Austroterobia partibrunnea Girault

Mitroiu, Mircea-Dan, 2017, Revision of world Austroterobiinae and Parasaphodinae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea: Pteromalidae), parasitoids of giant scales (Hemiptera: Coccoidea: Monophlebidae), Zootaxa 4301 (1), pp. 1-63 : 23-27

Austroterobia partibrunnea Girault

( Figs 51–60 )

A. partibrunnea Girault, 1938: 87 ; lectotype in QMB, photographs examined.

Diagnosis. Both sexes: head and mesosoma usually with distinct green or coppery green metallic reflections ( Figs 51–53 ); lower margins of toruli much higher than lower margins of eyes ( Fig. 54 ); antenna with funicular segments slightly pedicellate ( Fig. 56 ); gena depressed at mouth corner ( Fig. 56 ); inner margins of eyes not sinuate ( Fig. 54 ); POL about equal to OOL; mandibular formula 3:2 ( Fig. 54 ); pronotum not visible in dorsal view ( Fig. 57 ); notauli visible throughout length of mesoscutum ( Fig. 57 ); prepectus and dorsal side of propodeum bare ( Figs 58, 59 ); axillae wide apart ( Fig. 57 ); posterior margin of mesoscutellum not densely setose, without distinct spine ( Fig. 57 ); anterior margin of propodeum not distinctly raised, not concealing dorsellum ( Fig. 59 ); propodeal plicae present, converging posteriorly ( Fig. 59 ); mesopleuron mostly smooth, femoral depression with deep central pit ( Fig. 58 ); fore wing ( Fig. 60 ) wide, length 1.9–2.1× width, with small speculum; parastigma with hyaline break; body size: 1.3–1.7 mm.

Austroterobia partibrunnea most closely resembles A. partiviridis , from which it can be separated mainly by the structure of mesopleuron (with deep central pit, Fig. 58 ) and fore wing (with speculum and hyaline break on parastigma, Fig. 60 ), position of the toruli (with their lower margins much higher than the lower margins of the eyes, Fig. 54 ), and colour (both head and mesosoma with distinct metallic reflections, Figs 51–53 ).

Material examined. AUSTRALIA: 1♀ ‘SE Queensland: Mt. Tambourine’ , ‘ I. Galloway, Malaise Trap, ×. 1977’, ‘2:3 mand KRESL’, ‘mand 2:3’, ‘ ♀ Austroterobia partibrunnea Grlt , det. Z. Bouček, 1978’, ‘ NHMUK 010198799 ’ ( BMNH) ; 1♀ ‘SE Queensland: Mt. Tambourine , 21.xii.76, Bouček’, ‘ ♀ Austroterobia partibrunnea Grlt , det. Z. Bouček, 1985’ ( CNC) ; 1♂, same information, ‘NHMUK010198803’ (BMNH); 1♀ ‘ Mt. Glorious nr. Brisbane, QNSLD ., 12.i.77. Boucek’, ‘ Austroterobia partibrunnea Grlt ♀, det. Z. Boucek, 1978’, ‘NHMUK010198802’ (BMNH); 1♀, same information, ’ 16.XII.76 ’, ‘♀ Austroterobia partibrunnea Grlt , det. Z. Bouček, 1978’ (CNC); 1♂, same information, ’ 16.XII.76 ’,‘♂ Austroterobia partibrunnea Grlt , det. Z. Bouček, 1987’, ‘NHMUK010198804’ (BMNH); 1♀ ‘ Sydney U.S. N., Jan 31, 1928 ’, ‘ In mealy bug cage’, ‘H. [indecipherable]’, ‘ Austroterobia det. R. A. Burks 2003’ ( UCR) .

Redescription. Female. Body length: 1.3–1.7 mm.

Colour. Head and most of dorsal side of mesosoma usually with strong green metallic reflections ( Figs 53 , 54–57 ); metanotum and propodeum always brown and usually contrasting with rest of mesosoma, with only slight metallic reflections ( Figs 57, 59 ). Gaster brown, but lighter ventrally as well as basally on dorsal side ( Figs 51, 53 ). Eyes reddish; ocelli whitish to pale red ( Fig. 55 ). Antenna ( Fig. 56 ) with scape yellowish-brown to light brown; pedicel and flagellum brown, lighter ventrally. Mandibles pale yellow, teeth reddish-brown ( Fig. 54 ). Legs entirely yellowish except for brown pretarsi ( Fig. 51 ). Wings hyaline, tegula and venation brown ( Fig. 60 ). Body setation whitish, wing setation brownish ( Figs 54, 57, 60 ).

Sculpture. Head mainly coriaceous, except for virtually smooth clypeus ( Figs 54, 55 ); sculpture denser on malar region ( Fig. 56 ); dorsal side of mesosoma shallowly reticulate, more densely so on frenal area ( Fig. 57 ); median area of propodeum, apart from median carina and plicae, smooth but with extremely superficial ridges ( Fig. 59 ); prepectus, mesopleuron and metapleuron mostly smooth to alutaceous ( Fig. 58 ); femoral depression with deep central pit and densely reticulated lower mesepisternum ( Fig. 58 ); gaster smooth.

Structure. Head. Toruli about equidistant from median ocellus and ventral margin of clypeus, but their lower margins distinctly higher than lower margins of eyes ( Fig. 54 ). Scape reaching above lower margin of median ocellus ( Fig. 54 ). Gena depressed at mouth corner ( Fig. 56 ), posterior margin carinate. Malar sulcus absent ( Fig. 56 ). Eyes broad oval, inner margins not sinuate in middle and slightly diverging in lower part ( Fig. 54 ). Funicular segments slightly pedicellate ( Fig. 56 ). Head width 2.5–2.7× length in dorsal view and about 1.3× height in frontal view. POL about equal to OOL; POL about 2.3× posterior ocellus largest diameter. Eye height 1.1–1.2× length, 1.3–1.4× malar space, and about 1.1× scape length. Head width about 1.1× length of pedicel plus flagellum. F1 quadrate; F5 width 1.0–1.2× length; clava length 2.5–2.8× width.

Mesosoma. Dorsally setose except for metanotum and median area of propodeum ( Fig. 57 ); prepectus and metapleuron bare ( Fig. 58 ); mesopleuron bare except for several setae on lower mesepisternum ( Fig. 58 ). Pronotum not visible in dorsal view ( Fig. 57 ). Notauli complete ( Fig. 57 ). Axillae wide apart, medially connected by wide groove separating mesoscutum from mesoscutellum ( Fig. 57 ). Posterior margin of mesoscutellum evenly curved ( Fig. 57 ). Anterior margin of propodeum not distinctly raised, not concealing dorsellum ( Fig. 59 ). Propodeum with straight, complete median carina and posteriorly converging, almost complete plicae ( Fig. 59 ). Fore wing ( Fig. 60 ) completely setose, except for a small speculum; parastigma with hyaline break; marginal vein moderately thickened, slightly narrowing distally. Mesosoma length about 1.1× width, width about 1.3× height. Mesoscutum width 2.5–2.7× length. Mesoscutellum length about equal to width. Propodeum length about 0.5× mesoscutellum length. Fore wing length 2.0–2.1× width; MV about 1.1× as long as SV; PV 1.5–1.6× as long as MV.

Gaster. Ovate, usually collapsing dorsally, shorter than head plus mesosoma ( Figs 51, 53 ); length 1.8–2.3× width.

Male description. Differs from the female mainly as follows. Body length: 2.3–2.4 mm. Head sometimes with weak golden reflections ( Fig. 52 ). Antenna lighter, brownish-yellow ( Fig. 52 ). Genae larger and shinier ( Fig. 52 ). Eyes smaller and rounder, hence malar space, as well as temples in dorsal view, longer ( Fig. 52 ). Head less transverse, width 2.2–2.4× length, width about 1.3× length of pedicel plus flagellum. Eye height about equal to both eye length and malar space. Scape with ventral protuberance towards apex; F1 length about 1.1× width, narrower than F2; clava length 2.4–2.5× width. Fore wing length 1.9–2.0× width; MV 1.0–1.1× as long as SV; PV 1.5–1.8× as long as MV. Gaster from slightly to distinctly shorter than mesosoma ( Fig. 52 ), with subparallel margins, length 1.1–1.3× width.

Distribution. Australia ( Bouček 1988).

Biology. Unknown; possibly associated with unidentified mealy bug ( Hemiptera : Pseudococcidae ) (see record above).

Remarks. My concept of A. partibrunnea is primarily based on a few specimens from BMNH (see above) identified by Z. Bouček between 1976 and 1985, who presumably examined the type material before publishing his revision on Australasian Chalcidoidea ( Bouček 1988) . All these specimens have both the head and thorax dark, with distinct metallic reflections, while in the original description Girault (1938: 87) stated: “Brown, wings clear, the upper thorax except the propodeon [sic] and the head, cyaneous (pronotum brown also).” I have seen images of the lectotype, which looks similar to the specimens from BMNH. It seems that both A. partibrunnea and A. partiviridis are rather variable regarding the colour of head and thorax, while the propodeum is always brownish. The ocelli of A. partibrunnea ( Fig. 55 ) are larger as compared to those of A. partiviridis ( Fig. 65 ). However, in two darker specimens (CNC) from the Black Mountains having conspicuous mesopleural pits and highly inserted antennae that I tentatively assign to A. partiviridis , the ocelli are also small; thus, this is probably not a good character to separate the two species and haven’t been included in the key or diagnosis; these two specimens are also excluded from the species redescription.

Figures

FIGURES 51 – 53. Austroterobia partibrunnea: 51, ♀, habitus, lateral view; 52, ♂, lateral view; 53, ♀, habitus, dorsal view.

FIGURES 54 – 60. Austroterobia partibrunnea, ♀: 54, head, frontal view; 55, head, dorsal view; 56, head, lateral view; 57, mesosoma, dorsal view; 58, mesosoma, lateral view; 59, propodeum and petiole, dorsal view; 60, fore wing.

FIGURES 64 – 71. Austroterobia partiviridis: 64, holotype ♀, head, frontal view; 65, holotype ♀, head, dorsal view; 66, holotype ♀, head, lateral view; 67, allotype ♂, antennae; 68, paratype ♀, mesosoma, dorsal view; 69, holotype ♀, mesosoma, lateral view; 70, paratype ♀, propodeum and petiole, dorsal view; 71, holotype ♀, fore wing.