Apanteles (Choeras) validicarinatus Song & Chen

Song, Sheng-Nan, He, Jun-Hua & Chen, Xue-Xin, 2014, The subgenus Choeras Mason, 1981 of genus Apanteles Foerster, 1862 (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Microgastrinae) from China, with descriptions of eighteen new species, Zootaxa 3754 (5), pp. 501-554 : 543-545

Apanteles (Choeras) validicarinatus Song & Chen , sp. n.

( Figure 17. a–j )

Description. Female. Length of body 4.0 mm, of fore wing 4.6 mm.

Head. 2.1 times as wide as long, narrower than the mesoscutum. Antenna with 18 segments, with short setae, almost equal to the body, subapical antennal segments much elongated, length of 16th segment 0.8 times as long as 15th segment, length of third segment equal to fourth segment, length of third, fourth, 15th, 16th and penultimate segments 3.6, 3.3, 1.8, 1.9 and 2.0 times as long as their width, respectively. In dorsal view length of eye 1.3 times as long as temple. Ocellar triangle finely setose, punctulate and shiny. Ocelli in a moderately low triangle, the posterior transverse tangent to the median ocellus cutting slightly into the posterior pair; ocelli large, their diameter longer than the distance between the hind and fore ocellus. OOL: OD: POL= 20: 9: 12. Frons strigose and distinctly concave medially, narrowly punctulate and setose laterally and posteriorly. Temple and vertex densely pubescent and punctulate, shiny. Face and clypeus strongly punctulate and densely setose, softly shiny. Face with a distinctly and incompletely longitudinal carina medially near the antennal sockets, its length about 0.3 times as long as face. Length of malar space 0.6 times as long as basal width of mandible.

Mesosoma. Length of mesosoma 1.2 times as long as its height. Side of pronotum strongly shiny, largely smooth and sparsely setose, but dorsal side densely setose and punctulate, with a distinct ventral furrow which with several longitudinal carinae. Propleuron smooth and strongly shiny. Prepectal carina absent. Precoxal sulcus short and rugose. Mesopleuron largely smooth, glabrous and shiny, narrowly punctulate and setose anterio-ventrally and ventrally. Mesoscutum finely and densely punctulate, indistinct posteriorly and softly shiny, densely setose. Notauli absent. Scutellar sulcus narrow and with a few indistinctly longitudinal carinae, width about 0.9 times as long as length of scutellum. Scutellum slightly convex medially and relatively sparsely setose, strongly shiny. Side of scutellum with rather wide crenulate depression, lunula small-sized and obtusely triangular. Propodeum strongly rugose, with a strong and irregular median longitudinal carina.

Wings. Fore wing evenly covered with brown hairs, denser towards the apex. Pterostigma relatively wide, 2.6 times as long as wide. Vein 1-R1 equal to length of pterostigma and 2.3 times as long as the distance from it to the top of marginal cell. Vein r distinctly curved and 1.3 times as long as 2-SR, r arising far beyond the middle of pterostigma and slightly shorter than breadth of pterostigma. Vein 2-SR straight. Areolet very large and subtriangular, vein r-m slightly curved which arising from the junction of vein r and 2-SR. 1-CU1: 2-CU1= 7: 10. Vein 1-SR pointing to 1-CU1. Hind wing evenly covered with white hairs, setose. Vein cu-a slightly curved. Vannal lobe with distinct hair-fringe throughout. Edge of vannal lobe beyond its widest part more or less straight.

Legs. Hind coxa glabrous medio-laterally and remainder densely setose. Length of hind coxa about equal to half of mesosoma. Tarsal claws setose. Longer spur of middle tibia reaching apex of middle basitarsus. Length of femur, tibia and basitarsus of hind leg 3.6, 6.0 and 5.1 times as long as their width respectively. Length of hind tibial spurs 0.4 and 0.7 times as long as hind basitarsus respectively. Hind femur rather densely setose.

Metasoma. Tergite I distinctly quadrangular and lateral sides parallel which basally half with a relatively wide and shallow excavation, its basal width equal to its apical width which is 1.9 times as long as median length of tergite II; rugulose medio-basally, remainder strongly rugose and densely setose. Tergite II quadrangular, apical margin slightly curved and its width 1.3, 3.3 times as long as basal width and its length, the lateral margins wider than tergite I; strongly rugose and densely setose. Remaining tergites smooth, strongly shiny and densely setose. Ovipositor sheath finely hairy, very slender at base but wide medially, its length (total length) 0.6 times as long as hind tibia. Hypopygium membranous and slightly folded along the middle line apically but without longitudinal creases laterally.

Colour. Head black. Face, labrum and clypeus black. Mandibles yellowish brown but reddish brown apically. Antenna black. Mesosoma black. Wing membrane subhyaline and weakly infuscate. Pterostigma dark brown. Veins of fore wings brown, except basal part of r-m, the junction of 2-SR, 2-SR+M and 2-M subhyaline. Veins of hind wings weakly pigmented. All coxa black. All trochanter yellowish-brown. Trochantellus yellow. Fore and middle femur, tibia, tarsus yellow except distal tarsi black. Hind femur largely reddish brown and a small area at the apex and medio-dorsally black. Hind tibia and tarsus yellowish brown. Tibial spurs pale yellow. Tergite I and II all black. Remaining tergites black with narrowly indefinite yelow streaks basally. Ovipositor yellowish brown, its sheath black.

Male. Unknown.

Biology. Unknown.

Material examined. Holotype, ♀, China, Ningxia Prov., Liupanshan, 2008. VI. 21-VII. 14, Yao Jiemin, No. 200807957 ( ZJUH).

Distribution. China (Ningxia) ( Fig. 23 ).

Remark. The new species is similar to Apanteles (Choeras) tiro (Reinhard, 1880) , but can be distinguished by the pterostigma entirely dark brown (the latter with a big bright spot at the base); the areolet very large and triangular, vein r-m straight (the latter areolet quadrangular and r-m curved); and the length of ovipositor sheath (total length) 0.6 times as long as hind tibia (the latter slightly shorter).

Etymology. The specific name “ validicarinatus ” derives from the Latin adjective “validus” and adjective “carinatus”, referring to the propodeum with a strong and distinct median longitudinal carina.

Figures

FIGURE 23. Distribution map of Choeras species in China IV. ▲: Apanteles (Choeras) tenuialatus Song & Chen, sp. n.; Δ: Apanteles (Choeras) tumidus Song & Chen, sp. n.; ■: Apanteles (Choeras) validicarinatus Song & Chen, sp. n.; ●: Apanteles (Choeras) varicolor Song & Chen, sp. n.; ┼: Apanteles (Choeras) yunnanensis Song & Chen, sp. n..

FIGURE 17. a – j. Apanteles (Choeras) validicarinatus Song & Chen, sp. n. a, habitus, lateral view; b, antenna; c, fore wing; d, hind wing; e, head, dorsal view; f, head, frontal view; g, mesosoma, dorsal view; h, T 1 – T 3, dorsal view; i, mesosoma, lateral view; j, metasoma, lateral view.