Urosigalphus sharkeyi Arias-Penna

Carolina, Diana & B, James, 2012, A taxonomic revision of the Colombian species of Urosigalphus Ashmead (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), Zootaxa 3411, pp. 1-54 : 41-42

Urosigalphus sharkeyi Arias-Penna , n. sp.

Figs. 18 A–E

Female.— Body length 2.9 mm.

Body color ( Fig. 18 A): mainly black. Flagellomeres brown although the fifth lighter than the others. Scape, pedicel and anellus yellow. Clypeus brown, but apex red-brown. Labrum yellow-brown. Basally mandible redbrown and middle part yellow-brown. Mandibular teeth red-brown. Labial and maxillary palps light yellow. All legs yellow, but apical parts of hind tibia, hind femur and all the tarsomeres brown. Fore wing ( Fig. 18 E): basally C+Sc+R veins darker than apically; tegula, stigma light brown. Membrane of both fore and hind wings light brown, but fore wings microtrichiae brown and hind wings hyaline. Carapace dark brown-black.

Head ( Fig. 18 A). — Subtriangular. Antenna with 14 flagellomeres, first three flagellomeres longer than wide (0.15:0.05; 0.18:0.05; 0.17: 0.05 mm); last five, except the last one, as long as wide (0.07:0.06; 0.07:0.06; 0.08:0.06; 0.08:0.06; 0.08: 0.06 mm); apical flagellomere longer than penultimate (0.15: 0.07 mm); scape longer than first flagellomere (0.18: 0.15 mm); and wider than pedicel and first flagellomere (0.08:0.06: 0.05 mm); pedicel less than half as long as scape (0.08: 0.18 mm). Torulus located at midline of the eye. Frons with a longitudinal median lamella intercepted dorsally by short, transverse carinae; lamella with small punctures that disappear when reaching the medium ocellus; lamella runs from ventral part of torulus to medial part of median ocellus. Scrobes shallow, wide and not surrounded by a carina, central part smooth, shiny, but laterally with small and sparse punctures; scrobes reaching vertex. Lower face strongly convex without protuberance, small, dense and homogeneous punctures and white, long and dense pubescence; interspaces short, shiny and smooth. Frontoclypeal suture strongly impressed, round and with dense sculpture. Anterior tentorial pit not embedded within a strong depression. Clypeus convex not on same plane as lower face, with small and irregular punctures, but apex smooth; interspaces wide with irregular surface; apical part reflexed with a defined edge, but without carina, narrow, smooth and shiny. Labrum with small and irregular punctures. Mandible short, stout, basal part with transverse strigae; mandible set with two teeth, inferior teeth much shorter than superior, both teeth smooth, shiny, long, slender and with sharp apex. Maxillary palps much longer than labial. Ocelli round, not surrounded by carina; lateral ocelli distant from each other, separated by more than the diameter of lateral ocellus (0.08: 0.06 mm). Stemmaticum with shallow depression and some sparse, small punctures; interspaces shiny, wide, stemmaticum slightly elevated into a weak projection, highest point concave. Eyes without preorbital carina. Vertex with sparse and small punctures although area near occiput smooth, vertex without longitudinal median carina, pubescence scarce. Occiput concave, smooth and shiny. Occipital carina present laterally, absent dorsally. Temple and gena with small, sparse and homogeneous punctures throughout, interspaces wide, smooth and shiny.

Mesosoma ( Figs. 18 A–D). — Projection of propleuron sharp. Pronotum ( Fig. 18 C) anteriorly and curvature of pronotum with large, heterogeneous punctures, interspaces shiny, narrow and smooth; posteriorly with large, heterogeneous punctures whose interspaces form diagonal strigae; central area smooth and shiny; ventrally with punctures larger than dorsally. Pronotal lobe sloped toward tegula; point of inflection carinate; apex truncate. Mesoscutum ( Fig. 18 B) uneven; lateral mesonotal lobes with small and sparse punctures, anteriorly sloped and posteriorly convex and lateral part of lateral lobes with foveae of the same size throughout; median mesonotal lobe, anteriorly with small and sparse punctures with continuous longitudinal median carina whose length is less than half the mesonotal lobe; area of convergence of notauli with large, deep, homogeneous foveae without defined shape. Notauli strongly impressed and near edge of transscutal articulation, notauli with large and elongate foveae throughout and without additional row of foveae. Scutellum on same vertical plane as mesoscutum, flat, triangular, with large, deep, irregular foveae only in the edge, but central part smooth, shiny; posteriorly sloped, on same vertical plane as posterior scutellar depression; scutellar sulcus with four deep and heterogeneous foveae. Posterior scutellar depression with two elongate, large foveae that fill the whole smooth area. Middle part of metanotum, below posterior scutellar depression, with a high projection conspicuous in lateral view ( Fig. 18 C). Propodeum antero-posteriorly short, asymmetrical; crossed by MLC, apex rounded, and without anterior projection; ATC high and strong, wavy, making an invagination and later reaching the same length as MLC; AMA with irregular shape; LLC wavy; posterior wall propodeum flat with areolae of different sizes. Metapleuron with areolae of different sizes. Mesopleuron with epicnemial carina, but without sternaulus; mesopleuron convex; shiny central area with sparse, small punctures; dorsally with foveae and depressions of different sizes; ventrally with a dent that bears foveae of different sizes; anteriorly with elongate, narrow, flat area that bears small, dense punctures throughout the edge; posteriorly scrobiculate. Mesosternum ( Fig. 18 D) convex with small and sparse punctures and a complete central row of foveae not surrounded by carina; laterally delimited by high carinae; mesosternum near fore coxa forming sharp transverse lamella at the same height throughout which are intercepted by lateral carinae of mesosternum; mesosternum near mid coxa with a semicircular and carinate area above mid coxa and also connected with lateral carinae.

Wings ( Figs. 18 A, E). — Fore wing ( Fig. 18 E): vein M+CU markedly curved (sinuate); vein 3RSb tubular, very distant from stigma (0.37 mm); subbasal cell as long as basal (1.01:1.00 mm); stigma short and round. Fore wing: length 2.30 mm, width 0.72 mm; hind wing: length 1.90 mm, width 0.45 mm.

Metasoma ( Fig. 18 A). — Carapace in lateral view elongate, more fusiform ( Fig. 18 A); anteriorly carapace with strong substrigulae that cross more than half the length of the carapace; area between the carinae lacunose. Apex of carapace without tubercles, convex, smooth and shiny. Ovipositor ( Fig. 18 A) length 1.35 mm. Carapace length 1.33 mm.

Male.— Unknown.

Biology.— Unknown.

Material examined.— Holotype, female, Colombia: Amazonas, PNN [Parque Nacional Natural] Amacayacu, Matamata m2, 3º41´S 70º15¨W, 150m, Malaise, 20–26.iii.2000, A. Parente leg., M.96, IAvH-E 34312. Deposited in IAvH-E.

Etymology.—In honor of Dr. Michael J. Sharkey (University of Kentucky).

Figures

FIGURE 18. Urosigalphus sharkeyi n. sp. (A) habitus; (B) mesosoma, dorsal view; (C) mesosoma, lateral view; (D) mesosternum; and (E) fore wing.