Syngaster crypticus, Iqbal & Austin & Belokobylskij, 2006

Iqbal, M., Austin, A. D. & Belokobylskij, S. A., 2006, Systematics of the Australasian endemic wasp genus Syngaster Brullé (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Doryctinae), Journal of Natural History 40 (13 - 14), pp. 819-853 : 828-830

Syngaster crypticus sp. nov.

( Figures 2 a–c, 4a)

Male

Length. 5.2 mm.

Colour. Head pale yellow. Antenna dark brown to black. Palps yellow-brown. Mesosoma black. Legs dark brown. Wings faintly infuscate, pterostigma dark brown. First tergite of metasoma milky white, second tergite white in basal half, apical half and basal area dark brown, rest of tergites dark brown, third to sixth tergites with wide milk-white bands posteriorly.

Head. Width 1.3 times its median length, 1.1 times width of mesoscutum. Head behind eyes weakly convex. Transverse diameter of eye 0.9 times as long as temple in dorsal view. Ocelli medium size, in triangle with base 1.2 times its sides, POL 1.2 times OD, 0.2 times OOL. Frons short and weakly convex. Diameter of antennal sockets two times distance from socket to border of eye. Eyes glabrous, 1.2 times as high as broad. Malar space height 0.59 times height of eye, 1.3 times basal width of mandible. Face width 1.1 times height of eye and 1.2 times height of face and clypeus combined. Clypeus with narrow lower flange, clypeal suture distinct laterally, almost absent dorsally. Hypoclypeal depression round, its width 0.9 times distance from edge of depression to eye, 0.4 times width of face. Occipital carina absent. Hypostomal keel wide. Head below eyes convexly narrowed. Maxillary palps about 1.7 times as long as height of head. Antennal flagellum slender (missing apically, only 40 segments present), first segment length four times width. Maximum length of scape including lobe 3.2 times maximum width.

Mesosoma. Length 2.16 times its height. Pronotum short. Mesoscutum highly and almost perpendicularly raised above pronotum. Notauli deep, narrow, and crenulated. Prescutellar depression rather short, more or less deep, smooth, with four strong carinae, 0.2 times as long as scutellum. Scutellum slightly convex, its maximum width almost equal to median length. Metanotum with very small median tooth. Subalar depression shallow and wide, rugose-reticulate. Sternaulus very shallow, straight, smooth, running along entire lower length of mesopleura. Metapleural lobe short and wide. Metapleuron separated from propodeum by distinct punctate suture; propodeal and metapleural surfaces continuously rounded, not distinctly angled along suture. Propodeum with lateral tubercles, distinctly roundly narrowed from base to apex (lateral view). Fore tibia with very small spines arranged almost in single row. Tarsal segment of middle leg not elongate, basitarsus 3.6 times as long as wide, 2.2 times as long as second segment, fourth segment subsquare. Hind coxa without basoventral tooth, 1.55 times as long as wide. Hind femur 3.9 times as long as wide. Inner spur of hind tibia 0.9 times as long as outer spur, 0.1 times as long as basitarsus. Hind tarsus 1.1 times as long as hind tibia, hind basitarsus 1.15 times as long as second to fifth segments combined, second tarsal segment of hind leg 0.27 times as long as basitarsus, 0.9 times as long as fifth segment (without pretarsus).

Wings. Length of fore wing 4.14 times its maximum width. Pterostigma 4.5 times as long as wide, 0.45 times as long as R1. 3RSa 1.2 times r, 0.17 times 3RSb, 0.66 times 2RS. Second submarginal cell two times as long as wide, 0.65 times as long as first subdiscal cell. Hind wing about 4.2 times as long as wide, C+Sc+R 0.9 times SC+R.

Metasoma. Metasoma 1.31 times as long as head and mesosoma combined. First tergite distinctly and almost linearly widened basally, weakly convex and weakly narrowed apically, with short wide basolateral processes, with very small dorsope and small spiracular tubercles, length of tergite 1.74 times its maximum submedian width, 1.82 times its apical width, apical width 0.9 times its maximum submedian width, 1.4 times its minimum width. Second tergite with wide and distinctly convex medially basal semicircular area, separated by deep crenulate furrow, median length of area 0.64 times maximum length of tergite, maximum length 0.9 times its basal width, 0.83 times length of third tergite, second suture distinctly undulate. Third tergite with curved transverse crenulate furrow in basal onethird.

Sculpture and pubescence. Vertex, frons, and temple entirely smooth. Vertex with rather long semi-erect and sparse hairs. Face smooth with sparse puncturation. Sides of pronotum, mesoscutum and scutellum puncturate, but mesopleuron smooth over most part. Metapleuron almost smooth anteriorly, rugulose-striate posteriorly. Propodeum almost entirely smooth medially, with sparse puncturation laterally. Mesoscutum entirely with dense short semi-erect hairs. Hind coxa rugulose. Hind femur almost smooth with sparse puncturation. Hind tibia dorsally with very short, dense semi-erect hairs. First metasomal tergite striate in apical two-thirds, smooth in basal one-third. Second tergite striate except for smooth basal area. Remainder of metasoma smooth.

Female

Unknown.

Material examined

Holotype: male, Papua New Guinea, 5 ° 25 9 S, 144 ° 04 9 E, Jimi Valley , Baiyer River, 1750 m, 7–26 February 1979, J. Sedlacek ( AEIC).

Comments

This is a distinctive species and easily identified based on the absence of an occipital carina, black mesosoma, white first metasomal tergite and lateral parts of the second tergite, and the unusual convex, semicircular area on the second tergite. The species name ‘‘ crypticus ’’ refers to the unusual loss of the occipital carina and therefore the possible cryptic position of this species relative to the other members of the genus.

Figures

Figure 2. (a–c) Syngaster crypticus sp. nov., male: (a) body (dorsolateral view); (b) head and pronotum (lateral view); (c) propodeum and metasomal tergites 1–4 (lateral view). (d–g) Syngaster hirtus sp. nov., female: (d) head and mesosoma (dorsal view); (e) head and mesosoma (lateral view); (f) propodeum and metasomal tergites 1–2 (dorsal view); (g) head (anterior view); (h) Syngaster lepidus Brulle´, female, head and pronotum (dorsal view). Scale bars: 2 mm (a, e, f, h); 1 mm (b–d, g).