Grotea llanera, Herrera-Flórez, 2018

Herrera-Flórez, Andrés Fabián, 2018, Three new species of Grotea Cresson (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae: Labeninae) from Colombia, Zootaxa 4444 (2), pp. 195-200 : 196

Grotea llanera sp. n.

(Figs 1–4)

Material examined. Holotype: female, COLOMBIA: Meta: PNN La Macarena. Sector La Curía. 3°21´N, 73°56´W. 450 m. 20/1–5/II /1994. Malaise trap. leg. E.Palacio ( ICN).

Diagnosis. Postgenal process present, laterally indistinct, ventroposteriorly evident. Antenna with 40 flagellomeres. Propodeum with anterior transverse carina forming a smooth arc (Fig. 1); area spiracularis enclosed in posterior and lateral margins, but not separated from area externa (lateral longitudinal carina anteriorly absent); area lateralis open in outer margin (pleural carina absent) and internally enclosed (lateral longitudinal carina posteriorly present).

Description. Female. Fore wing 9 mm long.

Head. In dorsal view with gena behind eyes rounded; posterior ocellus separated from eye by 1.1 × its own maximum diameter; postgenal process present, laterally indistinct, ventroposteriorly distinct (i.e. horizontally oriented to inside of the oral cavity), broader in the base than in the apex. Antenna with 40 flagellomeres.

Mesosoma. Mesoscutum smooth with isolated inconspicuous punctures; scutellum in profile weakly convex; hind wing with 1A not reaching the margin; propodeum, about 1.4 × as long as broad; anterior transverse carina forming a smooth arc (Fig. 1); pleural carina absent; posterior transverse carina, centrally absent; lateral longitudinal carina anteriorly absent; area spiracularis enclosed, posteriorly and laterally, though mesally not clearly separated from area externa; area lateralis not enclosed externally, elongately rectangular, about 3.0 × as long as broad.

Metasoma. Tergite I exceptionally slender, slightly longer than mesosoma from pronotal collar to posterior margin of propodeum; ovipositor, at rest, extending beyond the apex of metasoma by 1.7 × the length of the hind tibia.

Coloration. Body pale yellow with black areas. Head pale yellow with black spots on apex of mandibles, frons, gena, interocellar area and occiput; flagellum black with flagellomeres 22–31 pale yellow. Mesosoma: mesoscutum black except for two longitudinal yellow stripes; pronotum mostly pale yellow; propleuron pale yellow; mesopleuron mostly pale yellow with two stripes and epicnemium black; metapleuron mostly pale yellow; scutellum mostly yellow with a central black spot; postscutellum yellow; metanotum mostly black with anterior margin yellow; propodeum with area basalis, superomedia, petiolaris, distal margin of posteroexterna, spiracularis and lateral yellow; area externa, dentipara and anterior half of posteroexterna black. Fore legs: mostly pale yellow; tibia and tarsi ventrally yellow, dorsally brown. Mid leg yellow; tibia mostly brown; tarsi brown. Hind leg: coxa dorsally and ventrally black, pale yellow on the inner and outer sides, trochanter black, trochantellus yellow; femur black dorsally, the rest pale yellow; tibia and tarsi black. Wings hyaline (Fig. 4). Metasoma: terguite I mostly black; tergites II to VII similar to tergite I; tergite VIII pale yellow on sides and black centrally; sternites pale yellow; ovipositor sheaths yellow, apex black.

Remarks. Grotea llanera sp. n. superficially resembles G. cundinamarquesa sp. n. by having a black and yellow coloration but it differs by having propodeum with anterior transverse carina forming a smooth arc (Fig.1) and 40 flagellomeres while G. cundinamarquesa sp. n. has a propodeum with anterior transverse carina centrally indented and antenna with 39 flagellomeres.

Grotea llanera sp. n. closely resembles G. eburnea ( Porter 1989) from Chile, having a pale yellow and black coloration; however they have some color differences: flagellum brownish with a white ring between flagellomeres 22 and 28 in G. eburnea , flagellum black with yellowish ring between flagellomeres 22–31 in G. llanera sp. n. and scutellum white in G. eburnea , scutellum mostly yellow with a central black spot in G. llanera sp. n. They also differ in the fore wing length: 5.0–6.0 mm in G. eburnea and 9.0 mm in G. llanera sp. n., and in the hind wing: 1A not reaching the margin in G. eburnea , and weakly pigmented but reaching the wing margin in G. llanera sp. n.

Etymology. The name refers to the type locality: the natural region of Orinoquía, also known colloquially in Spanish as Llanos Orientales.