Lusius flummox Rousse & van Noort

Rousse, Pascal, van Noort, Simon & Diller, E., 2013, Revision of the Afrotropical Phaeogenini (Ichneumonidae, Ichneumoninae), with description of a new genus and twelve new species, ZooKeys 354, pp. 1-85 : 67-70

Lusius flummox Rousse & van Noort sp. n. Figs 40-41

Type material.

HOLOTYPE. Female: Uganda, Kibale National Park, Kanyawara, Makerere University Biological Field Station, 1523m, 0°33.836'N, 30°21.700'E, 4-26. viii. 2008, S. van Noort, UG08 –KF8– Y07, yellow pan trap, primary mid–altitude Rainforest, SAM–HYM–P 044118 (SAMC). PARATYPE. 1 female: Mulange, Uganda, Nov. 1922, R. Dummer, SAM–HYM–P 007141 (SAMC). Other material. 1 female: Sapoba, Nigeria, 3.IX.1962, D.C. Eidt, Malaise trap (CNCI).

Diagnosis.

Head and metasoma mostly yellowish, metasoma with dorsal brown maculae; head mostly faintly sculptured but face densely punctate; clypeus very high, strongly pointed apico–laterally; frons with a faint mid–longitudinal carina; antenna very long and slender; mesosoma laterally punctate–reticulate, mesoscutum wrinkled, propodeum reticulate; both transverse carinae of propodeum present; epicnemial carina mid–ventrally highly raised and medially anterior–pointing into a sharp angle; gastrocoelus moderately deep, thyridium wide and oblique. HdWi 1.7; HfWi 1.1; Ci 1.2; Mi 1.0; IOi 1.1; OOi 1.4; Fli1 8.3; Fli15 1.5; Fli37 1.8; OTi 0.6. Male unknown.

Description.

FEMALE (2 specimens). B 8.0-8.4; A 6. 5; F 4.7-4.9.

Color. Head bright yellow with vertex, occiput, scape and pedicel infuscate, inter–ocellar area and flagellum dark brown (but cf. comments); mesosoma bright yellow with mesoscutal lobes and propodeum brown; wings hyaline, venation light brown; legs yellow with tibiae infuscate, hind tibia and all tarsi brown; tergite 1 dark brown, the following brown and apically yellow, thyridium yellow.

Head. Face quadrate, densely punctate; clypeus smooth, very high, its apical margin straight, hardly rounded medially and strongly pointed laterally; malar line long with subocular sulcus deep; palpi elongate, maxillary palpus reaching beyond middle of mesosternum; frons hardly sculptured with a faint Y–shaped median carina; vertex sparsely punctate, ocellar triangle wider than long; temple smooth, distinctly swollen behind eyes; antenna very long and slender, slightly enlarged from middle, toruli distinctly protruding, apical truncation of scape and first flagellomeres strongly oblique, flagellum with 38 flagellomeres (paratype with antennae apically broken).

Mesosoma. Entirely shining; pleurae densely and irregularly punctate to punctate–reticulate; pronotum with epomia moderate; sternaulus imperceptible; epicnemial carina ventrally highly raised, medially strongly produced anteriorly into a sharp angle; mesoscutum anteriorly transversely wrinkled, wrinkles coarser posteriorly, notaulus deep, median lobe moderately protruding; scutellum weakly convex, carinate to its apical quarter, smooth with some punctures; propodeum coarsely reticulate, basal and apical transverse carinae complete. Legs. Hind tibia irregularly shaped, its basal third abruptely constricted; tarsal claws with strong tuft of setae basally.

Metasoma. Tergite 1 slender, smooth with some isolated punctures, its apical third distinctly swollen; tergite 2 and following finely and densely reticulate; gastrocoelus moderately deep within anterior third of tergite 2, thyridium wide and oblique; ovipositor straight and moderately long.

MALE. Unknown.

Etymology.

Flummox: "be a mystery or bewildering" in reference to the atypical Ichneumoninae habitus of the genus, which originally flummoxed placement of this new species. Noun in apposition.

Distribution.

Uganda. Nigeria? (cf. comments).

Comments.

The CNCI specimen, from Nigeria, was not included in the type material. It indeed exhibits surprising differences: flagellum bi–colored, yellow from base to flagellomere 15, then with remaining flagellomeres black; overall coloration yellow without darker dorsal markings; and median carina of frons absent. The clypeus is, however, typical of Lusius flummox . Whether this specimen belongs to Lusius flummox , represents a distinct new species, or is an intermediate linking Lusius flummox and Lusius tenuissimus is currently unclear. We refrain from describing it as a new species until further material is available to enable an informed assessment of this species’ variability.