Epsilogaster whitfieldi, Bortoni, Marco Aurélio, Souza-Gessner, Carolina Da Silva & Penteado-Dias, Angélica Maria, 2016

Bortoni, Marco Aurélio, Souza-Gessner, Carolina Da Silva & Penteado-Dias, Angélica Maria, 2016, The subfamily Mendesellinae (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) in Brazil, with the description of six new species, Zootaxa 4200 (3), pp. 406-416 : 410

Epsilogaster whitfieldi sp. n. Bortoni & Penteado-Dias

(Figs 3,4)

Material examined. Holotype female ( DCBU 18076 ) “ Jaíba, MG, Brasil, Res. Biol. Jaíba, S 15°06'22" W 43°47'15", Armadilha Luminosa, 18.III.2013, A.S. Soares col.” . Paratypes: one female (DCBU 91336) “Piracuruca, PI, Brasil, Parque Nacional de Sete Cidades , S 04°06'09" W 41°42'33", Armadilha Malaise, 626m, 13.X.2014, C.R. Araújo col.”; one female ( DCBU 184373 ) “ Piracuruca, PI , Brasil, Parque Nacional de Sete Cidades , S 04°06'09" W 41°42'33", Armadilha Malaise, 626m, 29.XI.2014, C.R. Araújo col.”; one female ( DCBU 184374 ) “ Piripiri, PI , Brasil, Parque Nacional de Sete Cidades , S 04°08'37" W 41°45'55", Armadilha Malaise, 629m, 13.X.2014, C.R. Araújo col.”.

Description of female (holotype). Body length: 2.8 mm; Fore wing length: 2.7 mm

Color. Head yellow except for antenna and ocelli black. Mesosoma and tegula yellow, legs and metasoma yellow, except for apex of hind tibia, tarsus and ovipositor brownish.

Head. Entirely smooth. Antenna with 26 flagellomeres.

Mesosoma. Mesoscutum smooth. Notauli crenulate. Propleuron finely punctate with a ridge near ventral margin. Pronotum weakly punctate. Scutellar sulcus with eight carinae, scutellum smooth. Mesopleuron smooth with a sternaulus, large and smooth anteriorly. Metapleuron rugose. Propodeum strongly rugose with a semi parallel sided areola with a transverse carina on posterior third that does not cross areola.

Wings. Hyaline, venation brown.

Legs. All legs smooth.

Metasoma. Apical width of first metasomal tergite 0.8 × basal width. Length of first metasomal tergite 3.1 × apical width. Hypopygium 1.5 × as long as wide. Ovipositor 1.5 × hind tibia. First metasomal tergite with longitudinal carinae discernible from lateral margin, slightly converging in apical fourth, mostly weakly rugose especially in posterior half. Mid arm of sclerotization pattern of second metasomal tergite reaching posterior margin, remaining terga smooth.

Male. Unknown

Variation. Antenna with 24 to 25 flagellomeres. Some specimens have the general body color pattern lighter than holotype, with scape and pedicel only laterally black and the remainder yellow. Stemmaticum black and ocelli yellow. Legs completely yellow. Stigma yellowish contrasting with brown venation of the wings.

Diagnosis. This species is similar to E. fullertoni , but it differs in having a longer ovipositor (1.5 × hind tibia) and longitudinal carinae of first metasomal tergite extending at most to its mid length.

Biology. Unknown.

Distribution. States of Minas Gerais and Piauí.

Etymology. This species is named after James B. Whitfield, who described the genus.