Brachyzapus duboisi, Pham & Broad & Matsumoto & Wägele, 2012

Pham, Nhi Thi, Broad, Gavin R., Matsumoto, Rikio & Wägele, Wolfgang J., 2012, First record of the genus Brachyzapus Gauld and Dubois (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae: Pimplinae) from Vietnam, with descriptions of six new species, Journal of Natural History 46 (27 - 28), pp. 1639-1661 : 1646-1649

Brachyzapus duboisi sp. nov.

( Figure 3 )

Material examined

Holotype (female). Lao Cai, Hoang Lien NP, Fansipan Mt , 2320 m a.s.l., 24 April to 02 May 2000, Malaise trap, P. Q. Mai and M. T. Nguyen leg. ( RMNH).

Paratype (two females). one female Lao Cai, Sa Pa , 1700 m a.s.l., 29 May 1997, hand net, R. Matsumoto leg ( OMNH) ; one female same locality and collector, 30 May 1997, ( OMNH) .

Diagnosis

Inner margins of eyes slightly convergent medially; malar space 0.75 × basal width of mandible; scutellum with lateral carina present basally, laterally with weak transverse ridges; mesopleuron with mesopleural suture foveolate; propodeum with posterior transverse carina strong; first tergite with median longitudinal carina strong to transverse smooth band; first sternite strongly convex, rounded apically.

Description

Body length 7 mm, fore wing 6.2 mm, ovipositor 1.7 mm.

Head. Antenna with 27 flagellomeres, first flagellomere 1.4 × length of second; diameter of lateral ocellus 0.85 × ocellar–ocular distance; frons impunctate and polished; inner margins of eyes slightly convergent medially; face 1.4 × as high as wide, pubescent, upper margin broadly concave between antennal sockets; clypeus moderately convex, about 0.67 × as high as wide, apical margin thin, emarginate; malar space about 0.75 × basal width of mandible; mandible twisted and narrow, upper tooth longer than lower tooth; occipital carina complete, meeting hypostomal carina about 1.5 × length of mandible basal width from base of mandible.

Mesosoma. Epomia length 2 × mandible width, extending from collar to dorsal margin of pronotum; pronotum impunctate and polished laterally, pubescent dorsally; mesoscutum moderately densely setose, with notauli deep, convergent at posterior 0.3 in shallow hollow; scutellum strongly convex, pubescent basally, laterally with weak transverse ridges, lateral carina present basally; mesopleuron subpolished, scattered hairs, mesopleural suture foveolate, epicnemial carina present on lower 0.6; metapleuron convex, bare and polished, pubescent dorsally along pleural carina, submetapleural carina forming small lobe anteriorly, angled about 120 ◦ posteriorly; metasternum with some parallel transverse ridges from posterior angulation of submetapleural carina nearly to median longitudinal groove; propodeum moderately convex, pubescent laterally, dorsally mostly bare, petiolar area polished, lateral longitudinal carina present on apical 0.5, posterior transverse carina strong. Legs with mid and hind tibiae slightly swollen sub-basally; fore femur 3.9 × as long as wide; hind femur 5 × longer than wide, length 0.8 × tibia, tibia 10 × as long as apical width; basitarsus longer than following three tarsomeres combined, 0.3 × length of tibia, 0.45 × tarsus, 3 × second tarsomere, fourth tarsomere very short, fifth 2 × as long as third. Fore wing with vein Rs & M slightly basad of cu-a, 2 rs-m about 0.8 × distance between 2 rs-m and 2 m-cu, vein cu-a slightly inclivous, vein Cu 1 a separated from 1 mcu by 1.5 × length of vein Cu 1 b; hind wing with first abscissa of vein Cu 1 as long as vein cu-a.

Metasoma. Metasoma 1.8 × head and mesosoma combined; tergites with fine punctures, except second tergite and apical transverse bands smooth, base of tergite 3–5 weakly coriaceous; first tergite 2.5 × as long as apical width, dorsolateral carina complete, median longitudinal carina strong to transverse smooth band, median part convex; second tergite 0.8 × length of first, 1.15 × as long as apical width, basal and apical oblique grooves moderately deep, rhombic area moderately convex; third tergite shorter than second, basal and apical oblique grooves weakly present; first sternite rounded, strongly convex apically; ovipositor slightly up-curved at tip, length of ovipositor from tip of hypopygium 0.85 × length of hind tibia, lower valve slightly swollen medially, tapered to sharp point.

Colour. Black. Antenna yellowish brown, face and clypeus dark brown, mandible yellowish brown, palpi and tegula yellow; scutellum and post-scutellum reddish; legs reddish brown, except hind tibia with sub-basal and apical parts slightly darker; wings hyaline, pterostigma and veins yellowish brown; ovipositor reddish.

Male. Unknown.

Variation

Paratypes with malar space slightly shorter than in holotype (0.6 × mandible basal width versus 0.75 ×), wings more pigmented.

Distribution

Currently known only from Hoang Lien NP, Fansipan Mt, Lao Cai Province, Northern Vietnam ( Figure 7 ).

Ecological note

The specimens were collected in montane evergreen forest at an elevation of 1700–2320 m a.s.l.

Comparison

This new species is similar to B. unicarinatus in the presence of a strong posterior transverse carina on the propodeum and the evenly convex first tergite, with median longitudinal carinae extending nearly to the posterior margin. However, this species differs from the latter by its mesopleural suture foveolate over both upper and lower parts and its yellowish-brown antenna, without subapical yellow flagellomeres.

Etymology

This species is named after Jacques Dubois, who, with the late Ian Gauld, described the genus Brachyzapus and did much to delimit monophyletic genera within the Polysphincta- group.

Figures

Figure 3. Brachyzapus duboisi sp. nov. holotype female: (A) lateral view; (B) dorsal view of head and mesoscutum; (C) lateral view of mesosoma; (D) dorsal view of tergites 1–2; (E) face; (F) ovipositor; (G) wings; (H) dorsal view of scutellum, metascutellum and propodeum.

Figure 7. Map showing the type locality of six new species of Brachyzapus.