Utetes karsius Tan & van Achterberg, 2018

Tan, Jiang-Li, Achterberg, Cornelis Van, Zhang, Ruo-Nan & Wu, Jia-Xuan, 2018, Five new species of Utetes Foerster (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Opiinae) from NW China, Zootaxa 4402 (3), pp. 525-541 : 533-535

Utetes karsius Tan & van Achterberg , sp. n.

( Figs 27–39 )

Type material. Holotype, ♀ ( NWUX) “NW China: Shaanxi, Qinling Mts, Foping, near Biol [ogical] Stat [ion], Mal [aise] trap, 33˚39'29"N 107˚48'25"E, 29.v.–19.vi.2016, c 1710 m, JL. Tan & C. v. Achterberg , NWUX”.

Comparative diagnosis. Similar to U. elongisulcus sp. n. because of the presence of “shoulders” in front of the notauli, the high number of antennomeres and the protruding ovipositor sheath, but the new species has the first discal cell of fore wing strongly transverse (normal in U. elongisulcus ), the precoxal sulcus largely absent and with only a few crenulae (wide and with coarse crenulae) and the shoulders less protuberant (distinctly protuberant). Resembles U. rosae (Tobias, 1977) because of the long setose part of the ovipositor sheath (0.8 × hind tibia) and the short elliptical precoxal sulcus. The new species differs mainly by the moderately developed shoulders of the mesoscutum anteriorly (absent in U. rosae ), the short medio–longitudinal carina of propodeum anteriorly (absent), the antenna of ♀ with approx. 41 antennomeres (35–38 antennomeres), the pronotal side smooth posteriorly (finely crenulate), the first discal cell of fore wing about 3 × wider than high medially (about 2.2 ×), the black mesoscutum (partly reddish) and vein m-cu of the fore wing subinterstitial (distinctly postfurcal).

Description. Holotype, ♀, length of body 3.4 mm, of fore wing 3.7 mm.

Head. Antenna with 41 antennomeres, medium-sized bristly setose and 1.1 × as long as fore wing; third antennomere 1.3 × as long as fourth antennomere, length of third, fourth and penultimate antennomeres 2.0, 1.6 and 1.3 × their width, respectively ( Fig 32–34 ); length of maxillary palp 0.8 × height of head; labial palp segments slender; occipital carina distinctly separated from hypostomal carina and dorsally absent; hypostomal carina very wide ( Fig. 29 ); length of eye in dorsal view 2.7 × temple; frons shallowly depressed anteriorly but with median elevation and in front of anterior ocellus with indistinct depression, medially smooth and glabrous, laterally punctulate and setose ( Fig. 36 ); face sparsely and finely punctate but medial elevation area smooth, conspicuously setose ( Fig. 35 ); width of clypeus 3.1 × its maximum height and 0.6 × width of face; clypeus moderately convex medially, with coarse punctures and protruding forwards, ventrally straight and rather thin; hypoclypeal depression large ( Fig. 35 ) and labrum smooth except for some striae; malar suture absent and area flat; length of malar space 0.9 × basal width of mandible; mandible triangular and with weakly developed ventral and dorsal carinae ( Fig. 39 ).

Mesosoma. Length of mesosoma 1.2 × its height; pronope large slit-shaped, deep ( Fig. 36 ); pronotal side largely smooth posteriorly; epicnemial area largely smooth; precoxal sulcus medium-sized and superficially crenulate (left side, on right side more extensively punctate and connected to anterior margin), pointing to area in front of middle coxa and remaining far from posterior margin of mesopleuron; remainder of mesopleuron smooth (except row of punctulation behind precoxal sulcus) and strongly shiny; pleural sulcus smooth; anterior groove of metapleuron with few distinct crenulae ventrally ( Fig. 29 ); notauli largely absent on disc, but anteriorly shallowly impressed behind moderately developed “shoulders” ( Fig. 30 ); lateral lobes of mesoscutum largely glabrous and strongly shiny, only notaulic courses and middle lobe medially and anteriorly with setae; medio-posterior depression of mesoscutum rather deep, rather elongate droplet-shaped and medium-sized; scutellar sulcus medium–sized and finely crenulate; scutellum rather convex medially, smooth between sparse punctulation and only laterally densely setose ( Fig. 30 ); propodeum with short medio–longitudinal carina connected to irregular and distinctly transverse carina, dorsally and medially crenulate-rugose and posteriorly mainly smooth ( Figs 30–31 ).

Wings. Fore wing ( Fig. 28 ): pterostigma triangular; 1-R1 ending nearly at wing apex and 1.6 × as long as pterostigma; r:3-SR:SR1 = 4:30:50; 2-SR:3-SR:r–m = 20:30:9; r widened basally; 1-SR 0.7 × 1-M; first discal cell distinctly transverse, its maximum width 3.0 × its medial height ( Fig. 28 ); 1-M and SR1 weakly curved; m–cu subinterstitial; cu-a oblique and distinctly postfurcal; first subdiscal cell closed, CU1b rather long; apical 0.3 of M+CU1 sclerotized. Hind wing ( Fig. 28 ): M+CU:1-M:1r–m = 19:20:14; cu-a straight; m-cu completely absent.

Legs. Length of femur, tibia and basitarsus of hind leg 3.6, 7.8 and 4.6 × as long as wide, respectively; hind femur with long setae, especially ventrally ( Fig. 37 ); carinula of hind tibia lamelliform basally, rather long and slightly curved ( Fig. 38 ).

Metasoma. Length of first tergite 0.9 × its apical width, its surface evenly convex medially, smooth except some sculpture medially, without median carina, with dorsal carinae remaining separated and present in basal 0.6; second tergite with pair of short basal depressions; second and following tergites smooth ( Fig. 31 ); length of setose part of ovipositor sheath 0.24 × fore wing (entire visible sheath 0.30 ×) and 0.8 × hind tibia ( Fig. 28 ).

Colour. Black; palpi, clypeus ventrally, mandible (but teeth dark brown), tegulae, and legs (but telotarsi dark brown) yellow; metasoma ventrally dark brown; wing membrane subhyaline; veins of hind wing and of basal third of fore wing (except C+SC+R) brown; pterostigma and remainder of veins dark brown.

Distribution. China (Shaanxi).

Biology. Unknown.

Etymology. From “karsios” (Greek for “crosswise”) because of the transverse first discal cell of the fore wing.

Figures

FIGURE27. Utetes karsius Tan & van Achterberg, sp. n., ♀, holotype, habitus, lateral aspect.

FIGURES 28–39. Utetes karsius Tan & van Achterberg, sp. n., ♀, holotype. 28—wings. 29—head and mesosoma, lateral aspect. 30—mesosoma, dorsal aspect. 31—propodeum and first–fourth metasomal segments, dorsal aspect. 32—basal antennomeres of antenna. 33—antenna. 34—apical antennomeres of antenna. 35—head, anterior aspect. 36—head, dorsal aspect. 37—hind leg, lateral aspect. 38—hind tibia, mesal aspect, arrow points to basal carinula. 39—mandible, latero–ventral aspect.