Rhacalysia jatai, Oliveira & Penteado-Dias, 2020

Oliveira, Francielle Dias de & Penteado-Dias, Angelica Maria, 2020, An update of the genera Idiasta Foerster and Rhacalysia Cameron (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Alysiinae) and the descriptions of new species from the Neotropical Region, ZooKeys 976, pp. 109-130 : 109

Rhacalysia jatai sp. nov. Figures 19-23 , 24-27

Type material.

Holotype pinned, female, (DCBU 408525) Brazil, São Paulo, Luiz Antônio, Estação Ecológica do Jataí, 21°36'S, 47°47'W, 9.XI.2006, seasonal forest, Malaise trap, N. W. Periotto col. Original label: "Luiz Antonio/SP, EE. Jataí, 9/11/06, Col. N. Periotto".

Diagnosis.

Rhacalysia jatai can be recognizable by the notauli and precoxal sulcus entirely smooth, fore wing with m-cu interstitial, CU1a arising at middle of subdiscal cell, hind wing with four hamuli; ovipositor 2.2 × as long as mesosoma, body yellow (without brown parts).

Description.

Female (holotype) (Fig. 20 ). Length. Body 3.8 mm; fore wing 4.0 mm; hind wing 2.9 mm.

Head. 1.7 × as wide as long; 1.7 × as wide as face, 1.6 × as wide as mesosoma; 1.9 × as wide as apex of first metasomal tergite; slightly wider at eyes than temples in dorsal view. Eye glabrous, ca. as high as wide, 2.5 × as wide as temple in lateral view (Fig. 22 ). Occiput, vertex, and temples smooth, with some sparse setae. Frons with weak pit mesally. Face 2.3 × as wide as high, setose; low mid ridge dorsally and some weak transversal striae just above epistomal sulcus (Fig. 21 ). Epistomal sulcus deep, crenulate. Clypeus protruding, smooth, setose (setae as long as clypeus width), 1.6 × as wide as high; lateral margin of clypeus does not contact with paraclypeal fovea. Malar space ca. 1/12 eye height. Paraclypeal fovea enlarged to form broad groove reaching to eye (Fig. 21 ). Mandible 3-dentate (Fig. 19 ), 1.6 × as long as apical width, apex 1.5 × as wide as base; setose, slightly rugulose medially; diagonal ridge well developed on apical half of mandible, ventral carina present on basal third of mandible; teeth 1 and 2 connected by flange, indistinct incision; tooth 3 rounded, slightly wider than tooth 1; tooth 2 wider and longer than others. Antenna with apical flagellar segments missing, 31 flagellar segments present. First flagellar segment 3.5 × as long as wide; second flagellar segment 5.6 × as long as wide, 1.6 × length of first segment; third flagellar segment 4.9 × as long as wide, 1.4 × length of first segment. Maxillary palp ca. twice as long as head height.

Mesosoma. 1.3 × as long as high, 2.0 × as long as wide, 2.2 × as high as head. Pronotum smooth (Fig. 22 ); in dorsal view, with some setae mesally, pronope absent. Notauli deep anteriorly but smooth, absent posteriorly (Fig. 24 ). Mesoscutum as wide as long, with scattered setae. Mesoscutal pit shallow, lightly elongate, occupying ca. 2/7 extent of mesoscutum. Scutellar sulcus 3.0 × as wide as long, with well-developed mid ridge and some weak ridges at posterior margin of lateral areas. Scutellar disc and parascutellar area smooth, setiferous. Metanotum smooth, setiferous anteriorly; depressed lateral fields weakly crenulate in the posterior margin; mid ridge complete, lateral ridges absent; metanotum in lateral view with median flange slightly higher than scutellar disc. Mesopleuron smooth, with some sparse setae. Precoxal sulcus deep, entirely smooth (Fig. 23 ). Propodeum with median carina anteriorly; posterior half with pentagonal areola ca. as long as wide; rugulose inside areola, smooth remaining. Metapleuron smooth, setose.

Fore wing. 1.05 × as long as body. Pterostigma 4.0 × as long as wide, 2.2 × as wide as vein r length; r 0.2 × as long as 2-SR, arising distad midpoint of pterostigma; submarginal cell 2.25 × as long as high; 2-SR 2.4 × as long as r-m, 1.3 × as long as 3-SR; 3-SR 3.8 × as long as r, 1.8 × as long as r-m; SR1 3.8 × as long as 3-SR; 2-CU1 1.2 × as long as m-cu; m-cu interstitial; cu-a postfurcal by distance slightly shorter than its length (Fig. 25 ); subdiscal cell closed, slightly expanded distally, CU1a arising near middle of subdiscal cell.

Hind wing. With four hamuli, 4.4 × as long as wide; vein 1-M 0.9 × as long as M+CU, 1.6 × as long as 1r-m; m-cu antefurcal, nebulous but heavily pigmented.

Legs. Hind femur 5.2 × as long as wide. Hind tibia 11.2 × as long as its maximum subapical width, 1.1 × as long as hind tarsus. First segment of hind tarsus 1.95 × as long as second segment.

Metasoma. First metasomal tergite 0.9 × as long as apical width; apex 2.0 × as wide as base; smooth surface, dorsal carinae converging anteriorly but not extending as median carina (Fig. 26 ); dorsope deep. Ovipositor 2.0 × as long as hind tibia, 2.2 × as long as mesosoma, straight (Fig. 27 ). Ovipositor sheath setose.

Color. Yellow. Ocellar field and epicranial suture dark brown (Fig. 24 ); mandibles, fore coxae, and metasoma (except fist metasomal tergite) pale yellow. Flagellum light brown, except flagellar segments 19-21 whitish (holotype). Mesosoma dorsally and first metasomal tergite yellow-orange. Legs with telotarsus light brown; hind leg from tibia to apex and ovipositor sheath brown. Wings hyaline, venation and pterostigma light brown.

Male. Unknown.

Etymology.

The name of species refers to locality of collection of material for study.

Distribution.

Brazil, State of São Paulo, Luiz Antônio, seasonal forest.

Comments.

Rhacalysia jatai is morphologically similar to R. monteiroi and both species shares the hind wing with four hamuli, as well as several other features. Rhacalysia jatai can be differentiated by the follow quantitative ratios: third flagellar segment 4.9 × as long as wide (4.5-4.6 × in R. monteiroi ), 1.4 × length of first segment (1.0-1.1 × in R. monteiroi ); eye 2.5 × as wide as temple (1.5-2.0 × in R. monteiroi ); vein 3-SR of fore wing 3.8 × as long as r (3.0-3.1 × in R. monteiroi ); hind femur 5.2 × as long as wide (6.2-6.7 × in R. monteiroi ); hind tibia 11.1 × as long as its maximum apical width (12.2-12.7 × in I. monteiroi ); ovipositor 2.0 × as long as hind tibia (1.3-1.5 × in R. monteiroi ), 2.2 × as long as mesosoma (1.4-1.7 × in R. monteiroi ). In addition, in Rhacalysia jatai the body is entirely yellowish (Figs 24 , 27 ), while in R. monteiroi the color pattern of mesosoma and metasoma is mixed between yellowish and distinctly brown parts (Figs 28 , 35-38 ).

Figures

Figures 19 - 23. Rhacalysia jatai sp. nov. (female, holotype) 19 mandible, lateral view 20 habitus, lateral view 21 head and basal antennae, anterior view 22 head and pronotum, lateral view 23 mesosoma, lateral view.

Figures 24 - 27. Rhacalysia jatai sp. nov. (female, holotype) 24 head, mesoscutum, and scutellar sulcus, dorsal view 25 fore wing 26 first metasomal tergite, dorsal view 27 habitus, lateral view showing ovipositor.

Figures 28 - 34. Rhacalysia monteiroi sp. nov. (females; 28 and 32 holotype, others paratypes) 28 habitus, lateral view 29 head, lateral view 30 head, anterior view 31 metanotum and propodeum, dorsal view 32 fore wing 33 hind wing 34 first metasomal tergite, posterior view.

Figures 35 - 38. Rhacalysia monteiroi sp. nov. (females; 35 holotype, 36 - 38 paratypes) 35 head and mesosoma, lateral view, precoxal sulcus crenulate 36 head and mesosoma, lateral view, precoxal sulcus smooth 37 head and mesosoma, dorsal view 38 head and mesosoma, dorsal view.