Gastralysia garambana Fischer, 1967

van Achterberg, Cornelis & Tan, Jiang-Li, 2018, Revision of the enigmatic genus Gastralysia Fischer (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Alysiinae), Journal of Hymenoptera Research 65, pp. 149-156 : 149-153

Gastralysia garambana Fischer, 1967

Figures 1 , 2-10 , 11-16

Gastralysia Fischer, 1967: 110, 134-137. Type species (by monotypy): Gastralysia garambana Fischer, 1967 [lost?].

Type material.

Holotype ♂ from Zaire should be in Brussels (in the collection of the "Institut des Parcs Nationaux [de Congo belge]" now housed in the Koninklijk Bel gisch Instituut voor Natuurwetenschappen) but could not be found. Repeated searches for the holotype and the three ♂ paratypes in the collections in Tervuren, Paris, Vienna, London and Genève were also in vain. The type series was collected in a ruderal savannah near the campsite on Sorghum leaves by hand net during the exploration of the Garamba National Park by H. de Saeger in 1949-1952 ( Fischer 1967) .

Additional material.

1 ♀ ( RMNH), " Côte d’Ivoire, Katiola , 23.v.1981, Malaise [trap], J.W. Everts c.s." ; 1 ♀ ( MTMA), " Tanzania - Kilombero distr. , Namawala, 21.iii.1990, J.O. Charlwood " .

Diagnosis.

See generic diagnosis.

Redescription.

Female from Ivory Coast, length of body 1.9 mm and of fore wing 2.2 mm.

Head. Head strongly transverse, width 2.3 times median length in dorsal view and temple directly narrowed behind eyes (Fig. 8 ); antenna with 41 segments, 2.1 times as long as fore wing and 2.5 times as long as body, third segment 0.9 times as long as fourth segment and slightly wider (latter only in lateral view), length of third, fourth and penultimate segments 3.3, 4.0 and 3.2 times their width, respectively (measured in lateral view), without apical spine; maxillary palp 0.7 times as long as height of head; labial palp segments slender; length of eye in dorsal view 3.2 times temple; temple and vertex smooth, frons punctulate laterally; stemmaticum weakly convex, with small depression behind stemmaticum; OOL: diameter of ocellus: POL = 11:5:6; frons nearly flat and glabrous behind antennal sockets, strongly shiny; face punctulate, rather flat (Figs 7 , 9 ); width of clypeus 3.0 times its maximum height; anterior tentorial pits rather large (Fig. 16 ); clypeus moderately convex, sparsely punctate, truncate ventrally and hardly protruding, ventral rim depressed and thin; epistomal suture crenulate (Fig. 7 ); malar suture absent; malar space hardly developed; mandible with 3 wide lobe-shaped teeth, upper tooth gradually widened dorsally, mandible 1.5 times longer medially than wide, with wide ventral carina protruding basally (Figs 9 , 15 ) and crest connected to third tooth serrate medially (Fig. 9 ).

Mesosoma. Mesosoma 1.1 times longer than high; pronope absent; propleuron flattened and subapically with crenulated crest (Fig. 4 ); pronotal side coarsely crenulate, but antero-dorsally smooth (Figs 4 , 9 ); epicnemial area of mesopleuron finely punctate, but crenulate ventrally (Fig. 4 ); precoxal sulcus close to anterior margin of mesopleuron, wide and distinctly crenulate, near middle curved down to mesosternum (Fig. 4 ) and almost up to wide lamelliform and crenulate postpectal carina; remainder of mesopleuron sparsely crenulate antero-dorsally and smooth in front of pleural sulcus; episternal scrobe rather small, round; pleural sulcus very wide and coarsely crenulate, more than of precoxal sulcus (Fig. 4 ); mesosternal sulcus medium-sized and crenulate, anteriorly metapleuron only with small pit and antero-medially smooth, remainder crenulate (Fig. 4 ); notauli and median sulcus distinctly crenulated and posteriorly united; mesoscutal lobes setose, smooth and moderately shiny, middle lobe rather protruding antero-laterally (Fig. 5 ), lateral carina of mesoscutum complete and crenulate; scutellar sulcus deep and with 3 distinct longitudinal carinae, half as long as scutellum; scutellum convex, largely smooth; metanotum crenulate anteriorly, medio-posteriorly with truncate lamella (acute in lateral view); dorsal surface of propodeum short, crenulate, posteriorly bordered by curved and lamelliform carina, culminating medio-anteriorly in a parallel-sided and apically truncate lamella (Fig. 5 ; but apically acute in lateral view) much longer than lamella of metanotum, its posterior surface with some carinae and rugulae (Fig. 6 ).

Wings. Fore wing: Pterostigma elliptical; vein r issued medially from pterostigma (Fig. 2 ); r:2-SR:3-SR:SR1 = 4:21:16:70; r-m vertical and unsclerotized; 2-SR and SR1 slightly sinuate; M+ CU 1 largely unsclerotized; cu-a reclivous; 1- CU 1:2- CU 1 = 1:16; CU 1b long, unsclerotized and reclivous (Fig. 2 ) and 3- CU 1 absent; m-cu antefurcal. Hind wing: M+ CU:1-M:1r-m = 5:4:3; cu-a only vaguely indicated; apical half of wing narrow triangular (Fig. 3 ).

Legs. Hind coxa smooth; tarsal claws medium-sized (Fig. 10 ); length of femur, tibia and basitarsus of hind leg 4.5, 8.4 and 3.3 times their width, respectively.

Metasoma. Length of first metasomal tergite 0.5 times its apical width, laterally with subhyaline wide lamella (Fig. 11 ), antero-medially with concave area surrounded by flattened dorsal carinae (Fig. 5 ), carinae posteriorly united into a protruding lamella, in lateral view wide and posteriorly separated from tergite by a gap (Figs 4 , 11 ), only postero-dorsally reticulate (Fig. 5 ); dorsope, laterope and second suture absent; second and third tergites strongly convex, evenly setose and reticulate-foveate, laterally with thin lamella and posteriorly serrate (Fig. 11 ); following tergites retracted; combined length of second and third tergites 0.9 times total length of metasoma (Fig. 11 ); ovipositor sheath with long setae apically, glabrous submedially, setose part of sheath 0.04 times as long as fore wing and 0.1 times as long as hind tibia (Fig. 11 ).

Colour. Mainly dark brown (including tegulae); palpi pale yellowish; third-fifth antennal segments yellowish brown; mandible (except dark brown apices), scapus, pedicellus and legs brownish yellow; wing membrane subhyaline; pterostigma and veins brown.

Male. According to the original description very similar to the illustrated female; fore wing length 2.8 mm, body length 2.0 mm and antenna with 39 segments; hind femur 4.0 times longer than wide; propodeal lamella as long as metanotal lamella (fig. 19 in Fischer 1967) and first metasomal tergite 0.6 times as long as wide posteriorly.

Distribution.

Ivory Coast, Tanzania , Zaire.

Notes.

The specimen from Tanzania is very similar to the female from Ivory Coast. It has 42 antennal segments.

Figures

Figure 1. Gastralysia garambana Fischer, ♀, Ivory Coast, habitus, lateral aspect.

Figures 2 - 10. Gastralysia garambana Fischer, ♀, Ivory Coast. 2 fore wing 3 hind wing 4 mesosoma lateral aspect 5 mesosoma dorsal aspect 6 first-third metasomal tergites dorsal aspect 7 head anterior aspect 8 head dorsal aspect 9 head lateral aspect 10 hind leg lateral.

Figures 11 - 16. Gastralysia garambana Fischer, ♀, Ivory Coast. 11 metasoma lateral aspect 12 basal segments of antenna 13 apical segments of antenna 14 antenna 15 mandible, full on first tooth lateral aspect 16 metasoma posterior view.