Pholetesor confusus 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 : 375-377

Pholetesor confusus Liu & Chen , sp. n.

Figures 13 , 20

Description. Female. Body length ca. 1.4 mm, fore wing length ca. 1.5 mm.

Head. Less transverse in dorsal view, 1.7× as wide as long and 1.2× wider than mesoscutum. Eye in dorsal view 1.7× longer than temple. Temple highly shiny and almost without punctures, slightly broad. Face transverse, 0.8× as high as wide, relatively dull, uneven with superficial punctures, bulging medially, inner margin of eyes subparallel. Ocelli very small, distance between fore and a hind ocellus distinctly larger than diameter of hind ocellus, POL:OD:OOL=3.5:1.1:2.8. Antenna distinctly longer than body, penultimate antennomere subcubic.

Mesosoma. Length: breadth: height=17.2:14.0:16.0. Disc of mesonotum shiny with weak, shallow punctures, interspaces not larger than diameter of punctures. Scutellar sulcus straight, rather narrow to not visible. Sculpture of scutellum as hind of mesonotum. Postscutellum with a strong emargination between its middle point and forwarding-pointing projection, thus, phragma freely exposed. Propodeum shiny, polished all over, except rugose above nucha and several weak obsolescent punctures anteriorly. Mesopleuron highly polished, its anterior part setaceous, almost lacking punctuation.

Legs. Spines on outer side of hind tibia scattered. Spurs of hind tibia subequal, the longer one is nearly 1/2× length of basitarsus. Hind basitarsus as long as tarsal segments 2–4 combined.

Wings. Pterostigma 3× as long as its widest part. Vein 1-R1 (metacarp) 1.3× longer than pterostigma, it is at most 3.2× as long as its distance from apex of marginal cell. Vein r arising from apex of pterostigma, nearly as long as width of pterostigma, vein r almost as long as vein 2-SR, both veins distinctly angled at their meeting, vein 2-M almost as long as vein 2-SR. 1st discal cell 1.3× wider than high. Vein 2r-m of hind wing indistinct. Vein cu-a strongly curved.

Metasoma. Almost as long as thorax. T1 narrowing towards apex, and very long, 3.5× longer than hind broad, basal width 1.5× hind width, slightly concave at base, highly shiny, mostly polished, only slightly uneven. T2 subtriangular, distinctly curve into T3 apically, 2.3× wider than long in the middle, slightly uneven with invisible scattered punctures. T3 almost 2× longer than T2. Sulcus between T2 and T3 shallow to invisible. Tergites after T2 shiny, smooth, less pubescent. Hypopygium not shorter than apex of abdomen. Ovipositor sheath nearly as long as hind basitarsus.

Colour. Body yellowish, except head, apical half of antenna and apex of abdomen brown to dark black. Palpi, tegula and spurs of hind tibia pale yellow. Labrum, mandible and bulging parts of face reddish yellow. Legs yellow. Wing membrane hyaline, vein 1-R1, C+SC+R and upper border of pterostigma yellowish brown, pterostigma and alar veins pale yellow.

Male. Unknown.

Host. Unknown.

Material examined. Holotype: ♀, Fuxin, Liaoning, 1994. VII.26, Lou Juxian , No. 951462 . Paratypes: 5♀♀, Fuxin, Liaoning, 1994. VII.26, Lou Juxian , Nos. 951474, 951475, 951512, 951541, 951501 ; 1♀, Fuxin, Liaoning, 1995. VII.16–23, Lou Juxian , No. 961514.

Distribution. China (Liaoning).

Etymology. The specific name “ confusus ” is from Latin adjective, referring to more or less merged T2+T3.

Remarks. This species is very similar to P. f l av i pa r v u s Liu & Chen, sp. n., except for the following: vein r not shorter than 2-SR (the latter distinctly shorter); T2 more triangular than trapezoidal in P. flaviparvus ; vein cu-a strongly curved (the latter straight and perpendicular to vein 1-1A).

Figures

FIGURE 13. Pholetesor confusus Liu & Chen, sp. n. a habitus, lateral view; b fore wing; c head, dorsal view; d mesosoma, dorsal view; e head, frontal view; f hind wing; g metasoma. Scale line = 0.5 mm.

FIGURE 20. Distribution map of circumscriptus - group of Pholetesor species in China. •: Pholetesor acricauda Liu & Chen, sp. n.; ■: Pholetesor argyresthiae Liu & Chen, sp. n.; •: Pholetesor arisba (Nixon, 1973); Δ: Pholetesor circumscriptus Liu & Chen, sp. n.; Ŧ: Pholetesor confusus Liu & Chen, sp. n.; Ɨ: Pholetesor flaviparvus Liu & Chen, sp. n.; *: Pholetesor lithocolletis Liu & Chen, sp. n.; ♥: Pholetesor lyonetiae Liu & Chen, sp. n.; L: Pholetesor teresitergum Liu & Chen, sp. n.