Glenosema tyaba 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 : 409-411

Glenosema tyaba Azevedo & van Noort , sp. nov.

Fig. 5

Description, holotype ♀. Body length 2.3 mm. Forewing length: shorter than tegula.

Colour. Body, antenna, legs dark castaneous, mandible, palpi, tegula and tarsi castaneous.

Head. Mandible 0.65 × LH, only slightly widened distally, with seven distal teeth, lower tooth large, not visible in full frontal view, completely directed inward, six upper teeth in little inclined series, both dorsal and ventral margins denticulate, last dorsal tooth conspicuous. Clypeus very short, its surface subvertical, 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 25:13:5:6. Scape long and curved, slightly wider subdistally; pedicel about 2.2 × as long as wide; proximal flagellomeres slightly longer than wide, progressively lengthening distad; flagellar pubescence dense, short and sub-erect. Eye subtriangular, small, placed at middle-dorsal area of head in lateral view, with few short setae. Frons from polished to weakly coriaceous anteriorly, punctures very small, but conspicuous, shallow, sparse; frontal line absent, area elevated but not forming carina. LH 1.1 × WH. WF 0.59 × WH. WF 1.17 × HE. OOL 3.59 × WOT. VOL 1.0 × HE. Distance of posterior ocellus to vertex crest 0.5 × DAO. Distance of anterior ocellus to supra-ocular line 9.0 × DAO. Frontal angle of ocellar triangle very acute; ocelli tiny, hardly seen at median magnification, only somewhat larger than punctures; ocellar triangle elongate, POL 2.5 × DAO. Vertex badly convex 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 weakly coriaceous, subrectangular, longer than wide; slope of pronotal collar almost vertical in profile. Mesonotum weakly coriaceous, divided into anteromesoscutum and mesoscutellaraxillary complex, transscutal fissure not outlined. Anteromesoscutum very short, transverse, its surface flat and inclined backward in profile, shorter than mesoscutellum, without notauli and parapsidal signal. Mesoscutellaraxillary complex very short, transverse, its surface convex in profile, mesoscutellar sulcus absent. Metanotum not visible dorsally. Metapectal-propodeal disc weakly coriaceous, surface little convex, very sparsely and shortly setose, median length 1.32 × median width, metapostnotal median, sublateral and lateral carinae absent; posterior carina complete; spiracle elliptical, small, placed at lateral surface. Propodeal declivity coriaceous, its surface subvertical, slightly concave, median carina absent. Prosternum small and concave. Mesopleuron coriaceous, its surface convex. Micropterous, forewing not visible, entirely covered by tegula. Mesotibia not spinose. Tarsal claw arched and simple.

Metasoma. 1.36 × mesosoma; weakly coriaceous; petiole with half-dome protuberance on ventral surface, with longitudinal carinate-shaped line.

Variation. Body lighter in general, pronotal disc lighter; anteromesoscutum with surface slightly convex in profile. The specimen from Avondale farm is somewhat different from those from Jacobsbaai. It has the metapectal-propodeal disc black, the head and the frons wider, because of that the distance of the anterior ocellus to the imaginary line between the eye tops is shorter (only 0.5 × DAO).

Material examined. Holotype ♀, South Africa, Western Cape, Jacobsbaai, N of Saldanha Bay, 32°58’S 17°54’E, 13 March–16 April 1997, H.G. Roberston, ex pitfall trap, West Coast Strandveld (SAM-HYM-P08749) . Paratypes. South Africa, Western Cape: 1♀ same data as holotype (SAM-HYM-P087450) ; 1♀, Jacobsbaai, N of Saldanha Bay, 32°58’S 17°54’E, 602 m, 0 7 November–13 December 1996, H.G. Roberston, ex pitfall trap, West Coast Strandveld (SAM-HYM-P087451) ; 2♀, Jacobsbaai, N of Saldanha Bay, 32°58’S 17°54’E, 0 7 Oct–07 Nov 1996, H.G. Roberston, ex pitfall trap, West Coast Strandveld (SAM-HYM-P087452*) ; 1♀, Avondale farm, Site A4, 32°14.31’S 22°58.59’E, 22–29 Apr 2001, HG Roberston & R Tourle, Nama Karoo on dolerite soils, pitfall, BW01-A4-P03 (SAM-HYM-A027475) .

Diagnosis. This species is similar to G. qaqambile sp. nov. and G. ebazileyo sp. nov. by having the same character state ground plan (see diagnosis of G. qaqambile sp. nov.). This species, however, has the mesoscutum slightly convex, whereas G. qaqambile sp. nov. and G. ebazileyo sp. nov. have the mesoscutum flat.

Etymology. The specific epithet tyaba is an adjective from IsiXhosa, which means flat, in allusion to the flat surface of the mesoscutellum.

Distribution. South Africa.

Figures

FIGURE 5. Glesonema tyaba sp. nov., holotype female. A. Habitus, lateral; B. Mesosoma, dorsal; C. Head, dorsal; D. Labels.