Homalotylus insularis Krishnachaitanya and Manickavasagam, 2016

Tirunagaru, Krishnachaitanya, Sagadai, Manickavasagam & Kumar, Abhinav, 2016, Five new species of Homalotylus Mayr (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) - from India with a key to Indian species, Journal of Natural History 50, pp. 2369-2387 : 2375-2378

Homalotylus insularis Krishnachaitanya and Manickavasagam , sp. nov.

( Figure 2 )

Female

Holotype. Length, 1.47 mm. Body dark brown to black (Figure (2a)). Head, frontovertex with metallic green lustre and silvery white setae, interantennal prominence bluish green, eye with silvery white setae. Antenna with radicle, scape, pedicel and F1 – F3 dark brown, F4 light brown, F5 white, F6 and clava orange. Mesosoma brown with green shine; mesoscutum with dark setae and also with some setae basally dark but apically silvery white; scutellum with brown setae; tegula white in basal half, brown in apical half; fore wing with infuscate band below venation, sub-basally and apically hyaline, hind wing hyaline. Legs dark brown except tarsi of mid leg yellow. Metasoma shiny brown, base of ovipositor sheath white, apex brown, ovipositor brownish yellow.

Head in frontal view broader than high (43:40); in frontal view, eye 2× as high as wide; frontovertex with punctate-reticulate, interantennal prominence, antennal scrobes with imbricate sculpture; mandible with 3 acute teeth. Antenna (Figure (2b)) with scape slender, 8.75× as long as wide; pedicel 2.75× as long as wide; F1, 1.55× as long as wide, slightly longer than other funicle segments and F2 – F5 individually, slightly longer than wide, F6 quadrate; clava obliquely truncated, 2.1× as long as wide. Measurements: head height:width, 40:43; eye height:width, 35:17; frontovertex width 9; POL 2.5; OOL 0; OCL 4; AOL 4; scape length:width, 35:4; pedicel length:width, 11:4; funicle length:width, F1, 7:4.5; F2, 6.5:4.5; F3,6.5:4.7; F4,6.5:5; F5, 6:5; F6, 5.5:5.5; clava length:width, 15:7.

Mesosoma 1.2× as long as wide; mesoscutum 2.2× as wide as long; scutellum 1.2× as wide as long; pronotum and mesoscutum with imbricate sculpture, axillae and scutellum with imbricate-reticulate sculpture. Fore wing (Figure (2c)) 2.7× as long as wide; costal cell 14× as long as wide; marginal vein slightly longer than wide; stigmal vein 1.3× as long as postmarginal vein. Mid tibia 2.5× as long as mid tibial spur; mid basitarsus with 18 pegs and 0.95× as short as mid tibial spur; mid tibial spur serrate. Measurements: mesosoma length:width, 47:39; mesoscutum length:width, 18:39; scutellum length: width, 25:29; forewing length:width, 117:43; costal cell length:width, 56:4; marginal vein length:width, 3:2.5; postmarginal vein length 6; stigma vein length 8; mid tibia length 50; mid basitarsus length 19; mid tibial spur length 20.

Metasoma with posterior margin of T 1 more or less straight; posterior margin of T 2 – T 4 convex; T 5 with posterior margin more or less straight; posterior margin of T 6 concave; syntergum medially, broadly V-shaped; T 2 – T 6 each with an anterior, median incision. Hypopygium extending to apex of gaster; ovipositor (Figure (2d)) exserted and 1.2× as long as mid tibia. Measurements: metasoma length 44; exserted ovipositor length, 22; ovipositor length 60.

Material examined

Holotype, 1 f# (on slide under 4 cover slips) labelled ‘ INDIA: North Andaman , Diglipur (N13. 16° E93.0°), 25.V.2012, Malaise trap, Manickavasagam Sagadai and A. Ramesh Kumar ’ ( EDAU, Registration No. Enc /007/2015).

Host

Unknown.

Male

Unknown.

Comments

This species is similar to H. scymnivorus in having the ovipositor exserted and female body dark brown or black, but differs in having ovipositor more than 3× as long as mid basitarsus, scape 8.75× as long as wide; F1 – F3 dark brown, F4 light brown, F5 white, F6 and clava orange (ovipositor less than 3× as long as mid basitarsus, scape 7.3× as long as wide; antenna black, shiny, F5, F6 and clava white in H. scymnivorus ).

Etymology

The species epithet is a Latin adjective in reference to its island type locality

Figures

Figure 2. H. insularis F#: (a) Habitus image, (b) antenna, (c) fore wing, (d) ovipositor.