Proaphelinoides chidambaramensis Manickavasagam & Menakadevi, 2012

Menakadevi, C. & Manickavasagam, S., 2012, A new species of Proaphelinoides Girault (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae) with a key to world species and additional records from Tamil Nadu, India, Zootaxa 3193 (1), pp. 62-68 : 64-67

Proaphelinoides chidambaramensis Manickavasagam & Menakadevi , sp. nov.

( Figs. 1–11 )

Description. Female ( Fig. 1 ). Holotype. Length, 1.50 mm. (Color described from carded specimen before being clearing and mounting on a slide in Canada balsam). Head with frontovertex orange-yellow; vertex deep orange; face yellow; mandibles brownish with teeth black; antenna with radicle, scape and pedicel yellow; funicle and clava brown; eyes yellowish, ocelli red-brown; setae around ocellus dark brown and remaining setae on head pale. Pronotum yellowish-brown; mesoscutum yellowish; scutellum yellowish except apex dark brown to black; axillae yellowish-brown; metanotum and propodeum yellowish and with brown tinge on lateral margin; setae on thoracic area and notaular line dark brown. Legs yellowish, except all coxae white and base of femur and basal two thirds of tibiae of mid and hind legs brownish. Fore wing with three infuscate patches one below submarginal vein, proximal third of marginal vein, and just below stigmal vein. Hind wings sub hyaline. Metasoma brownish-yellow except base of tergites and entire SI and SII white; ovipositor yellowish brown; ovipositor sheath yellow.

Head In dorsal view length 0.9x width; POL 1.2× OOL; frontovertex 0.4× head width. In frontal view ( Fig. 2 ), eye height about 1.5× malar suture; antennal toruli separated from clypeus by 1.5× length of radicle; head with elongate reticulation (seen only under high magnification); occipital margin with two pairs of long setae, one lateral and one submedial; 18–20 short setae between eyes; eyes finely setose. Antennal formula 1131 ( Fig.3 ); scape as long as clava; pedicel (measured at its maximum length) 1.2× longer than basal two funicle segments and longer than F3; F3 as long as wide, about 4× as long as F2; F3 with 2 longitudinal sensilla; clava 3.2× as long as F3 and with 10 longitudinal sensilla.

Mesosoma ( Fig. 5 ). Setae on sclerite as follows: pronotal collar with 4+4 setae including one long seta at each posterolateral corner and many short setae bordering anterior margin; mid lobe of mesoscutum with 12 setae; each side lobe with 2 setae; each axilla with 1 seta; base of scutellum round and medially divided into equal halves by a faint carinae; scutellum with four long, prominent setae; propodeum with 3 short setae on each side. Mesosoma dorsally more or less evenly elongate-reticulate, the reticulations more pronounced transversely on pronotum (seen only under high magnification). Fore wing about 3.5× as long as wide; linea calva not defined ( Fig. 7 ); costal cell 0.5× length of marginal vein; marginal vein with 10 long setae; 30–35 dark setae in a bunch just below proximal third of marginal vein; marginal vein 1.5× length of submarginal vein; submarginal vein with 2 setae, the distal seta long; postmarginal vein absent. Hind wing 4.8× as long as wide ( Fig. 8 ). Mid tibial spur 0.8× length of corresponding basitarsus.

Metasoma ( Fig. 1 ). Gaster as long as head plus mesosoma; tergites with following number of setae: TI (2+2), TII (3+3), TIII (4+4), TIV (6+6), TV (12+12), TVI (3+3); hypopygium not prominent, extending to three-fifths length of gaster; ovipositor distinctly longer than mid tibia (0.84:0.25) ( Figs 9, 11 ) and exserted part 0.3x of gaster length ( Fig. 1 ).

Male. Body 1.0 mm. Head, mandibles and antennae colored as in female; clava 3.0× length of F3, and slightly oblique at apex ( Fig. 4 ); F3 with 1 longitudinal sensillum and clava with 5 longitudinal sensilla. Fore wing with only 10–15 dark setae in a bunch just below proximal third of marginal vein ( Fig. 6 ). Male genitalia consisting of a long tubular phallobase with a typical constriction at base giving a basal bulb-like appearance; apex of phallobase with a digitus of 0.03 mm and with a single denticle; aedeagus as long as phallobase (0.20:0.18) ( Fig. 10 ).

Variation. Body color varies from yellowish-brown to brownish-yellow, with the apex of the scutellum varying from yellow to dark brown or black, the legs varying from pale to yellowish-brown with black markings, as mentioned in the description, and the dorsum of the mesosoma generally yellowish but with varied intensities of brown.

Type material. Holotype, female ( EDAU) on card labelled “ INDIA: Tamil Nadu, Chidambaram , 11.vi. 2010, coll. C. Menakadevi ”, “ Proaphelinoides chidambaramensis Manickavasagam & Menakadevi ”.

Paratypes: 15 females (3 on slide, 12 on card), 2 males (on slide) with the same data as holotype ; 3 females each on card deposited in NPC and ZDAMU. Remaining specimens and 1 female (on card) labelled “ INDIA: Tamil Nadu, Kanniayakumari, Pechiparai , 24. iii. 2011, coll. S. Manickavasagam and A. Rameshkumar, yellow pan trap, weedy land in forest” in EDAU .

Host: Unknown.

Distribution: INDIA: Tamil Nadu.

Etymology: The species is named after the locality from where the holotype was collected.

Comments: Proaphleinoides chidambaramensis is very close to P. elongatiformis Girault , but differs by the characters given in the key.

Figures

FIGURES 1–5. Proaphelinoides chidambaramensis (1, card mount; 2–5, slide mounts): 1, female, lateral habitus; 2, head, frontal view; 3, female antenna; 4, male antenna; 5, female mesosoma, dorsal.

FIGURES 6–11. Proaphelinoides chidambaramensis (slide mounts): 6, male fore wing; 7, female fore wing; 8, female hind wing; 9, part of metasoma showing ovipositor; 10, male genitalia; 11, female middle leg.