Parapanteles esha Gupta

Gupta, Ankita, Churi, Paresh V., Sengupta, Ashok & Mhatre, Sarang, 2014, Lycaenidae parasitoids from peninsular India with description of four new species of microgastrine wasps (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) along with new insights on host relationships, Zootaxa 3827 (4), pp. 439-470 : 448-451

Parapanteles esha Gupta n. sp.

Plates. VI, VII & XXI. Figs 21−27, 79.

Female. Holotype (Fig. 21). Body length = 2.83 mm.

Diagnosis. Propodeum areola 1.19× longer than wide; vein 1r and 2Rs joining smoothly in a curve; anterior diagonal carinae of propodeum shallowly merging anterior margin of propodeum. Hind tibia (0.71) 2.29× longer than exserted part of ovipositor (0.31). First metasomal tergal wider than long; first tergum length/apical width (0.39/0.46) = 0.85, with distinct coarse punctations and rugosity; second tergum rugose like first, wider than long; second tergum median length 1.18× of third tergum. Ovipositor sheaths curved and hairy in half of exserted portion; gently decurved, projecting beyond apex of gaster.

Body colour. Black. Head black. Ocelli light brown, antenna scape brown, flagellum yellow brown; eyes dark brownish black with pale yellow palps, mandible light brown with darker edges. Fore and mid leg with coxa and trochanter brown, femur yellow, tibia yellow, tarsi brown, apex of apical tarsus brown; hind leg with coxa and trochanter concolourous with mesosoma , femur yellow, tibia yellow with brown infuscation, more pronounced at apical 1/5th, tibial spurs pale yellow, tarsus brown, basal 1/4th of basitarsus pale. Mesosoma black. Wings hyaline, veins C+SC+R and metacarpus (R1) dark brown; pterostigma brown (except extreme pale apex), vein (RS+M)a, m-cu, 1M and 1Cua testaceous; veins r, 2RS light brown and 2M dark brown; hind wing veins translucent. Tegula brown black with edges yellow.

Head. Eyes densely setose. Face rough with shallow closely placed punctations; vertex rough, shallowly punctured, dull, with sparse pilosity; clypeus densely setose. Head wider than long, width (0.75)/height (0.66) = 1.14; compound eye height = 0.43 mm; inter tentorial pit distance = 0.22 mm; width of face at dorsal clypeal edge = 0.41 mm; clypeus height = 0.07 mm; clypeus width = 0.22 mm; length of first flagellomere = 0.17 mm; width of first flagellomere = 0.60 mm; length of second flagellomere = 0.17 mm; width of second flagellomere = 0.07 mm; length of third flagellomere = 0.17 mm; width of third flagellomere = 0.07 mm; terminal flagellomere length = 0.09 mm; terminal flagellomere width = 0.06 mm; penultimate flagellomere length = 0.08 mm; penultimate flagellomere width = 0.06 mm; terminal flagellomere length/width = 1.5; malar space height = 0.075 mm; malar space width (0.16 mm)/basal width of mandible (0.06 mm) = 2.67; ocello-ocular distance = 0.15 mm; inter-ocellar distance = 0.12; face width at upper edge of posterior ocelli = 0.64 mm. Inter toruli = 0.09 mm.

Mesosoma (Fig. 22). Mesosoma median length = 1.1 mm; mesosoma length/width (0.94) = 1.17. Mesonotum with coarse punctate sculpture that fades near the scutellar groove; scuto-scutellar groove distinctly crenulate with 11 deep costulae; medium pilosity; pilosity not dense above the scuto-scutellar groove; scutellum with shallow and distantly placed punctations, sparsely placed long white setae; scutellum laterally with costulate sculpture which become narrower and elongated towards posterior edge; posterior band of scutellum polished; metanotum subrectangular. Mesopleuron dull distinctly punctate in diagonal anterior half while the posterior half smooth and shiny. Metapleuron generally smooth anteriorly in the middle except for very shallow punctures posteriorly and at extreme anterior tip. Hind coxa laterally with shallow punctures and setation.

Propodeum with clearly defined wide, strong and shiny areola (areola devoid of setae); propodeum rugose in basal half excluding areola, setae on lateral edges. Areola 1.19× longer than wide; anterior diagonal carinae of propodeum shallowly merging anterior margin of propodeum; areola open near the anterior edge; costulae complete and prominent, anterior diagonal carinae sloping down behind spiracles; spiracles large and oval.

PLATES VI. Parapanteles esha n. sp. Figs 21−25. 21—Habitus. 22— Mesosoma . 23—Fore wing. 24—Metasoma, male. 25—Propodeum with metasoma, female.

PLATES VII. Parapanteles esha n. sp. Figs 26−27. 26—Host caterpillar, Prosotas dubiosa (Semper) . 27—Adult butterfly of P. dubiosa .

Wings (Fig. 23). Pterostigma length (0.30)/height (0.19) = 1.58. 1RS length = 0.05 mm; 1r = 0.14 mm; 2Rs = 0.14 mm; 1CUa length (0.12)/1CUb length (0.21) = 0.57; RS+Ma length = 0.36 mm; RS+Mb = 0.05 mm; M+CU length = 0.93 mm; Hind wing: 1M length = 0.43 mm; 1M length (0.43)/M+CU length (0.34) = 1.26; length r-m (0.17)/length cu-a (0.29) = 0.59; 1A length = 0.21 mm.

Metasoma (Figs 24 & 25). Metasoma median length = 1.1 mm (including exserted ovipositor = 0.31 mm; first tergum length/apical width (0.39/0.46) = 0.85; first tergal plate widest pre apically = 0.48 mm; distinctly rugose. Second tergum distinctly rugose. Second tergum wider than long, second tergum median length = 0.20 mm; 1.18× of third tergum. First tergum basal width = 0.36 mm; second tergum median length = 0.20 mm; second tergum apical width = 0.51 mm; third tergum median length = 0.17 mm; third and subsequent tergites smooth with long sparsely placed setae.

Ovipositor = 0.90 mm (Fig. 79). Ovipositor sheaths projecting beyond the apex of gaster. Exserted part of ovipositor = 0.31 mm. Ovipositor sheaths long and slender in lateral view, hairy in exserted portion; gently decurved, projecting beyond apex of gaster.

Hind tibia (0.71); 2.29× longer than exserted part of ovipositor (0.31).

Male. Similar to female.

Host. Prosotas dubiosa (Semper) ( Lepidoptera : Lycaenidae ) on the host plant Pithecellobium dulce (Fabaceae) (Figs 26 & 27).

Type material. Holotype, one female on card, INDIA, Maharashtra, 10.vii.13, coll. Paresh V. Churi, ex. Prosotas dubiosa (Semper) ( Lepidoptera : Lycaenidae ) (Fig. 26) on the host plant Pithecellobium dulce (Fabaceae) . Paratype, one female on card, with same data as holotype.

Repository. All types & specimens deposited in NBAII, Bangalore, India. Code. NBAII /Bra/Mic/Para/ esha / 060713 -A(Holotype), NBAII /Bra/Mic/Para/ esha / 060713 -B (Paratype).

Etymology. This species is named after the Sanskrit word ‘ esha ’ meaning ‘wish’.