Glenosema qaqambile Azevedo & van Noort, 2019

Azevedo, Celso O. & Noort, Simon Van, 2019, Review of Afrotropical Glenosema Kieffer (Hymenoptera, Bethylidae) with description of 13 new species, Zootaxa 4585 (3), pp. 401-437 : 405-406

Glenosema qaqambile Azevedo & van Noort sp. nov.

Fig. 2

Description, holotype ♀. Body length: 3.2 mm. Forewing length: shorter than tegula.

Colour. Head black and brilliant, mandible and antenna castaneous, palpi light castaneous; mesosoma black and brilliant, except anterior part of pronotal collar dark castaneous, tegula dark castaneous, legs dark castaneous, with tarsi light castaneous; metasoma dark castaneous.

Head. Mandible 0.67 × LH, only slightly widened distally, with seven distal teeth, lower tooth large, not visible in full frontal view, completely directed inward, three upper teeth in inclined series, both dorsal and ventral margins denticulate, last two dorsal teeth conspicuous. Clypeus very short, its surface subvertical but perceptible in full dorsal view, triangular in frontal view, apical margin with median callus, almost straight in frontal view, lateral lobe absent; median clypeal carina absent. Antennal foramina distant each other about 2.0 × antennal foramen diameter. First four antennomeres in ratio 30:14:6:10. Scape long and curved, slightly wider subdistally; pedicel about 2.0 × as long as wide; flagellomeres longer than wide; flagellar pubescence dense, short and sub-erect. Eye subcircular, small, placed at middle-dorsal area of head in lateral view, with few short setae. Frons polished, punctures small, shallow, but conspicuous, irregularly distant one another, frontal line sulcate, short and inconspicuous. LH 1.02 × WH. WF 0.22 × WH. WF 1.1 × HE. OOL 0.3 × WOT. VOL 0.81 × HE. Distance of posterior ocellus to vertex crest 1.0 × DAO. Distance of anterior ocellus to supra-ocular line 4.25 × DAO. Frontal angle of ocellar triangle very acute; ocelli tiny, hardly seen at median magnification, only slightly larger than punctures; ocellar triangle elongate, POL 2.0 × DAO. Vertex almost straight medially. Sides of head posterior to eye converging posterad. Occipital carina complete. Malar space very small and triangular, eye almost touching dorsal mandibular condyle. Hypostomal carina evenly slightly curved, not angled medially. Palpal formula 6:3.

Mesosoma. Dorsal pronotal area polished, subquadrate, longer than wide; slope of pronotal collar almost vertical in profile. Mesonotum coriaceous, divided into anteromesoscutum and mesoscutellar-axillary complex, transscutal fissure not clearly outlined. Anteromesoscutum very short, transverse, its surface flat and inclined backward in profile, shorter than mesoscutellum, without notauli and parapsidal signal. Mesoscutellar-axillary complex very short, transverse, its surface very convex in profile, mesoscutellar sulcus almost short, occupying about one third of mesoscutum width, inconspicuous, narrow, shallow, straight, badly dilated laterally. Metanotum not visible dorsally. Metapectal-propodeal disc coriaceous, surface convex, very sparsely and shortly setose, median length 1.4 × median width, metapostnotal median carina absent, but with narrow longitudinal polished band; sublateral and lateral carinae absent; posterior carina complete, sharp and high; spiracle elliptical, small, placed at lateral surface. Propodeal declivity with its surface subvertical, almost flat, median carina absent. Prosternum small and concave. Mesopleuron with its surface convex, evenly convex in dorsal view. Micropterous, forewing not visible, entirely covered by tegula. Mesotibia not spinose. Tarsal claw arched with small medial tooth.

Metasoma. Elongate, 1.67 × mesosoma. Weakly coriaceous. Petiole with half-dome protuberance on ventral surface, with longitudinal carinate-shaped line.

Material examined. Holotype ♀, Tanzania, Mkomazi Game Res., Ibaya , 3°58’S 37°48’E, 23 Dec 1995, A. Russell-Smith, ex. pitfall traps, Burnt hillside (SAM-HYM-P 020200) . Paratypes. Tanzania, same data as holotype except 19 Jan 1996 (1♀), 21 Jan 1996 (1♀), 24 Jan 1996 (1♀) (SAM-HYM-P02 0 280, SAM-HYM-P 020284, SAM-HYM-P02 0 248, respectively) .

Diagnosis. This species is similar to G. ebazileyo sp. nov. and G. tyaba sp. nov. by having the same ground plan with the eyes placed well forward on the head; the ocellar triangle elongate, forming a very acute frontal angle; the head not developed anterior to eyes at all; the anteromesoscutum short; and the wings micropterous. This species, however, has the mesoscutellar sulcus, whereas the other two similar species do not.

Etymology. The specific epithet qaqambile is an adjective from IsiXhosa, which means bright, in allusion to the general bright color of the body.

Distribution. Tanzania.

Figures

FIGURE 2. Glesonema qaqambile sp. nov., holotype female. A. Habitus, lateral; B. Mesosoma, dorsal; C. Head, dorsal; D. Labels.