Rhysipolis Foerster, 1863

Belokobylskij, Sergey A. & Manukyan, Andranik R., 2024, First reliable fossil record of the subfamily Rhysipolinae (Hymenoptera: Braconidae): a new subgenus and species of the genus Rhysipolis Foerster, 1863 from Baltic amber, Zootaxa 5448 (4), pp. 591-600 : 592-593

Genus Rhysipolis Foerster, 1863

Rhysipolis Foerster, (1962) 1863: 235; Shenefelt 1975: 1133; Belokobylskij and Tobias 1986: 67; Belokobylskij 1998: 120; Spencer and Whitfield 1999: 298; Yu et al. 2016.

Type species. Rogas (Colastes) meditator Haliday, 1836 .

Diagnosis of the genus. Head ( Figs 1B, F, G ; 3B, C ) not depressed, transverse. Vertex convex, and smooth. Occipital carina complete, upper distinct, below not fused with hypostomal carina, distinctly removed from it and separately reaching lower margin of head capsule near mandible ( Fig. 1E ). Ocelli usually medium-sized, arranged in triangle with base large that its sides. Frons only weakly concave. Eyes large, oval, glabrous. Malar space short or medium length; malar suture present but shallow or very shallow. Mandibles short and thick. Maxillary palpus 6-segmented; labial palpus 4-segmented; all segments elongated.

Antenna ( Figs 1A, C, D ; 3A, D ) relatively slender, weakly setiform, multisegmented, often curled into ring apically. Scape rather short and wide, without any transformations. Pedicel short. First flagellomere always long, subcylindrical, straight and with several rhinaria (multiporous sensillum). Apical segment acuminated apically and with distinct spine.

Mesosoma ( Figs 1E, F ; 3E, F ) not depressed. Pronotal neck short or weakly elongate. Propleuron with distinct dorsoposterior lobe. Mesoscutum relatively highly and subperpendicularly or curvedly elevated above pronotum. Notauli distinct, complete and following to posterior margin of mesoscutum, but often incomplete, present only anteriorly and absent in posterior half or third. Prescutellar furrow relatively long, with distinct medial carina. Prepectal carina distinct and complete. Precoxal sulcus present, relatively short and wide, almost straight, oblique. Propodeum sometimes with areas delineated weak carinae or without it, but in some group of species with enlarged, semi-circular and smooth petiolate area posteriorly; lateral tubercles absent.

Wings ( Figs 1A , 2B ; 3A, I ). Fore wing pterostigma relatively long and wide. Radial (marginal) cell wide, usually not shortened; metacarp (1-R1) longer than pterostigma. Radial vein (r) arising often from or rarely weakly before or behind middle of pterostigma. Second radiomedial (submarginal) cell relatively long and tetragonal. Discoidal (discal) cell petiolate anteriorly, petiole (1-SR) relatively short.Recurrent vein (m-cu) distinctly antefurcal,subparallel with basal vein (1-M). Nervulus (cu-a) always postfurcal. Parallel vein (CU1a) not interstitial, arising from posterior one-third of the vein (3-CU1) closed brachial (subdiscal) cell posteriorly. Brachial vein (CU1b) present and closed brachial (first subdiscal) cell distally. Transverse anal veins (2A and a) absent. Hind wing. Nervellus (cu-a) present and closed rather long submedial (subbasal) cell; first abscissa of mediocubital vein (M+CU1) at least weakly shorter than second abscissa (1-M) Recurrent vein (m-cu) always present and straight, but often short.

Legs ( Figs 1A, H , 2C ; 3A ) relatively narrow and long. Hind coxa elongated, suboval, without ventro-basal tubercle. Hind femur usually narrow. Hind tibia slender; its inner spur not longer than 0.3 of hind basitarsus. Tarsal claw small and simple, but with distinctly wide its basal half.

Metasoma ( Figs 1A , 2C ; 3G, H ). Tergites of metasoma rather well sclerotised and distinctly protruding each behind each; tergite behind first one without separated laterotergites; their spiracles situated on border of dorsal and lateral surfaces of second and third tergites, and in upper third or half of lateral surface of fourth and following tergites. First metasomal tergite with distinct dorsal carinae fused subbasally, with high sublateral carinae along margin of tergite, with distinct dorsope, always striate-rugose. Acrosternite of fist segment short. Suture between second and third tergites present and complete, but very shallow. Ovipositor ( Figs 1I , 2C ; 3H ) relatively long, apically with shallow dorsal node and without ventral serration. Ovipositor sheath slender.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Rhysipolis (Granulopolis) simutniki subgen. et sp. nov. (holotype, female, Baltic amber, # 9/24.1). (A) Habitus, lateral view. (B) Head and anterior half of mesosoma, ventro-lateral view. (C) Basal antennomeres of antenna, front view. (D) Apical flagellomeres of antenna (E) Head and mesosoma, ventro-lateral view. (F) Head and mesosoma, dorsal view. (G) Head, front view. (H) Hind leg, lateral view. (I) Ovipositor and sheaths, lateral view.

FIGURE 2. Rhysipolis (Granulopolis) simutniki subgen. et sp. nov. (holotype, female, Baltic amber, # 9/24.1). (A) Habitus, dorsal view. (B) Wings. (C) Metasoma and ovipositor, lateral view.

FIGURE 3. Rhysipolis (Rhysipolis) meditator (Haliday, 1836). (A) Body, lateral view. (B) Head, front view. (C) Head, dorsal view. (D) Basal antennomeres (E) Mesosoma and first metasomal tergite, dorsal view. (F) Head and mesosoma, lateral view. (G) Metasoma, dorsal view. (H) Metasoma and ovipositor, lateral view. (I) Wings.