Synopeas epigeios, Buhl, 2006

Buhl, P. N., 2006, Taxonomical And Distributional Notes On New And Known Palaearctic Platygastrid Species (Hymenoptera: Platygastridae), Acta Zoologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 52 (3), pp. 287-311 : 304

Synopeas epigeios sp. n.

( Figs 37–40 )

Female – Length: 1.6 mm. Black, A1 and legs medium reddish, coxae and last segment of tarsi darker. Head from above ( Fig. 37 ) 1.75 times as wide as long, fully 1.1 times as wide as mesosoma, finely and evenly reticulate-coriaceous, without hyperoccipital carina, hardly angled. OOL:LOL = 3:4. Head in frontal view 1.25 times as wide as high. Antenna ( Fig. 38 ) with A1 as long as distance between inner orbits. Mesosoma almost 1.6 times as long as wide, fully 1.1 times as high as wide. Sides of pronotum faintly reticulate-coriaceous in upper half, in lower half smooth and bare. Mesoscutum finely and weakly reticulate-coriaceous, with meshes very small as on head, postero-medially smooth and slightly swollen and brownish prolonged above scutellum; disc without trace of notauli, with rather dense, evenly distributed hairs. Mesopleuron smooth. Scutellum ( Fig. 39 ) smooth and bare along middle, laterally with dense hairs; spine distinct and slightly brownish, below with a narrow, vertical semitransparent lamella. Metapleuron more or less smooth and bare in anterior third, rest with dense pilosity. Propodeal carinae rather low, dark, in dorsal view thick and smooth, almost fused. Fore wing 0.75 times as long as body, 2.4 times as long as wide, clear but with dense microtrichia, without marginal cilia. Hind wing 5.7 times as long as wide; marginal cilia hardly 0.3 times the width of wing. Metasoma ( Fig. 40 ) 1.25 times as long as head and mesosoma combined, slightly wider than mesosoma, almost 1.2 times as wide as high. T1 with a few longitudinal carinae on a smooth surface; junction of T1–T2 pubescent. T2 smooth except for reticulate sculpture along hind margin; T3–T6 with such reticulation except along anterior and posterior margins; apical tergites with some superficially implanted hairs, forming a transverse row on T5; T6 about as long as wide.

Material examined: Holotype female: Denmark, East Jutland, Hevring Hede 6–7.VII. 2004, swept. P.N. BUHL leg. Preserved in ZMUC.

Differs from S. dravedensis BUHL, 2004 e .g. in larger OOL, more swollen posterior part of mesoscutum, larger scutellar spine, less convex metasoma, and in lighter coloured body appendages, cf. BUHL (2004 a). Differs from S. rhanis (WALKER, 1835) in the two last mentioned characters and in having scutellum differently shaped, cf. VLUG (1985). S. convexus THOMSON, 1859 has metasoma shaped as in S. epigeios , but S. convexus has hyperoccipital carina, much smaller tooth on scutellum, and darker body appendages than S. epigeios , cf. BUHL (1998 a).

Figures

Figs 37–40. Synopeas epigeios sp. n., female: 37 = head in dorsal view, 38 = antenna, 39 = scutellum in lateral view, 40 = metasoma in dorsal view.