Cremastobaeus varuna 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 : 2044-2047

Cremastobaeus varuna Veenakumari sp. nov.

( Figures 26 (a–h) and 27(a,b))

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Holotype: Female. Body length = 1.65 mm; (m = 1.59 (1.51–1.68) mm, SD = 0.05, n = 15) Colour ( Figure 26 (a))

Head and mesosoma black; T1 yellow-brown, horn and anterior margin brown, T2–T4 brown and posterior tergites black-brown; A1 yellow-brown with sparse patches of black; A2–A4 yellow with tinges of red, A5–A6 brown; A7–A8 and clava darker than preceding antennomeres; mandibles red-brown; legs pale yellow; posterior margin of mesoscutellum and lateral propodeal area grey to light brown.

Head ( Figure 26 (b,c,h))

FCI = 1.38; LCI = 1.17; IOS 0.43× width of head; POL>LOL>OOL in ratio of 9.4:4.9:0.6; eye large (L:W = 19.2:17.8), with not so dense white setae; frontal depression with transverse striations; vertex and gena coriaceous reticulate; length and width of antennomeres A1–

A 8 in ratio of 16.9:4.1, 5.8:4.3, 6.4:3.7, 4.9:2.9, 4.5:3.2, 3.8:3.5, 3.4:4.5, respectively; length and width of clava 16.4:7.9; radicle 0.14× as long as A1.

Mesosoma ( Figure 26 (c,d,e,f))

Mesoscutum (L:W = 23.7:27.3) finely reticulate, setose, setae denser postero-medially; upper lateral pronotal area reticulate remainder smooth except for two striae ventrally; netrion smooth except for weak striae dorsally; speculum with several transverse striae; mesepimeral sulcus foveate; mesopleural depression and ventral mesopleuron almost smooth; metapleuron smooth above transverse metapleural sulcus and weakly striate beneath the sulcus in ventral two-thirds; paracoxal sulcus foveate; mesoscutellum (L: W = 10.5:19.3) trapezoid, coriaceous reticulate, setose; posterior mesoscutellar sulcus foveate with a smooth band beneath; metascutellum rectangular (L:W = 3.7:10.0), metascutellum smooth with a broad median carina; posterior margin of metascutellum with a broad ridge; propodeum broadly medially excavate; lateral propodeal area predominantly smooth with weak foveae on ventral margin; fore wing (L:W = 100.0:35.8) and hind wing (L:W = 65.1:11.3) hyaline with dense microtrichia; length of marginal cilia of fore wing and hind wing 0.08× and 0.39× width of their wings, respectively; length of submarginalis: marginalis: stigmalis: postmarginalis in ratio of 43.6:5.8:9.0:27.3, respectively.

Metasoma ( Figure 26 (g))

(L:W = 86.2:27.8); anterior margin of T1 visible when viewed dorsally; entire T1 costate; a short horn present antero-medially on T1; horn dorsally smooth with costae on posterior two-thirds; T2 with basal foveae, costate the entire length; T3–T5 anteriorly with a narrow smooth band, followed by reticulations, remainder costate; space between costae smooth; T6 reticulate in anterior half, remainder smooth; length and width of tergites T1–T 7 in ratio of 17.7:16.6, 13.9:23.8, 13.5:27.8, 13.3:25.7, 11.1:21.4, 9.7:17.2, 6.5:7.8, respectively; T1 longest of all tergites, T3 and T4 subequal.

Variation

T1 varies from yellow-brown to red-brown.

Male ( Figure 27 (a,b))

Body length = 1.47 mm; (m = 1.454 (1.385 –1.527) mm, SD = 0.05, n = 5)

Similar to female; length and width of antennomeres A1–A 12 in ratio of 13.5:4.0, 5.6:4.9, 6.0:4.7, 5.0:3.3, 5.1:3.5, 5.0:3.8, 4.7:3.8, 4.4:3.9, 4.3:3.8, 4.3:4.0, 6.7:3.9, respectively.

Material examined

Holotype: Female ( ICAR / NBAIR / P1150 ), INDIA: Tamil Nadu: Lower Pulney Hills, Thadiyankudisai , HRS, 10.2995°N, 77.7117°E, 990 m, YPT, 26.XI.2016 . Paratypes: 2 females ( ICAR / NBAIR / P1151 , P1154 ), same data as holotype; 3 females ( ICAR / NBAIR / P1152 , P1153 , P1157 ), same as P1150, 28 .XI .2016; 3 females ( ICAR / NBAIR / P1155 , P1156 , P1166 ), Tamil Nadu: Dindugul, Thandikudi , RCRS, 10.3041°N, 77.6457°E, 1305 m YPT, 28 .XII .2016; 3 males ( ICAR / NBAIR / P1158 , P1159 , P1160 ), same as P1157; 3 females ( ICAR / NBAIR / P1179 , P1180 , P1181 ), same as P1156, 28 .I .2017; 2 females ( ICAR / NBAIR / P1251 , P1252 ), same as P1150 .

Etymology

This species is named ‘ varuna ’ after the Hindu god of water and ocean. The name is treated as a noun in apposition.

Diagnosis

The diagnostic characters are the same as that mentioned under C. fuscus .

Figures

Figure 26. Bright field images of Cremastobaeus varuna 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.

Figure 27. Bright field images of Cremastobaeus varuna sp. nov. (male) (a) Habitus (dorsal view); (b) antenna.