Scelio ululo Yoder

Yoder, Matthew J., Valerio, Alejandro A., Polaszek, Andrew, Noort, Simon van, Masner, Lubomir & Johnson, Norman F., 2014, Monograph of the Afrotropical species of Scelio Latreille (Hymenoptera, Platygastridae), egg parasitoids of acridid grasshoppers (Orthoptera, Acrididae), ZooKeys 380, pp. 1-188 : 67-69

Scelio ululo Yoder sp. n. Figures 145-150; Morphbank 39

Description.

Female body length: 3.30-3.76 mm (n=5). Color of pilosity of dorsal head in female: white. Occipital carina in female: percurrent. Color of pilosity of the frons below the anterior ocellus in female: predominantly white. Pilosity of eye in female: absent; present. Medial keel on interantennal process: absent. Width of lower gena in lateral view: wide, posterior margin of lower half of gena parallel to posterior orbit. Genal carina: absent. Color of genal pilosity: white. Color of scape in female: yellow in basal half, darkening to light brown in apical half. Surface of the pronotal nucha in female: predominantly sculptured. Color of pilosity of pronotal shoulder in female: white to light brown, lighter than that of mesoscutum. Sculpture of medial mesoscutum in female: predominantly longitudinally strigose to rugulose. Color of pilosity of mesoscutum in female: predominantly yellow to golden. Notaulus in female: not delimited. Form of axillular carina in female: small, not particularly expanded or projected from the lateral edge of the mesoscutellum. Pilosity of propodeal nucha: absent. Pilosity of netrion: absent. Surface of mesopleural depression in female: sculptured throughout. Form of ventral margin of villus in female: straight. Color of coxae in female: yellow. Color of hind femur: light brown throughout. Color of hind tibia: yellow throughout. Fore wing length in female: apex between anterior margin of T5 and posterior margin of T6. Color of metasoma: yellow anteriorly, grading to brown posteriorly. Sculpture of laterotergites in female: predominantly smooth. Pilosity of laterotergites in female: absent. Sculpture of medial T1 in female: most prominent elements predominantly longitudinal. Sculpture of medial T2 in female: most prominent elements predominantly longitudinal. Pattern of sculpture on T3-T5 in female: T3 predominantly reticulate, T4-T5 predominantly longitudinally striate to strigose; predominantly longitudinally striate. Color of pilosity on lateral T3-T5 in female: predominantly white; predominantly golden to brown. Lateral profile of T6 in female: more or less horizontal. Sculpture of T6 in female: predominantly transversely rugose. Sculpture of lateral metasomal sternal bar in female: predominantly smooth to slightly irregularly rugose. Distribution of felt fields: 2 pairs present (S2, S3).

Diagnosis.

Most similar to Scelio zolotarevskyi which shares the straight ventral margin of the villus. Differing from Scelio zolotarevskyi and all other Afrotropical howardi-group species by the yellow to brown color gradient of the metasoma (vs. uniform coloration). Further, females may be distinguished from most Afrotropical Scelio howardi by the yellow coxae.

Etymology.

The epithet is used as a noun in apposition derived from the Latin word for to make a loud cry.

Link to distribution map.

http://hol.osu.edu/map-large.html?id=244977

Material examined.

Holotype, female: KENYA: Nyanza Prov., Ungoye (ICIPE) Field Site, 2° forest, Lake Victoria, 0.615°S, 34.092°E, 1145m, 9.II-16.II.1999, malaise trap, S. Miller & P. Otieno, OSUC 244090 (deposited in NMKE). Paratypes: (4 females) KENYA: 3 females, OSUC 214091 (CNCI); OSUC 244087-244088 (USNM). ZIMBABWE: 1 female, OSUC 212155 (CNCI).

Comments.

Individuals of Scelio ululo are smaller than most Scelio zolotarevskyi and also have distinctly less pilosity on the gena. In the ample material of Scelio zolotarevskyi there is no hint of color variation of the metasoma. The inner margin of the notauli is slightly indicated in some individuals, though we have coded the notauli as absent. As in Scelio zolotarevskyi there appears to be short setae between the ommatidia in individuals with silver eyes, in those with black eyes these cannot be seen but are likely present. The color of the coxae in one individual is slightly darker yellow, but distinctly lighter than the brown color of the corresponding femora.