Wroughtonia acuta Yan et Chen

Yan, Cheng-Jin, Achterberg, Cornelis Van, He, Jun-Hua & Chen, Xue-Xin, 2017, Review of the tribe Helconini Foerster s. s. from China, with the description of 18 new species, Zootaxa 4291 (3), pp. 401-457 : 417-419

Wroughtonia acuta Yan et Chen , sp. nov.

( Fig. 7 )

Description. Female. Length of body (excluding ovipositor sheath) 11.6 mm, of ovipositor 10.4 mm, of fore wing 10.2 mm.

Head. Antennal segments 25+, length of third segment 1.1 times fourth segment; length of third and fourth segments 3.6 and 3.2 times their width, respectively; length of maxillary palp 1.3 times height of head; head in frontal view 0.8 times as long as wide; length of eye in dorsal view 0.9 times length of temple; malar suture distinct; length of malar space 1.2 times basal width of mandible, subequal to maximum width of eye. POL:OD:OOL = 7:5:12; vertex and temple coarsely spaced punctate, coarsely rugose near mandible; occipital carina complete and ventrally rather curved, meeting hypostomal carina near level of base of mandible; frons moderately depressed posteriorly, deeply depressed medially, anteriorly and medially its sides elevated, distinct crest-shaped and punctate-rugose laterally, medially rugose-punctate with a strongly protruding lamella ( Fig. 7 H), lamella subparallel-sided in lateral view, pointing dorsally and apically rounded; face vermiculate-rugose and medio-dorsally with tubercle; clypeus densely rugose dorsally and aciculate ventrally.

Mesosoma. Length 1.9 times its height; pronope rather deep and large; side of pronotum medially coarsely crenulate, ventrally rugose and dorsally punctate; notauli narrow and deep, crenulate, posteriorly rugose; mesoscutum spaced punctate; mesoscutal lobes distinctly convex; scutellar sulcus with one median carina; scutellum medially convex and punctate, posteriorly rugose; precoxal sulcus complete, deep and coarsely irregularly rugose; propodeum coarsely punctate-reticulate, but largely smooth anteriorly ( Fig. 7 E), with mediumsized median carina anteriorly and narrow areola medially and posteriorly.

Wings. Fore wing: 3.8 times as long as wide. 1-M evenly curved; pterostigma about 4 times as long as wide; r:3-SR:SR1 = 10:19:75; 2-SR:3-SR:r-m = 20:19:12; 1-M:m-cu = 29:15; SR1 straight; cu-a vertical, subinterstitial; r-m slightly inclivous. Hind wing: 1-M:1r-m = 15:23; cu-a slightly inclivous and posteriorly slightly curved towards wing base; marginal cell slightly widened apically ( Fig. 7 A).

Legs. Hind coxa coarsely spaced punctate and dorso-basally punctate-rugose; length of femur, tibia and basitarsus of hind leg 4.1 (excluding tooth), 9.5 and 7.8 times their width, respectively; hind femur slender, ventrally transversely rugose and with a sharp and slender ventral tooth ( Fig. 7 D); length of outer and inner hind tibia spur both about 0.2 times basitarsus, but outer and wider spur slightly longer.

Metasoma. First tergite slender, weakly widened posteriorly, partly smooth medially, remainder mainly rugose ( Fig. 7 C), its dorsal carinae distinct in basal 0.8 of tergite, length of first tergite twice as long as its apical width; second tergite smooth except a few punctures; ovipositor 1.9 times as long as metasoma, twice as long as hind tibia, 2.3 times as long as mesosoma and slightly longer than fore wing; ovipositor sheath missing but of paratypes with dense and erect (at angle of about 45°) setosity.

Colour. Black (including antenna); palpi, pterostigma and most veins dark brown; fore femur apically, fore tibia and tarsus brown; remainder of legs black or dark brown; wing membrane light brown.

Variation. Body length 9.8–11.7 mm; fore wing length 8.3–10.2 mm; antennal segments 38–39; length of first metasomal tergite 2.0–2.3 times its apical width; length of setose part of ovipositor 10.4–14.0 mm, 0.9–1.2 times body and 1.0–1.4 times fore wing.

Male. Unknown.

Material examined. Holotype, ♀, China, Sichuan prov., Emei Mt., Xixiangchi , 1800–2000 m, 19.VIII.1957, Keren Huang, No. IOZ(E) 1689927 . Paratypes: 1♀, with same data as holotype, but 22.VIII.1957, No. IOZ(E) 1689948 ; 1♀, id., but 28.VIII.1957, No. IOZ(E) 1689925; 1♀, China, Tibet prov., Bomi, Yigong , 3090 m, 2.IX.1982, Yinheng Han, No. IOZ(E) 1689952 (all IZAS) .

Comparative diagnosis. The new species is similar to W. nipponica ( Watanabe, 1972) and W. nigra ( Tobias, 1967) comb. nov. (because of the dark brown or black hind tarsus and the medium-sized ovipositor), but both species have the hind femur stout and its ventral tooth wide triangular (both slender in W. acuta ). In addition, W. nipponica has the ovipositor sheath distinctly shorter (about 0.6 times) than the body (0.9–1.2 times in W. acuta ).

Host. Unknown.

Etymology. Named after the acute ventral tooth of the hind femur.

Distribution. China (Sichuan, Tibet).

Figures

FIGURE 7. Wroughtonia acuta sp. nov., ♀, holotype. A, wings; B, mesosoma, lateral aspect; C, first and second metasomal tergites, dorsal aspect; D, hind femur and tibia, lateral aspect; E, propodeum, medio-dorsal aspect; F, habitus, lateral aspect; G, head, lateral aspect; H, head, dorsal aspect.