Sulcomesitius sparsulus, Wang & He & Chen, 2024

Wang, Chunhong, He, Junhua & Chen, Xuexin, 2024, Revision of subfamily Mesitiinae (Hymenoptera, Bethylidae) from China, European Journal of Taxonomy 960 (1), pp. 1-61 : 41-44

Sulcomesitius sparsulus sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:44B36209-219F-46AD-9526-3CA3F58AC114

Fig. 14

Diagnosis

This new species can be recognized by having the median pronotal sulcus weak, mesoscutum with median impression near posterior margin, PPP distinctly longer than its width at base with apex acute in lateral view, length of posterior branches of the male hypopygium 0.51× length of hypopygium and dorsal harpe of genitalia longer than ventral harpe.

This species is similar to S. zhaoi ( Xu & He, 2006) . However, the new species can be distinguished by having the mesoscutum shallowly punctured (densely punctured in S. zhaoi ), the PPP distinctly longer than its width at the base (nearly equal to its width at the base in S. zhaoi ), the apex of the PPP acute in dorsal view (blunt in S. zhaoi ), and T2 with shallower and sparser punctures than in S. zhaoi .

Etymology

The specific epithet is derived from ‘ sparsus ’ (Latin for ‘scattered’), referring to the sparse punctures of T2.

Material examined

Holotype

CHINA – Hainan • ♂; Baisha County, Yinggeling ; 1–2 May 2008; Jingxian Liu leg.; ZJUH 200800040 .

Paratypes (3 ♂♂)

CHINA – Hainan • 1 ♂; Bawangling ; 7–11 Jul. 2006; Jingxian Liu leg.; ZJUH 200700063 • 1 ♂; Baisha , Nankai County; 29 Apr. 2008; Jingxian Liu leg.; ZJUH 200800018 • 1 ♂; Baisha County, Yinggeling ; 1–2 May 2008; Jingxian Liu leg.; ZJUH 200800030 .

Description

Male

MEASUREMENTS (n = 4). Body length 3.42–3.81 mm; length of fore wing 2.02–2.47 mm; LH 1.0–1.01 × WH; WF 1.39–1.54× LE; LE 0.39–0.41× LH; LE 1.23–1.38× DEV; POL 1.44–1.53 × AOL; OOL 0.83–1.0× WOT; DPV 1.17–1.72 × DAO; malar space 1.11–1.25× distance between posterior ocelli and vertex crest; median length of dorsal surface of MPC 0.92–0.95 × its half-width; length of PPP 0.38– 0.42 × median length of dorsal surface of MPC; length of 2r-rs&Rs 2 v 0.81–0.91× length of Sc+R 2 v; length of posterior branches 0.5–0.53 × length of hypopygium.

COLOURATION. Body black or dark brown. Mandible yellowish brown, teeth brown; maxillary and labial palpi brown. Antenna brown, darker apically and lighter ventrally. Eye brown or dark brown. MPC with lateral margin brown, posterior projection brown apically. Fore wing light brown, darker on apical half; veins dark brown or brown, pterostigma brown. Legs dark brown, trochanters, femora apically, tibiae apically and tarsi brown, protarsus yellowish brown. T1 with posterior and lateral margin dark brown, posterior margin of T2 and T3 brown, T4 brown, posterior margin of T4 and T5 yellowish brown; S2–4 yellowish brown apically.

PUBESCENCE. Body with short setae. Maxillary and labial palpi with dense, short setae. Antenna with short, suberect yellowish-brown setae, 0.35× width of flagellomere II ( Fig. 14C ). Eye with sparse, short setae, nearly 5.0× diameter of an ommatidium. Wings with short, dense yellowish-brown setae. Setae of metasoma longer than setae of head and mesosoma, T1 with sparse setae posterolaterally, T2 with basal triangular area glabrous.

HEAD. Length equal to width, LH 1.0× WH. Clypeus trilobite; medio-clypeal lobe with apical margin slightly acute medially ( Fig. 14B ); medio-clypeal carina not extending into frons, arched in lateral view. Antenna slender, length of flagellomere III 2.0× length of flagellomere II. Frons coriaceous and densely foveolate ( Fig. 14B ); WF 1.46 × LE. Contour of eye slightly protruding in antero-dorsal view ( Fig. 14B ); LE 0.40 × LH, LE 1.38 × DEV. Anterior ocellus partly anterior to imaginary top line of eyes; POL 1.52 × AOL, OOL 1.0× WOT, DPV 1.58 × DAO. Vertex coriaceous and densely foveolate, sides of head behind eyes rounded and slightly converging posteriorly, vertex crest slightly protruding. Malar space 0.89 × distance between posterior ocelli and vertex crest. Gena coriaceous, densely foveolate. Occipital carina complete. Medioccipito-genal suture present.

MESOSOMA. Dorsal pronotal area coriaceous and densely foveolate, median length 0.49 × width along posterior pronotal margin, anterolateral corner weakly projected; median pronotal sulcus weak ( Fig. 14D ); lateral pronotal area obliquely striate; cervical pronotal area coarse. Mesoscutum distinctly elevated, coriaceous, with variably sized shallow punctures; median mesonotal sulcus absent, with median impression on apical half ( Fig. 14E ); notauli complete and converging posteriorly, parapsidal signum shallow and absent near anterior margin; lateral area of mesoscutum depressed anteriorly. Mesoscutellum weakly coriaceous with shallow punctures, shallowly foveolate; mesoscutum-mesoscutellar sulcus present, laterally dilated ( Fig. 14E ). Median length of dorsal surface of MPC less than its half-width (0.92); metapostnotum strongly areolate, metapostnotal median carina complete, metapostnotal-propodeal carina complete and converging posteriorly; dorsal propodeal area transversely striate; paraspiracular and lateral marginal carinae of MPC complete, lateral marginal carina nearly straight ( Fig. 14E ); length of PPP 0.38 × median length of dorsal surface of MPC ( Fig. 14E ); transverse posterior carina of MPC complete; propodeal declivity weakly areolate, median and lateral carinae complete; anterior metapleural area transversely striate; lateral surface of MPC with submarginal carina and posterior carina, irregularly striate. Mesopleuron coriaceous and densely foveolate; posterior oblique sulcus of mesopleuron present and foveolate; postepicnemial sulcus present; ventral surface of mesopleuron coriaceous, with irregular-sized punctures, area between mesocoxa with large foveae; postepicnemial sulcus; anterior mesofurcal pit present.

WINGS. Fore wing with 2r-rs&Rs 2 v slightly curved apically, 0.92 × as long as Sc+R 2 v; posterior margin of pterostigma protruding, prestigma absent ( Fig. 14G ); Cu 2 v present as yellowish-brown trace. Hind wing with three distal hamuli, distance between 1 st and 2 nd distal hamuli longer than distance between 2 nd and 3 rd distal hamuli.

METASOMA. Metasomal terga shiny, with punctures; T1 with tiny sparse punctures, medio-longitudinal sulcus present at basal one-third; T2 with dense punctures separated less than 3.0× their diameter, posterior margin with scattered punctures. Metasomal sterna shiny, with variably sized punctures; S1 irregularly striate, metapostnotal median carina weak; S2 with dense, variably sized punctures. Hypopygium longer than wide; basal part of hypopygium with lateral and anterior margin incurved ( Fig. 14H ); posterior branches 0.51 × length of hypopygium, distinctly narrower than median notch, with long setae apically.

MALE GENITALIA. Harpe bilobate, dorsal harpe S-shaped and longer than ventral harpe ( Fig. 14I ). Cuspis with apical margin incurved; digitus bent and papillate apically, with setae basally ( Fig. 14J ); aedeagus bottle-shaped ( Fig. 14I ).

Female

Unknown.

Distribution

China (Hainan) ( Fig. 20 ).

Figures

Fig. 14. Sulcomesitius sparsulus sp. nov., holotype, ♂ (ZJUH 200800040). A. Habitus, lateral view. B. Head, antero-dorsal view. C. Antenna. D. Pronotum, dorsal view. E. Mesonotum and MPC, dorsal view. F. T2, dorsal view. G. Fore wing. H. Hypopygium. I. Genitalia, dorsal view. J. Genitalia, ventral view. Scale bars: 0.20 mm.

Fig. 20. Distribution map of species of Mestiinae from China.