Trichacis acuminata Arias-Penna & Masner

Arias-Penna, Tania Milena, Masner, Lubomir & Delsinne, Thibaut, 2012, Revision of the Neotropical species of Trichacis Foerster (Hymenoptera: Platygastroidea: Platygastridae), with description of 24 new species, Zootaxa 3337, pp. 1-56 : 7

Trichacis acuminata Arias-Penna & Masner , new species

Figures 1 G, 1H; 2A–2C

Female. Body length: 1.80 mm (holotype); 2.25 mm (paratype); mean length ± SD = 2.03 ± 0.32 mm.

Black; radicle and base of A1 yellow; distal part of A1 brown and A2–A10 dark brown; mandible brown with apex dark brown; fore leg yellow except apical tarsi brown; mid leg brown except basal 2/3 of tibia and 1–4 tarsi yellow; hind leg brown, base of trochanter, apical 2/3 of femur, apical 2/3 of tibia and tarsi darker; coxae dark brown; fore wing infuscate in posterior 2/3, with darker and lighter patterns in basal 1/3.

Head, in dorsal view, two times as wide as long; EH <IOS; interocellar area finely coriaceous; OOL> LOL; antennal clava 4-segmented; A1 not reaching vertex dorsal margin; A2–A5 longer than wide; A6 as long as wide; A7–A9 wider than long; base of mandible smooth; frons above torulus coriaceous, and with transverse striae; interantennal process smooth, slightly curved down and surpassing ventral border of torulus; clypeus exposed; clypeal margin truncate; gena smooth; lateral parts of vertex coriaceous between posterior ocellus and hyperoccipital carina, and coriaceous and longitudinally striate between hyperoccipital carina and occipital carina; temple projection present; hyperoccipital carina incomplete, fading until reaching level of imaginary line connecting eye inner margin to posterior cephalic margin; distance between posterior ocellus and hyperoccipital carina longer than posterior ocellus diameter.

Mesosoma slightly arched; antero-admedian line present; notaulus anteriorly incomplete; lateral notaular area with coriaceous sculpture along its anterior margin and inter-notaular area with anterior 1/3 coriaceous and posterior 2/3 smooth; posteromedial region of inter-notaular area convex; parapsidal line present; central pronotal area smooth; specialized area of mesoscutellum heart-shaped and elevated; median projection of specialized area of mesoscutellum subtriangular; mesopleural carina incomplete (length of mesopleural carina/length of mesopleuron = 0.52); fore wing distinctly surpassing apex of metasoma.

Metasoma elongate; combined length of T3–T6 <T2; T1 as long as wide; T2 longer than wide; T3–T6 wider than long; anteromedial part of T2 smooth and concave; T6 subtriangular; T3–T6 densely and deeply punctulate.

Male. Body length: 1.90 mm (allotype).

Similar to female except the following: A1–A5 yellow; A6–A10 brown; fore and mid legs yellow; hind leg yellow except brown coxa, tarsal segments and apical 1/3 of femur and tibia; wing infuscate in posterior 2/3, with darker and lighter patterns in basal 1/3; antenna filiform; A2–A4, A6–A10 longer than wide; A5 as long as wide.

Etymology. The name of the species refers to the temple projection.

Diagnosis. Both Trichacis acuminata and T. acuta have temple projection but may be distinguished by the sculpture on the medial area of vertex, which is covered by striae in T. acuminata and smooth in T. acuta , and by the shape of the anteromedial part of T2, which is concave in T. acuminata and flat in T. acuta . Interestingly, the Neartic species Trichacis bison , T. cornuta , and T. dracula also have temple projection ( Masner 1983).

Material examined. Holotype: 1 Ƥ; BOLIVIA, Cochabamba, montane & cloud forest, 17º08´52´´S 65º42´54´´W, 1800 m, February 6–8 1999, FIT, F. Génier ( CNCI); allotype: 1 3, La Paz, Chulumani, Apa-Apa, 16º22´S 67º30´W, 1800 m, May 1–4 1997, L. Masner ( CNCI); paratype: 1 Ƥ, with same data as holotype ( ICN). Holotype is deposited in CNCI.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Bright field images of Trichacis species. A – F: Trichacis acarinata Arias-Penna & Masner, n. sp., Ƥ (holotype). A, head, frontal view; B, habitus, dorsal view; C, habitus, lateral view; D, head and prothorax, anterolateral view; E head and mesosoma, lateral view; F, head, mesosoma and T 1, dorsal view. G, H: Trichacis acuminata Arias-Penna & Masner, n. sp., Ƥ (holotype). G, head and mesosoma, anterior view; H, habitus, dorsal view.