Fidiobia sashai Popovici, Talamas & Lahey, 2022

Popovici, Ovidiu Alin, Masner, Lubomir, Lahey, Zachary & Talamas, Elijah, 2022, Revision of the Palearctic species of Fidiobia Ashmead (Hymenoptera, Platygastroidea), Journal of Hymenoptera Research 92, pp. 23-144 : 23

23. Fidiobia sashai Popovici, Talamas & Lahey sp. nov.

Figs 223-227 , 293 , 320

Description.

Female. Body length: 0.6 mm. Colour of body: xanthic, brown head and light brown mesosoma and metasoma (Figs 223 , 224 ).

Head (Figs 225 , 226 ). Colour of head: brown. Sculpture of head: alutaceous. Sculpture of occiput: transverse imbricate coriaceous. Ocellar prominence: absent. Preocellar depression: absent. Paraocellar depressions: absent. OOL / ocellar diameter: OOL around 2 times ocellar diameter. Orientation of lower half of inner orbits: visibly divergent. Sculpture of frons immediately anterior to ocellus: alutaceous. Sculpture of frons immediately dorsal to toruli: the same as the rest of frons, but smoother. Epitorular carina: present. Distance between toruli: equal to the transverse diameter of torulus. Setation of clypeus: two setae. Malar sulcus: absent. Antenna (Fig. 227 ). Colour of A1: light brown. Colour of clava: almost similar to the rest of antenna. Number of antennomeres: nine. Shape of A1: more or less cylindrical. Ventral (inner) lamella on A1: present as a trace in the apical part of A1. Length of A3 of female: distinctly shorter than A2. Sensillar formula (A7:A8:A9): 2:2:1.

Mesosoma. Colour of mesosoma: light brown. Mesosoma: weakly compressed dorsoventrally. Pronotum in dorsal view: cervical pronotal area broader than lateral shoulders. Transverse pronotal sulcus: present as a narrow groove along anterior rim of pronotum. Posteroventral end of transverse pronotal sulcus: not dilated. Lateral pronotal area: sculptured only on the dorsal half. Antero-admedian line: absent. Mesoscutum: flat. Parapsidal lines: absent. Sculpture of internotaular area: absent. Notauli: absent. Shape of notauli: NA. Outer edge of notauli: NA. Orientation of inner edge of notauli: NA. Length of notauli: NA. Length of notaulus / maximum width of notaulus: NA. Distance between notauli: NA. Transscutal articulation: incomplete. Scuto-scutellar sulcus: absent. Fovea on scuto-scutellar sulcus: NA. Mesoscutellum: flat. Shape of mesoscutellum: subrectangular. Axillular carina: posterior apex of axillular carinae touching the posterior edge of mesoscutellum. Axilloaxillular carina: present. Sculpture of mesoscutellum: absent. Posterior mesoscutellar sulcus: absent. Metascutellum: not visible, covered by mesoscutellum. Metascutellar carina: absent. Width of metasomal depression: greater than the length of lateral propodeal carina. Median carina between lateral propodeal carinae: absent. Transverse carina between lateral propodeal carinae: present. Foamy structure on transverse carina between lateral propodeal carinae: absent. Foamy structure on metasomal depression: absent. Lateral propodeal carinae: parallel. Foamy structure on lateral propodeal carina: present only on the posterior half of the vertical part. Plica: visible. Posterior end of plica: fused with metapleural carina. Foamy structure on plica: absent. Foamy structure on metapleural carina: present on the entire carina. Foamy structure on ventral metapleural area: absent. Setation of dorsal metapleural area: sparse, short setae on posterodorsal half. Setation of ventral metapleural area: sparse, short setae on posteroventral half. Longitudinal striation on dorsal mesopleuron: absent. Transepisternal line: absent. Mesopleural carina: present. Metapleural sulcus: present, complete. Wings. micropterous. Apex of fore wing: rounded. Colour of fore wing: NA. Transverse brown band on fore wing: NA. Submarginal vein in fore wing: not visible. Length of submarginal vein in fore wing: NA. Spectral veins on fore wing: NA. Marginal setae of fore wing: absent. Disc of fore wing: with no setae. Legs. Colour of fore tibia: yellow. Colour of fore tarsus: yellow. Colour of middle femora: yellow. Colour of middle tibiae: yellow. Colour of middle tarsus: yellow. Colour of hind femora: yellow. Colour of hind tibiae: yellow. Colour of hind tarsus: yellow.

Metasoma. posterior of T2 some or all tergites may be retracted under T2. Shape of T1: trapezoidal. Colour of T1: light brown. Lateral setae of T1: 2 pairs. Colour of T2: light brown. Shape of T2: longer than wide. Anterior pits of T2: distinctly separated. Sculpture of T2, lateral to anterior pits of T2: absent. Colour of T3-T6: the same as T2.

Etymology.

This species is named after Oleksandr “Sasha” Varga, who collected the holotype specimen.

Male. unknown.

Material examined.

1♀. Ukraine: Holotype 1♀, Reg. Mochary, 5 km NE of Bogorodchany , 48.84755°N, 24.59081°E, 16.vi-4.vii.2014, mixed forest, leg. Varga O. (MT) (OPPC0822).

Distribution.

Ukraine (Fig. 320 ).

Biology.

unknown.

Diagnosis.

Fidiobia sashai is the only Palearctic species of the genus with an incomplete transscutal articulation, which is visible only laterally. It is superficially similar to some brachypterous specimens of F. hofferi , but it differs by the incomplete transscutal articulation and the absence of notauli. In F. hofferi the transscutal articulation is complete and the notauli are present.

Figures

Figures 223 - 227. Fidiobia sashai: 223 habitus, dorsal view (Holotype) 224 habitus, lateral view 225 antenna and head, frontal view 226 head, dorsal view 227 antenna (♀).

Figures 290 - 297. SEM o Fidiobia spp.: 290, 291, 292 F. hofferi 293 F. sashai 294, 295 F. synergorum 296 F. filicornis 297 F. flaviabdominalis.

Figures 319 - 321. Geographical distribution of: 319 F. rugosifronsoides 320 F. sashai 321 F. striatitergitis (Blue area-data from Szabo 1962. Red area-our data).