig. 16 ) slightly shorter than gaster length (810: 860) with exserted part as long as postcercale. Ovipositor sheaths as long as Gt7.

MALE. ( Figs 23–32 ). Body size 1.25 ± 0.04 mm (freshly killed in alcohol, n = 12, range 1.20 to 1.30 mm).

Color/Sculpture. Whitish to pale yellow ( Figs 26 a–d ), except faint brown to dark brown patch on anterior half of mesoscutum in some specimens ( Figs 26c, d ), metanotum completely ( Figs 26c, d ) or laterally only dark brown ( Fig. 26b ), propodeum dark brown in anterior two-thirds, with the exception of yellow spots in the middle and around spiracles. Gaster with Gt4 with faint brown markings on both sides, Gt5 completely black or with faint brownish shade in some specimens. Antenna ( Fig. 29 ) concolorous with body, scape with a long ventral plaque in distal two-thirds. Setae on head as in Figs 27, 28 . SMV ( Fig. 32 ) with 3 dorsal setae; 5–6 adnotaular setae in a line.

Structure. Head ( Fig. 26 ) narrowly wider than mesosoma (327: 310); in frontal view ( Fig. 27 ) 1.1× as wide as high (327: 287), 1.6× frontovertex width (327: 200); in dorsal view POL 2× OOL (91: 45); gena ( Fig. 28 ) more swollen than in female ( Fig. 10 ). Antenna ( Fig. 29 ) with scape 2.6× as long as wide (302: 115), ventral margin of scape with plaque about 0.6× scape length. Pedicel about 2.6× as long as wide (162: 62), F1 1.3× (81: 62), F2 shortest 1.1 × (73: 66) and F3 1.3× (84: 74) as long as wide; club three-segmented, 2.3× (204: 88) as long as wide, C1 0.38×, C2 0.29×, C3 0.3× club length ( Fig. 24 ).

Mesosoma ( Figs 26, 30 ) 1.9× as long as wide (594: 310); mesoscutum 1.3× as long as scutellum (249: 185); scutellum as long as wide (185: 185), 4.5× as long as dorsellum; part between submedian lines narrower than in female, 5× as long as wide. Forewing ( Figs 31, 32 ) 2.3× as long as wide, costal cell 1.4× as long as marginal vein (326: 241); marginal vein 3.2× as long as stigmal vein (326: 76), postmarginal vein as long as stigmal vein (73: 76).

Gaster ( Fig. 26 ) rounded distally, as long and as wide as mesosoma; genitalia ( Fig. 25 ), digitus with one digital spine and paramere with one apical seta.

Variation. There is variation in size for both sexes, see above. Both sexes show variation in the intensity of brown patterns, as per description above.

Material examined. Holotype: ♀, card mounted: INDIA: Uttarakhand, New Forest, 30.iii.2016, Sudhir Singh , ex. leaf vein galls of Madhuca longifolia (Koenig) (Sapotaceae) . Deposited in NFIC-FRI, Accession no. H-22037

Paratypes: 21 ♀, 45 ♂. 3 ♀ and 3 ♂ on two cards (2 ♀ 2 ♂, 1 ♀ 1 ♂), INDIA: Uttarakhand, Dehradun, New Forest ; 30.iii.2016; Sudhir Singh . 2 ♀ and 2 ♂ on a card, 2♀ and 2 ♂ dissected and mounted on two slides, 5♀ and 8♂ whole mounted on slide with 1♀ and 1♂ dissected; INDIA: Jharkhand: Ranchi, Institute of Forest Productivity Campus ; 10.iv.2015; Arvind Kumar . 6 ♀ and 29 ♂ on 8 cards (2 ♀, 2 ♀ 1 ♂, 1 ♀ 1 ♂, 1 ♀ 1 ♂, 16 ♂ and 10 ♂), 2♀ mounted on 2 slides, INDIA: Jharkhand: Institute of Forest Productivity Campus ; 14.iii.2017; Sudhir Singh .

All ex. leaf vein galls of Madhuca longifolia . Accession no. P-22037 (deposited in NFIC-FRI).

Other Material: 13 ♀ and 9 ♂; INDIA: Chhattisgarh: Korba Dist., Kechuna, Gavera Road ; 5.iii.2017; Manish Kaneria. All ex. leaf vein galls of Madhuca longifolia . Accession no. 22037 (deposited in NFIC-FRI) .

Host. Gall former on leaf veins of Madhuca longifolia , see notes on biology.

Distribution. India: Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Uttarakhand.

Etymology. Named after the host plant Madhuca longifolia .

Comments. The present species is unique and cannot be keyed out using any of the currently available keys to genera. In the key for Australasian region ( Bouček 1988) it runs to Aprostocetus but is quite different from it in having postmarginal vein long; outer rim of propodeal spiracle completely exposed and not covered by a raised lobe of the callus; malar sulcus curved; both female and males with 3-segmented funicle.

In Graham’s (1987) key to European genera ( Graham 1987) it does not run satisfactorily to any genus. From couplet 6 onwards only some characters match and somehow run to couplet 8 where two genera Apotetrastichus and Sphenolepis have been separated. But the current species differs from both of them— Apotetrastichus by having frons with median line or carina; lower edge of antennal toruli about level with ventral edge of eyes; funicle 3 segmented in females and 5 in males; clava with 3 segments in female and apparently 2 in males; mid lobe of mesoscutum with median line; scutellum with 2 pair of setae. Sphenolepis also differs from current species by having propodeal spiralcles touching hind margin of metanotum; mesosoma hardly longer than broad; sculpture on mesoscutum and scutellum composed of short areoles which vary from nearly isodiametrics to about as long as broad.

In the key to genera of Nearctic Eulophidae ( Schauff et al. 1997) it runs close to genus Oncastichus LaSalle with following common characters: postmarginal vein distinctly longer than half the length of stigmal vein, torulus distinctly above lower margin of eye, scape extending distinctly above level of vertex and vertex with deep suture enclosing ocellar triangle. But Oncastichus differs from the present species by having following characters: malar sulcus straight, funicle segments with a whorl of setae at base, propodeal spiracles open at anterior propodeal margin by a short groove; males have 4-segmented funicle with long setae as in most of the Aprostocetus species.

In the key to the genera of Indian Tetrastichinae ( Narendran 2007) it runs to genus Baryscapus Foerster but differs from it by not having characters like—body with blue to blue-green metallic reflections, without any pale or yellow markings; postmarginal vein reduced, at maximum a fifth of stigmal vein; 4-segmented funicle in males. Following characters are in agreement with Baryscapus —malar sulcus curved, cercus with at least longest 2 setae subequal in length, relatively short and not conspicuously different from the setae on surrounding gastral terga and propodeal spiracle with entire rim exposed.

It is also compared with Moona Kim & La Salle , Quadrastichodella Girault and Leprosa Kim & La Salle which have all been reported as gall formers and are not included in any of the above mentioned generic keys.

Kim & La Salle described the new genus Moona based on specimens reared from seeds of Corymbia (Myrtaceae) , from Australia ( Kim et al. 2005). But S. madhucae is quite different from Moona in the following major characters (characters of Moona given in brackets): Body non-metallic, yellow with brown markings (body metallic green with some yellow areas). Head with malar sulcus strongly curved (slightly curved); ocellar area surrounded by groove (no such groove); face without frontofacial suture (with weak frontofacial suture); scrobal depression without median carina ventrally (with weak median carina ventrally). SMV with 3–4 small inconspicuous dorsal setae (3–5 long and prominent setae); postmarginal vein about 0.86 length of stigmal vein (0.5 length of stigmal vein). Antenna with 3 anelli and 3 funicle segments in both sexes (4 anelli and 3 funicle segments in females and 3 anelli and 4 funicle segments in males); F1 slightly longer than wide, remainder funicle segments as long as wide (all funicular segments longer than wide). Pronotum triangular and long in dorsal view (narrow and strip-like). Outer rim of propodeal spiracle not covered by raised lobe of callus (partially covered by raised lobe of callus); spiracular depression absent (spiracular depression open wide to anterior margin of propodeum). Apex of hypopygium reaching half the length of the gaster (about 0.27–0.28 length of gaster).

Present species is quite different from Quadrastichodella Girault and Leprosa Kim & La Salle by following characters: scape and pedicel smooth with faint longitudinal reticulation ( Quadrastichodella with rasp-like reticulation on both scape and pedicel and Leprosa with rasp-like reticulation only on pedicel); antenna with 3 anelli ( Quadrastichodella with 4, Leprosa with 3), and 3 funicle segments in both sexes ( Quadrastichodella with 3-segmented in female and 4-segmented in male, Leprosa with 3-segmented in female and males not known); postmarginal vein of forewing 0.86× as long as stigmal vein (0.5× in both Quadrastichodella and Leprosa ). Mesoscutum with median line absent (present in both Quadrastichodella and Leprosa ).). Cercal plate with four setae, two long and two short (4 in Quadrastichodella and 3 in Leprosa , all subequal in length).

S. madhucae runs close to S. casuarinae , but differs from this species through the following characters (characters in brackets are those of S. casuarinae ):

Female. Body elongate (short); yellow with brown markings, see description (brown with head yellow with brown areas at eye margins posteriorly and at ocellar triangle, mesosoma dark brown with yellowish areas on dorsellum, tegula, and small patch on mesopleuron just ventral to tegulae; fore and mid coxae yellow, hind coxa entirely dark brown to pale yellow apically, trochanter pale yellow, femora pale yellow, fore tibia light brown to yellow, middle and hind tibiae yellow, tarsi pale yellow but dark brown apically, gaster yellow with transverse light brown stripes of varying strength along anterior margin of each tergite). Face moderately setose (sparsely setose) with supraclypeal area convex without any groove (broad depression at supraclypeal area below toruli extending to clypeus). POL about 2.5× OOL (1.5×). Scape 2.5× as long as pedicel (1.7×). Pronotum triangular and long medially in dorsal view (very short medially). Mesoscutum with 7–8 adnotaular setae (3 or 4). Scutellum with 4–5 pairs of setae (2 pairs). SMV with 3–4 dorsal setae (usually 3), marginal vein 4.4× as long as stigmal vein (3.3–3.7×), postmarginal vein 0.86× stigmal vein (0.3–0.5×); propodeum 1.75× as long as dorsellum (shorter than dorsellum, see Fig. 13 in Fisher et al. 2014). Gaster 1.3× as long as mesosoma (gaster equal to or shorter than mesosoma); ovipositor sheaths extending beyond apex of gaster (not extending).

Male. Yellow, see description (similar to female, but with more dark brown markings on mesosoma and gaster). Scape with a long ventral plaque in distal two-thirds (plaque small, in distal third, less than one-third length of scape).

Figures

FIGURES 6–11. Selitrichodes madhucae Singh & Kaneria sp. nov., female: 6, dorsal body view showing color variations among the specimens; 7, dorsal view of head; 8, latero-ventral view of head; 9, frontal view of head, in wet condition after KOH treatment; 10, posterior view of head, in wet condition after KOH treatment; 11, antenna.

FIGURES 12–16. Selitrichodes madhucae Singh & Kaneria sp. nov., female: 12, anelli of antenna; 13, forewing; 14, basal half of forewing; 15, distal part of veins showing post marginal and stigmal veins; 16, ovipositor.

FIGURES 17–25. Selitrichodes madhucae Singh & Kaneria sp. nov. 17–22, female: 17, lateral body view; 18, antenna; 19, anelli of antenna; 20, apical seta of club; 21, mesosoma in dorsal view; 22, distal tip of gaster in lateral view showing cercal setae and exserted part of ovipositor; 23–25, male: 23, lateral body view; 24, antenna; 25, ventral view of distal tip of gaster showing genitalia.

FIGURES 26–30. Selitrichodes madhucae Singh & Kaneria sp. nov., male: 26a–d, dorsal views of body showing color variations; 27, frontal view of head, in wet condition after KOH treatment; 28, posterior view of head, in wet condition after KOH treatment; 29, antenna, in wet condition after KOH treatment; 30, mesosoma in dorsal view.

FIGURES 31–32. Selitrichodes madhucae Singh & Kaneria sp. nov., male: 31, forewing; 32, basal half of forewing showing venation.