Embidobia agastya Veenakumari, 2024

Veenakumari, Kamalanathan, Kolla, Sreedevi, Sushil, Satya Nand, Samuel, Duleep Kumar, Khan, Farmanur Rahman & Mohanraj, Prashanth, 2024, Embidobia Ashmead (Hymenoptera, Platygastroidea, Scelionidae) of the Indian region with descriptions of new species, European Journal of Taxonomy 970, pp. 61-101 : 64-67

Embidobia agastya Veenakumari sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:99D1E381-5409-4C36-8DF5-7F03474A5EA5

Figs 1 , 2A

Diagnosis

This is the only Oriental species with T1 and T2 predominantly smooth and T3 with imbricate sculpture.

Etymology

The species epithet ‘agastya’ is in honour of the distinguished sage who composed many verses in the Rig Veda, the oldest text in the Hindu liturgical canon. The name is treated as a noun in apposition.

Material examined

Holotype INDIA – Karnataka • ♀; Bengaluru, Hesaraghatta ; 13°08′01″ N, 77°29′27″ E; 859 m; 7 Jul. 2014; YPT; NIM, ICAR-NBAIR P5001 .

Paratypes INDIA – Andaman and Nicobar Islands • 1 ♀; South Andaman, Garacharma, Central Island Agricultural Research Institute (CIARI) ; 11°36′41″ N, 92°42′56″ E; 56 m; 22 Feb. 2012; YPT; NIM, ICAR-NBAIR P5027 . – Karnataka • 16 ♀♀; same data as for holotype; NIM, ICAR-NBAIR P5002 to P5017 • 1 ♀; Bengaluru , Hebbal; 13°02′08″ N, 77°35′49″ E; 906 m; 21 Aug. 2012; PFT; NIM, ICAR-NBAIR P5018 • 1 ♀; same locality as for preceding; 15 May 2010; PFT; NIM, ICAR-NBAIR P5019 • 3 ♀♀; Udupi , Brahmavara; 13°25′51″ N, 74°44′43″ E; 36 m; 28 May 2014; YPT; NIM, ICAR-NBAIR P5020 to P5022 • 1 ♀; Bengaluru , Attur; 13°05′48″ N, 77°33′59″ E; 936 m; 16 Jul. 2013; PFT; NIM, ICAR-NBAIR P5023 • 1 ♀; Bengaluru, Hebbal, National Bureau of Agricultural Insect Resources (NBAIR) ; 13°01′38″ N, 77°35′03″ E; 927 m; 3 Jul. 2015; YPT; NIM, ICAR-NBAIR P5024 • 1 ♀; Tumkur, Kunigal, Ranganathaswamy Betta ; 13°02′02″ N, 76°58′18″ E; 901 m; 20 Sep. 2011; SN; NIM, ICAR-NBAIR P5025 • 1 ♀; Dakshina Kannada, Kidu, Central Plantation Crops Research Institute (CPCRI) ; 12°42′24″ N, 75°34′27″ E; 143 m; 19 Feb. 2015; YPT; NIM, ICAR-NBAIR P5026 .

Description

Female

MEASUREMENTS. Body length = 0.86–1.07 mm (n = 15).

COLOUR. Head yellow-brown; radicle, A1–A7 yellow-brown, remaining antennomeres black-brown; mesosoma brown; meso and metascutellum darker than mesoscutum; metasoma brown with yellow patches towards posterior margin of tergites; anterior margin of T1 with a black band; legs yellow-brown.

HEAD. Head: 1.3 × as wide as high, 1.3 × as high as long. IOS: 0.7 × head width, 1.2× eye length. OOL: 0.8× width of median ocellus. Compound eye: ovate (L:W = 14.1:10.0). Sculpture of frons: lower frons medially smooth with uneven longitudinal carinae on either side; several short transverse carinae present dorsal to central keel; upper frons with short uneven transverse carinae. Central keel: 0.4× head height. Sculpture of gena: predominantly smooth with long setae. Facial and malar striae: prominent. Sculpture of vertex: rugose. Interantennal process: elongate, posteriorly truncate.

MESOSOMA. L:W of mesoscutum: 16.2: 24.0. Sculpture of mesoscutum: rugose. Mesoscutal humeral sulcus: not foveate. Mesoscutal suprahumeral sulcus: not foveate. Scutoscutellar sulcus: foveate laterally. L:W of mesoscutellum: 9.0:18.0. Sculpture of mesoscutellum: rugose. Posterior mesoscutellar sulcus: foveate. Metascutellum when viewed dorsally: visible. Sculpture of metascutellum: unevenly sculptured interspersed with foveae. Posterior margin of metascutellum: evenly rounded. Sculpture of lateral propodeal area: anteriorly smooth, posteriorly costate with foveae in between. Sculpture of lateral pronotal area: dorsally imbricate, ventrally smooth. Netrion: present, smooth, linear. Netrion sulcus: costate. Pronotal suprahumeral sulcus: not foveate. Pronotal cervical sulcus: indicated with a furrow. Prespecular sulcus: with transverse foveae. Speculum of mesopleuron: transversely carinate. Episternal sulcus: with transverse foveae. Postacetabular sulcus: foveate. Mesepimeral sulcus: with transverse foveae. Mesepimeral area: smooth. Mesopleural carina: present. Sculpture of femoral depression: smooth. Mesopleural pit: present. Sculpture of metapleuron: smooth. Metapleural sulcus: with transverse foveae. Paracoxal sulcus: indicated by a weak furrow. Metapleural epicoxal sulcus: indicated by transverse carinae and furrows. Anteroventral extension of metapleuron: as long as wide. L: W of fore wing: 69.2: 26.9. Infuscate patch on fore wing: present as a longitudinal patch medially. Ratio of length of m: pm: stg: 5.1: 23.0: 9.2. Metasomal depression: longitudinally costate except for smooth areas laterally.

METASOMA. L:W of metasoma: 31.8: 28.8. Sculpture of T1: basal foveae present; short longitudinally costate present anterosublaterally, remainder smooth except setose reticulate patch sublaterally. Sculpture of T2: small basal foveae present; predominantly smooth except for lateral setose reticulate patch. Sculpture of T3: entirely imbricate but smooth toward posterior margin. Length of T1:T2: T3: 5.7: 11.4: 9.0.

Male

Unknown.

Figures

Fig. 1. Embidobia agastyaVeenakumari sp. nov.,holotype, ♀ (NIM, ICAR-NBAIR P5001).A–B. Habitus dorsal view. C. Head and pleuron. D. Frons. E. Antenna.

Fig. 2. Wings. A. Embidobia agastya Veenakumari sp. nov., holotype, ♀ (NIM, ICAR-NBAIR P5001). B. E. barbarika Veenakumari sp. nov., holotype, ♀ (NIM, ICAR-NBAIR P5063). C. E. brittanica Girault, 1917, lectotype, ♀ (USNM, Type No. 2060). D. E. dooranetra Veenakumari sp. nov., holotype, ♀ (NIM, ICAR-NBAIR P5103). E. E. gauriputra Veenakumari sp. nov. holotype, ♀ (NIM, ICAR-NBAIR P5076). F. E. hrdaya Veenakumari sp. nov., holotype, ♀ (NIM, ICAR-NBAIR P5114). G. E. jatayu sp. nov., holotype, ♀ (NIM, ICAR-NBAIR P5028). H. E. mahabali Veenakumari sp. nov. holotype, ♀ (NIM, ICAR-NBAIR P5038).