Brachymeria scutellocarinata Joseph, Narendran & Joy, 1972

Narendran, T. C. & van Achterberg, Cornelis, 2016, Revision of the family Chalcididae (Hymenoptera, Chalcidoidea) from Vietnam, with the description of 13 new species, ZooKeys 576, pp. 1-202 : 55

Taxon classification Animalia Hymenoptera Chalcididae

Brachymeria scutellocarinata Joseph, Narendran & Joy, 1972 Figs 62, 63-64

Brachymeria scutellocarinata Joseph, Narendran & Joy, 1972: 45 (♀, Java (RMNH)); Narendran 1989: 241, 255 (keyed and commented).

Material.

1 ♀ (RMNH), "S. Vietnam: Dóng Nai, Cát Tiên N. P., ca 100 m, 13-20.v.2007, Malaise traps 25-29, eco-trail, C. v. Achterberg & R. de Vries, RMNH’07”.

Diagnosis.

This species comes near Brachymeria ambonensis Narendran in the key to species by Narendran (1989), but differs from that species in having: 1) scutellum with a single median carina (in Brachymeria ambonensis scutellum with more than one longitudinal carina; 2) pre-orbital carina joins scrobal margin (in Brachymeria ambonensis pre-orbital carina not meeting scrobal margin); 3) hind tibia yellow (in Brachymeria ambonensis hind tibia black with apex yellow) and 4) basal part of hind femur black (in Brachymeria ambonensis basal part of hind femur reddish).

Description

(female from Cát Tiên N. P.). ♀, length of body 6.2 mm.

Colour. Black with following parts as follows: eyes dull yellow; ocelli pale brownish yellow; tegula pale brownish white; fore and mid trochanters pale brown; apical half of fore and mid femora, apex of hind femur, all tibiae and tarsi whitish yellow; apex of tarsal claws and arolium dark brown; fore wing hyaline, veins dark brown.

Head. Width of head in anterior view 1.4 × its height; width in dorsal view 2.5 × its length, subequal in width to mesosoma (excluding tegulae); POL 3 × OOL; AOL equal to OOL; interocular space 2.8 × POL; scrobe reaching anterior ocellus; pre-orbital carina running upwards on face from malar ridge and converging and meeting scrobal margin; post-orbital carina present reaching geno-temporal margin; vertex and face with close, setigerous pits, interstices narrow and micro-sculptured, narrower than diameter of a pit; area below interantennal projection with a narrow smooth strip-like area; height of malar space twice eye height in profile; eye height 1.7 × its length in profile; eyes bare; anterior and posterior genal angles subrectangular. Antenna with scape not quite reaching anterior ocellus; radicula 0.2 × length of scape; tip of clava with micro-sensillae. Relative L:W of antennal segments:scape = 20:5; pedicel = 5:5; ring segment = 1:4; F1 = 7:8; F2 = 7:8; F3 = 6:8; F4 = 7:9; F5 = 6:9; F6 = 8:10; F7 = 6:10; clava = 9:10.

Mesosoma. Mesosoma with rounded, umbilicate, setigerous, close pits; interstices carinate and rugose; scutellum with a median longitudinal raised ridge; pronotum 3.1 × as broad as long; anterior carina absent medially; middle lobe of mesoscutum 1.2 × its width, longer than scutellum (15:12); scutellum wider than long (15:12), apex shallowly but widely emarginated with a row of dense pubescence; propodeum with large irregular foveolae, vertical to the axis of scutellum; postspiracular tooth indistinct.

Wings. Fore wing 2.6 × as long as broad; relative length of CC = 21; SMV = 17; parastigma = 4; MV = 10; PMV = 3; STV = 2.

Legs. Hind coxa smooth and shiny dorsally, ventrally with dense minute pits and pubescence, inner ventro-mesal tooth on hind coxa absent; hind femur 1.6 × as long as broad, with an inner basal tooth; outer ventral margin of hind femur with a row of 12 differently sized teeth.

Metasoma. Metasoma slightly shorter than mesosoma (28:30), 1.5 × as long as high; T1 smooth and shiny, its posterior margin entire; T2 shagreened with setigerous pits on latero-dorsal part, its posterior margin slightly concave; posterior margin of T3 slightly concave, shagreened; T4 smooth and shiny with a row of setae on posterior margin, longer than T3; T5 about half as long as T5, with a setigerous cross row of pits with the posterior margin, posterior margin entire; T6 vertical, with 5-6 cross rows of setigerous pits. Ovipositor sheath not visible in dorsal view.

Male. Unknown.

Host.

Sturmia sp. ( Tachinidae ) pupa ( Narendran 1989).

Distribution.

Vietnam (new record), Indonesia (Java), Malaysia (Borneo), India.