Exochus aenigmatosus, Tolkanitz, 1999

Riedel, Matthias, Ameri, Ali, Talebi, Ali Asghar & Ebrahimi, Ebrahim, 2019, Contribution to the Ɨchneumonidae (Hymenoptera) oI Ɨran, with descriptions oI seven new species, Linzer biologische Beiträge 51 (1), pp. 361-390 : 377-378

Exochus aenigmatosus TOLKANITZ, 1999 new ♀ (fig. 18)

M a t e r i a l e x a m i n e d: Khuzestan site 1: 12♀♀ 7♂♂ 11.iii.-10.v.2015, 1♀ 23.vii.- 6.ix.2015, leg. E. Gilasian; Khuzestan site 2: 1♀ 1♂ 5-11.v.2014, 7♀♀ 1♂ 11.v.-14.vi.2014, 1♀ 3♂♂ 10.v.-10.vii.2015, leg. M. Parachami-Araghi ; Markazi site 2: 1♀ 2♂♂ 16.vi.2018, leg. E. Gilasian.

D e s c r i p t i o n: ♀: Body length 6-7 mm. Antenna with 32-34 flagellomeres, moderately spindle-shaped; 1 st flagellomere 1.8x longer than wide; 6 th flagellomere c.1.5x wider than long, preapical flagellomeres square. Temple strongly and almost linearly narrowed behind eye. Distance between eye and lateral ocellus 1.0x ocellar diameter, distance between lateral ocelli 1.8x their diameter. Occipital carina medially absent, genal carina reaching the hypostomal one far from mandibular base, hypostomal carina moderately elevated. Mandible normal, not widened basally.

Side of pronotum smooth. Notaulus impressed in anterior 1/6 of mesoscutum. Mesoscutum rather densely punctate, punctures less dense on lateral fields. Mesopleuron punctate, smooth in apical third. Metapleuron smooth, with few hairs at apical margin. Propodeum carinate as in ♂ (see TOLKANITZ 2007: 355, fig. 151). Area superomedia about as wide as the lateral fields, usually confluent with area basalis. Costula present. 1 st lateral field densely punctate and pilose; 2 nd lateral field smooth, with fine punctures and hairs at lateral margin. Hind femur 2.15x longer than wide. Length of external hind tibial spur c.0.7x tibial width at apex. Areolet open laterally; nervulus strongly postfurcal (by 0.5x its length). Nervellus of hind wing strongly anteclivous, intercepted in apical 0.8.

1 st tergite 1.15x longer than wide, with complete lateral carina; dorsal carina present in basal 0.3-0.4. 2 nd tergite 1.5x wider than long, with scattered punctures and a narrow central smooth area. Epipleuron of 3 rd tergite large and convexely rounded.

Color: Black. Flagellum usually blackish dorsally and reddish-brown ventrally, sometimes completely reddish-brown. Face with reddish-yellow transversal band below antenna. Stripe of frontal orbit and triangular spot on vertex ivory, spots often confluent. Palps, mandible except teeth and spot on gena yellow. Mesosoma black, often mesopleuron, metapleuron, propodeum and scutellum ± red; spot on tegula, wing base, and often hind edge of pronotum ivory; postscutellum and narrow apical band of scutellum yellowish. Metasoma red; base of 1 st tergite ± darkened, 8 th tergite red or brownish; ovipositor sheath ivory. Legs red, fore coxa often with frontal yellow mark. Pterostigma brown.

Remark: This species is closely related to E. castaniventris BRAUNS, 1896 (see TOLKANITZ 2007) and differs slightly by the stronger and almost linearly narrowed temples and the wide yellow-red transversal band of the upper face. Due to the observed variability in our long series of ♀♀ from Iran, it is not impossible that E. aenigmatosus TOLKANITZ is a junior synonym of E. castaniventris BRAUNS.

D i s t r i b u t i o n: East Europe, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, new for Iran.