Cremastobaeus nicobarensis Veenakumari, 2017

Kamalanathan, Veenakumari & Mohanraj, Prashanth, 2017, The genus Cremastobaeus Ashmead (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae: Cremastobaeini) from India, Journal of Natural History 51 (33 - 34), pp. 1989-2056 : 2021-2023

Cremastobaeus nicobarensis Veenakumari sp. nov.

( Figure 15 (a–h))

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Holotype: Female. Body length = 1.40 mm; (m = 1.29 (1.20–1.40) mm, SD = 0.07, n = 5)

Colour ( Figure 15 (a))

Head black; mesoscutum and mesoscutellum dark brown; metascutellum, lateral propodeal area brown; pleuron light brown with patches of dark brown; metasoma golden brown except posterior tergites dark brown; A1–A3 yellow-brown with red tinge on A2– A4; A5–A7 dark brown, A8 and clava black-brown; eyes black; mandibles red-brown; legs yellow-brown.

Head ( Figure 15 (b,c,h))

FCI = 1.6; LCI = 0.84; IOS 0.43×width of head; POL>LOL>OOL in ratio of 10.5:6.7:0.09; eye large (L:W = 20.3:16.7), with not so dense white setae; frontal depression anteriorly 0.11× and posteriorly 0.21x head width, with uneven transverse striae; vertex coriaceous reticulate with sparse transverse striae; gena striate-reticulate; length and width of antennomeres A1–A 8 in ratio of 14.9:4.3, 6.1:3.9, 5.2:3.3, 4.6:2.7, 3.9:2.8, 3.8:3.1, 3.4:4.1, respectively; length and width of clava 17.0:8.3; radicle 0.17× as long as A1.

Mesosoma ( Figure 15 (c–f))

Mesoscutum (L:W = 22.3:23.5) anteriorly sparsely punctate, remainder coriaceous reticulate, setose; lateral pronotal area reticulate, with sparse striae ventrally; netrion predominantly smooth with sparse striae, foveae on anterior margin not distinct; speculum with four transverse striae dorsally, remainder smooth; mesepimeral sulcus foveate, foveae shallow; mesopleural depression weakly reticulate to smooth; ventral mesopleuron weakly reticulate; entire metapleuron predominantly smooth except for three weak ventral striae; paracoxal sulcus foveate, foveae shallow; mesoscutellum (L: W = 9.1:16.0) trapezoid, coriaceous reticulate, setose; posterior mesoscutellar sulcus foveate; metascutellum (L:W = 4.6:9.2) triangular with uneven vertical striae and no setae; metanotal trough weakly foveate; propodeum medially very narrowly excavate accommodating posterior end of metascutellum; lateral propodeal area unevenly rugose-striate; propodeal spiracle distinct; fore wing (L:W = 95.6:29.5) and hind wing (L: W = 79.2:11.3) hyaline with dense microtrichia; length of marginal cilia of fore wing and hind wing 0.12× and 0.46× width of their wings, respectively; length of submarginalis: marginalis: stigmalis: postmarginalis in ratio of 36.6:7.9:8.5:34.5, respectively.

Metasoma ( Figure 15 (g))

(L:W = 69.5:28.7); T1 with basal foveae, remainder costate with a smooth band posteromedially; T2 with basal foveae, remainder costate except for smooth posterior band; T3

and T4 entirely anteriorly costate remainder smooth to reticulate; T5 weakly costatereticulate; T6 weakly reticulate; small black punctae present all over metasoma, denser laterally; length and width of tergites T1–T 7 in ratio of 15.5:14.5, 11.8:23.3, 11.1:28.5, 11.7:28.5, 8.9:23.9, 6.5:17.5, 3.9:5.2, respectively; T1 longest of all tergites; T2 and T4 subequal in length.

Variation

Mesosoma and mesoscutellum black in some specimens.

Male

Unknown.

Material examined

Holotype: Female ( ICAR / NBAIR / P1072 ), INDIA: Andaman and Nicobar islands: Great Nicobar: Campbell Bay , 7.0077°N, 93.9147°E, 13 m, YPT, 22.III.2016, KV . Paratypes: 4 females ( ICAR / NBAIR /P1073, P1074, P1075, P1076), same data as holotype, KV.

Etymology

This species is named ‘ nicobarensis ’ based on the type locality. The name is treated as an adjective.

Diagnosis

This species is closer to C. eila (see diagnosis under C. eila ). This species resembles C. yoganarasimha too but differs from it in the following character states. In C. nicobarensis the metascutellum is finely vertically striate, anterior one-third of speculum transversely striate, and T3 costate in anterior half whereas in C. yoganarasimha metascutellum is unevenly sculptured with sparse vertical striae, the entire speculum is transversely striate and T3 costate almost the entire length of tergite.

Figures

Figure 15. Bright field images of Cremastobaeus nicobarensis sp. nov. (female) (a) Habitus (dorsal view); (b) frons; (c) head and mesosoma; (d) meso- and metascutellum; (e) pleuron; (f) wings; (g) metasoma; (h) antenna.