Homalotylus varicolorus 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 : 2380-2382

Homalotylus varicolorus Krishnachaitanya and Manickavasagam , sp. nov.

( Figure 4 )

Female

Holotype. Length, 1.31 mm. Body yellow to brown (Figure (4a)). Head with frontovertex brownish yellow, interantennal prominence yellow, ocelli dark brown. Antenna with radicle, scape and pedicel yellow, F1 – F4 light brown, F5 ventrally light brown, dorsally white, F6 and clava white. Mesosoma with pronotum yellowish brown, mid lobe of mesoscutum dark brown with green tinge, lateral lobe yellowish brown, axillae and scutellum yellow, metanotum and propodeum brown; tegula basally white, apically light brown. Fore wing infuscate from parastigma to end of venation and beyond, basally and apically hyaline. Legs whitish yellow except dorsum of hind femur (pale brown) and hind tibia brown, all tarsi white except apical tarsomere dark brown. Metasoma brownish yellow, hypopygium and ovipositor yellow to light brown.

Head in frontal view slightly longer than wide (42:40); eye in frontal view 1.2× as high as wide; head with polygonally reticulate sculpture; mandible with 3 acute teeth. Antenna (Figure (4b)) with scape slender, 7.2× as long as wide; pedicel 2.75× as long as wide; funicle width gradually increasing, F1 1.3× as long as wide and slightly longer than F2 – F6, F6 quadrate; clava obliquely truncate, 3.3× as long as wide. Measurements: head height:width, 42:40; eye height:width, 25:15; frontovertex width 10; POL 2; OOL 0; OCL 4; AOL 4.5; scape length:width, 36:5; pedicel length:width, 11:4; funicle length:width, F1, 6.5:5; F2, 6:5; F3,6:5; F4,6:5.5; F5, 6:6; F6, 6:6.5; clava length:width, 20:6.

Mesosoma 1.4× as long as wide; mesoscutum 1.7× as wide as long; scutellum 1.2× as wide as long; pronotum and mesoscutum with polygonal reticulate, axillae and scutellum with punctate-reticulate sculpture. Fore wing (Figure (4c)) 3.2× as long as wide; costal cell 18× as long as wide; marginal vein slightly longer than wide; stigmal vein 1.8× as long as postmarginal vein. Mid tibia 2.5× as long as mid tibial spur; mid tibial spur 1.2× as long as mid basitarsus; mid tibial spur serrate; mid basitarsus with 24 pegs. Measurements: mesosoma length:width, 40:29; mesoscutum length:width, 17:29; scutellum length:width, 18:21; forewing length:width, 144:45; costal cell length:width, 63:3.5; marginal vein length:width, 6:3; postmarginal vein length 6; stigmalvein length 11; mid tibia length 47; mid basitarsus length 16; mid tibial spur length 19.

Metasoma with posterior margin of T 1 bilaterally convex; posterior margin of T 2 – T 3 more convex and T 4 slightly convex; T 5 and T 6 posterior margin concave; syntergum with posterior margin more or less straight; T 4 – T 6 each with an anterior, median incision. Hypopygium extending to apex of gaster; ovipositor (Figure (4d)) exserted, 2.2× as long as mid tibia. Measurements: metasoma length 35; exserted ovipositor length 40; ovipositor length 103.

Male

Similar to female (Figure (5a)), except F1 – F4 light brown, F5 – F6 and clava white (Figure (5b)); scape 6.6× as long as wide with a median concavity on dorsal surface; pedicel 2.2× as long as wide; clava 3.3× as long as wide. Measurements: scape length: width, 33:5; pedicel length:width, 10:4.5; clava length:width, 18:5.5; genitalia (Figure (5c)) length, 27.

Material examined

Holotype, 1 f# (on card) labelled ‘ INDIA: Bihar, Banka, Bounsi (N25.14° E86.56°), 08.i.2015, YPT, Abhinav Kumar ’ ( EDAU, Registration No. Enc /009/2015).

Paratype. 1 f# (on slide under 4 cover slips) with same data as holotype ( EDAU, Registration No. Enc /007P/2015) .

Male

1 (on card) labelled ‘ INDIA: Bihar, Banka, Bounsi (N25.14° E86.56°), 08 .i .2015, YPT, Abhinav Kumar ’ ( EDAU, Registration No. Enc /007M/2015) .

Host

Unknown.

Comments

This species is similar to H. noyesi in having the ovipositor exserted, scape 7× as long as broad and F1 – F4 light brown, F6 and clava white, but differs from it as given below: ovipositor 2.2× as long as mid tibia; pedicel 2.75× as long as wide; fore wing 3.2× as long as wide; clava 3.3× as long as wide; head frontally 1.05× as long as wide; (ovipositor 1.5× as long as mid tibia; pedicel 2.25× as long as wide; fore wing 2.8× as long as wide; clava length 2.7× as long as wide; head frontally 0.92× as long as wide in H. noyesi ).

Etymology

The species epithet is a Latin noun in reference to the numerous colours on the body.

Figures

Figure 4. H. varicolorus F#: (a) Habitus image, (b) antenna, (c) fore wing, (d) ovipositor.