Photelesor spinadensus Liu & Chen

Liu, Zhen, He, Jun-Hua & Chen, Xue-Xin, 2016, The genus Pholetesor Mason, 1981 (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Microgastrinae) from China, with descriptions of eleven new species, Zootaxa 4150 (4), pp. 351-387 : 359-361

Photelesor spinadensus Liu & Chen , sp. n.

Figures 4 , 18

Description. Female. Body length ca. 2.2 mm, fore wing length ca.2.0 mm.

Head. Transverse in dorsal view, 1.8× as wide as long and as wide as mesoscutum. Eye in dorsal view 1.4×longer than temple. Temple highly shiny and with indistinct punctures, slightly broad. Face transverse, 0.8× as high as wide, highly shiny, with dense minute punctures, weakly bulging medially, inner margin of eyes subparallel. Ocelli small, distance between fore and a hind ocellus not smaller than diameter of hind ocellus, POL:OD:OOL=3.5:1.5:3.0. Antenna as long as body, penultimate antennomere 1.5× longer than wide.

Mesosoma. Length: breadth: height=31.0:20.0:20.0. Disc of mesonotum highly shiny with somewhat satin-like sheen posteriorly, shallow obsolescent punctures anteriorly, interspaces not smaller than diameter of punctures. Scutellar sulcus nearly straight, narrow, with carinae in between. Scutellum highly shiny with superficial punctures all over. Postscutellum with a not very strong emargination between its middle point and forwarding-pointing projection, thus, phragma only slightly exposed. Propodeum highly shiny, polished all over, except defined rugose around nucha and obsolescent punctures along anterior side. Mesopleuron highly polished, its anterior part with superficial sparse punctuation.

Legs. Spines on outer side of hind tibia markedly dense. Spurs of hind tibia subequal, the longer one is nearly 2/5× length of basitarsus. Hind basitarsus as long as tarsal segments 2–4 combined.

Wings. Pterostigma 2.7× as long as its widest part. Vein 1-R1 (metacarp) somewhat longer than pterostigma, 3.6× as long as its distance from apex of marginal cell. Vein r arising from middle of pterostigma, distinctly shorter than width of pterostigma, vein r as long as vein 2-SR, both veins distinctly angled at their meeting, vein 2-M nearly half length of vein 2-SR. 1st discal cell 1.2× wider than high. 1st submarginal cell of hind wing 2× wider than high. Vein cu-a strongly curved.

Metasoma. Distinctly shorter than (0.8×) thorax. T1 strongly narrowing towards apex, and 2.7× longer than hind broad, basal width 2.2× hind width, concave at base, highly shiny, polished medially, shallowly punctate along hind sides beyond apical polished tubercle. T2 triangular, straight apically, 1.6× wider than long in the middle. T3 only slightly longer than T2. Tergites after T1 shiny, smooth, less pubescent. Hypopygium apically abruptly produced into spinule. Ovipositor sheath very short, only half length of basitarsus, fusiform.

Colour. Body black and glossy. Palpi pale yellow. Tegula light brown. Spurs of hind tibia pale yellow. Labrum and mandible dark reddish yellow. Legs dark reddish brown mostly, trochanters, apex of femora, fore tibia and fore tarsus bright yellow, mid tibia, hind tibia and hind tarsus yellowish brown. Antenna and ovipositor sheath brown. Wing membrane hyaline, vein 1-R1, r, 2-SR, 2-M and border of pterostigma brownish, pterostigma and vein C+SC+R light brown, other alar veins pale yellow.

Male. Unknown.

Host. Unknown.

Material examined. Holotype: ♀, Wanglang Nature Reserve , Sichuan, 2006 . VII.26, Zhang Hongying, No. 200613397. Paratypes: 1♀, Wanglang Nature Reserve , Sichuan, 2006 . VII.26, Zhang Hongying, No. 200612711; 1♀, Wanglang Nature Reserve , Sichuan, 2006 . VII.26, No. 200612874; 1♀, Kuangkuoshui Nature Reserve, Guizhou, 2010. VI.2–3, Tang Pu , No. 201003365.

Distribution. China (Guizhou, Sichuan).

Etymology. The specific name “ spinadensus ” derives from Latin noun “spina” and adjective “densus”, referring to dense spines on hind tibia.

Remarks. This species is similar to some species of the genus Apanteles on the account of: scutellar sulcus with obvious foveolation; phragma of scutellum mostly concealed; denser spines on outer side of hind tibia. In spite of that we still prefer to place it in Pholetesor because: mesonotum with satin-like sheen, T2 highly triangular, T1 distinctly narrowed at apex and ovipositor sheath very short.

Figures

FIGURE 4. Pholetesor spinadensus Liu & Chen, sp. n. a head, dorsal view; b fore wing; c antenna; d hind wing; e habitus, lateral view; f mesosoma, dorsal view; g propodeum and metasoma; h head, frontal view. Scale line = 0.5 mm.

FIGURE 18. Distribution map of bedelliae - group of Pholetesor species in China.: • Pholetesor artusisulcus Liu & Chen, sp. n.; ■: Pholetesor flavigleba Liu & Chen, sp. n.; Δ: Pholetesor maritimus (Wilkinson, 1941); Ŧ: Pholetesor spinadensus Liu & Chen, sp. n.; Ɨ: Pholetesor taiwanensis Liu & Chen, sp. n.; ♥: Pholetesor viminetorum (Wesmael, 1837).