Streblocera (Eutanycerus) breviflagellata Gupta & van Achterberg, 2022

Gupta, Ankita, Achterberg, Cornelis Van, Pattar, Rohit & Navik, Omprakash, 2022, A new species of the genus Streblocera Westwood (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Euphorinae) from peninsular India, Zootaxa 5175 (4), pp. 494-498 : 494-498

Streblocera (Eutanycerus) breviflagellata Gupta & van Achterberg sp. nov.

( Figures 1–3 )

Key characters. Antennomeres 21; scape 7.7× as long as wide; first and second flagellomere 1.25× as long as wide; apical flagellomere 2.2× as long as wide; length of scape: length of pedicel to seventh flagellomere: length of antenna from eighth flagellomere to apex (1.4: 1.2: 1.8).

Color. Head brown except black stemmaticum, eyes greyish, ocelli transparent; antenna brown; mesosoma brown with propodeum black, remaining brown with darker edges; metasoma yellowish brown except first metasomal tergite black, ovipositor sheath dark brown; wing veins yellowish brown and pterostigma rather dark brown; legs yellowish brown.

Holotype. Body length: 4.7 mm, fore wing, 4.1 mm, antenna: 4.4 mm. Head: width of head in dorsal view 1.7× its length; antennomeres 21; scape long, incrassate, 7.7× its width and 1.6× height of head, at basal quarter with a minute dark brown spine, flagellum geniculate at seventh flagellomere; first to seventh flagellomeres ventrally weakly carinate, sixth and seventh flagellomeres formed into a small hook-like prominence apico-ventrally; first flagellomere 1.3× as long as wide, 0.5× as long as pedicel, subequal to second flagellomere in length; second flagellomere 1.3× its width, almost equal to third flagellomere; third flagellomere 1.2× its width; length of scape: length of pedicel to seventh flagellomere: length of antenna from eighth flagellomere to apex = 1.4: 1.2: 1.8; length of scape 1.2 times length of antenna from pedicel to seventh flagellomere and length of antenna from pedicel to seventh flagellomere 0.6 times length of antenna from eighth flagellomere to apex; occipital carina complete; OOL: POL: OD = 26.1: 14.2: 8; length of eye in dorsal view 1.4× temple; temple smooth, sparsely setose; curved behind eyes; vertex smooth, sparsely setose; face densely setose; intertentorial line 1.4× tentorio-ocular line, anterior tentorial pit deep, large; clypeus 2.3× its height, mildly punctate and setose.

Mesosoma. Length of mesosoma 2.3× its width; pronotum sides finely crenulate anteriorly, medially, and posteriorly; pronotum medially smooth except for few transverse carinae; mesopleuron anteriorly and posteriorly crenulate, remaining smooth; notauli wide, deep, and crenulate; middle lobe of mesoscutum setose, lateral lobes glabrous; scutellar sulcus wide, deep, smooth, except one median strong carina and few lateral carinae; scutellum smooth, flat; sides of scutellum crenulate, rugose; medio-posterior depression large, distinct; propodeum basally smooth with a median carina at basal one fourth, bifurcating to a median areola, remaining area with irregular carinae with smooth areas in between. Wings: fore wing 3.2× as long as wide; length of pterostigma 3.6× its width; length of vein 1– R 1 0.8× length of pterostigma; r emitting a little before middle of pterostigma, its length 0.13× width of pterostigma; vein SR1 + 3–SR curved; r: 2–SR: SR1 + 3–SR (relative) = 1: 3.8: 10.5; 1–CU1: 2–CU1: 3–CU1 (relative) = 0.6: 3.5: 1.5; hind wing 4.2× as long as wide; 1–M: 1–r–m: 2–SC+ R (relative) = 1.1: 1.5: 1.6. Legs: hind coxa setose; length of hind femur, tibia, and basitarsus 7.5×, 12.8×, and 10.3× their widths, respectively; lengths of hind tibial spurs 0.25× and 0.26× hind basitarsus.

Metasoma. Length of metasoma 2.3 mm (in lateral view), 2.3× its width and 1.85× its height; first metasomal tergite (in dorsal view) 1.7× its apical width, 1.8× its apical width in lateral view, its surface apically and basally smooth with smooth region in between two sub-median longitudinal carinae, remaining area longitudinally striate, striations not reaching the apical edge; dorsope present; distance across spiracles 0.2× distance from spiracles to apex of first tergite; ovipositor sheath length 0.19× fore wing and 1.2× hind basitarsus; ovipositor 0.8 mm in length, distinctly curved upward.

Holotype. ♀; India, Tamil Nadu, Wellington , sweep net, 24.ix.2019; leg Omprakash Navik. code— NBAIR /Brac/ Euph/Stre/24919 (NIM).

Etymology. “Brevis” is Latin for short and “flagellum” is Latin for small whip or lash because of the comparatively short basal flagellomeres of the antenna.

Distribution. India (Tamil Nadu).

Comments. The new species can be distinguished with the combination of characters from other similar species from India and Vietnam detailed in Belokobylskij (2000), Shamim (2013), Long & Nhi (2020), and Li et al. (2021).

Streblocera (E.) breviflagellata sp. nov. comes close to four Indian species S. aurrayyus , S. etawahiana , S. levipleuron , and S. shujauddini —in having same number of antennomeres (21) however can be differentiated in having propodeum basally smooth with a median carina leading to a median areola, remaining with irregular carinae (vs propodeum basally reticulate, rugose, apically rugose with short median carina in S. aurrayyus and uniformly reticulate rugose in S. etawahiana ); in not having median longitudinal carina in mesosoma (vs present in S. levipleuron ); in having first metasomal tergite 1.7× its apical width (vs 2.2× in S. shujauddini ).

The new species also comes close to S. intermedia (from Vietnam) in having 21 antennomeres however differs in F1 0.5× as long as pedicel (vs subequal in S. intermedia ) and in having first metasomal tergite 1.7× its apical width (vs 2.5× in S. intermedia ).

Figures

FIGURE 1. Female in habitus (Holotype).

FIGURE 2. A. Head in frontal aspect; B. Vertex; C. Scape; D. Antenna; E. Mesosoma; F. Wings; G. Propodeum.

FIGURE 3. A. Mesopleuron; B. Metasoma in lateral aspect; C. Propodeum and first tergite; D. Metasoma in dorsal aspect.