Pholetesor acrocercophagus, Ahmad, Zubair, Ghramh, Hamed A. & Pandey, Kavita, 2020

Ahmad, Zubair, Ghramh, Hamed A. & Pandey, Kavita, 2020, Parasitoids of the genus Pholetesor Mason, 1981 (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Microgastrinae) from the leafminers Lepidoptera, with the description of three new species from India, European Journal of Taxonomy 726, pp. 24-37 : 26-28

Pholetesor acrocercophagus sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:6988B1D5-883F-422E-BF22-42750A323D49

Fig. 1

Diagnosis

Pholetesor acrocercophagus sp. nov. is closely related to P. circumscriptus (Ness, 1834) in the European keys to the species of the ʻ circumscriptus -groupʼ ( Nixon 1973; Papp 1983) on the basis of the following characters: thorax in profile less elongate; metanotum strongly retracted from scutellum anteriorly, exposing mesothoracic postphragma; pterostigma almost 3.0× as wide as long; vein 1-R1 (metacarp) clearly longer than pterostigma, r and 2-SR slightly curved, meeting less angularly; propodeum largely smooth; hind femur yellowish; T1 largely smooth, polished and strongly narrowed apically; T2 +3 smooth and polished. However, it differs from P. circumscriptus in the following characters: T2 subtriangular 2.0× as wide as long posteriorly, hence more transverse (T2 strongly triangular 2.6× as wide as long posteriorly in P. circumscriptus ); scutellar sulcus narrow with fine foveation (scutellar sulcus narrow with fine groove in which there is no obvious foveation in P. circumscriptus ); forewing vein r arising medially of the pterostigma (forewing vein r arising distally of the pterostigma in P. circumscriptus ); F2 2.5 × as long as wide (F2 3.6 × as long as wide in P. circumscriptus ); body comparatively small, about 1.5 mm (body larger, about 1.80–2.00 mm in P. circumscriptus ).

Etymology

The new species is named after its host insect.

Material examined

Holotype INDIA • ♀; Uttar Pradesh, Aligarh; 27°54′53.3″ N, 78°04′23.5″ E; 11 Jul. 2005; Z. Ahmad leg.; ex. Acrocercops sp. on Achyranthes aspera L.; ZDAMU .

Paratype INDIA • 1 ♀; same collection data as for holotype; ZDAMU .

Description

Female

MEASUREMENTS. Body lenght = 1.5 mm; Length of fore wing= 1.6 mm; Length of antenna = 1.5 mm.

HEAD. Almost 2 × as wide as long; eyes 1.6× as long as temple in dorsal view; temple and vertex smooth, shiny, punctate with hairs; eyes setose, 1.4 × as long as wide, OOL: POL: AOL: OD = 4: 3: 2: 2; frons concave, smooth and shiny, face medially convex, punctate with hairs; clypeus 3× as wide as long, flattened, indistinctly punctate; malar space about as long as basal width of mandible; antennae about as long as body; scape 1.5× as long as wide, pedicel slightly wider than long, F1 3.0× as long as wide, F2 2.5× as long as wide, flagellomeres gradually decreasing apically, apical flagellomere longer than F15 and pointed.

MESOSOMA. About as long as wide and 1.5× its height; mesoscutum distinctly punctate with hairs, punctations becomes obscured posteriorly, scutellar sulcus narrow with fine foveation; scutellum smooth and shiny, side of scutellum smooth and shiny; propodeum about 2.0 × as wide as long at longest point, largely smooth; posteriorly with series of ridges extending obliquely on either side from nucha; propleuron smooth and shiny; mesopleuron antero-dorsally smooth and shiny, postero-laterally punctate with hairs.

LEGS. Hind coxa punctate with hairs; length of femur, tibia and basitarsus of hind leg 3.0, 5.0 and 4.2× their width, respectively.

WINGS. Fore wing 2.6× as long as wide, pterostigma almost 3.0 × as wide as long, 1-R1 1.21 × as long as pterostigma, r and 2-SR slightly curved, meeting less angularly, r arising medially of pterostigma.

METASOMA. 2.4× as long as wide; T1 about 3.0× as long as its apical width, 1.8 × its basal width, strongly narrowed apically, smooth and shiny except few punctures; T2 2.0 × as wide as long, subtriangular, smooth and shiny, shorter than T3; T3 rectangular, 1.40 × as long as T2, unsculptured; hypopygium weakly sclerotized, transparent, medially folded, blunt at apex, 2.0 × as long as hind basitarsus; ovipositor sheaths elongate-fusiform, thick and hairy throughout their length, arising about half of valvifer, 1.2 × as long as hind basitarsus; ovipositor pointed at apex and curved downwards.

COLOUR. Body black except for the following; hind femur, tibia and basitarsus infuscate; antennae, tegulae, latero-tergites dark brown; tip of hypopygium transparent; ovipositor reddish brown; tibial spurs, palpi creamish; fore leg except coxae, mid leg except coxae, hind tarsus except basitarsus and teleotarsus yellow.

Male

Unknown.

Distribution

India: Uttar Pradesh.

Host

Acrocercops sp.

Remarks

Pholetesor acrocercophagus sp. nov. can be distinguished from all previously described species by the unique combination of characters as follows: metanotum strongly retracted from scutellum anteriorly, exposing mesothoracic postphragma; propodeum about 2.0× as wide as long at longest point, largely smooth; posteriorly with a series of ridges extending obliquely on either side from nucha; T1 about 3.0× as long as its apical width, 1.8 × its basal width, strongly narrowed apically, smooth and shiny except few punctures; T2 2.0× as wide as long, subtriangular, smooth, shiny, shorter than T3; T3 rectangular, 1.40× as long as T2, unsculptured; hypopygium weakly sclerotized, transparent, medially folded, blunt at apex, 2.0× as long as hind basitarsus; ovipositor sheaths elongate-fusiform, thick and hairy throughout their length, arising about half of valvifer; ovipositor pointed at apex and curved downwards.

Figures

Fig. 1. Pholetesor acrocercophagus sp. nov., paratype, ♀ (ZDAMU). A. Head, frontal view.B. Mesosoma. C. Metasoma. Scale bars: 0.25 mm.