Microplitis murkyi, Gupta, Ankita, 2013

Gupta, Ankita, 2013, Revision of the Indian Microplitis Foerster (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Microgastrinae), with description of one new species, Zootaxa 3620 (3), pp. 429-452 : 433-435

Microplitis murkyi sp. nov.

Plate I—Figs. 1– 4.

Brief diagnosis. Notauli with faint indications and median furrow lacking; scutellar sulcus with six distinct costulae; tegulae yellow orange. Hind legs with femur yellow orange (black at apical and basal tip); T1 strongly reticulate rugose (except apical tip) with median longitudinal furrow in the basal half, reticulations larger preapically, 1.85x as long as its maximum width; T2 with median filed; T2 and T3 margin suffused. Propodeum coarsely reticulate-rugose with distinct, percurrent medial longitudinal carina surrounded by dense mesh of reticulations, reticulations clearer medially; transverse carinae visible.

Diagnosis. Female. Head, antennae (including scape and pedicel), mesosoma and coxae black; antennae 18 segmented; tegulae yellow orange; fore and mid legs mostly yellow orange (except dark coxae, tarsi and black infuscation apically and dorsally on femur); fore and mid tibia yellow orange with black infuscation; hind legs with coxae black, densely pilose and punctate; trochanters yellow orange; femur yellow orange (black at apical and basal tip); tibia pilose with dirty yellow orange colouration, black infuscation at apical 1/3rd and in sub basal region; hind tibial spurs pale yellow and equally long; wings infuscate, venation brown, stigma and veins uniformly dark brown; pterostigma with faint basal pale spot.

Head pilose; mesoscutum pilose and rugose punctuate; notauli not visible clearly and median furrow lacking; scutellar sulcus with six distinct costulae; scutellum shagreen with micropunctures basally. Mesopleuron medially smooth, shining, without pilosity; anterior, posterior and lateral sides finely punctate with dense pilosity. Propodeum coarsely reticulate-rugose with distinct, percurrent medial longitudinal carina surrounded by dense mesh of reticulations, reticulations much clearer medially; transverse carinae visible.

T1 of metasoma black and laterotergites brown; strongly rugose (except apical tip); median longitudinal furrow at apical 1/3rd; 1.85x as long as broad; first tergite widest pre-apically and converging apically to round apex; apical margin width little shorter than basal margin width; lateral sides of second tergite brown, smooth, shiny; rest of the metasoma smooth, shiny and black. T2 with median field with slanting lateral margins; T2 and T3 margin suffused and not demarcated clearly; T4 onwards fully pilose; ovipositor slightly exserted, not visible in dorsal view.

Measurements. Female. Holotype: Body length = 2.8 mm.

Fore wing length 3.1 mm. Head length: width (0.61: 0.68); 1.1 x as wide as long and not broadening behind eye in dorsal view. Vertex and upper temple densely punctured; (median ocellus diameter) OD: OOL: POL = 0.054: 0.114: 132. Face and eyes densely setose. Compound eye length: width (0.406: 0.22); intertentorial pit distance= 0.18 mm; tentorial pit to compound eye distance= 0.07 mm. Width of face at dorsal clypeal edge= 0.352 mm; malar space = 0.15 mm; clypeus height =0.07; clypeus width = 0.14 mm. Antennae longer than body; scape length: width (0.2: 0.11). F1 (0.219: 0.068); F2 (0.216: 0.064); F3 (0.224: 0.71); terminal flagellomere length: width = 0.144: 0.064; penultimate flagellomere length: width = 0.128: 0.067.

Mesosoma length: width (mm) = 1.27: 0.74. Wings: 1-R1 (0.52) the length and width of stigma (0.53:0.18); 2-SR= 0.16; areolet large, approximately triangular; first discal cell 1.3 × as wide as high (0.44:0.33); 1-CU1: 2- CU1: m-cu = 0.09: 0.3:0.19. Hind wing with 2a-M: 2r-m = 0.3: 0.11; margin of vannal lobe convex and hairy. Legs: hind coxa not reaching beyond T1; hind basitarsus = 0.465mm; spur of hind tibiae = 0.17 mm, 2.7x as long as hind basitarsus.

PLATE I. Microplitis murkyi sp. nov. (Figs. 1–4). 1. Female, habitus view 2. Male, habitus view 3. Mesosoma 4. Metasoma.

Metasoma length 1.32 mm; Metasoma longer than mesosoma (1.32: 1.27). T1 widest pre apically and slightly narrowed at apex, its median length: basal width: apical width = 0.47: 0.2: 0.18, evenly rugulose except for base (slightly depressed) and apical swelling smooth. T1 2.8x as long as wide. T2 nearly trapezoidal, smooth, with its median length = 0.19 mm; T3: T2 = 0.22: 0.19, and T3 and the following tergites smooth, shiny with sparse hairs. Hypopygium small; ovipositor sheath approximately as long as third hind tarsus.

Male. Similar to female.

Distribution. India: Karnataka.

Type material. Holotype, one female on card, INDIA, Karnataka, Mudigere, 7–12.vii.2012, sweep net, leg. David. Paratypes, three males on card, with same data as holotype.

Specimens examined. One female and two males, India, Karnataka, Mudigere, 12.vii.2012, yellow pan trap, leg. NBAII.

Repository. All types & specimens deposited in NBAII, Bangalore, India. Code. NBAII/Bra/ Mic/Microp / 0712-A (Holotype), NBAII/Bra/Mic/Microp/0712-B (Paratype).

Etymology. Gender, neutral. This species is named after the word “murky” for its overall dark colouration.

Discussion. This new species runs close to M. demolitor in having less distinct notauli and presence of distinct medial longitudinal carina; but differs in the following characters: propodeum with distinct medial longitudinal carina surrounded by coarse rugosity with dense mesh of reticulations; transverse carinae less distinct (vs. propodeum with clear median longitudinal carina surrounded by coarse rugosity with distinct large reticulations, largest along the sides of median carina, gradually reducing in size towards the lateral sides; distinct raised transverse carinae in demolitor ); antennae black (vs. basal first four antennal segments yellowish brown, funicle segments 5–6 dark brown, remainder black in demolitor ); metasoma black (vs. T1 dark brown, laterotergite yellow testaceous; T2, T3 and part of T4 red testaceous, rest black in demolitor ). T1 1.85x as long as its maximum width, strongly rugose except apical tip, (vs. T1 about 2.05x as long as its maximum width, basal 2/3rd parallel sided; apical 1/3rd converging to rounded apex; posterior half rugose with longitudinal striations; apical half smooth with apex nitid in demolitor ); hind coxa black, hind femur yellow orange, black at apical and basal tip; hind tibia fuscous, black infuscation at apical 1/3rd and in sub basal region (vs. hind legs with coxae and trochanters yellow orange; hind femur yellow orange with apex black; hind tibia with extreme base pale testaceous in demolitor ); T2 with median field (vs. median field not distinct in demolitor ).