Himertosoma kuslitzkii, Watanabe, Kyohei & Maeto, Kaoru, 2012

Watanabe, Kyohei & Maeto, Kaoru, 2012, A new species of the genus Himertosoma from the Ryukyus, Japan, with a key to species from the Palaearctic and Oriental Regions (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae, Banchinae), ZooKeys 234, pp. 59-66 : 60-64

Himertosoma kuslitzkii sp. n. Figs 1-9

Type specimen.

Holotype: ♀, Japan, Kagoshima Pref., Amamioshima Island, Sumiyou Village, near Santaro–toge, 4. June 2007, Kyohei Watanabe leg.

Description.

Body length 6.5 mm; length of fore wing 4.5 mm. Head 0.6 times as long as wide in dorsal view; clypeus 0.7 times as long as wide, smooth excluding some punctures along weak supraclypeal suture, its profile gently convex in lateral view (Fig. 4); face 0.6 times as long as wide, median part longitudinally weakly convex, area excluding this convexity and below antennal socket covered with dense punctures (Figs 3, 4); frons sparsely punctate (Fig. 3); malar space 1.0 times as long as basal width of mandible; base of mandible evenly and slightly convex; lower tooth of mandible slightly shorter than upper one; vertex, gena and occiput smooth (but with minute setae and their sockets), excluding oceller area with some punctures and minute rugulae; minimum distance between lateral ocellus and margin of eye (OOL) 1.4 times as long as maximum diameter of lateral ocellus; minimum distance between lateral ocelli (POL) 2.0 times as long as maximum diameter of lateral ocellus. Antenna with 31 flagellomeres; first flagellomere 6.7 times as long as apical width and 1.3 times as long as second flagellomere.

Mesosoma 2.9 times as long as minimum distance between tegulae in dorsal view, polished, densely punctate excluding postero–lateral area of pronotum, mesonotum and postscutellum; epomia indistinct, obscurely present on collar (Fig. 5); mesoscutum smooth excluding anterior face, along lateral margin and notauli, and postero–median area sparsely punctate (Fig. 5); scutellum slightly convex, covered with sparse punctures; upper part of epicnemial carina nearly straight, reaching lower 1/4 of pronotum (Fig. 5); episternal scrobe small, narrowly smooth; propodeum with complete posterior transverse carina and pleural carina, with area petiolaris broadly smooth medially (Fig. 6); propodeal spiracle round. Legs: hind femur 6.0 times as long as deep, slightly bulged ventrally near base; hind tibia 9.5 times as long as wide; hind first tarsomere 2.1 times as long as second hind tarsomere and 3.0 times as long as longer hind tibial spur; tarsal claws entirely pectinate. Wings: fore wing with Cu–a distant from vein Rs+M by 0.6 times length of vein Cu–a; areolet absent; hind wing with distal abscissa of vein Cu1 much closer to vein 1A than to vein M, basal abscissa of vein Cu1 5.0 times as long as length of vein cu–a.

Metasoma polished and slender; first tergite 1.7 times as long as maximum width, 1.1 times as long as second tergite, densely longitudinally striate and sparsely punctate (Figs 7, 8); second tergite 1.1 times as long as maximum width; second to fourth tergites covered with dense, large punctures excluding smooth area along each posterior margin (Figs 2, 7, 8); laterotergite of fifth tergite absent (Fig. 9); fifth and following tergites alutaceous with fine, sparse punctures; ovipositor sheath 3.0 times as long as hind tibia and 1.2 times as long as fore wing.

Colouration (Figs 1-3). Head yellow except for: scape and pedicel brown; apex of mandible, antenna excluding scape and pedicel, longitudinal stripes below antennal sockets, frons, vertex and gena excluding orbit, occiput black. Mesosoma black, except for lateral longitudinal spots along upper and lower margins of propleuron, four longitudinal stripes on mesoscutum, two of these stripe in both sides connected anteriorly, scutellum excluding median reddish longitudinal area, tegula, subalar prominence, lower part of mesopleuron, posterior part of metapleuron yellow; median and lateral lobes on mesoscutum excluding yellowish stripe and anterior black area on median lobe of mesoscutum, mesopleuron excluding yellow area, anterior part of metapleuron red. Legs yellow, except for: ventral surface of hind coxa, hind femur, hind tibia, hind tarsus slightly brownish. Wings hyaline. Metasoma black, except for: membranous parts of sternites yellow; posterior margin of second and following tergites, posterior margin of subgenital plate whitish-yellow; subgenital plate excluding white posterior margin, ovipositor brown.

Male. Unknown.

Distribution.

Japan (Ryukyus: Amamioshima Island).

Etymology.

This species is named after V. S. Kuslitzky, who has contributed to the classification of Banchinae with excellent observations and to the faunal knowledge of ichneumonids in Far East Asia.

Remarks.

This species has all the characteristics of Himertosoma mentioned above and is distinguished from congeners by the combination of the following character states: flagellum with around 31 segments; propodeum nearly evenly punctate in front of posterior transverse carina (Fig. 6); first metasomal tergite 1.7 times as long as maximum width; ovipositor sheath 3.0 times as long as hind tibia; mesosoma tricoloured (black, yellow and red) (Figs 1, 2); second and following metasomal tergites with whitish bands along posterior margins (Figs 1, 2); ovipositor sheath 3.0 times as long as hind tibia and 1.2 times as long as fore wing; and mesosoma tricoloured.

This species resembles two Oriental species, Himertosoma philippense and Himertosoma townesi , in having similar colour patterns on the head and metasoma, the over 30-segmented flagellum and the relatively long first metasomal tergite, but can be easily distinguished from them as shown in the following key.

Key to Palaearctic and Oriental species of Himertosoma (♀)