Wallaceaphytis kikiae Ayshford and Polaszek, 2013

Polaszek, Andrew, Ayshford, Thomas, Yahya, Bakhtiar Effendi & Fusu, Lucian, 2013, Wallaceaphytis: an unusual new genus of parasitoid wasp (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae) from Borneo, Journal of Natural History (J. Nat. Hist.) 48 (19 - 20), pp. 1111-1123 : 1121-1122

Wallaceaphytis kikiae Ayshford and Polaszek sp. nov.

Description

In addition to the genus-level characters above, the following characters are likely to be of species-level significance if additional species of Wallaceaphytis are discovered:

Colour. Head dorsally orange-yellow, brown on lower half of occiput ( Figure 8). Scape dark brown, pedicel and flagellum orange-yellow, flagellum darker basally. Mesosoma and metasoma brown-black ( Figures 9 and 10), a pale intersegmental area behind propodeum laterally. Fore wing infuscate from base to slightly beyond stigma vein ( Figures 6 and 9). Legs brown, femora and tibiae paler at their bases; distal tarsal segments darker than proximal segments ( Figure 3).

Sculpture. Frons and face with transverse/reticulate sculpture. Mesoscutum with reticulate sculpture in the form of large irregular cells, Fore wing marginal vein with four robust setae and a smaller one at the junction with the submarginal vein.

Additional characters

Ovipositor projecting beyond metasoma; 2.3× mid tibia. Second valvifers 3.3 × third valvulae.

Holotype female. MALAYSIA: Borneo, Sabah, Danum Valley Field Study Centre, Beach. 5°01' N, 117°48.75' E. 14 September 2012 screen-sweep (A. Polaszek) . Holotype dissected and slide-mounted in Canada balsam, deposited permanently in Institute for Tropical Biology and Conservation , Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu , MALAYSIA .

Etymology

The genus name Wallaceaphytis is derived from the family name of Alfred Russel Wallace, and the generic name Aphytis , to which it is related. Other genera within the subfamily Aphelininae , to which Wallaceaphytis belongs, include Neophytis , Paraphytis and Punkaphytis . The genus is described in honour of Wallace, co-discoverer with Charles Darwin of the theory of evolution by natural selection. Wallace’ s collections and observations on the fauna and flora during his extensive travels in South East Asia, including the island of Borneo, led to his formulation of the theory. The genus and species are described on the exact date of the centenary of his death.

The specific epithet kikiae is based on, and in honour of, “Kiki”, the second author’ s mother, Mrs Christian Duke.