Calexiphyda marystellae Villemant & Smith, 2017

Smith, David R. & Villemant, Claire, 2017, Additions to the xiphydriid woodwasp (Hymenoptera, Xiphydriidae) fauna of New Caledonia, Journal of Hymenoptera Research 61, pp. 65-74 : 67

Calexiphyda marystellae Villemant & Smith sp. n. Figs 1-6

Description.

Female: Length, 7.0 mm. Black; head with yellow spots between antenna and eye and between antennae (Fig. 4 ). Thorax black. Legs black with tibiae and tarsi pale yellow. Abdomen black with lateral white spots on first tergite (Figs 1 , 2 ). Wings hyaline, veins and stigma black. Head: Antenna (Fig. 6 ) with 17 antennomeres, 1.7 × head width; lengths of scape, pedicel, and first flagellomere as 1.0:0.5:0.8; flagellomeres less than 2 × longer than broad. Frons, interocellar area, and area just above ocelli rugose; vertex and gena shiny, almost impunctate; few punctures on lower gena and few indistinct carinae at center of gena. Lower interocular distance subequal to eye height, in front view, eyes very slightly diverging below (Fig. 4 ). In dorsal view, head broad behind eyes, distance behind eyes less than 2 × eye length (Fig. 5 ). Labial palpus with 4 palpomeres, maxillary palpus with 7 palpomeres. Thorax: Propleuron with fine longitudinal carinae dorsally, shiny laterally. Pronotum shiny with central area of fine carinae. Mesonotum (Fig. 3 ) with shallow notauli, with closely set pits; anteromedian part of mesonotum with fine longitudinal carina on posterior half, more finely rugose centrally and anteriorly; lateral lobes with fine longitudinal carinae on inner halves, shiny on lateral halves; axillae with longitudinal carinae; mesoscutellum finely rugose. Mesepisternum rugose, with narrow stripe along anterior margin shiny, impunctate; mesepimeron with cross carinae; metapleuron rugose (Fig. 2 ). Hind tarsal claw with small inner tooth near base, fore and mid tarsal claws with long inner tooth, more than half length of outer tooth, near center. Hind basitarsus subequal in length to remaining tarsomeres combined. Abdomen: Shiny with very fine microsculpture; tergum 1 duller, with denser microsculpture than rest of abdomen. Tergum 1 subequal in length to tergum 2. Sheath to basal plates as 1.0:1.8.

Male: Unknown.

Holotype.

Female, "Nouvelle Calédonie, Province Sud, Thio, Comboui, 21.77742S, 166.29495E, 1037 m, NC-COM-YPT3 12-18.XI.2016, yellow pan trap, C. Villemant rec."

Etymology.

This species is described in honor of Mary-Stella Guelemé, a New Caledonian participant to the " Our Planet Reviewed " expedition who contributed with another manager of the Comboui camp to maintain morale of the team when bad weather conditions retained it longer than expected on the Bwa Bwi slope.

Remarks.

The black head and body with only three white spots on the front of the face and one white spot laterally on tergite 1, light orange tibiae and tarsi, and faint, irregular, longitudinal sculpture of the mesonotum (Fig. 3 ) will distinguish this species.

Figures

Figures 1 - 6. Calexiphyda marystellae. 1 Lateral 2 Head and thorax, lateral 3 Thorax, dorsal 4 Head front 5 Head dorsal 6 Antenna.