Krombeinius almokha Darling, 2021

Darling, D. Christopher & Yoo, Jeong, 2021, The Perilampidae of the United Arab Emirates and Yemen (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea), Zootaxa 5020 (1), pp. 101-129 : 103-105

Krombeinius almokha Darling n. sp.

Figure 1 , Appendix 1

Material examined. Holotype. “ Yemen: Abyan, Al Kowd , 13°5'0"N, 45°22'0"E, June 2002, light trap, A. van Harten, S. Al Haruri ”, “DNA voucher D#5235 UCR, JM Heraty”, “Anchored Enrichment #I24018“, “Digital Image Voucher 2019, Royal Ontario Museum”. The holotype is point-mounted and one hind leg was removed for DNA analysis (Female: ROME176884 , ROME).

Etymology. The specific epithet is a reference to the Yemeni port of Al Mokha, which was responsible for bringing coffee to the world. Noun in apposition.

Description. Female: length 3.8 mm. Black, except: mandible reddish-brown, femora and tibiae brown, tarsi yellow; with long white setae throughout. Wings hyaline, veins darkened.

Head ( Figs 1A, D, E, F ): wider than pronotum, in dorsal view transverse, width about twice length; in frontal view rounded, width:height = 1.2; scrobes narrow, maximum width 0.4× head width; posterior ocelli equidistant from anterior ocellus and eye margin, POL long, about twice OOL; inner orbits smooth and shining, with long dense setae, developed as low scrobal walls, with 2 strong costae ( Fig. 1F ); outer orbits smooth; ocular-ocellar region without costae radiating from ocelli, shagreened inside ocellar triangle; vertex with weak costae at posterior margin; scrobal cavity deep and broad, delimited by short frontal carina; frontal carina not reaching level of toruli, smoothly curved; malar region short and smooth, without sulcus or costae convergent on clypeus, length of malar space only 0.2× eye height; clypeus transverse, width:height = 1.5, almost completely covered with long setae, smooth only along supraclypeus; clypeus delimited laterad by weak sutures, smooth and shining with sparse setae on weak raised median callus, upper margin not indicated by distinct epistomal suture, tentorial pits indistinct, lower margin with denser setae, apex weakly emarginate; supraclypeus smooth, height 0.6× clypeus height, strongly convex along midline, without distinct channels for reception of antenna; antennal torulus situated above lower ocular line. Mandibles 3:2 dentate, left mandible with bifurcate tooth. Antenna ( Fig. 1F ): scape narrowly linear, length about 7× maximum width; pedicel length about 1.5× width, and subequal in length funicular segments F2‒F7; anellus 0.43× length of Fl; F1shorter, subquadrate, width about 1.5× length, F2‒7 transverse, wider than long, transverse, length 0.6‒0.7× width; clava 0.33× length of funicle, with distinct apical process.

Mesosoma ( Figs 1C, G ): pronotum bicarinulate and narrowed along midline, PN:MSC = 0.23, weakly rugose, lateral pronotum with very weak callus; midlobe of mesoscutum and scutellum regularly punctate; sidelobes of mesoscutum smooth along notauli, with dense setae, reticulate laterad; scutellum acuminate, SC/MSC = 1.27, in lateral view convex, apex high, subvertical and only weakly produced over propodeum, underside with shallow crenulate grooves; propodeum about twice [approximately 1.7×] as long as metanotum along midline, with deep crenulate groove along anterior margin and double row of foveae along midline, submedian areas delimited by deep foveae dorsad and laterad, weakly imbricate, callus reticulate-rugose; metanotum with foveae along anterior and posterior margins; prepectus 0.5× width of adjacent pronotum ( Fig. 1C ), with about 8 rounded piliferous foveae, margins smooth, with a smooth posterior band, sculpture similar to but stronger than lateral pronotal panel; axilla punctate above, smooth below; axillula large, upper margin carinate, distinctly separated from scutellum, narrowly triangular and extended more than half way to apex of scutellum, smooth; petiole short and transverse, without a raised scale. Fore wing venation ( Fig. 1B ): marginal vein short, only slightly longer than postmarginal vein, submarginal vein 4× marginal vein, postmarginal vein 0.85× marginal vein, stigmal vein 0.4× marginal vein, and stigmal vein 0.5× postmarginal vein; stigmal vein thick, making almost a 90-degree angle with marginal vein, stigma gradually expanded, with 3 sensilla.

Metasoma ( Fig. 1H ): T2 smoothly concave, weakly coriarious in concavity, with setae laterad, laterotergite smooth; border between T2 and T3 indicated by weak suture; T3 quadrate, length 0.98× width along T2, smooth and shining, covered with setae except along T2 border, smooth area wider along midline; T4‒8 exposed, not covered by T3, which is an artifact of preservation. Ovipositor not examined.

Male: Unknown.

Diagnosis. Krombeinius almokha is the only species of the genus with the body festooned with large and dense white setae ( Fig. 1A ). It is also the only species with a smooth malar region, without oblique costae ( Fig. 1E ). Most species have distinct costae (Darling 1998, figs 1, 2; Darling 1997, figs 1, 7, 12), with these much shorter only in K. srilanka (Darling 1988, figs 10, 11). In addition, K. almokha and K. srilanka have relatively shorter marginal veins than all other species except K. saunion , the postmarginal vein approximately 0.85× the length of the marginal vein in these three species versus 0.5‒0.7× in all other species ( Darling 1995, figs 17‒22). The scutellum of K. srilanka is also much more strongly vaulted over the propodeum than in K. almokha (Darling 1988, fig. 13 cf. Fig. 1A ). Krombeinius almokha differs from the only other Afrotropical species, K. lerouxi in many additional characters. Krombeinius lerouxi is larger and more robust, 6 mm in versus 4 mm in length; the inner orbits are smooth versus costate; and the scutellum is elongate and vaulted over propodeum ( Rasplus 1987, figs 1‒3).

Remarks. This is only species of Krombeinius known from a dry desert or steppe region; the other species are only known from tropical rainforests. It is interesting to speculate that the dense, white setae are an adaptation to the hot, potentially desiccating habitat where the holotype was collected.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Krombeinius almokha. Holotype female (ROME176884). A, habitus, lateral view; B, fore wing venation; C, prepectus; D, head, frontal view; E, head, oblique view, malar region; F, mesosoma, dorsal view; G, head, oblique view, outer orbits; H, metasoma, dorsal view.