Methocha cirrhocrus Narita & Mita, 2021

Narita, Keisuke & Mita, Toshiharu, 2021, A review of the subfamily Methochinae from Taiwan (Hymenoptera: Tiphiidae) with description of a new species and redescription of the known species, Zootaxa 4964 (2), pp. 303-329 : 311-313

4. Methocha cirrhocrus Narita & Mita , sp. nov.

Figs 34–44

Materials examined. Type materials. Holotype, ♂, Alt. 2275m, Mt. Anma-shan , Taichung, 6–9.vii.1979, L. Y. Chou leg. [ TARI]; paratype, 1♂, same data as holotype, [ TARI].

Diagnosis. This species can be distinguished from other Asian Methocha species by a combination of the following characters: the distally wide mandible; the incurved clypeal apex; the anteriorly longitudinally rugose, dorsally granulate, and transversely rugose propodeum; the faintly infuscate wings; the dorsally inconspicuously carinate hind coxa; the testaceous tibiae and femora; the subapical tooth shorter than the apical one on the mandible; the longitudinally carinate surface around a pair of the strong carina of the T1; presence of a row of the stout setae on the posterior margin of the S2–S3 respectively; the triangularly cleft distal apex of the S7.

Description. Male.

Head ( Figs 37, 38 ). Head 0.7–0.8 times as long as wide in frontal view; temple weakly rounded in dorsal view; ocelli forming regular triangle, POL:AOL:DAO = 1.0:1.0:0.5; vertex sparsely punctate: 3.0–8.0 puncture diameters apart, with smooth interspaces; frons densely punctate: punctures 0.5–5.0 puncture diameters apart, with smooth interspaces, sometimes rugose around excavation, impunctate or sparsely punctate and strongly excavated above antennal sockets; antennal lobes developed; gena sparsely punctate; clypeus with dense punctures, with acute or obtuse projection, clypeal apex incurved; mandible not distally narrowed, lower tooth longer than upper one; maxillary palpus slightly longer than length of pronotum, ratio of length to width of palpomeres III–VI: 3:12–14:10:10; flagellum inconspicuously flattened, length (width) of flagellomeres I–III: 1.7:2.3:2.5.

Mesosoma ( Fig 36 ). Pronotal disc sparsely punctate by small punctures: puncture 3.0–5.0 puncture diameters apart, with smooth interspaces, anterior transverse carina absent, lateral surface punctate as dorsal surface; mesoscutum punctate: punctures smaller and dense anteriorly, larger medially, smaller and sparser posteriorly, transversely rugulose and coriaceous on anterior fifth to fourth, notauli marked by transversely striated wide depression, reaching posterior third of mesoscutum, posterior margin effaced; mesoscutellum bulging, punctate by small punctures: puncture 3.0–5.0 puncture diameters apart, with smooth interspaces, lateral surface punctate as dorsal surface but sometimes longitudinally striated; mesepisternum convex, sparsely punctate by small punctures: puncture 3.0–8.0 puncture diameters apart, with smooth interspaces, sometimes transversely rugose around upper margin, episternal sulcus deep, precoxal sulcus obscure; metanotum elevated, smooth, laterally striated, anterior margin with deep crescentic depression; metapleural region smooth; propodeum ( Fig 39 ) dorsally granulate, surface around anterior two-third longitudinally rugose, other part transversely rugose, sometimes partly areolate, laterally largely smooth, posteriorly largely smooth and polished, inconspicuously longitudinally rugose partly.

Legs. Hind coxa dorsally carinate and inconspicuously rounded out in lateral view; all tarsal claws ( Fig 40 ) strongly curved in apical half, tridentate, apical tooth sharp, subapical one truncate, shorter than apical one, basal one minute, shorter than half subapical one.

Metasoma. Metasomal terga smooth with sparse punctures, setose, AMW:MTL:PMW = 1.0:2.5–2.8:3.0; T1 ( Fig 41 ) with pair of strong carina before spiracles, longitudinally carinate around carinae, other part smooth, median furrow present or absent, reaching anterior half; anterior transverse depression of T1–T7 without carina, smooth; posterior margins of S2–S3 with row of setae; S7 punctate, with coriaceous interspaces, distal apex triangularly cleft; hypopygium setose; paramere ( Fig 42 ) hairy around apical two-third, both sides subparallel, without projection; aedeagus ( Figs 43, 44 ) with cylindrical, median membranous lobe exposed dorsally.

Color. Black, except apical third of mandible dark reddish brown, maxillary palpus pale yellow, tegula brown, wings faintly infuscate, coxae brown, other part of legs testaceous.

Measurements. BL 7.6–8.3 mm, HL 1.1 mm, HW 1.5– 1.5 mm, WF 0.7–0.8 mm, EL 0.8–0.9 mm, ML 2.7–2.9 mm, MW 1.1– 1.1 mm, FWL 6.2–6.3 mm.

Female. Unknown.

Etymology. The name is derived from the tangerine-colored legs.

Distribution. Central Taiwan.

Figures

FIGURES 34–36. Methocha cirrhocrus sp. nov., paratype, male. 34 Dorsal habitus, 35 lateral habitus, 36 mesosoma, lateral view.

FIGURES 37–44. Methocha cirrhocrus sp. nov., holotype, male. 37 Head, frontal view, 38 head, lateral view, 39 propodeum, 40 hind tarsal claw, 41 T1, dorsal view, 42 right paramere, lateral view (right side is dorsal), 43 aedeagus, dorsal view, arrow indicating median membranous lobe, 44 aedeagus, lateral view. Scale bars are given in mm.