Chelonus spinigaster, Ahmad, Zubair & Ghramh, Hamed A., 2018

Ahmad, Zubair & Ghramh, Hamed A., 2018, A new species of Chelonus (Areselonus) (Hymenoptera, Braconidae) from India reared from Acrocercopslysibathra (Meyrick) on Cordialatifolia Roxb., ZooKeys 737, pp. 75-80 : 77-78

Chelonus spinigaster sp. n. Figs 1, 2-8

Material examined.

Holotype, ♀, INDIA: Uttar Pradesh, Aligarh, 11. VIII. 1980., ex. Acrocercop lysibathra on Cordia latifolia Roxb. (coll. Shujauddin) (HB-364, ZDAMU). Paratypes, 7♀, 14 ♂♂, with same data as holotype (HB-364, ZDAMU).

Diagnosis.

Chelonus (Areselonus) spinigaster sp. n. is closely related to C. (A.) chailini (Walker & Huddleston, 1987) but differs from it in having the metasoma strongly declivous below the spine (metasoma angled with apical spine, hardly or not declivous below spine in C. (A.) chailini ); clypeus rugose (clypeus sparsely punctate in C. (A.) chailini ); and the wings hyaline (wings partially infuscate apically in C. (A.) chailini ).

Description.

Holotype. Female: Body length: 2.4 mm.

Head 1.6 × as wide as long; eye 1.7 × as long as temple in dorsal view; frons strigose, slightly depressed, carina distinct; OOL = 1.5 × POL; face rugulose, 1.8 × as wide as high, carina absent; clypeus rugose; malar space twice basal width of mandible, latter with two subequal teeth; antenna 16-segmented, subfiliform, extending back slightly beyond base of metasoma, scape twice as long as broad, F1 almost 3.0 × as long as wide, this ratio decreases gradually, F8-F11 almost as long as wide, F12-F13 slightly longer than wide and apical segment twice as long as wide.

Mesosoma 1.2 × as long as wide in lateral view; mesoscutum reticulate-rugose, notauli shallow; scutellum reticulate; propodeum reticulate-rugose, lateral pair of tubercles almost as long as submedian pair.

Wings: Fore wing shorter than body; pterostigma twice as long as wide, slightly longer than 1-R1; 3-SR 1.6 × as long as r; SR1 curved.

Legs: Hind femur 3.3 × as long as broad, 0.8 × as long as hind tibia, hind tibia 1.3 × as long wide and 1.3 × longer than hind tarsus.

Metasoma 2.8 × as long as high in lateral view, posteriorly distinctly less than twice as high as basally, strongly convex medially, reticulate-rugose with converging carinae on basal fourth and a small spine at apex; ventral opening not reaching apex, distance from ventral opening to apex of metasoma 1.7 × as long as hind basitarsus; ovipositor sheaths in lateral view almost as long as hind basitarsus; metasoma strongly declivous below apical spine (Figs 7, 8).

Colour: Head and mesosoma black; antenna yellow, gradually becoming brown towards apex; eyes black with yellowish tint; ocelli brownish black, stemmaticum black; metasoma brownish black; apical spine of metasoma and legs brown with fore and mid tibiae and tarsi yellowish, coxae blackish brown; wings hyaline, pterostigma, parastigma, veins C+SC+ R and 1-R1 brown, rest of veins slightly pigmented.

Male: Similar to female except rather elongated antenna; apex of metasoma devoid of a foramen.

Host.

Acrocercops lysibathra (Meyrick).

Distribution.

India: Uttar Pradesh.

Etymology.

The species name refers to the presence of a spine on the metasoma.