Deuterixys curticalcar Zeng & Chen

Zeng, Jie, He, Jun-Hua & Chen, Xue-Xin, 2011, The genera Deuterixys Mason, 1981 and Wilkinsonellus Mason, 1981 (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Microgastrinae) from China, with description of two new species, ZooKeys 120, pp. 27-40 : 31-33

Deuterixys curticalcar Zeng & Chen sp. n. Figs 8-14

Description.

Female.

Body length 2.04 mm, fore wing length 2.24 mm.

Head. In frontal view antennal sockets distinctly above middle level of eyes, head 1.6 times as wide as long and 1.1 times as that of mesoscutum. Ocelli small and in a high triangle, POL: OD: OOL=4.0:2.4:6.2. Frons and vertex smooth and shiny, covered with dense short fine setae; vertex sharply narrowed behind eyes, area behind ocellar area sharply oblique, smooth and shiny, without setae; temple and gena feebly striate and shiny, with dense setae; face shiny and discretely but distinctly punctate, 0.9 times as wide as height of eye and clypeus combined, with dense setae; inner margins of eyes adjacent to face slightly converging ventrally; eye moderate size, 1.7 times as high as wide (15.6:9.0), temple behind eyes subequal in length to width of eye. Clypeus feebly rugulose, with dense short fine setae; tentorial pits small, distance between tentorial pits twice distance from pit to eye margin (5.7:2.8); malar space short, 0.2 times as long as eye height; apical segment of labial palp longer than the preceding segment but shorter than the next preceding segment. Antenna longer than body; flagellomeres with placodes arranged regularly in 2 ranks except the apical 6 segments; the third flagellomere subequal to the forth flagellomere in length; apical segment slightly longer than preapical one. Flagellomere proportions: 2 L/W=4.10, 8 L/W=4.05, 14 L/W=1.88; L 2/14=2.00; W 2/14=0.92.

Mesosoma. Mesoscutum densely and evenly punctate, with normal setae; notauli absent. Disc of scutellum as densely punctate as mesoscutum, with normal setae; the posterior, polished band of scutellum continuous, not interrupted medially; scutellar sulcus shallow with a few weak carinae and as long as scutellum. Propodeum highly polished, virtually without sculpture except for a strong medial longitudinal carina and very short transverse ridges in immediate vicinity of longitudinal carina and lateral margin, with strong rugae around spiracle. Epicnemial furrow indistinct, area before it slightly raised above rest of mesopleuron; precoxal suture indistinct, only indicated by a large shallow depression. Mesosternum with dense fine setigerous punctures. Laterally metanotum mostly smooth and shiny.

Wings. Forewing without areolet, radial vein r arising from middle of pterostigma; veins r and 2-SR meeting at an angle of almost 170 degree; r:2-SR:length of pterostigma = 7.5:6.5:23.0; vein 1-R1 1.1 times as long as pterostigma, pterostigma 2.6 times as long as wide. 1-CU1:2-CU1: m-cu=6.5:7.0:7.3. Hind wing narrow.

Legs. Hind coxa shiny, highly polished, scattered with short setae on anterior 2/3. Hind tibia gradually swollen apically and 0.9 times as long as hind tarsus (33.0:38.8); inner hind tibial spurs 0.4 times as long as hind basitarsus (6.0:15.5); forth tarsal segment much shorter than fifth tarsal segment (4.5:7.0). Hind tibia without trace of spines on outer side.

Metasoma. TI parallel-sided, with a very feebly rugose triangular area and a strong and smooth medial longitudinal groove on anterior 2/5, densely rugulose and turns over on posterior 3/5, 1.6 times as long as its greatest width and 1.5 times as long as tergite II. TII+III constricted at the level of the crenulate second suture. TII rectangular, densely and strongly rugose, with strong longitudinal striae posteriorly, without trace of median field, 0.6 times as long as its basal width and 1.7 times as long as tergite III. TIII transverse, broadened posteriorly, longitudinally aciculate-rugulose and densely and strongly rugulose. Tergites posterior to TIII more membranous, shiny; all tergites with scattered short fine setae. Ovipositor sheath very short, only 0.4 times as long as hind basitarsus, curved downwards. Hypopygium short, strongly and evenly sclerotized, truncated apically, sparsely clothed with long setae.

Colour. Body mostly black; metasoma brownish to light brown except black TI to TIII. Antenna almost brown, basal third yellowish ventrally. Mouthparts yellow with brown margin, palpi white. Tegula brown. Legs yellow, somewhat whitish; fore and middle coxae brownish laterally, all claws brown; hind coxa and tarsus brown; hind tibia brownish and darkened apically, its apical third strongly darkened. Wings hyaline; veins grey except brown submarginal vein, pterostigma grey and laterally brown.

Variation. Vein 1-SR 1.1-1.4 times as long as pterostigma, pterostigma 2.6-3 times as long as wide. Veins and pterostigma light brown, more or less transparent. Antenna, mouthparts and tegula sometimes darkened.

Male.

Unknown.

Host.

Unknown for this species but all previous host records from Europe and North America indicate that Deuterixys spp. are parasites of Bucculatrix spp. ( Bucculatricidae ) ( Nixon 1965, Mason 1981, Whitfield 1985).

Materials examined.

Holotype: ♀, main peak of Mt. Huping (110°45E, 30°02'N ~ 110°55'E, 30°07'N), Shimen, Hunan, 2009. VII. 12, legs. Zeng Jie, No. 200900720. Paratype: 2♀♀, Main peak of Mt. Huping (110°45'E, 30°02'N ~ 110°55'E, 30°07'N), Shimen, Hunan, 2009. VII. 12, legs. Zeng Jie, No. 200900716, 200900745; 1♀, Mt. Huping (110°45'E, 30°02'N ~ 110°55'E, 30°07'N), Sanhecun, Shimen, Hunan, 2009. VII. 13, legs. Zeng Jie, No. 200901663; 2♀♀, Mt. Huping (110°45'E, 30°02'N ~ 110°55'E, 30°07'N), Sanhecun, Shimen, Hunan, 2009. VII. 11, legs. Tang Pu, No. 200901072, 200901079; 2♀♀, Mt. Huping (110°45'E, 30°02'N ~ 110°55'E, 30°07'N), Sanhecun, Shimen, Hunan, 2009. VII. 11, legs. Ma Li, No. 200901910, 200901952; 1♀, Mt. Huping (110°45'E, 30°02'N ~ 110°55'E, 30°07'N), Sanhecun, Shimen, Hunan, 2009. VII. 13, legs. Ma Li, No. 200901011; 1♀, Mt. Jingang(114°06'E, 26°31'N ~ 114°10'E, 26°34'N), Jiangxi, 2007. VIII. 13, legs. He Junhua, No. 200704967; 1♀, Jietou (98°37'E, 25°22'N ~ 98°39'E, 25°27'N), Tengchong, Yunnan, 2006. VII. 11-12, legs. Zeng Jie, No. 200801766; 1♀, Nankang (98°46'E, 24°48'N ~ 98°47'E, 24°49'N), Lujiangba, Baoshan, Yunnan, 2009. V. 9, legs. Zeng Jie, No. 200904232; 1♀, Mt. Leigong (118°03'E, 26°21'N ~ 118°15'E, 26°25'N), Xiaodanjiang, Guizhou, 2005. VI. 4, legs. Zhang Hongying, No. 200606086; 1♀, Kuankuoshui Natural Reserve(107°24'E, 30°37'N ~ 107°24'E, 30°37'N), Guizhou, 2010. VI. 5, legs. Zeng Jie, No. 201004665; 1♀, Datianding, Mt. Dawuling (111°11'E, 22°16'N ~ 111°13'E, 22°18'N), Guangdong, 2001. X. 3, legs. Xu Zaifu, No. 20020629; 1♀, Mt. Chebaling (114°14'E, 24°43'N ~ 114°16'E, 24°44'N), Shixing, Guangdong, 2003. VIII. 21, legs. Xu Zaifu, No. 20053046; 2♀♀, Baotianman (111°55'E, 33°29'N ~ 111°58'E, 33°32'N), Neixiang, Henan, 1998. VII. 14, legs. Chen Xuexin, No. 988733, 988741; 1♀, Hongxia tree farm, Mt. Liupan (106°13'E, 35°43'N ~ 106°17'E, 35°45'N), Jingyuan, Ningxia, 2008. VI. 1, legs. Liu Jingxian, No. 200905594; 1♀, Guamagou, Mt. Liupan (106°19'E, 35°46'N ~ 106°21'E, 35°47'N), Pengyang, Ningxia, 2008. VI. 9-10, legs. Liu Jingxian, No. 200904351; 1♀, Yehegu, Xixia tree farm, Mt. Liupan (106°13'E, 35°29'N ~ 106°17'E, 35°31'N), Jingyuan, Ningxia, 2008. VI. 11-12, legs. Liu Jingxian, No. 200905857.

Etymology.

The specific name “curticalcar” derives from the Latin prefixion “curti-” and noun “calcar”, referring to the short hind tibial spurs.

Distribution.

China (Jiangxi, Henan, Hunan, Guangdong, Guizhou, Yunnan, Ningxia).

Remark.

This species is similar to the Palaearctic species Deuterixys carbonaria (Wesmael, 1837), but can be distinguished from the latter by having TI long, more than 1.5 times as long as wide (TI subrectangular, 1.2-1.3 times as long as wide in Deuterixys carbonaria ); TII much longer than TIII (TII almost as long as TIII); and inner hind tibial spurs shorter than 0.5 times hind basitarsus (much more than 0.5 times hind basitarsus).