Colastes sandei, Achterberg & Shaw, 2008

Achterberg, C. van & Shaw, M. R., 2008, A new subgenus of the genus Colastes Haliday (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Exothecinae) for species reared from bracket fungi, with description of two new species from Europe, Journal of Natural History 42 (27 - 28), pp. 1849-1860 : 1857-1860

publication ID	https://doi.org/ 10.1080/00222930802114280
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/E369983E-8405-FFF8-FDAD-AB27FD99506D
treatment provided by	Felipe
scientific name	Colastes sandei
status	sp. nov.

Treatment

Colastes sandei View in CoL sp. nov.

( Figures 1A–L View Figure 1 )

Holotype, female, length of body 3.4 mm and of forewing 3.5 mm.

Description

Head. Antenna with 30 segments, third antennal segment 1.2 times fourth segment, length of third, fourth and penultimate segments 4.0, 3.0 and 1.6 times their width, respectively ( Figures 1I–K View Figure 1 ); length of maxillary palp 1.3 times height of head; length of eye in dorsal view 1.9 times temple ( Figure 1F View Figure 1 ); OOL:diameter of ocellus:POL56:3:5; face rugulose ventro-medially and weakly granulate laterally; clypeus with some striae; frons and vertex smooth; hypoclypeal depression about half as wide as face ( Figure 1F View Figure 1 ); ventral part of occipital carina visible in anterior view of head; length of malar space 1.4 times basal width of mandible; occipital flange rather wide ( Figure 1L View Figure 1 ); malar suture indistinct; mandible rather twisted apically and with convex outer side.

Mesosoma. Length of mesosoma 1.6 times its height; pronope absent; side of pronotum smooth dorsally and remainder rugose; mesosternum with a narrowly crenulate and rather deep sulcus and sublaterally smooth; mesopleuron smooth but densely reticulate-rugose antero-dorsally; precoxal sulcus absent except for a shallow depression; metapleuron reticulate; notauli complete, rather wide ( Figure 1B View Figure 1 ); mesoscutum with some setae near notauli; scutellar sulcus wide and deep, with some distinct carinae ( Figure 1B View Figure 1 ); scutellum weakly convex, setose and smooth anteriorly and medially, rugulose posteriorly; surface of propodeum coarsely reticulate, but less so posteriorly, without a median carina anteriorly or an areola posteriorly ( Figure 1B View Figure 1 ).

Wings. Forewing: r slightly widened and its length 0.7 times width of pterostigma; pterostigma triangular ( Figure 1A View Figure 1 ); r:3-SR:SR158:14:41; 1-CU1:2-CU154:13; 2- SR:3-SR:r-m514:14:8; m-cu antefurcal and converging to 1-M posteriorly; cu-a short and first subdiscal cell strongly widened apically ( Figure 1A View Figure 1 ); CU1b much shorter than vein 3-CU1. Hind wing: m-cu present ( Figure 1A View Figure 1 ); M+CU:1-M523:17.

Legs. Hind coxa partly finely striate postero-dorsally and more or less rugose in front of this; hind femur rather densely setose and largely smooth; tarsal claws simple, setose, but with some short bristles basally ( Figure 1G View Figure 1 ); fore tarsus 1.45 times longer than tibia; length of femur, tibia and basitarsus of hind leg 3.6, 10.6 and 6.7 times their width, respectively; hind tibial spurs 0.30 and 0.25 times as long as hind basitarsus.

Metasoma. Length of first tergite 1.1 times its apical width, its surface strongly longitudinally striate ( Figure 1H View Figure 1 ), its dorsal carinae meeting near middle of tergite; dorsope medium-sized ( Figure 1H View Figure 1 ); no distinct laterope; second tergite smooth but narrowly striate basally; ovipositor slightly curved downwards; length of ovipositor sheath 0.29 times as long as forewing (and nearly twice as long as first tergite; Figure 1L View Figure 1 ).

Colour. Black; scapus (but apically slightly darkened), pedicellus apically, annellus, palpi, tegulae and legs pale yellowish; clypeus, malar space partly, orbita dorsally and posteriorly, propleuron, mesopleuron antero-dorsally, second and third tergites laterally, fourth-seventh tergites partly laterally and complete sixth tergite yellowishbrown; remainder of second tergite and of antenna, ovipositor sheath and mesopleuron partly posteriorly dark brown; pterostigma, parastigma and veins rather dark brown; wing membrane slightly infuscate.

Distribution

England, the Netherlands.

Variation

Hind coxa dorsally striate to densely rugose; mesoscutum with 3–6 longitudinal rugae medio-posteriorly; hind tarsus may be more or less infuscate; side of pronotum may be rugose dorsally; lateral mesoscutal lobes sometimes with a few setae laterally; precoxal sulcus absent or as a shallow coriaceous depression; propodeum may be less coarsely reticulate anteriorly than posteriorly an with a vaguely indicated median carina. One female from Monks Wood has clypeus, orbita (except for a small patch dorsally), mesosoma (except side of pronotum ventrally) and metasoma dorsally black or dark brown. The other female from Monks Wood is typically coloured except for the yellowish third to fifth antennal segments. The male is very similar to the female: length of forewing 3.0 mm, and of body 3.1 mm; antenna of male with 30 segments; shape of pterostigma similar to that of female; vein r 0.65 times as long as width of pterostigma; vein 3-SR of forewing 0.9 times as long as vein 2-SR; mesoscutum less rugose medio-posteriorly; median carina of propodeum weakly developed anteriorly; first tergite less convex than that of female; second tergite largely longitudinally striate. The female paratypes have the antenna with 24 (1), 25 (1) or 27 (1) segments and length of forewing 2.4–3.0 mm and of body 2.2–3.1 mm, length of malar space of 1.2–1.4 times basal width of mandible, and length of ovipositor sheath 0.27–0.33 times as long as forewing.

In addition, a small male (length of forewing 1.8 mm) was examined from Germany which may belong to another species: ( RMNH), ‘‘ Germany, Bugsteinfurt (Münster), vi.1996, e.l. ex zwam [5fungus] op beuk [5 Fagus sylvaticus Linnaeus ]. J.C. van de Sande’ ’. The body is largely dark brown, the second submarginal cell of forewing is comparatively narrow, the femora and tarsi are somewhat infuscate, the face is smooth, the antenna with 21 segments, the notauli are narrow and the temple is subparallel-sided behind the eyes .

Material examined

Holotype female: ‘‘ Netherlands: GE, Ede, Station, 25 May 1996, e. l[arva] nr. 960202, ex zwavelzwam [5 Laetiporus sulphureus (Bull.) Murrill ] op Prunus avium [Linnaeus], J. C. van de Sande’’ (RMNH). Paratypes (6 females + 1 male): 1 male, with same data as holotype (RMNH); 1 female: ‘‘[ England], Windsor Great Park, Berks., SV 9772, ex aged bracket fungus, poss[ibly] Meripilus giganteus , coll. August [19]86, em. August [19]86, H. Mendel’’ (NMS); 2 females, ‘‘[ England], Monks Wood, Hants., TL 202805, Mal. trap, 13–25 July [20]05, G. Broad’’ (NMS); 3 females: ‘‘ Netherlands: GE, Wageningen, reared from old bracket-fungus Daedaleopsis confragosa on Sorbus sp. , 10 August 2007, L. Moraal, RMNH9070 (RMNH).

Note

It is a pleasure to name this species after the collector of the holotype, Mr J. C. P. M. van de Sande (Amsterdam), who reared important series of Braconidae from bracket fungi in the Netherlands and Germany .