Synopeas kalubia Awad, 2021

Awad, Jessica, Bremer, Jonathan S., Butterill, Philip T., Moore, Matthew R. & Talamas, Elijah J., 2021, A taxonomic treatment of Synopeas Foerster (Platygastridae, Platygastrinae) from the island of New Guinea, Journal of Hymenoptera Research 87, pp. 5-65 : 5

Synopeas kalubia Awad sp. nov.

Description.

Body length 1.6 mm. Body color: black. Color of legs: coxae brown, otherwise yellow to brown. Color of mesoscutellar spine: concolorous with mesoscutellar disc.

Head. Shape of head in anterior view: slightly ovoid. Central keel: absent. Sculpture on frons: rugulose macrosculpture. Epitorular sculpture: minute rugulae. Number of clypeal setae: 4. Length of median pair of clypeal setae: uncertain, longer than lateral pair. Arrangement of clypeal setae: unknown. Shape of mandible: unknown. Distance between lateral ocellus and compound eye (OOL): less than 1 ocellar diameter. Hyperoccipital carina: complete. Hyperoccipital carina strength: medially weakened. Distance between lateral ocellus and hyperoccipital carina: approximately 1 ocellar diameter.

Mesosoma. Epomial carina: present, complete or nearly so. Microsculpture of lateral pronotum: present throughout. Lateral pronotal sculpture coverage: more than 3/4. Mesoscutellar spine: long and thick. Mesoscutellar spine in lateral view: pointing posteriorly. Posterior margin of lateral propodeal carina in lateral view: pointed dorsally. Mesosomal dorsum in lateral view: weakly convex. Notauli: unmarked or faintly suggested. Parapsidal lines: weakly impressed. Setation of mesoscutum: moderately dense. Mesoscutal lamella: short and narrow. Setation of mesoscutellum: laterally dense, medially sparse.

Metasoma. Microsculpture of S2: narrow band at posterior margin. Sculpture of T2: narrow transverse band of microsculpture at posterior margin. Length of T2: shorter than mesosoma; approximately as long as mesosoma.

Wing. Length of setae on disc of forewing: longer than distance between setal bases. Density of setae on disc of forewing: dense. Arrangement of setae on disc of forewing: uniformly setose distally, proximally glabrous with linea setosa. Forewing marginal setae: approximately uniform in length on anterior and posterior margins.

Diagnosis.

Important characters for identifying S. kalubia include the weak hyperoccipital carina and the microsculpture of the lateral pronotum, which is absent only in the ventralmost portion. It can be distinguished from S. kira by the pattern of microsculpture on S2. In S. kalubia , the microsculpture is limited to a narrow band along the posterior margin that is half as long as that of S. kira (Fig. 6D ), and S. kira also has a well-developed hyperoccipital carina. The notauli of S. kalubia are not indicated, which allows it to be easily separated from S. klingunculum and S. anunu .

Etymology.

The epithet " Synopeas kalubia " is Bariai for “barracuda” (Osmond, 2011) and refers to the streamlined appearance of this species. The name is to be treated as a noun in apposition.

Plant associations.

Reared from a blister gall on Nauclea sp. ( Rubiaceae ) [GALL219].

Material examined.

Holotype: Papua New Guinea: ♀, Morobe, Yawan , 6.14141°S, 146.87415°E, 30.XI.2010, Philip Butterill leg., Nauclea sp. 1 (FSCA 00000344).

Figures

Figure 6. Sculpture of metasomal sternite 2 A S. sanga (FSCA 00000399) B S. occultum (FSCA 00090403) C S. roncavei (FSCA 00090249) D S. kira (FSCA 00000398) E S. codex (FSCA 00034030) F S. luli (FSCA 00090412). Scale bars: 0.2 mm.