Psyllaephagus kundapurensis Singh

Singh, Sudhir, Rema Devi, O. K. & Srinivasa, Y. B., 2014, Description of a new genus and three species of Encyrtidae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea) from the Western Ghats of Karnataka, India, Zootaxa 3814 (3), pp. 369-384 : 376-381

Psyllaephagus kundapurensis Singh sp. nov.

( Figs 19–26 , 30 & 31 )

Diagnosis. Head bright metallic yellowish-green with fine punctate sculpture scattered with larger punctures; scrobes shallow and finely punctate; mesonotum dorsally bright metallic yellowish-green and with setigerous punctuations, among which is fine punctation ( Figs 19, 20 ); head in frontal view bluish-green, more peacock bluish at scrobes; antennal scape and pedicel mostly dark brown, funicle segments and club variably light brown to yellowish; legs light yellow except brown middle and hind coxae; ovipositor sheaths (III-valvulae) slightly exserted. Male similar to female in color; antennal scape yellow; funicle light brown.

Description. FEMALE. Holotype. Length, excluding exserted part of ovipositor sheaths, 1.69 mm; length of exserted part of ovipositor sheath 0.03 mm. Paratype length 1.38 mm, with length of exserted part of ovipositor sheath 0.03 mm.

Color/Sculpture. Body ( Figs 30, 31 ) with head and mesosoma metallic green except metanotum brown; legs light yellow, coxae brown, except pale yellow fore coxa. Head ( Figs 19–21 ) metallic green with bluish and golden reflections; reticulate-punctate with regularly scattered, small, setigerous punctations, each about one-third diameter of median ocellus, and translucent white setae; scrobes, inter-antennal prominence and malar area as frontovertex, but more bluish; inter-antennal prominence, malar area and mouth margin densely setose with silvery white setae; area between scrobe and eye peacock greenish-blue. Eyes brown, bare; ocelli white. Mandible reddishbrown. Maxillary and labial palpi pale yellow. Antenna with radicle dark brown; scape and pedicel mostly dark brown but distal fourth of each brownish-yellow; funicle segments and club dark brown basally, ventral and distal portions light brown. Mesosoma metallic golden green, with reticulate sculpture and silvery white setae; mesoscutum reticulate with short setae; tegula honey colored with white setae; prepectus translucent white except basal third dark brown; mesopleuron dark brown with light green shine and anteriorly with golden red reflections, reticulate; metanotum and propodeum dark brown without any metallic reflections. Wings hyaline, venation pale brown. Middle and hind coxae black, distal margin of middle coxa pale yellowish brown; legs otherwise pale honey colored with similarly colored setae; tarsal claws and pegs of middle leg pale brownish. Metasoma black with bronzy purple reflections; ovipositor sheaths brown.

Structure. Head, in dorsal view ( Fig. 19 ), with both anterior and occipital margins concave; head width 2.69× (591: 219) frontovertex width; ocelli in a right-angled triangle; POL 3.2×, OCL 1.48×, and OOL 0.64× diameter of median ocellus (= 119: 55: 24: 37). Head, in frontal view ( Fig. 20 ), round, 1.34× (591: 439) as wide as high; scrobes moderately deep, not meeting dorsally; upper margin of torulus in line with ventral margin of eye, torulus 2× (73: 37) as long as wide, with ITD 1.5×, TMD shorter, and TED about as long as length of torulus (= 110: 61: 79: 73). Head, in profile ( Fig. 21 ), with malar space one-third (152: 439) head height; eye 1.24× (348: 280) as high as wide; mandibles with a tooth and broad truncation. Antenna ( Fig. 23 ) with scape spindle shaped and swollen at distal two-thirds, 3× (220: 70) as long as wide; pedicel conical, 1.84× (81: 44) as long as wide; F1–F4 longer than wide, F5 as wide as long, and F6 wider than long; F1 1.39× (46: 33), F2 1.27× (51: 40), F3 1.2× (48: 40), F4 slightly longer than wide (48: 44), F5 as long as wide (51: 51), and F6 1.14× (55: 48) as wide as long; club 1.95× (143: 73) as long as wide, as long as preceding three funicle segments combined.

Mesosoma ( Fig. 30 ) 1.22× (661: 538) as long as wide, narrower than head (538: 591); visible part of pronotum a narrow strip, 18.7× (457: 24) as wide as long; mesoscutum convex, 1.5× (518: 341) as wide as long with posterior margin slightly convex mesally; axillae narrowly separated; scutellum flat, slightly wider than long (317: 305), 0.89× mesoscutum length (305: 341), with apex overlapping/projecting over propodeum; propodeum medially narrow, about 28× (500: 18) as wide as long. Fore wing 2.35× (1246: 530) as long as wide; marginal vein as long as wide (46: 46); stigmal vein long, 2.58× as long as postmarginal vein (106: 41); stigmal vein at an angle of about 30° with postmarginal vein ( Fig. 22 ). Middle tibial spur 0.5× as long as basitarsus (79: 152); middle leg with 12 mesotibial apical pegs; basitarsus with 12, second tarsomere with 6 or 7, third tarsomere with 4, and fourth tarsomere with 2 pegs.

Metasoma ( Figs 30, 31 ) elongate, 1.5× (815: 538) as long as wide and 1.23× as long as mesosoma, with cercal plates situated at distal 0.73 length of metasoma (595: 815); hypopygium extending to distal 0.82 length of metasoma (673: 815); ovipositor sheaths slightly exserted (31). Ovipositor 1.4× as long as middle tibia (671: 479), 6× as long as length of third valvula (671: 112) ( Fig. 26 ).

MALE. Length 1.07 mm.

Color/Sculpture. Head, in frontal view, metallic green except frontovertex with golden reflection, setae translucent white; scrobal region bluish-green with prominent reticulate-punctuate sculpture; upper face between each scrobe and inner margin of the eye (parascrobal area) and inter-antennal prominence golden and with translucent white scaly setae; malar area and mouth margin less distinctly metallic green with dark brown edges, and with white setae. Mandibles brown; palpi off-white or cream colored. Antenna with radicle and scape pale yellow; pedicel dark brown in basal three-fourths, distally light brown; flagellum darker than scape. Mesosoma dorsally metallic green with light yellowish reflections, darker areas laterally and ventrally with comparatively lighter greenish reflections; reticulate-punctuate and with silvery white setae; wings hyaline; legs pale yellow except hind and basal half of middle coxae dark brown. Metasoma dark brown, dorsally and ventrally with greenish reflections.

Structure. Head, in dorsal view ( Fig. 25 ), 2.12× (494: 232) as wide as long, 2.18× (494: 226) as wide as frontovertex at level of median ocellus; anterior margin widely convex and occipital margins deeply concave; ocelli arranged in obtuse-angled triangle, median angle about 100°; POL 3.6×, OOL 0.64×, and OCL 1.16× diameter of median ocellus (= 134: 24: 43: 37). Head, in frontal view ( Fig.28 ), rounded, 1.23× (494: 402) as wide as high; dorsal margin of torulus above ventral margin of eye; ITD 1.6×, TED 1.4× and TMD 1.2× height of torulus (= 98: 85: 73: 61). Head, in profile, 1.64× (402: 244) as high as long, 3.3× (402: 122) as high as malar space; eye 1.22× (268: 219) as long as wide. Antenna ( Fig.24 ) with scape 2.6× (154: 59) as long as wide and 2.48× as long as pedicel; pedicel globose, 1.3× (62: 48) as long as wide; funicle segments all longer than wide, F1 1.37× (51: 37), F2 and F3 each 1.14× (48: 42), F4 slightly longer (48: 44), F5 and F6 each 1.25× (55: 44) as long as wide; club 2.15× (110: 51) as long as wide, as long as preceding two funicle segments.

Mesosoma considerably narrower than head (462: 494), 1.4× (646: 462) as long as wide; pronotum 17.8× (427: 24) as wide as long; mesoscutum 1.42× (451: 317) as wide as long, with posterior margin slightly convex mesally; axillae narrowly separated; scutellum flat, 1.16× (305: 262) as long as wide, slightly shorter than mesoscutum (305: 317); propodeum 20× (488: 24) as wide as long. Fore wing 2.17× (1032: 474) as long as wide; length of marginal vein: stigmal vein: postmarginal vein = 46: 78: 37.

Metasoma 0.57× (369: 646) as long as mesosoma; genitalia with aedeagus length: phallobase length: digitus length: paramere length = 329: 157: 91: 73; digitus with 2 hooks; phallobase 0.37× (157: 415) as long as middle tibia.

Material examined. Holotype (NFIC-FRI; accession No. 21908), female (on card, with left wings, antenna, fore leg, right middle and hind legs and metasoma dissected and mounted on a slide under six cover slips) labeled “ INDIA, Karnataka, Uduppi district, Kundapura Forest Division, backwater of river Haladi; 10.v.2006; Abdul Latheef, C.”

Paratypes: 1♀, 1♂ (female on card with the metasoma removed, dissected and mounted on a slide under 2 cover slips; male dissected and mounted on a slide under eight pieces of cover slips); other data same as for the holotype. Acc. No.NFIC-FRI-21908.

Host. Unknown.

Distribution. This species is known from Kundapura, Karnataka.

Etymology. The species name is derived from the name of the type locality.

Comments. Psyllaephagus kundapurensis runs to P. mesohomotomae Singh & Agarwal in the keys given by Singh & Agarwal (1993), Singh (1996) and Hayat (2006). It was compared with the holotype of P. mesohomotomae but was found to be a distinct species. Some important distinguishing characters are given as follows (characters in bracket are those of P. mesohomotomae , Figs 27–29 ). Female: head in frontal view 2.66× as wide as frontovertex (3×); sculpture on frontovertex and scrobes finely punctate, (frontovertex shallowly reticulatepunctate, smooth and reticulate); scrobes and inter-antennal prominence green with bluish tint (golden green with bronzy hue) and shallow not meeting dorsally (deep and meeting); TED 1× (1.5×) and ITD 1.5× (2×) torular height; scape 3× (3.5×) as long as wide; stigmal vein 1.2× (1×; Singh and Agarwal 1993, fig.18G) the combined lengths of marginal and postmarginal veins; basitarsus 1.92× (1.6×) length of middle tibial spur. Male: head 2.12× (1.5×) as wide as high; funicle with setae shorter than (2×; Singh and Agarwal 1993, fig. 19F) width of each segment.

Figures

FIGURES 19 – 23. Psyllaephagus kundapurensis Singh, sp. nov., ♀ (holotype): 19, head in dorsal view; 20, head in frontal view; 21, head in profile; 22, fore wing venation; 23, antenna.

FIGURES 24 – 29. 24 – 26, Psyllaephagus kundapurensis Singh, sp. nov.: 24, antenna (♂); 25, head in frontal view (♂); 26, ovipositor (♀). 27 – 29, Psyllaephagus mesohomotomae Singh & Agarwal ♀ (holotype): 27, head in dorsal view; 28, head in frontal view; 29, head in profile.

FIGURES 30 – 33. 30 – 31, Psyllaephagus kundapurensis Singh, sp. nov., ♀ (holotype): 30, body in dorsal view; 31, body in ventral view. 32 – 33, Ooencyrtus hayatii Singh, sp. nov., ♀ (holotype): 32, body in dorsal view; 33, body in ventral view.