Pseudofornicia van Achterberg

Achterberg, Cornelis van, Long, Khuat Dang, Chen, Xue-xin & You, Lan-shao, 2015, Pseudofornicia gen. n. (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Microgastrinae), a new Indo-Australian genus and one new species from Vietnam, ZooKeys 524, pp. 89-102 : 90

Taxon classification Animalia Hymenoptera Braconidae

Pseudofornicia van Achterberg gen. n. Figs 1, 2-10, 11, 12-20, 21, 22-30

Etymology.

The specific name is derived from “pseudos” (Greek for “fallacy”) and the generic name Fornicia Brullé, because it is similar to that genus. Gender: feminine.

Type species.

Pseudofornicia nigrisoma van Achterberg & Long, sp. n.

Diagnosis.

Height of head 0.5-0.7 × height of mesosoma in lateral view (Figs 1, 11) and width of head 0.8-0.9 × width of mesoscutum; scapus moderately oblique apically; prepectal carina absent; axilla curved up over base of hind wing; metanotum with lobe-shaped protuberance postero-dorsally; medio-longitudinal carina of propodeum absent (Fig. 13); vein r-m of fore wing absent (Figs 2, 22); vein 1-SR of fore wing 0.3-0.4 × as long as vein 1-M (Figs 2, 12); inner middle tibial spur as long as basitarsus and curved (Fig. 1); three anterior tergites of metasoma forming a flattened carapace covering most of metasoma dorsally (Figs 4, 14, 24); first tergite movably joined to second tergite (Fig. 4); dorsal carinae of first metasomal tergite united into median carina posteriorly and with a lamella separating dorsal and anterior face of tergite (Figs 13, 23), anterior face smooth and flat; second suture of metasoma sinuate, crenulate and together with lateral grooves of medial area forming a more or less X-shaped figure (Figs 3, 13, 23); third tergite 1.1-1.6 × as long as second tergite medially (Figs 2, 13, 23); fourth-sixth tergites more or less sclerotized; ovipositor short and decurved; ovipositor sheath largely glabrous, narrow and only apically with some long setae; hypopygium of female fully sclerotized and acute apically. Males unknown.

Distribution.

Indo-Australian.

Biology.

Unknown, but the species of the very similar genus Fornicia are koinobiont endoparasitoids of limacodid caterpillars ( Yu et al. 2012).

Comments.

The genus will run in the key to world genera of Microgastrinae by Mason (1981) to the genus Fornicia Brullé. The new genus can be separated as follows:

Key to species of the genus Pseudofornicia