Aulacus insularis Jennings & Austin, 2018

Jennings, John T., Parslow, Ben A. & Austin, Andrew D., 2018, Systematics of the parasitoid wasp genus Aulacus Jurine (Hymenoptera: Evanioidea: Aulacidae) from Australia, Zootaxa 4538 (1), pp. 1-113 : 50-52

Aulacus insularis Jennings & Austin , sp. nov.

Figs 26 , 61 .

Material examined. Holotype. ♂, " 29.07S 167.57E Philip Island, Upper Long Valley [Victoria], 20-24 Nov. 1984, I.D. Naumann " ( ANIC) . Paratypes. Victoria: 3♂, same location and dates, I.D. Naumann and L. Hill ( ANIC) .

Description. MALE. Length. 4.7 (4.0–5.0) mm.

Colour. Black, except mandibles cream except teeth brown, scape and pedicel yellow, flagellomeres 1–2 yellow brown, remainder brown, fore and mid legs yellow except coxae black and trochanters with variable amounts of black, hind legs brown except coxae black, metasoma dark brown except for two cream bands on segments 2 and 3 ( Figs 26A, B ). Wings hyaline.

Head. 1.36 (1.33–1.42)× wider than long when viewed dorsally ( Fig. 26C ); face punctate-rugose, pubescence short; shallow sub-antennal groove; frons without lateral medial carina above toruli, rugose-punctate, with short pubescence; vertex and gena rugose-punctate, with scattered short setae ( Fig. 26C ); posterior margin of head not concave in dorsal view; occipital carina absent; malar space 0.2× height eye; clypeus 3.5× as wide as high, margin sinuate, with medial process; distance from lateral ocellus to eye margin 0.8 (0.7–0.9)× distance between lateral ocelli; scape 1.15 (1.10–1.20)× length pedicel; first flagellomere 1.27 (1.21–1.37)× as long as scape, 0.65 (0.63– 0.68)× as long as second flagellomere.

Mesosoma. Propleuron rugose, pubescence long, ventro-lateral carina present; pronotum rugose; mesoscutum in lateral view rounded antero-dorsally, medial and lateral lobes rugose-imbricate, with scattered short setae, admedial lines pronounced ( Fig. 26E ); notauli distinct, carinate, narrow and deep ( Fig. 26E ); scutellum and axillae rugose, scutellum anteriorly with pair of slightly oblique deep depressions, separated by a median carina; metapostnotum coarsely rugose, posterior margin slightly curved; mesopleuron rugose, with short pubescence; mesepimeron broad, carinate; metapleuron glabrous dorsally, rugose ventrally and with short pubescence; propodeum areolate, posterior margin smooth; hind coxa strigate dorsally, pubescence long laterally; hind trochanter imbricate, with scattered short setae; prefemur on hind leg present; hind femur imbricate, with scattered short setae; hind tibia imbricate, pubescence short, with scattered stout emergent setae; hind femur 0.81 (0.74– 0.87)× length hind tibia; hind tibia with ventro-apical pecten of short robust spines; hind tarsomeres 1–4 with ventro-apical pecten of short robust spines, tarsomere 1, 2.3 (1.9–2.5)× length tarsomere 2; tarsomere 2, 1.5 (1.4– 1.6)× length tarsomere 3; tarsomere 3, 1.8 (1.6–2.0)× length tarsomere 4; tarsomere 4, 0.7× length tarsomere 5; hind tarsal claw 0.50 (0.43–0.55)× length tarsomere 5; fore wing veins 2r-m and 3r-m largely spectral; hind wing venation incomplete, R+Rs, M+Cu, Cu, r-m and 2-M absent, with 2–3 hamuli.

Metasoma. Clavate, 1.8 (1.6–2.0)× length of mesosoma ( Fig. 26B ); T1 and T2 narrow, glabrous; basiparameres broad; digitus broad, slightly longer than basiparameres.

FEMALE. Unknown.

Etymology. This species is named insularis in reference to the holotype locality, Philip Island, Victoria.

Distribution. This species is known only from Philip Island, Victoria ( Fig. 61 ).

Biology. Nothing is known of the biology of this species.

Comments. Aulacus insularis is readily separated from all other Australian species by the distinctive cream bands on metasomal segments 2 and 3 ( Figs 26A, B ).

Figures

FIGURE 26. Aulacus insularis sp. nov., paratype male, (A) dorsal habitus; (B) lateral habitus; (C) dorsal head; (D) lateral head and mesosoma (part); (E) dorsal mesosoma; (F) lateral mesosoma.

FIGURE 61. Distribution of Aulacus insularis sp. nov., A. jamberoo sp. nov., A. kittelae sp. nov., and A. kiwarrakensis sp. nov.