Synopeas londiniense, Buhl, 2009

Buhl, Peter Neerup, 2009, Six new species of Platygastrinae from the British Isles (Hymenoptera, Platygastridae), Journal of Natural History 43 (11 - 12), pp. 687-699 : 693-694

Synopeas londiniense sp. nov.

( Figure 4 )

Diagnosis

Head without hyperoccipital carina; female A9 slightly transverse; scutellum at about level of mesoscutum, slightly pointed, without tooth or lamella; fore wing without marginal cilia; metasoma slightly longer than rest of body and pointed, very slightly wider than high.

Description

Female. Length 1.2 mm. Black, antennae hardly lighter; mandibles and legs dark brown; trochanters, base and apex of fore tibiae, and base of mid and hind tibiae dark reddish brown; segments 1–4 of all tarsi light brown.

Head from above ( Figure 4A ) 2.0 times as wide as long, fully 1.1 times as wide as mesosoma, distinctly and uniformly reticulate-coriaceous; occiput rounded, without hyperoccipital carina; frons with a medial longitudinal impression; OOL and LOL about equal, OOL 1.8 times as long as diameter of lateral ocellus. Head in frontal view 1.2 times as wide as high. Antenna ( Figure 4B ) with A1 0.75 times as long as height of head, shorter than distance between inner orbits (12:13).

Mesosoma almost 1.4 times as long as wide, slightly higher than wide (18:17). Sides of pronotum finely reticulate-coriaceous, in lower half smoother with longitudinal elements in sculpture, narrow hind margin smooth. Mesoscutum with scattered, rather sparse hairs, dull, finely reticulate-coriaceous, without notauli; hind margin medially smoother, slightly brownish, distinctly and broadly prolonged over base of scutellum; scuto-scutellar grooves rather small, each with about four long hairs. Mesopleuron smooth. Scutellum ( Figure 4C ) almost smooth, with weak traces of granulation, densely hairy, only slightly less dense medially, in dorsal view slightly pointed posteriorly, in lateral view vertically truncate, without tooth or lamella. Metapleuron smooth, with long whitish pilosity over most of surface. Propodeal carinae brownish, short, anteriorly fused, posteriorly diverging.

Fore wing 0.8 times as long as entire body, 2.3 times as long as wide, almost clear, with fine and dense microtrichia; marginal cilia absent. Hind wing 5.9 times as long as wide; marginal cilia 0.25 times the width of wing.

Metasoma ( Figure 4D ) 1.2 times as long as head and mesosoma combined, as wide as mesosoma, 1.1 times as wide as high. T2 smooth, its broad hind margin as well as most of T3–T6 with distinct reticulate microsculpture; apical tergites with a few fine hairs which are inserted in shallow punctures (about two on T3, four on T4, six on each of T5–T6); T6 hardly as long as its basal width (7:8).

Material examined

Holotype female: England, South East London , Norwood, viii.1929, G.E.J. Nixon.

Affinities

Differs from the similar S. convexum Thomson, 1859 in lacking hyperoccipital carina, in having entirely smooth mesopleuron, scutellum more at level with mesoscutum, and less elongate fore wings, cf. Buhl (1998b). Synopeas hibernicum Buhl and O’Connor, 2008 differs from S. londiniense in having shorter OOL, shorter female A3, more elongate mesosoma, less pilose metapleuron, parallel propodeal carinae, and female metasoma hardly 1.1 times as long as head and mesosoma combined; cf. Buhl and O’Connor (forthcoming).

Etymology

Named after the city of London.

Figures

Figure 4. Synopeas londiniense sp. nov., female. (A) head, dorsal; (B) antenna; (C) scutellum and propodeum, lateral (D) metasoma, dorsal.