Ifrika wadudu Colombo and Azevedo, 2023

Dondoni Colombo, Wesley & Azevedo, Celso Oliveira, 2023, Discovery of a new Afrotropical genus of flat wasps Ifrika gen. n. (Hymenoptera: Bethylidae), Journal of Natural History 57 (29 - 32), pp. 1472-1494 : 1482-1488

Ifrika wadudu Colombo and Azevedo sp. n.

( Fig. 7 )

Diagnosis

This species differs from the others of the genus by having the mandible with three teeth and mediodorsal fold oval and wide.

Description

Male. Body ~ 2.2 mm long. Forewing ~ 1.4 mm long. Antenna ~ 0.9 mm long. Colour. Head, clypeus, antenna, mandible, mesosoma and metasoma castaneous; palpi light castaneous; legs light castaneous; wings subhyaline, veins and pterostigma castaneous; metasoma dark castaneous. Head. Heptagonal, about as long as wide. Mandible with three teeth, one ventral-most sharpened and larger, otherwise rounded and very short, progressively increasing in length ventrad. Clypeus with median lobe rounded; median carina absent. Antenna with dense erect pubescence, about as long as flagellomeral diameter, with some outstanding erect setae on first five flagellomeres. Vertex crest straight. Frons polished and coriaceous. Ocellar triangle with frontal angle acute, anterior ocellus fully posterior to supra-ocular line. Mesosoma . Dorsal pronotal area polished, with some irregularly sized large punctures, posterior area wider than anterior one. Anteromesoscutum with notauli well impressed, not reaching anterior margin of anteromesoscutum and not reaching posterior one, not converging posterad. Parapsidal signums well impressed, but missing anteriorly, straight. Metascutellum weakly punctate and coriaceous, lateral margin straight, surface convex; metanotal fovea almost hexagonal. Mesoscuto-scutellar sulcus weakly incurved medially. Metapectal-propodeal disc wider than long, metapostnotal median carina incomplete, not extending posteriorly, lateral marginal carina weakly distinguishable from background texture. Propodeal declivity irregularly alveolate. Mesopleuron with posterior oblique sulcus poorly delimited and shallow. Wings. Hind wing with four distal hamuli. Metasoma. Hypopygium with spiculum surpassing inner membrane apically. Posterior margin strongly excavated forming two round lobes, excavation about one-fourth as long as hypopygeal plate. Genitalia. Harpe with dorsal arm 2× wider than ventral arm basally; basal appendicular process semicircular, as long as wide; aedeagus subrectangular with apex wider than base in dorsal view, dorsal valve with ventral margin apex deeply emarginated in lateral view, mediodorsal fold oval and wide, median projection widening apically, laminar, dull, wide; basal cover plate heart-shaped, all margins incurved; apodeme strongly dorsally curved and almost touching basal cover plate in lateral view.

Female. Unknown.

Material examined

Type material. Holotype: male, UGANDA, Kibale National Park, Kanyawara, Makerere University Biological Field Station , 1500 m, 0°33.784 ʹ N 30°21.617 ʹ E, 2–12.viii.2008, S.van Noort, UG08 -KF4-M04, Malaise trap, primary mid-altitude Rainforest (SAM-HYM-P101797) . Paratypes: UGANDA, 1 male, Kibale National Park, Kanyawara, Makerere University Biological Field Station , 1495 m, 0°33.996 ʹ N 30°21.262 ʹ E, 3–5 .viii .2005, S. van Noort, UG05 - M11, Malaise trap, secondary mid-altitude Rainforest (SAM-HYM-P101801); 2 males, Kibale National Park, Kanyawara, Makerere University Biological Field Station , 1505 m, 0°33.859 ʹ N 30°21.630 ʹ E, 31vii–3viii .2005, S. van Noort, UG05 -Y33, Yellow pan trap, primary mid-altitude Rainforest (SAM-HYM-P101798, SAM-HYM-P101799); 1 male, Kibale National Park, Kanyawara, Makerere University Biological Field Station , 1582 m, 0°33.823 ʹ N 30° 21.490 ʹ E, 2–12 .viii .2008, S. van Noort, UG08 -KF3-M03, Malaise trap, primary mid-altitude Rainforest (SAM-HYM-P101800) .

Etymology

The epithet wadudu from Swahili means insects. Treat as a noun in apposition.

Distribution

Uganda ( Figure 3B ).

Figures

Figure 3. Distribution of Ifrika gen. n. (A) Ifrika pauculihirta comb. n. (B) Ifrika wadudu sp. n. Sources: NMKE, RESOLVE Ecoregions, RQIS and SAMC.

Figure 7. Ifrika wadudu Colombo and Azevedo sp. n. (A) Head, dorsal view.(B) Mesosoma, dorsal view. (C) Hypopygium, dorsal view. (D) Genitalia, dorsal view. (E) Genitalia, ventral view. (F) Harpe, gonostipes and volsella, inner view. (G) Harpe, gonostipes and volsella, outer view. (H) Aedeagus, lateral view. (I) Harpe, lateral view. Scale bars: A, B = 0.2 mm; C–I = 0.1 mm.