Urosigalphus cavusscuti Arias-Penna

Carolina, Diana & B, James, 2012, A taxonomic revision of the Colombian species of Urosigalphus Ashmead (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), Zootaxa 3411, pp. 1-54 : 13-15

Urosigalphus cavusscuti Arias-Penna , n. sp.

Figs. 4 A–H

Female.— Body length 4.75 mm.

Body color ( Fig. 4 A): mainly black. Flagellomeres dark brown. Basal part of scape dark brown, but tip light brown. Pedicel and anellus light brown. Labrum dark brown. Base of mandible black-brown, but middle light brown. Labial and maxillary palps yellow. Fore and mid legs slightly yellow-brown; hind legs dark brown except trochanter, trochantellus and end basal of femur and end apical of tibia yellow-brown. Fore wing ( Fig. 4 H): basal parts of M+CU and 1–1A veins lighter than apical part; tegula black, but posteriorly dark brown; stigma dark brown. Membrane of both fore and hind wings light brown and with brown microtrichiae. Body slender and with long pubescence.

Head ( Figs. 4 A–C). — Subtriangular. Antenna with 12 flagellomeres; first flagellomeres longer than wide (0.30:0.10; 0.30:0.10; 0.26: 0.10 mm); last five, except the last one, longer than wide (0.14:0.08; 0.14:0.08; 0.16:0.08; 0.17:0.08; 0.18: 0.08 mm); apical flagellomere longer than penultimate (0.23: 0.14 mm); scape shorter than first flagellomere (0.18: 0.30 mm), but wider than pedicel and first flagellomere (0.13:0.08; 0.10 mm); pedicel less than half as long as scape (0.08: 0.18 mm) ( Fig. 4 C). Torulus located above midline of the eye ( Fig. 4 C). Frons with a longitudinal median groove which runs from torulus to midline of the eye; frons short with a deep, wide depression below median ocellus; depression with large, carinated areolae. Lower face strongly convex with small, homogeneously distributed and dense punctures; interspaces narrow, shiny and smooth; lower face with a medial groove at dorsal half. Scrobes shallow, wide, short, not surrounded by a carina ( Fig. 4 B); a small central, smooth, shiny area, but remainder with small punctures; scrobes reach the ventral part of lateral ocelli. Fronto-clypeal suture rounded, strongly impressed, with sculptures. Anterior tentorial pit not embedded within a depression. Clypeus flat, with heterogeneous, small, dense, small punctures, interspaces with some parts smooth, some wavy; apical part sloped instead of reflexed, smooth, shiny, wide and without a defined edge, with a short carina only basally. Labrum with small punctures, wavy interspaces. Mandible long and slender, basally with transverse strigae; mandible set with two long, sharp teeth; inferior teeth as long as superior. Maxillary palps longer than labial. Ocelli elongated, distant from each other ( Fig. 4 B), separated by more than the width of lateral ocellus (0.10: 0.07 mm); lateral ocelli without carina. Stemmaticum with a deep depression among median and lateral ocelli that covers all the area; stemmaticum slightly more elevated than vertex, forming a weak mound ( Fig. 4 B); highest point concave. Eyes without preorbital carina ( Fig. 4 C). Vertex with large, dense and homogeneous punctures; interspaces shiny, but near stemmaticum with some wavy strigae; vertex without longitudinal median carina and near occiput with a smooth and shiny area. Occiput flat, smooth, shiny, but with some pubescence. Occipital carina complete. Temple and gena with small and sparse punctures, interspaces with some wavy areas.

Mesosoma ( Figs. 4 A, D–F). — Projection of propleuron blunt. Pronotum anteriorly with a dorsoventral groove with large, deep punctures; curvature of pronotum and remainder with large punctures; central area smooth. Pronotal lobe sloped toward tegula ( Fig. 4 A); point of inflexion carinated; apex truncate. Mesoscutum uneven; lateral mesonotal lobes flat, but anteriorly slightly sloped ( Fig. 4 D) with small, sparse punctures; edge of lateral mesonotal lobes with foveae of similar size throughout; anteriorly median mesonotal lobe with small and dense punctures and with two carinae: one continuous longitudinal median carina, and another continuous anterior transverse carina which runs from one end to another; longitudinal carina weak and crossing the mesonotal lobe; area of convergence of notauli with areolae of different sizes, but without defined shape. Notauli strongly impressed with large, elongate foveae, anteriorly with some wavy patterns; notauli near edge of transscutal articulation and with additional row of foveae along the entire length. Scutellum with large, carinated areolae of different sizes closer to each other; apex rounded, in lateral view weakly convex, on same plane as mesoscutum; posteriorly not sloped, on same vertical plane as posterior scutellar depression; scutellar sulcus with four deep, uneven foveae; posterior scutellar depression with two irregular foveae that fill the whole smooth area. Middle part of metanotum, below posterior scutellar depression, with a short, but conspicuous projection in lateral view. Propodeum antero-posteriorly short ( Fig. 4 E), symmetrical; crossed by high MLC; ATC making a strong invagination and later reaching the same length as MLC; AMA absent ( Fig. 4 E); posterior wall of propodeum flat with large punctures of different sizes. Metapleuron with large areolae of different sizes; projection of metapleuron long and rounded. Mesopleuron with epicnemial carina, but lacks sternaulus; mesopleuron convex; shiny central area with some sparse, small punctures; dorsally, below tegula, with a transverse, deep depression plus a second row of large depressions of different sizes and depths, close to each other; ventrally with a diagonal suite of foveae wider than long, but also with some smooth areas; anteriorly with elongate, narrow, flat area that bears small, dense punctures throughout the edge; posteriorly scrobiculate throughout. Mesosternum flat ( Fig. 4 F), irregular surface; small and dense punctures; with a complete central row of foveae not surrounded by carinae; laterally delimited by strong carina and with additional diagonal carina that intersect only at posterior third of mesosternum; mesosternum near fore coxa with a high transverse lamella with two sharp edges below each fore coxa, mesosternum near mid coxa with a high transverse lamella forming two semicircular areas above each coxa.

Wings ( Figs. 4 A, H). — Fore wing ( Fig. 4 H): vein M+CU markedly curved (sinuate); vein 3RSb tubular, distant from stigma (0.58 mm); subbasal cell longer than basal (1.55: 1.48 mm); stigma short and rounded. Fore wing: length 3.15 mm, width 1.28 mm; hind wing: length 2.40 mm, width 0.80 mm.

Metasoma ( Figs. 4 A, G). — Carapace in lateral view teardrop-shaped ( Fig. 4 A); anteriorly with strong substrigulae that cross more than half the length of the carapace; area between the carinae lacunose. Apex of carapace with several small tubercles of different size with blunt apex ( Fig. 4 G), tubercles very close to each other, region above tubercles convex. Apically carapace with small, smooth and shiny area. Ovipositor ( Fig. 4 A) length 1.38 mm. Carapace length 2.2 mm.

Male.— Unknown.

Biology.— Unknown.

Material examined.— Holotype, female, Colombia: Vaupés, Estación Biológica Mosiro-Itajura (Caparú), Antigua Cabaña, 1º4´S 69º3´W, 60m, Malaise, 25.ii–4.iii.2003, J. Pinzón leg., M. 3618, IAvH-E 64533. Deposited in IAvH-E.

Etymology.— From cavus (Latin, noun, masculine) = hollow, hole, cavity and scutum (Latin, noun, neuter) = a shield. The name refers to a deep and carinate depression in the posterior part of the scutellum.

Figures

FIGURE 4. Urosigalphus cavusscuti n. sp. (A) habitus; (B) head, dorsal view; (C) head, frontal view; (D) mesosoma, dorsal view; (E) propodeum and carapace, dorsal view; (F) mesosternum; (G) apex of carapace, frontal view; and (H) fore wing.