Microplitis pennatulae Ranjith & Rajesh

Ranjith, A. P., Rajesh, K. M. & Nasser, M., 2015, Taxonomic studies on Oriental Microplitis Foerster (Hymenoptera: Braconidae, Microgastrinae) with description of two new species from South India, Zootaxa 3963 (3), pp. 369-415 : 379-382

Microplitis pennatulae Ranjith & Rajesh sp. nov.

Holotype, female (♀), body length 5 mm, fore wing 4.1mm, ovipositor 0.1mm, antennae 5.4 mm.

Materials examined. Holotype, female (♀), “ India, Kerala, Palakkad, Pattambi, 10°48’77.2” N, 76°11’80.6” E, 19.ii.2014, emerged from Psalis pennatula Fab., Coll. Ranjith, A.P. ”. Paratypes: 2♀♀ with same collection data, except 20.ii.2014. 3♀♀ “ India, Kerala, Palakkad, Pattambi, 10°48’77.2” N, 76°11’80.6” E, emerged from Psalis pennatula Fab., Coll. Ranjith, A.P. ”., 1♀ “ India, Kerala, Malappuram, Chelari, 11°11’21.2” N, 75°89’0.3” E, 19.x.2014, emerged from Psalis pennatula Fab. Coll. Rajesh, K.M. ”., 5♀♀ “ India, Kerala, Palakkad, Pattambi, 10°48’77.2” N, 76°11’80.6” E, 22.x.2014, emerged from Psalis pennatula Fab., Coll. Ranjith, A.P. ”., 4♀♀ “ India, Kerala, Palakkad, Pattambi, 10°48’77.2” N, 76°11’80.6” E, 26.x.2014, emerged from Psalis pennatula Fab., Coll. Ranjith, A.P. ”. 1♀ “ India, Kerala, Palakkad, Pattambi, 10°48’77.2” N, 76°11’80.6” E, 27.x.2014, emerged from Psalis pennatula Fab., Coll. Ranjith, A.P. ”., 4♀♀ “ India, Kerala, Palakkad, Pattambi, 10°48’77.2” N, 76°11’80.6” E, 26.x.2014, emerged from Psalis pennatula Fab., Coll. Ranjith, A.P. ”. All type specimens are deposited in DZUC.

Head: Head subcircular in anterior view ( Fig. 4 -B); lateral temples visible in anterior view ( Fig. 4 -B); width of face (at widest) 0.5× width of head; face 1.4× as wide as long, slightly rugose-punctate, pilose, strongly convex with small nodes dorso-medially below antennal sockets ( Fig. 4 -B); clypeus convex, punctate, sparsely pilose; length of clypeus 0.3× its width; tentorial pit deep; maxillary palp four segmented; length of maxillary palp 1.1× height of head in dorsal view; height of clypeus: intertentorial distance: tentorio ocular distance 6:18:4.5; length of eye 3.5× length of malar space; length of malar space 1.9× basal width of mandible; vertex dull with micropunctures; lateral temples punctate and densely pilose; frons smooth and strigose with medial longitudinal carina extending from medial ocellus to middle of antennal sockets, anterior frons with raised area in dorsal view; in lateral view medial temples 0.7× width of eye; eyes pilose ( Fig. 4 -B); ocelli normal size forming obtuse angle; POL 1.9× OOL; occiput smooth; antennae about as long as body; scape and pedicel 1.3, 0.3× as long as wide; length of first flagellomere 1× second flagellomere; length of first, second and penultimate flagellomere 2.8, 2.7, and 2.5× as long as wide respectively; terminal flagellomere acute, 3.3× as long as its maximum width.

Mesosoma: Mesosoma 1.3× as long as high; mesoscutum rugulose, pilose, lateral lobes of mesoscutum rugose with indistinct medial groove ( Fig. 4 -C); notauli impressed, rugulose, meeting posteriorly in broad strigoserugulose field with faint medial longitudinal carina ( Fig. 4 -C); scutellar lunules wide divided by seven carinae; scutellum rugulose, pilose, punctate; posterior margin with two large laterally diverging, crenulate furrows which forms carinate margin to posterior half of dorsal scutellum, these furrows partially extending onto and merging with rugosity of medial posterior band ( Fig. 4 -C); lateral lobes of anterior scutellum extended to form a triangulate horn; propodeum sparsely pilose with a percurrent medial longitudinal carina surrounded by coarse rugosity with a well-developed branched transverse carinae extending to spiracles ( Fig. 4 -D); pronotum laterally with crenulate furrows, rugulose dorsally and laterally; mesopleuron rugulose, pilose anteriorly and dorsally, rest smooth, shiny and glabrous; epicnemal furrow crenulate reaching anterior margin of mesopleuron; precoxal groove rugose crenulate, almost meeting epicnemal furrows; pleural suture deep, crenulate; mesosternum pilose; hind coxae punctate and pilose anteriorly with fine striae basally; length of hind femur 3.3× its width; length of hind tibia 6.6× its width; length of hind tibial spurs 0.32, 0.27× hind basitarsus; hind tarsal claw normal size.

Wings: Fore wing 2.7–2.8× as long as wide ( Fig. 4 -F); pterostigma 2.6× as long as wide ( Fig. 4 -F); 1-R1 short 0.45× distance from pterostigma to SR1; 1-M straight; areolet quadrangular; 1-CU1 0.25× as long as 2-CU1; 2- CU1 slightly curved posteriorly; angle between C+SC+R and 1-SR 71°; hind wing 2SC+R very short but present; first submarginal cell elongate.

Metasoma: T1 1.7× as long as wide with prominent shallow depression in anterior 2/3, rugulose laterally, narrowing in anterior 1/3, widest medially, rest almost parallel sided ( Fig. 4 -E & F); T 2 in medial line 0.6× as long as T3; T2 smooth basally with medial triangular field ( Fig. 4 -E); T3 glabrous medially; T2 and T3 sparsely pilose posteriorly; T4–T7 smooth with irregular rows of sparse setae ( Fig. 4 -E); ovipositor sheath acute apically, sparsely setose.

Colour: Body generally black, T1 brown, palps yellow, clypeus brownish black, antenna black, fore, mid tibiae and tarsi brown, hind tibia black on apical 1/3, rest yellow, hind tarsi brownish black, hind tibial spurs yellow, wings hyaline with infuscations apically, tegulae, venation brown, pterostigma yellow basally rest black ( Fig. 4 -F).

Male: Unknown.

Distribution. India (Kerala).

Host. Psalis pennatula Fab. ( Lepidoptera : Erebidae ).

Etymology. The specific name pennatulae comes from the species name of the host P. pennatula Fab.

Variation. Number of carinae dividing the scutellar lunules varies from six–seven.

Discussion. This new species is closely related to M. narendrani sp. nov. in having the scutellar lunules wide medially, propodeum coarsely rugose with a distinct transverse carina, and 1-CU 1 0.2× as long as 2-CU 1. It differs in the following characters, second flagellomere 2.7× as long as wide (second flagellomere 2.4× as long as wide in M. narendrani sp. nov.), terminal flagellomere 3.3× as long as wide (in M. narendrani sp. nov. terminal flagellomere 3.9× as long as wide), scutellar lunules divided by six–seven carinae (in M. narendrani sp. nov. scutellar lunules divided by eight–nine carinae), hind tibia 6.6× as long as wide (in M. narendrani sp. nov. hind tibia 4× as long as wide), metasoma black (metasoma orange brown in M. narendrani sp. nov.), and the pterostigma 2.6× as long as wide (in M. narendrani sp. nov. pterostigma 2.4× as long as wide). This new species is also related to M. carinicollis in having the propodeum coarsely rugose with a distinct medial longitudinal carina, scutellum rugulose and T1 with medial longitudinal groove. It differs in the following characters, face 1.4× as wide as long (in M. carinicollis face 1.6× as wide as long), frons smooth and strigose (in M. carinicollis frons rugulose), POL 1.9× OOL (POL 1.7× OOL in M. carinicollis ), body black (body reddish in M. carinicollis ), first and second flagellomeres 2.8, 2.7× as long as wide (in M. carinicollis first and second flagellomere 3.4, 3.1× as long as wide).

Figures

FIGURE 4. Microplitis pennatulae Ranjith & Rajesh sp. nov., female, holotype A) Habitus, lateral view; B) Head, anterior view; C) Mesosoma, dorsal view; D) Propodeum, dorsal view; E) Metasoma, dorsal view; F) Fore wing.