Cassidibracon Quicke, 1987

Quicke, Donald L. J., Broad, Gavin R. & Butcher, Buntika Areekul, 2012, First host record for the Palaeotropical braconine wasp genus Cassidibracon Quicke (Hymenoptera, Braconidae) with the description of a new species from India, Journal of Hymenoptera Research 28, pp. 135-141 : 136-139

Genus Cassidibracon Quicke Figures 1-2

Cassidibracon Quicke 1987b: 142 Type species Cassidibracon castus Quicke, by original designation.

Description.

Head. Terminal flagellomere strongly acuminate. Scapus small, shorter ventrally than dorsally in lateral aspect, not apicolaterally emarginate. Eyes mode rately large, glabrous, not emarginate. Malar suture well-developed. Dorsal margin of hypoclypeal depression not strongly protruding and lamelliform. Clypeus sharply demarkated from face by deep groove. Anterior tentorial pits large. Frons not inpressed behind antennal sockets, with strong midlongitudinal groove. Head strongly contracted behind eyes.

Mesosoma. Mesoscutum shiny, moderately densely with punctures at the bases of setae. Notauli very weak anteriorly, not impressed on dorsal surface. Mesopleuron smooth and shiny, largely glabrous. Precoxal suture not impressed. Pleural suture finely crenulate. Median area of metanotum with complete midlongitudinal carina. Midlongitudinal propodeal carina complete. Lateral carinae of propodeum absent, propodeum and metapleuron separated by deep groove.

Wings. Wings evenly setose. Forewing vein 1-SR+M virtually straight. Veins 1-SR and C+SC+R forming angle of aproximately 70°. 2nd submarginal cell trapezoidal. Fore wing vein 1r-m with 2 distinct bullae. Hind wing vein 1-M more than 6 × length or r-m. Hind wing vein 2-SC+R longitudinal.

Legs. Hind tibia robust, without disting longitudinal groove. Claws with small, acutely pointed basal lobes.

Metasoma. Metasoma short and robust, with 5 exposed, coarsely sculptured tergites. 1st tergite with spiracle approximately at midlength, with complete though somewhat irregular dorso-lateral carina behind spiracle, with dorsal carinae fused to form a semicircular transverse carina that runs far closer to posterior margin of tergite than its base. 2nd+3rd tergites large, their combined medial length more than 3 × length of exposed (coarsely sculptured) parts of tergites 4 and 5. 2nd tergite without midbasal or anterolateral areas, with weak sublateral, posteriorly converging grooves on anterior 0.5 2nd suture curved, narrow, crenulate. 3rd tergite without anterolateral areas. Tergites without transverse subposterior grooves. Ovipositor short, sheaths approximately 1.2 × length of hind basitarsus.

Comments.

Cassidibracon Quicke (1987b) belongs to the Plesiobracon Cameron (1903) group of genera as defined by van Achterberg (1983). It was originally described from the Afrotropical region (Sierra Leone) on the basis of three females and a male collected in seasonal woodland ( Quicke 1987b). The type species Cassidibracon castus Quicke has a distinct knob between the antennal sockets which is absent in the new species described here as well as in the three other the Indian species described by Narendran et al. (1994).

The type specimens of the three oriental species described by Narendran et al. (1994), viz. Cassidibracon indicus Narendran & Rema, Cassidibracon malabaricus Narendran and Cassidibracon sumodani Narendran & Madhavikutty are now deposited in the collection of the Termeszettudomanyi Muzeum Allattara, Budapest, Hungary ( van Achterberg and Narendran 1997).

Figures

Figures 1 - 4. Cassidibracon gracillariae Quicke sp. n., specimens and host cocoon Cell ^ D ® light micrographs. 1 holotype, habitus 2 holotype and associated host remains 3 holotype and paratype 4 detail of host remains of paratype.