Fidiobia tripotini Popovici & Masner, 2022

Popovici, Ovidiu Alin, Masner, Lubomir, Lahey, Zachary & Talamas, Elijah, 2022, Revision of the Palearctic species of Fidiobia Ashmead (Hymenoptera, Platygastroidea), Journal of Hymenoptera Research 92, pp. 23-144 : 23

26. Fidiobia tripotini Popovici & Masner sp. nov.

Figs 253-261 , 323

Description.

Female. Body length: 0.9-1.1 mm. Colour of body: bicoloured, head and mesosoma medium to dark brown, metasoma light to medium brown with T1 and sometimes apex of T6 lighter (Figs 253-255 ).

Head (Figs 256 , 257 ). Colour of head: dark brown with lighter lower frons. Sculpture of head: alutaceous. Sculpture of occiput: alutaceous. Ocellar prominence: absent. Preocellar depression: present. Paraocellar depressions: present. OOL / ocellar diameter: OOL equal with ocellar diameter. Orientation of lower half of inner orbits: almost parallel. Sculpture of frons immediately anterior to ocellus: alutaceous. Sculpture of frons immediately dorsal to toruli: transverse alutaceous. Epitorular carina: absent. Distance between toruli: toruli touch each other. Setation of clypeus: two setae. Malar sulcus: present (Fig. 257 ). Antenna (Fig. 258a ). Colour of A1: yellow. Colour of clava: striking different from the rest of the antenna (clava brown, rest of antenna yellow). Number of antennomeres: ten. Shape of A1: more or less cylindrical. Ventral (inner) lamella on A1: absent. Length of A3 of female: distinctly shorter than A2. Sensillar formula (A8:A9:A10): 2:2:1 (Fig. 258b ).

Mesosoma (Figs 259 , 260 ). Colour of mesosoma: dark brown. Mesosoma: weakly compressed dorsoventrally. Pronotum in dorsal view: present mostly as lateral shoulders. Transverse pronotal sulcus: present as a narrow groove along anterior rim of pronotum. Posteroventral end of transverse pronotal sulcus: not dilated. Lateral pronotal area: sculptured only on the dorsal half. Antero-admedian line: absent. Mesoscutum: weakly convex. Parapsidal lines: absent. Sculpture of internotaular area: absent. Notauli: absent. Shape of notauli: NA. Outer edge of notauli: NA. Orientation of inner edge of notauli: NA. Length of notauli: NA. Length of notaulus / maximum width of notaulus: NA. Distance between notauli: NA. Transscutal articulation: complete. Scuto-scutellar sulcus: absent. Fovea on scuto-scutellar sulcus: NA. Mesoscutellum: weakly convex. Shape of mesoscutellum: subrectangular. Axillular carina: posterior apex of axillular carinae touching the posterior edge of mesoscutellum. Axilloaxillular carina: absent. Sculpture of mesoscutellum: absent. Posterior mesoscutellar sulcus: absent. Metascutellum: not visible, covered by mesoscutellum. Metascutellar carina: absent. Width of metasomal depression: greater than the length of lateral propodeal carina. Median carina between lateral propodeal carinae: absent. Transverse carina between lateral propodeal carinae: present. Foamy structure on transverse carina between lateral propodeal carinae: present. Foamy structure on metasomal depression: absent. Lateral propodeal carinae: parallel. Foamy structure on lateral propodeal carina: present on the entire carina. Plica: visible. Posterior end of plica: fused with lateral propodeal carina. Foamy structure on plica: present, fused with foamy structure from lateral propodeal carinae. Foamy structure on metapleural carina: present, only posteriorly. Foamy structure on ventral metapleural area: absent. Setation of dorsal metapleural area: sparse, short setae on posterodorsal half. Setation of ventral metapleural area: dense, short setae on posteroventral half. Longitudinal striation on dorsal mesopleuron: present. Transepisternal line: complete, straight. Mesopleural carina: absent. Metapleural sulcus: present, complete. Wings (Fig. 261a, b ): macropterous. Apex of fore wing: rounded. Colour of fore wing: infuscate. Transverse brown band on fore wing: absent. Submarginal vein in fore wing: present. Length of submarginal vein in fore wing: surpassing 1/3 the length of fore wing. Spectral veins on fore wing: present (median and subdiscoidal). Marginal setae of fore wing: faintly indicated. Disc of fore wing: with spinulose microtrichia. Legs. Colour of fore tibia: yellow. Colour of fore tarsus: yellow. Colour of middle femora: yellow. Colour of middle tibiae: yellow. Colour of middle tarsus: yellow. Colour of hind femora: yellow. Colour of hind tibiae: yellow. Colour of hind tarsus: yellow.

Metasoma (Figs 253 , 254 ): Tergites posterior of T2 exposed and clearly visible. Shape of T1: subrectangular. Colour of T1: light brown. Lateral setae of T1: absent. Colour of T2: brown. Shape of T2: longer than wide. Anterior pits of T2: distinctly separated. Sculpture of T2, lateral to anterior pits of T2: absent. Colour of T3-T6: the same as T2, sometimes apex of T6 lighter.

Etymology.

This species is named after Pierre Tripotin, collector of the holotype specimen and a tremendous friend of Popovici OA. Noun in the genitive case.

Male. unknown.

Material examined.

8♀. South Korea: Holotype 1♀, Gangwon-do , Chuncheon Nam-myeon, Hudong-ri, 34.6422°N, 127.6285°E, 31.vii-16.viii.2003, leg. Tripotin P. (MT) (CNCI).

Paratypes: 2♀, South Korea, Gangwon-do , Chuncheon Nam-myeon, Hudong-ri, 34.6422°N, 127.6285°E, 6-31.vii.2003, leg. Tripotin P. (MT) (CNCI) ; 2♀, Gangwon-do , Chuncheon Nam-myeon, Hudong-ri, 34.6422°N, 127.6285°E, 31.vii-16.viii.2003, leg. Tripotin P. (MT) (CNCI) ; 3♀, Gangwon-do , Chuncheon Nam-myeon, Hudong-ri, 34.6422°N, 127.6285°E, 17.viii-5.ix.2003, leg Tripotin P. (MT) (OPPC0417; OPPC0733; OPPC0735) .

Distribution.

South Korea (Fig. 323 ).

Biology.

unknown.

Diagnosis.

This species can be recognized by the presence of a malar sulcus, the short transepisternal line and T2 which is elongate and longer than wide. All other Palearctic Fidiobia with 10-merous antennae have T2 wider than long and the malar sulcus absent.

Comments.

Fidiobia tripotini is the only known species of the genus with a malar sulcus. The malar sulcus is not flanked by striation, a state that is found only in Orwellium Johnson, Masner and Musetti among extant Platygastridae . Other extant platygastrids with a malar sulcus, e.g. Metaclisis Förster, have facial and malar striae.

Figures

Figures 253 - 261. Fidiobia tripotini: 253, 254 habitus, dorsal view (Holotype) 255 habitus, lateral view 256 head, dorsal view 257 head, lateroventral view 258 a antenna (♀) (OPPC 0735) 258 b sensillar formula 259 mesosoma, dorsal view 260 mesosoma, lateral view 261 a wings (OPPC 0735) 261 b WIP.

Figures 322 - 324. Geographical distribution of: 322 F. synergorum (Blue area-data from Kieffer 1926. Red area-our data) 323 F. tripotini 324 F. vanharteni.