Apanteles (Choeras) tenuialatus Song & Chen

Song, Sheng-Nan, He, Jun-Hua & Chen, Xue-Xin, 2014, The subgenus Choeras Mason, 1981 of genus Apanteles Foerster, 1862 (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Microgastrinae) from China, with descriptions of eighteen new species, Zootaxa 3754 (5), pp. 501-554 : 538-540

Apanteles (Choeras) tenuialatus Song & Chen , sp. n.

( Figure 15. a–i )

Description. Female. Length of body 3.4 mm, of fore wing 3.9 mm.

Head. 2.2 times as wide as long, much wider than mesoscutum. Antenna with 18 segments, with dense and short setae, much longer than the body length, subapical antennal segments much elongated, length of 16th segment 0.9 times as long as 15th segment, length of third segment 0.9 times as long as fourth segment, length of third, fourth, 15th, 16th and penultimate segments 2.8, 3.0, 3.7, 3.5 and 2.8 times as long as their width, respectively. In dorsal view length of eye 1.4 times as long as temple. Ocellar triangle shiny, densely and finely pubescent. Ocelli in a very high triangle, the posterior transverse tangent to the median ocellus leaving far from the posterior pair. Ocelli small, their diameter shorter than the distance between the hind and fore ocellus. OOL: OD: POL= 19: 6: 11. Frons smooth and distinctly concave medially, relatively widely punctulate and setose laterally and posteriorly. Temple and vertex finely and densely pubescent, softly shiny. Face and clypeus densely and finely pubescent, softly shiny. Face without a median longitudinal carina. Length of malar space 0.7 times as long as basal width of mandible.

Mesosoma. Length of mesosoma 1.4 times as long as its height. Side of pronotum smooth and dull, with narrow dorsal furrow which with a few longitudinal carinae and only with an indistinct trace of ventral furrow. Propleuron smooth and strongly shiny. Prepectal carina and precoxal sulcus absent. Mesopleuron largely smooth, glabrous and shiny, punctulate and setose anteriorly and ventrally. Mesoscutum softly shiny, finely, densely punctulate and setose. Notauli absent. Scutellar sulcus narrow and strongly curved, with hardly visible longitudinal carina, its width about 0.8 times as long as scutellum. Scutellum densely setose, softly shiny. Side of scutellum with rather narrow crenulate depression, lunula medium-sized and elliptical. Propodeum postero-anteriorly densely setose, remainder part mainly smooth but with some rugae medio-posteriorly, without a complete median carina.

Wings. Fore wing evenly covered with brown hairs, denser towards the apex. Fore wing very narrow and long, about 3.7 times as long as its width. Pterostigma relatively narrow, 3.8 times as long as wide. Vein 1-R1 1.4 times as long as pterostigma and 6.5 times as long as the distance from it to the top of marginal cell. Vein r (actually r plus part of 2-SR because of low position of r-m) 1.9 times as long as 2-SR and distinctly curved, r arising much far beyond the middle of pterostigma and much longer than breadth of pterostigma. Vein 2-SR straight. Areolet triangular and very small, vein r-m arising from vein 2-SR at a considerable distance proximal to the junction of vein r and 2-SR. 1-CU1: 2-CU1= 10: 11. Vein 1-SR pointing to the junction of 1-CU1 and 2-CU1. Hind wing evenly covered with brown hairs, setose. Vein cu-a slightly curved. Edge of vannal lobe beyond its widest part very more or less straight and here with a fringe of hairs.

Legs. Hind coxa dull and densely setose. Length of hind coxa about equal to half of mesosoma. Tarsal claws setose, without distinct comb. Hind tibia and basitarsus relatively long and thin. Length of femur, tibia and basitarsus of hind leg 3.5, 7.3 and 7.8 times as long as their width, respectively. Length of hind tibial spurs 0.2 and 0.3 times as long as hind basitarsus respectively. Hind femur rather densely setose and punctulate.

Metasoma. Tergite I very long and distinctly quadrangular, lateral margins almost parallel but slightly concave apically, slightly rugulose apical 0.3, the remainder largely smooth, sparsely setose and punctulate laterally which with a relatively wide and shallow excavation basal 0.3, its basal width 1.1 times as long as its apical width which is equal to median length of tergite II. Tergite II quadrangular, apical side straight which is 0.4, 2.3 times as long as basal width and its length respectively; slightly rugulose and softly shiny, sparsely setose posteriorly. Remaining tergites faintly and slightly rugulose, with moderate setae. Ovipositor sheath straight and densely hairy, very slender, its length (total length) 2.7 times as long as hind tibia. Hypopygium subhyaline and largely sclerotized, only near median line membranous and tightly folded along the middle line, with longitudinal creases laterally and acute apically.

Colour. Head dark reddish brown. Labrum reddish brown. Face, mandibles and clypeus dark reddish brown. Scape and pedicel dark reddish brown. Flagellum dark brown. Mesosoma dark reddish brown. Wing membrane subhyaline and weakly infuscate. Pterostigma and veins of wings light yellowish brown. Fore and middle legs yellow except distal tarsi black. Hind coxa basal 0.3 reddish brown and with a few yellow streaks, apical 0.3 yellow. Hind trochanter and femur yellow. Hind tibia basal 0.8 yellow and remainder brown. Hind tarsus brown. Tibial spurs pale yellow. Tergites all dark reddish brown. Ovipositor reddish brown, its sheath dark brown.

Variation. Body length 2.8–3.4 mm. Fore wing length 3.2–3.9 mm. And some individuals slightly different in colour pattern.

Male. Unknown.

Biology. Unknown.

Material examined. Holotype, ♀, China, Zhejiang Prov., Anji, Longwangshan, 1996. VI. 26, Li Qiang, No. 963307 ( ZJUH). Paratypes (both in ZJUH): 1♀, China, Zhejiang Prov., Anji, Longwangshan, 1996. VI. 26, Li Qiang, No. 963315; 1♀, China, Zhejiang Prov., Deqing, Fatou, 1995. V. 27, He Junhua, No. 957371.

Distribution. China (Zhejiang) ( Fig. 23 ).

Biology. Unknown.

Remark. The new species is similar to Apanteles (Choeras) gielisi (van Achterberg, 2002), but can be distinguished by the length of ovipositor sheath (total length) 2.7 times as long as hind tibia (the latter 0.8 times); 1- CU1: 2-CU1= 10: 11 (the latter 1: 2); and the tergite I very long and distinctly quadrangular, almost parallel-sided (the latter distinctly narrowed posteriorly).

Etymology. The specific name “ tenuialatus ” derives from the Latin prefixion “tenu-” and adjective “alatus”, referring to the fore wing very narrow and long.

Figures

FIGURE 23. Distribution map of Choeras species in China IV. ▲: Apanteles (Choeras) tenuialatus Song & Chen, sp. n.; Δ: Apanteles (Choeras) tumidus Song & Chen, sp. n.; ■: Apanteles (Choeras) validicarinatus Song & Chen, sp. n.; ●: Apanteles (Choeras) varicolor Song & Chen, sp. n.; ┼: Apanteles (Choeras) yunnanensis Song & Chen, sp. n..

FIGURE 15. a – i. Apanteles (Choeras) tenuialatus Song & Chen, sp. n. a, habitus, dorsal view; b, antenna; c, fore and hind wings; d, head, dorsal view; e, head, frontal view; f, mesosoma, dorsal view; g, mesosoma, lateral view; h, metasoma, lateral view; i, T 1 – T 3, dorsal view.