Opius youi Li & van Achterberg

Li, Xi-Ying, Achterberg, Cornelis van & Tan, Ji-Cai, 2013, Revision of the subfamily Opiinae (Hymenoptera, Braconidae) from Hunan (China), including thirty-six new species and two new genera, ZooKeys 268, pp. 1-186 : 62-65

Opius youi Li & van Achterberg sp. n. Figs 177-185

Type material.

Holotype, ♂ (ZUH), "S. China: Hunan, nr Zhangjiajie, Badagong Mts, Tian Ping Mt., 9-13.VII.2009, 550 m, Xi-Ying Li, RMNH’10”, "CVA4243, sp. 9".

Diagnosis.

Clypeus flattened and comparatively large (Fig. 182), slightly convex ventrally; hypoclypeal depression narrow, slit-shaped (Fig. 182); pronotum short, oblique and without distinct pronope (Fig. 184); notauli absent on disc; medio-posterior depression of mesoscutum absent; hind tarsus (except telotarsus) brownish-yellow.

Description.

Holotype, ♂, length of body 1.8 mm, of fore wing 2.0 mm.

Head. Antenna with 25 segments and 1.3 times as long as fore wing; third segment 1.1 times as long as fourth segment, length of third, fourth and penultimate segments 3.8, 3.5 and 2.3 times their width, respectively (Fig. 185); length of maxillary palp 0.9 times height of head; labial palp segments short, slender; occipital carina far from hypostomal carina (Fig. 183) and dorsally absent; hypostomal carina medium-sized; length of eye in dorsal view 1.4 times temple; frons flattened and glabrous, smooth; face smooth, medially weakly elevated; width of clypeus 1.8 times its maximum height and 0.55 times width of face; clypeus slightly convex, smooth except for a few fine punctures and its ventral margin thin and slightly curved (Fig. 182); hypoclypeal depression slit-like, narrow (Fig. 182); malar suture present; without punctures between malar suture and clypeus; mandible rather abruptly widened baso-ventrally, with medium-sized and weakly protruding ventral carina (Fig. 183).

Mesosoma. Length of mesosoma 1.2 times its height; dorsal pronope obsolescent and pronotum oblique anteriorly (Fig. 184); pronotal side smooth and posterior groove largely absent (Fig. 177); epicnemial area smooth dorsally; precoxal sulcus medially shallowly impressed, smooth as rest of mesopleuron (Fig. 177); pleural sulcus smooth; mesosternal sulcus narrow and moderately crenulate; notauli absent on disc, only anteriorly with short smooth impressions (Fig. 179); mesoscutum glabrous and strongly shiny; medio-posterior depression of mesoscutum absent; scutellar sulcus narrow and finely crenulate; scutellum smooth and slightly convex; surface of propodeum smooth, except for some short carinae posteriorly (Fig. 180).

Wings. Fore wing (Fig. 178): pterostigma elliptical; 1-R1 reaching wing apex and 1.3 times as long as pterostigma; r:3-SR:SR1 = 1:19:41; 2-SR:3-SR:r-m = 12:19:6; r strongly widened; 1-M straight and SR1 nearly so; m-cu slightly postfurcal; cu-a slightly postfurcal and 1-CU1 slightly widened; first subdiscal cell nar rowly open, CU1b absent; M+CU1 nearly completely unsclerotized. Hind wing (Fig. 178): M+CU:1-M:1r-m = 15:14:6; cu-a straight; m-cu absent except for a weak impression.

Legs. Length of femur, tibia and basitarsus of hind leg 4.7, 9.2 and 5.0 times as long as wide, respectively; hind femur and tibia with medium-sized setae (Fig. 181).

Metasoma. Length of first tergite 1.2 times its apical width, its surface convex medially and sparsely rugulose, largely smooth and dorsal carinae developed in basal half of tergite, straight (Fig. 180); second suture absent; second and following tergites smooth.

Colour. Dark brown; scapus yellowish; palpi pale yellowish; clypeus, mandible, tegulae, second tergite, metasoma baso-ventrally and legs (but telotarsi slightly darkened) brownish-yellow; pronotum ventrally, propleuron, first tergite, metasoma after second tergite pterostigma and veins mainly brown; wing membrane subhyaline.

Molecular data. COI, 16S, 28S (CVA4243).

Distribution.

*China (Hunan).

Biology.

Unknown.

Etymology.

Named in honour of Prof. Dr Lan-Shao You, for his encouragement and for his contribution to the dissemination of knowledge about Braconidae in China.

Notes.

Opius youi is, according to 28S data, near the base of the Phaedrotoma clade. The new species runs in the key by Chen and Weng (2005) to Opius clusilis Weng & Chen, 2005. Opius youi differs by having the head roundly narrowed behind the eyes in dorsal view (directly narrowed in Opius clusilis ), the dorsal pronope obsolescent (distinct), length of the first tergite 1.2 times its apical width (1.4 times) and length of the third antennal segment 3.8 (♂) times its width (2.6 times; ♀). It comes also near Opius flavus Weng & Chen, 2005, but it has the hind femur distinctly widened apically, vein r of fore wing about 1.5 times as long as wide, vein m-cu of fore wing more postfurcal and fourth antennal segment of female less slender.