Nixonia mcgregori van Noort & Johnson

van Noort, S. & Johnson, N. F., 2009, New species of the plesiomorphic genus Nixonia Masner (Hymenoptera: Platygastroidea, Platygastridae) from South Africa., ZooKeys 20, pp. 31-51 : 44-48

Nixonia mcgregori van Noort & Johnson , sp. n.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:8BC4BB9E-7CC8-4006-8399-34DD54CD40 FB Figures 2A-F

Type material. Holotype female. SOUTH AFRICA, Northern Cape, Hantam National Botanical Garden , 758m, 31°24.293'S 19°09.215'E, 10 Dec 2007 - 13 Jan 2008, S van Noort, Malaise trap, GL07-DOL2-M05 , Nieuwoudtville-Roggeveld Dolerite Renosterveld, SAM-HYM-P025051 , OSUC 256957 ( SAMC) . Paratypes: 2 females, 1 male, SOUTH AFRICA, Northern Cape, Hantam National Botanical Garden , 787m, 31°24.845'S 19°09-443'E, 10 Dec 2007 - 13 Jan 2008, S van Noort, Malaise trap, GL07-KOP1-M06 , Nieuwoudtville Dolerite Koppie Renosterveld, SAM-HYM-P025049 , OSUC 256941 ( SAMC, OSUC) . 2 males, South Africa, Northern Cape, Hantam National Botanical Garden , 752m, 31°23.802'S 19 °08.799'E, 10 Dec 2007 - 13 Jan 2008, S van Noort, Malaise trap, GL07-REN1- M01 , Nieuwoudtville Shale Renosterveld, SAM-HYM-P025050 ( SAMC) . 1 female, 2 males, South Africa, Northern Cape, Hantam National Botanical Garden , 755m, 31°24.274'S 19°09.164'E, 10 Dec 2007 - 13 Jan 2008, S van Noort, Malaise trap, GL07-DOL1-M04 , Nieuwoudtville-Roggeveld Dolerite Renosterveld, SAM-HYM-P025047 ( SAMC) . 7 males South Africa, Northern Cape, Hantam National Botanical Garden , 797m, 31°24.841'S 19°09.551'E, 10 Dec 2007 - 13 Jan 2008, S van Noort, Malaise trap, GL07-KOP2-M07 , Nieuwoudtville Dolerite Koppie Renosterveld, SAM-HYM-P025048 , OSUC 256942 ( SAMC, OSUC) . 1 male, South Africa, Northern Cape, Hantam National Botanical Garden, 741m, 31°24.182'S 19°08.587'E, 13 Jan - 14 February 2008, S van Noort, Malaise trap, GL07-REN3-M10 , Nieuwoudtville Shale Renosterveld, SAM-HYM-P025054 ( SAMC) . 4 females, 7 males, South Africa, Northern Cape, Hantam National Botanical Garden , 787m, 31°24.845'S 19°09.443'E, 13 Jan - 14 February 2008, S van Noort, Malaise trap, GL07-KOP1-M13 , Nieuwoudtville Dolerite Koppie Renosterveld, SAM-HYM-P025055 , OSUC 256943 , OSUC 256944 ( SAMC, OSUC) . 2 females, 9 males, South Africa, Northern Cape, Hantam National Botanical Garden , 797m, 31°24.841'S 19°09.551'E, 13 Jan - 14 February 2008, S van Noort, Malaise trap, GL07-KOP2-M14 , Nieuwoudtville Dolerite Koppie Renosterveld, SAM-HYM-P025056 , OSUC 256945 , OSUC 256946 ( SAMC, OSUC) . 1 male, South Africa, Northern Cape, Avontuur Farm, 16km NW Nieuwoudtville , 764m, 31°16.249'S 19°02.900'E, 25 Dec 2008 - 27 Jan 2009, S van Noort, Malaise trap, GL07-FYN1-M73 , Bokkeveld Sandstone Fynbos, SAM-HYM-P 030249 ( SAMC) . 1 female, same data except: Yellow Pan trap, GL07-FYN1-Y34 , SAM-HYM-P 030243 ( SAMC) . 1 female, same data except: Yellow Pan trap, GL07-FYN1-Y35 , SAM-HYM-P 030244 ( SAMC) . 1 male, South Africa, Northern Cape, Hantam National Botanical Garden , 49m, 31°20.602'S 19°11.695'E, 25 Dec 2008 - 27 Jan 2009, S van Noort, Malaise trap, GL07-SUC1-M74 , Hantam Succulent Karoo, SAM-HYM-P 030245 ( SAMC) . 1 male, same data except for: Yellow pan trap, GL07-SUC1-Y37 , SAM-HYM-P 030246 ( SAMC) .

Diagnosis: Nixonia mcgregori is distinguished by the deep and broad emargination posterior-medially on T6 and the wide and conspicuous lateral flanges. It is most similar to N. gigas , but N. gigas has a very narrow excision in the female T6 and strong spines on the fore-and midtibiae.

Etymology. Named in honour of conservationist Neil McGregor, former owner of Glenlyon farm. Neil's farm has formed the core of the recently established Hantam National Botanical Garden at Nieuwoudtville.

Distribution and habitat association. Nixonia mcgregori is currently only known from the vicinity of Nieuwoudtville in the Northern Cape Province where it is associated with the Succulent Karoo and Fynbos biomes (Fig 3). The species has been sampled in four Fynbos vegetation types: Nieuwoudtville-Roggeveld Dolerite Renosterveld; Nieuwoudtville Dolerite Koppie Renosterveld, Nieuwoudtville Shale Renosterveld and Bokkeveld Sandstone Fynbos, as well as in the Hantam Succulent Karoo. Distribution map available at: http://hol.osu.edu/index.html?id=247389.

Description. Holotype female. Length 7.0 mm; completely black, tarsi lighter (figs. 2A, B); wings infuscate throughout, brownish (fig. 2F).

Head (figs. 2C-E) transverse in dorsal view, width 1.8x length; vertex medially smooth, shining with very fine setiforous punctures, laterally rugulose-punctate, shining or completely rugulose-punctate, shining; OOL short, lateral ocellus in close apposition with compound eye, separated from inner orbit by a quarter of ocellar diameter; POL 1.4x LOL; occiput rugulose-punctate, shining; occipital carina not discernable; frons rugulose-punctate, shining, above toruli with strong transverse striation; frons somewhat narrow, IOS 0.87x greatest length of eye; toruli in close apposition separated by 0.14x diameter of torulus; frons between toruli not projecting, flat; rim of torulus raised dorsally and venatrally; apical margin of clypeus with medial blunt tooth; area below eye (in normal position of malar sulcus) with fine granulate microsculpture; cheeks laterad of malar area rugose-punctate, with longitudinal sculpture; mandible short, bidentate, upper tooth only slightly longer than lower, without dense basal tuft of setae; maxillary palpal segment4 distinctly expanded medially, sub-triangular; A1 finely reticulate, greatest width in apical two-thirds of segment 3.9x longer than wide; length of A3 1.6x length of A2.

Mesosoma (figs. 2A, D) as high as wide, length 1.3x height; pronotal shoulders coarsely punctate; lateral surface of pronotum coarsely punctate; netrion punctuaterugulose with strong longitudinal striation; mesoscut um deeply punctate; parapsidal lines absent; scut ellum: coarsely rugulose-punctate, with longitudinal elements; median propodeal tooth subcordate, broad, length 1.1x maximum width, rounded apically, longitudinally striate except for smooth posterior-medial excavation; upper mesepisternum with strong longitudinal sculpture; fine foveae separating mesepisternum and mesepimeron extending from base of wing to coxal cavity; lower mesepisternum finely reticulate-punc-tate; mesepimeral hook longitudinally keeled; tegula finely punctate; R1 in forewing distinctly separated from costal margin, extending only halfway from R to margin; apex of forewing extending to mid or apex of T5; R in hindwing with tracheate section long, nearly reaching hamuli; outer surface of tibiae with fine, semidecumbent spines.

Metasoma (figs. 2A,B,F) 2.9x longer than greatest width; T1 twice as wide as long; terga longitudinally rugose; female T6 with broad, deep apical emargination, depth equivalent to width, lateral flange broad; T6 anteromedially with distinctive field of microsculpture.

Biology. Given that one species of Nixonia , N. watshami , has been recorded as an egg parasitoid of an armoured ground cricket, A. discoidalis , in Namibia and Botswana it is plausible that N. mcgregori and N. corrugata may be egg parasitoids of the armoured ground cricket species, Hetrodes pupus (Linnaeus, 1758) that is very common in the habitats where these two species of Nixonia occur.

Additional distribution records for described species