Hecabolus robustus Zaldívar-Riverón & Sormus

Castro, Clóvis Sormus De, Zaldívar-Riverón, Alejandro, Briceño-G, Rosa & Penteado-Dias, Angélica Maria, 2013, The genus Hecabolus Curtis 1834 (Braconidae: Doryctinae) in South America, with description of six new species, Zootaxa 3664 (3), pp. 377-391 : 383-385

Hecabolus robustus Zaldívar-Riverón & Sormus de Castro sp. n.

Figs 3 A–D, 4E.

Diagnosis. Hecabolus robustus is morphologically similar to H. assis , but it differs from this species by the features mentioned above (see H. assis diagnosis).

Description. Female. Body length 3.2 mm; fore wing length 2.6 mm; ovipositor length 2.4 mm.

Head: head width 1.5 times median length (dorsal view), 0.9 times width of mesoscutum. Head behind eyes (dorsal view) convex in anterior half, weakly roundly narrowed in posterior half. Transverse diameter of eye 1.3 times eyes as long as temple. Ocelli small, arranged in equilateral triangle. POL 1.3 times Od, 0.3 times OOL. Ocell -ocular distance about 3.8 times diameter of lateral ocellus. Eye 1.1 times higher than broad. Height of malar space 0.4 times height of eye, 1.8 times basal width of mandible. Face convex, its width 1.2 times height of eye and 1.1 times height of face and clypeus combined. Malar suture absent. Clypeus high, with distinct lower flange. Hypoclypeal depression elliptical and small, 0.9 times longer than wide. Occipital carina wide, complete, ventrally joined with hypostomal carina. Hypostomal flange wide. Head below eyes roundly narrowed. Antennae 21 antennomeres (one antenna broken, 19 antennomeres). Scape 1.6 times longer than maximum width. First flagellar segment straight, 2.5 times longer than apical width, slightly shorter than second segment.

Mesosoma: Length 1.9 times its height. Pronotum short, with a submedial pronotal carina. Mesoscutum (lateral view), strongly declivous and roundly elevated above pronotum; its length (dorsal view) 0.8 times maximum width. Median lobe of mesoscutum protruding forward, without distinct anterolateral shoulders. Notauli deep and scrobiculate, wide anteriorly, slightly narrowing posteriorly. Prescutellar depression shallow, with six longitudinal carinae, about 0.4 times as long as scutellum. Scutellum weakly convex. Precoxal sulcus wide and deep, running along 0.6 of lower part of mesopleuron. Metanotal tooth short and blunt. Metanotal lobe long and narrow, rounded apically. Propodeum with small, lateral blunt tubercles.

Wings. Fore wing 3.1 times longer than its maximum width, pterostigma slightly wide, 2.4 times longer than wide. Vein r arising on basal third of pterostigma. Marginal cell long, its length 2.8 times maximum width. Vein R1 1.3 times longer than pterostigma. Vein r 0.7 times as long as maximum width of pterostigma. Vein 3RSa slightly curved anteriorly and straight in posterior half, 6.4 times longer than r, 3.6 times longer than 2RS. Vein 2RS 1.2 times longer than vein r and 1.5 times longer than vein m-cu. Vein m-cu slightly antefurcal to vein 2RS, vein RS+Mb considerably short. Vein RS+Ma distinctly curved. Discal cell 2.0 times longer than wide. Vein 1M and vein m-cu parallel. Vein 1M 1.5 times longer than vein 1RS, 1.9 times longer than vein m-cu. Vein cu-a almost straight, clearly postfurcal to vein 1M. Vein M+CU slightly S-shaped. Subdiscal cell open distally, vein 2cu-a absent; vein 2CU arising behind middle of subdiscal cell, almost interstitial to vein 1CU. Hind wing 4.4 times longer than wide; vein C+Sc+R 1.1 times longer than vein Sc+R; basal cell narrow, widened in apical half, its length 6.3 times maximum width, 0.3 times length of wing. Vein M+CU 1.8 times longer than vein 1M.

Legs: Fore tibia with at least nine spines arranged more or less in a line. Hind coxa without basoventral tubercle, weakly protruding forwards in ventro-anterior corner, 1.3 times longer than maximum width. Hind femur wide, 2.3 times longer than wide. Hind tibia wide. Hind tarsus 0.8 times as long as hind tibia. Basitarsus 0.9 times as long as second-fifth segments combined. Second tarsal segment 0.5 times as long as basitarsus, 2.0 times as long as fifth segment (without pretarsus).

Metasoma: metasoma slightly shorter than head and mesosoma combined. First tergite with basal sternal plate short, no more than 0.2 times as long as first tergite; with very small dorsope. Maximum width of first tergite 1.5 times its minimum width; length about the same size as apical width, 1.2 times length of propodeum. Second tergite without any furrows. Median length of second tergite 0.4 times its basal width, 1.1 times length of third tergite. Combined length of second and third tergites 0.8 times their maximum width. Ovipositor sheaths slender, 1.3 times longer than metasoma, 2.0 times longer than mesosoma, about 0.7 times as long as body, 0.9 times as long as fore wing.

Sculpture and pubescence: vertex smooth, frons mostly smooth, slightly striate near ocelli; face transversally striate-rugose; gena and temple smooth. Pronotal groove, wide, deep and scrobiculate; lateral area of pronotum strongly rugose and glabrous. Mesoscutum coriaceous. Notauli not joining, obscured at the middle of mesoscutum by a large longitudinally striate-rugose area. Scutellum smooth, with sparse, short setae. Mesopleuron porcate dorsally, smooth medially and ventrally; venter of mesopleuron slightly coriaceous; subalar groove wide, deep and scrobiculate, finishing after reaching precoxal sulcus; mesopleural sulcus deep and scrobiculate, precoxal sulcus slightly scrobiculate. Metapleuron rugose-areolate. Propodeum coriaceous on basal half, rugose-areolate on apical half, with a median and lateral longitudinal carinae, with small and blunt lateral tubercles. Hind coxa strongly striate-rugose dorsally, mostly smooth ventrally. Hind femur smooth and sparsely setose. First and second metasomal tergites longitudinally striate with rugose microsculpture; first tergite with two parallel, longitudinal median carinae, narrowing apically; third tergite strongly and remaining ones finely acinose; third tergite with a semicircular apical, slightly visible groove.

Colour: Head brown, mesosoma and metasoma dark brown to black; scape and pedicel honey yellow; flagellomeres honey yellow at base, turning dark brown to black at apex; ocelli pale yellow; eyes grey; fore and middle legs honey yellow; hind coxa and femur dark brown, trochanter, trochantellus, tibia and tarsi honey yellow; wings hyaline, pterostigma and veins brown. Ovipositor and sheaths dark brown; tip of ovipositor strongly sclerotised.

Variation. Females. Body length 3.2–4.5 mm; fore wing length 2.6–3.1 mm; ovipositor 2.4–4.1 mm; vertex slightly coriaceous to smooth; antennae 19–21-segmented; venter of mesosoma slightly coriaceous to smooth; hind femur 2.3–3.1 times longer than wide.

Male. Body length 3.1 mm; fore wing length 2.0 mm; hind femur 2.7 times longer than wide. Antennae 19 antennomeres. Hind wing with stigma-like enlargement.

Material examined. Holotype, female (IB-UNAM): Brazil, Mato Grosso, Río Caraguatá, 0 5. IV. 1953, F. Plaumann, B.M. 1957-341. Two paratypes, one female, one male (BMNH): one female, same data as holotype; one male, same data as holotype, 20. X. 1956.

Distribution. Mato Grosso do Sul state, midwest Brazil.

Biology. Unknown.

Etymology. The name of this species refers to its robust body structure in comparison with other species of Hecabolus .

Figures

FIGURE 3. Hecabolus robustus sp. nov. (female, holotype). A habitus, lateral view; B mesosoma, lateral view; C mesosoma, dorsal view; D hind leg, lateral view.