Gammabracon variipennis Quicke and Butcher, 2017

Quicke, Donald L. J., Hogan, James E., Bennett, Andrew M. R., Broad, Gavin R. & Butcher, Buntika A., 2017, Partial revision of the Indo-Australian braconine wasp genus Gammabracon Quicke (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) with descriptions of new species from Indonesia (Mollucas), Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand, Journal of Natural History 51 (21 - 22), pp. 1249-1294 : 1274-1276

Gammabracon variipennis Quicke and Butcher sp. nov.

( Figures 16 , 17 )

Material examined

HOLOTYPE: Female. THAILAND, Trang Province, Khao Chong, Forest Research Station , 7°33 ʹ 2 ʺ N, 99°47 ʹ 23 ʺ E, 75m, November 2005, D. Lohman. ( QSBG).

Description

Female: Length of body 14.0 mm, of forewing 14.0 mm, of antenna 13.0 mm, of exserted part of ovipositor 28.5 mm.

Head. Antenna with 73 flagellomeres; median flagellomeres quadrate; 1st flagellomere 1.6 × longer than 2nd and 3rd separately; width of head:width of face:height of eye = 2.1:1.1:1.0; intertentorial distance 1.4 × shortest distance between tentorial pit and eye; frons moderately and gradually impressed behind antennal sockets; shortest distance between posterior ocelli:transverse diameter of posterior ocellus:shortest distance between posterior ocellus and eye = 1.0:2.5:6.5; length of head behind eye 0.6 × length of eye in dorsal view.

Mesosoma. 1.75 × longer than high; scutellar sulcus narrow, irregularly foveate, anterior margin of scutellum with small median notch; midposterior margin of propodeum with sharply defined raised area.

Wings. Forewing vein 3RSb 1.6 and 5.1 × longer than 3RSa and rs-m, respectively; vein 1-M strongly expanding before junction with (Rs+M)a; forewing vein m-cu not especially thickened, weakly curved; forewing vein 1cu-a interstitial, anterior junction moderately swollen; base of hind wing with large glabrous area, not emarginate.

Legs. Foretibia with black long setae.

Metasoma. 1st tergite 1.5 × longer than apically wide, with long midlongitudinal carina, smooth; 2nd tergite 1.37 × wider than medially long, 1.1 × longer than 3rd tergite, with short midbasal triangular area, with posteriorly converging sublateral carinae sharply defined anteriorly; 3rd tergite largely strongly longitudinally striate, midlongitudinal carina formed from fusion of submedial pair of crenulae of transverse basal groove; ovipositor 2.0 × longer than body.

Colour. Head (including stemmaticum), scapus, mesosoma, fore and mid legs orange; flagellum, hind legs and metasoma black, although anterior corners of 2nd tergite cream; wing membrane extensively marked with brown on yellow background.

Etymology

Named because of the extensively brown and yellow patterned wings.

Comments

The extensively brown patterned wings on a yellow background distinguish this species from all other described Gammabracon species ,

Figures

Figure 16. Gammabracon varipennis sp. nov. holotype female. (a) Head, lateral view. (b) Head, dorsal view.(c) Face, frontal view. (d) Central part of forewing. (e) Base of hind wing. (f) Metasoma, lateral view.

Figure 17. Gammabracon varipennis sp. nov. holotype female. (a) Wings. (b) Metasomal tergites 2 and 3.