Proleurocerus montanus Manickavasagam & Chaitanya, 2016

Krishnachaitanya, T. & Manickavasagam, S., 2016, Description of three new species of Encyrtidae Walker (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea) from India, Zootaxa 4085 (2), pp. 285-295 : 292-294

Proleurocerus montanus Manickavasagam & Chaitanya sp. nov.

( Figs 13−18 )

Diagnosis. Female body ( Fig. 13 ) brownish orange; eye in frontal view 1.5× as wide as high; scape flattened, 2.3× as long as wide; pedicel 1.4× as long as wide; F1 1.7× as wide as long; clava solid, apically conspicuously obliquely truncate; fore wing 2.2× as long as wide; stigmal vein 1.7× as long as postmarginal vein; hind wing 3.8× as long as wide; ovipositor 0.7× as long as mid tibia.

Female. Holotype. Length, 0.87 mm. Body brownish yellow; head brown with frontovertex metallic green with silvery white setae; eyes, malar space and interantennal prominence yellowish brown, eyes with silvery white setae. Antenna with radicle yellow apically, scape dark brown except apex white; pedicel dark brown; F1−F3 brown, F4 basally and dorsally and F6 white; clava dark brown. Mesosoma with silvery white setae, except metanotum, propodeum and laterally on the mesosoma bare; mesosoma yellowish brown except pronotum and scutellum medially light brownish yellow. Fore wing hyaline except basal two-fifths infuscate; hind wing hyaline. Legs yellowish. Gaster brownish yellow; ovipositor yellow.

Head ( Fig. 14 ) in frontal view, broader than high (40:27); posterior ocellus separated from eye by less than its own diameter; antennal torulus situated below lower margin of eye; eye in frontal view1.5× as wide as high; frontovertex imbricate and except for ocellar triangle with scattered, deep, setigerous punctures, and 0.3× head width. Antennal scape ( Fig. 15 ) flattened, 2.3× as long as wide; pedicel 1.4× as long as wide; funicle segments transverse, width gradually increasing, F1 1.7× as wide as long; clava a little longer than F1−F6 combined. Relative measurements: (card mounted @ 80×)—head width:height, 40:27; eye width:height, 15:20; frontovertex width 12; POL 6; OOL 1; OCL 1; AOL 4; (slide mounted @ 100×)—scape length:width, 21:9; pedicel length:width, 5:3.5; funicle length:width, F1, 1.5:2.5; F2, 1.5:3; F3, 1.5:3.5; F4, 2:4; F5, 2:5; F6, 2:5; clava length:width, 16:7.5.

Mesosoma ( Fig. 16 ), slightly longer than wide (36:33), pronotum, mesoscutum and scutellum imbricate; mesoscutum 3.3× as wide as long; scutellum as long as wide. Fore wing ( Fig. 17 ) 2.9× as long as wide; costal cell 12.7× as long as wide; stigmal vein 1.7× as long as postmarginal vein; hind wing 3.8× as long as wide. Relative measurements: (card mounted @ 80×)—mesosoma length:width, 36:33; mesoscutum length:width, 10:33; scutellum length:width, 18:18; mid tibia length 28; mid basitarsus length 8; mid tibial spur length 7; (slide mounted @ 100×)—fore wing length:width, 81:37; costal cell length:width, 38:3; postmarginal vein length 4, stigmal vein length 7; hind wing length:width, 57:15.

Metasoma shorter than mesosoma (28:31); hypopygium not extending to apex of gaster, ovipositor ( Fig. 18 ) 0.7× as long as mid tibia. Relative measurements: (card mounted @ 80×)—gaster length 28; ovipositor length 21.

Material examined. Holotype, female (left wings, left antenna and ovipositor on slide under 3 cover slips, remainder on card) labeled “ INDIA: Tamil Nadu, Salem, Attur , Kalvarayan hills, ex. unidentified mealybug from weed, (N77 32; E78 53), 15.iii.2014, Coll. N. Gowthaman and S. Manickavasagam. ” ( EDAU, Reg. No. Enc /015/ 2015).

Paratype. 1 ♀ on card with same data as holotype ( EDAU, Registration No. Enc /015/2015).

Host. Unidentified mealybug ( Pseudococcidae ) from weed.

Male. Unknown.

Comments.Females of this species are similar to those of P. clavatus and P. zululandiae in having the scape about 2.3× as long as broad, but differs from them in having the truncate part of the clava about 0.7× the clava length, F4 partly white, and the head about 3.3× as long as frontovertex. Females of P. clavatus have the truncate part of the clava about 0.4× the clava length, F4 dark, and the head about 3.7× as long as frontovertex. Females differ from those of P. zululandiae in having the ocellar area devoid of thimble-like piliferous punctures, the scape 2.3× (vs 2.5×) as long as wide, the pedicel and clava dark brown (vs distal half of pedicel and clava yellowish, and the body brownish orange (vs blackish).

Etymology.The species name is a Latin adjective in reference to the hilly terrain of the type locality.

Figures

FIGURES 13 − 15. Proleurocerus montanus sp. nov., ♀ holotype: 13, dorsal habitus; 14, head, dorsofrontal view; 15, antenna.

FIGURES 16 − 18. Proleurocerus montanus sp. nov., ♀ holotype: 16, dorsal view of head and mesosoma; 17, base of fore wing showing venation; 18, ovipositor.