Embidobia brittanica Girault, 1917

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 : 69-71

Embidobia brittanica Girault, 1917

Figs 2C , 4

Diagnosis (based on Girault 1917)

Embidobia brittanica is close to E. dooranetra sp. nov. but differs from it in having OOL subequal to diameter of the median ocellus; T1 and T2 striate only basally. Whereas in E. dooranetra OOL is long, at least 1.3× the diameter of the median ocellus; striae on T1 and T2 elongate, extending> 0.8× length of the tergite.

Material examined

Lectotype (images only) INDIA • 1 ♀; Uttar Pradesh, Kumaon, Bhowali ; 24 Aug.1912; A.D. Imms leg.; ex eggs Perembia major (= Embia major Imms ); USNM, Type No. 2060 .

Label data: “ Lectotype designated by L. Masner (1964); Lectotype Masner & Muesebeck, 1968; Embidobia sp. emerged from eggs of Embia 23–27 th Aug. 1912: A.D. Imms”.

Description

The description given by Girault (1917) is scanty and as the specimens are mounted on a glass slide, it is difficult to discern the details of the morphological characters from the images. Although Mineo & Maniglia (1983) mention that they studied the holotype of E. brittanica , nothing has been mentioned about this species. To the extent possible characters in addition to those mentioned by Girault (1917) are detailed here.

Female body length = 0.70 mm.

Head and mesosoma brown-black; metasoma yellow; legs pale yellow; antenna yellow with brown clava. OOL subequal to median ocellar diameter. Fore wing infuscate medially and apically. Propodeum longitudinally costate.

Following Girault (1917) in numbering the tergites by counting “the first body segment as 2”: T1 is shorter than T2; T1 is striate at proximal half; T2 is striate at base; and T3 is shorter than T2.

Girault (1917) mentioned that marginalis is almost as long as stigmalis. However stigmalis is 1.3 × as long as marginalis ( Fig. 2C ).

Figures

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).

Fig. 4. Embidobia brittanicaGirault, 1917, lectotype, ♀ (USNM, Type No. 2060). A. Habitus dorsolateral view. B. Slide with specimens and type labels. Photos: ©Queensland Museum, N.F. Johnson.