Urosigalphus frequens Arias-Penna

Carolina, Diana & B, James, 2012, A taxonomic revision of the Colombian species of Urosigalphus Ashmead (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), Zootaxa 3411, pp. 1-54 : 23-25

Urosigalphus frequens Arias-Penna , n. sp.

Figs. 9 A–F

Female.— Body length 2.57 mm.

Body color ( Fig. 9 A); mainly black. First flagellomeres light brown and last one dark brown. Scape, pedicel, anellus and mandible light brown. Mandibular teeth red-brown. Labial and maxillary palps yellow. Fore and mid legs yellow-brown; hind legs dark brown except apex of tibiae yellow-brown. Fore wing ( Fig. 9 F): tegula dark brown; stigma brown. Membrane of fore wings light brown, but hind wings hyaline; microtrichiae of hind wings hyaline and fore wings brown.

Head ( Fig. 9 A–C). — Subquadrate. Antenna with 14 flagellomeres; first three flagellomeres longer than wide (0.11:0.05; 0.11:0.05; 0.11: 0.05 mm), last five, except the last one, as long as wide (0.06:0.06; 0.06:0.06; 0.06:0.06; 0.06:0.06; 0.06: 0.06 mm); apical flagellomere longer than penultimate segment (0.12: 0.06 mm); scape longer than first flagellomere (0.20: 0.11 mm), and slightly wider than pedicel and first flagellomere (0.07:0.05: 0.05 mm); pedicel less than half as long as scape (0.06: 0.20 mm). Torulus located at midline of eye. Frons short with a suit of sculptures that increase in size and reduce in number from ventrally to dorsally; below median ocellus, frons with two large areolae, carinae of the areolae coincide in the central part and form a longitudinal carina. Scrobes ( Fig. 9 B) very deep, narrow, smooth, shiny and reach the vertex and not surrounded by a carina. Lower face strongly convex without protuberance, punctures small, dense and heterogeneous in shape and size. Fronto-clypeal suture strongly impressed, round, with small punctures. Anterior tentorial pit not embedded within a strong depression. Clypeus convex not on same plane as lower face, with small and scarce punctures, interspaces shiny and wide; apical part reflexed, narrow, smooth and shiny, with edge slightly defined, but without carina. Labrum with small and dense punctures. Mandible long, slender with transverse strigae, mandible set with two long, sharp teeth, superior teeth longer than inferior. Maxillary palps longer than labial. Ocelli oval ( Fig. 9 B), not surrounded by carina; lateral ocelli distant from each other, separated by more than the width of lateral ocellus (0.08: 0.04 mm). Stemmaticum on same plane as vertex, not elevated into a projection, but with a shallow longitudinal median groove. Eyes without preorbital carina. Vertex convex, punctures scarce and of heterogeneous size, but near occipital carina with a smooth and shiny area; vertex with a faint longitudinal median carina. Occiput concave, smooth and shiny. Occipital carina complete. Temple and gena with small, sparse punctures homomogeneous in size and shape.

Mesosoma ( Fig. 9 A, C–D).—Projection of propleuron sharp ( Fig. 9 C). Pronotum ( Fig. 9 C) anteriorly with a longitudinal groove throughout with punctures of heterogeneous size; curvature of pronotum with deep punctures; anteriorly interspaces with diagonal folds, but less conspicuous ventrally; middle part with sculpture. Pronotal lobe ( Fig. 9 C) sloped toward tegula, point of inflection carinated; apex truncate. Mesoscutum ( Fig. 9 D) in dorsal view uneven; lateral mesonotal lobe with small and sparse punctures, anteriorly sloped and posteriorly convex, lateral edges with deep foveae heterogeneous in shape and size; median mesonotal lobe with one longitudinal median and discontinuous carina, this carina more than half as long as mesonotal lobe and ends in the area where areolae begin; anteriorly median lobe with some lateral folds; area of convergence of notauli with small areolae that form an inverted triangle. Notauli complete, strongly impressed with large, subequal foveae throughout; notauli near edge of transscutal articulation and without additional row of foveae along the entire length. Scutellum slightly covex, with rounded apex, on same plane as mesoscutum; anteriorly below scutellar sulcus with small and scarce punctures, middle part and posteriorly with large areolae of different sizes and very close to each other; posteriorly scutellum on same vertical plane as posterior scutellar depression; scutellar sulcus with four deep and uneven foveae. Middle part of metanotum with a slight projection conspicuous anteriorly below posterior scutellar depression. Propodeum antero-posteriorly short ( Fig. 9 D), symmetrical; MLC short; ATC wavy with an invagination that later rises, but does not reach the same length as MLC; AMA present; posterior wall of propodeum flat with small areolates of heterogeneous size. Metapleuron with large, irregular areolae. Mesopleuron ( Fig. 9 C) with epicnemial carina; without sternaulus; mesopleuron convex, shiny central area with scarce, small punctures; dorsally with a deep and transverse groove below the tegula and with a set of foveae of heterogeneous size embedded in a circular-shape; ventrally with a wide, deep, diagonal dent that bears foveae of different sizes and delimited by the lateral carina of mesosternum; anteriorly with elongate, narrow, flat area that bears small, dense punctures throughout the edge; posteriorly scrobiculate. Mesosternum convex with small and sparse punctures; with a pair of parallel central carinae close to each other and with some foveae solely anteriorly; lateral parts with carinae, whose second anterior thirds straight; the last third forks and forms a semicircular area above the mid coxa; mesosternum near fore coxa with a lamella with two elevations below each fore coxa.

Wings ( Fig. 9 A). — Fore wing ( Fig. 9 F): Vein M+CU markedly curved (sinuate); vein 3RSb tubular, distant from stigma (0.41 mm); subbasal cell as long as basal (0.85: 0.86 mm); stigma elongated. Fore wing: length 2.23 mm, width 0.84 mm; hind wing: length 1.7 3 mm, width 0.46 mm.

Metasoma ( Figs. 9 A, E). — Carapace in lateral view teardrop-shaped ( Fig. 9 E); anteriorly with strong substrigulae ( Fig. 9 D) that cross more than half the length of the carapace; area between the carinae lacunose. Apex of carapace with one conspicuous and blunt tubercle (0.10 mm). In lateral view, region above tubercle convex; apical part of carapace smooth and shiny, pubescence scarce. Ovipositor ( Fig. 9 A) length 0.80 mm. Carapace length 1.15 mm.

Male. — Unknown.

Biology.— Unknown.

Comments.— The scrobes are deep, stemmaticum appearing more elevated than vertex, but actually stemmaticum is at the same height as vertex. Body length varies from 2.20 to 3.25 mm. Although scape and pedicel are lighter in color, in some specimens from SFF Los Colorados the antennae do not have the first flagellomeres ligther than the last ones. Colorations of hind legs vary from lighter to darker. This species is similar to U. amandae , but differs in that AMA is present, and the tubercle of the carapace is longer.

Material examined. — Holotype, female, Colombia, Magdalena: PNN [Parque Nacional Natural] Tayrona, Neguanje, 11º20'N 74º2'W, 10m, Malaise 9–17.ix.2001, R. Henriquez leg., M.2137, IAvH-E 64528. Paratypes, Magdalena: PNN [Parque Nacional Natural] Tayrona Palangana, 11º20'N 74º2'W, 30m, Malaise, R. Henriquez leg.; 1 female, 09–17.ix.2001, M.2134, IAvH-E 64531; 1 female, 18–31.x.2001, M.2227, IAvH-E 64529; 1 female, 20.iv.–04.v.2001, M.1596. Holotye and paratypes are deposited in IAvH-E.

Other material, Bolívar: SFF [Santuario de Fauna y Flora] Los Colorados, Alto el Mirador, 9º54'N 75º7'W, 400m, Malaise, E. Deulufeut leg.; 1 female, 03–18.viii.2001, M.2048, IAvH-E 64530; 2 males and 1 female, 14– 30.i.2002, M.2935, IAvH-E 64524, IAvH 64525 and IAvH-E 64526; 1 male, 22.iv.–7.v. 200, M.1605, IAvH-E 64523.

Etymology.— From frequens (Latin, adjective) = crowded, numerous, repeated. The name refers to the high number of specimens deposited in the collection in contrast with the low number of the other species.

Figures

FIGURE 9. Urosigalphus frequens n. sp. (A) habitus; (B) head, dorsal view; (C) head and mesosoma, lateral view; (D) mesosoma, dorsal view; (E) carapace, lateral view; and (F) fore wing.