Phanerotoma divergens van Achterberg, 2009

Achterberg, C. van, Hosaka, T., Ng, Y. F. & Ghani, Idris B. A., 2009, The braconid parasitoids (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) associated with seeds of Dipterocarpaceae in Malaysia, Journal of Natural History 43 (11 - 12), pp. 635-686 : 674-678

Phanerotoma divergens van Achterberg , sp. nov.

( Figure 8A–L)

Holotype

Female, length of body 4.4 mm, length of forewing 3.3 mm.

Head

Antenna slightly widened submedially, with 23 segments, penultimate segments gradually shortened, scapus 1.5 times as wide as third segment, length of third segment 1.1 times fourth segment, third, fourth and penultimate segments 3.3, 3.0 and 1.3 times their maximum width, respectively ( Figure 8D), submedial segments about 1.5 times wider than long; length of maxillary palp 0.6 times height of head; minimum width of face 2.1 times its median length; face moderately convex, coarsely transversely rugose; clypeus 2.6 times wider than high, largely smooth except for setiferous punctulation, ventrally with three minute medioventral teeth ( Figure 8K); area between antennal sockets with a lamelliform carina; frons laterally very coarsely rugose, medially slightly concave, mainly granulate and with some rugae; vertex mainly coarsely rugose; OOL: diameter of posterior ocellus: POL 26: 8: 5; in dorsal view length of eye 2.0 times temple; eyes protuberant, glabrous; temples roundly narrowed behind eyes and with coarse curved rugae; occipital carina complete, medium-sized and dorsally curved and dorsally far above dorsal level of eye; length of malar space 0.4 times basal width of mandible; mandible strongly twisted, its lower tooth of mandible short, much shorter than long upper tooth.

Mesosoma

Length of mesosoma 1.4 times its height; side of pronotum coarsely crenulate medially and ventroposteriorly, remainder largely superficially sculptured; propleuron shiny, superficially transversely rugose and convex; mesopleuron granulate but coarsely reticulate-punctate medially and rather matt, precoxal sulcus sinuate and rather narrow, rugose; metapleuron granulate with some rugulae; mesosternum granulate; mesosternal sulcus deep, narrow and narrowly crenulate; mesoscutum densely and finely irregularly rugulose and rather matt, but medioposteriorly coarsely rugose; notauli rather wide and crenulate anteriorly, remainder shallowly impressed; scutellar sulcus narrow, with eight crenulae; scutellum flat, mainly finely punctate and superficially granulate; side of scutellum coarsely crenulate; metanotum medioposteriorly truncate; propodeum spaced rugose, with trapezoid median areola, transverse carina strong, lamelliform, without median carina, medium-sized dorsal part gradually sloping to posterior mainly crenulate part, without distinct teeth laterally.

Wings

Forewing ( Figure 8A,G). r: 3-SR: SR1 3: 27: 66; r wider than 3-SR; 2-SR: 3-SR: rm 26: 27: 5; 2-SR distinctly bent anteriorly, anterior part parallel with pterostigma or nearly so but remain distinctly removed from it; SR1 nearly straight; 1-R1 1.6 times as long as pterostigma; 2-R1 short; 1-R1 5.7 times as long as distance from 1-R1 to wing apex; cu-a distinctly inclivous; 1-CU1: 2-CU1 10: 19; 1-M slightly curved posteriorly, nearly straight anteriorly and widely separated from C+SC+R; parastigma large.

Hind wing. cu-a vertical; M+CU: 1-M: 1r-m 3: 3: 1.

Legs

Hind coxa largely smooth, superficially granulate dorsally; tarsal claws moderately slender and without lobe; fore tibial spur 0.5 times as long as fore basitarsus; hind tibia narrower than hind femur; length of femur, tibia and basitarsus of hind leg 3.3, 4.6 and 6.0 times their maximum width, respectively; hind tibia without pegs, but apically with some spines; hind tibial spurs 0.4 and 0.5 times as long as hind basitarsus; second to fourth segments of fore tarsus slender; middle tibia with distinct ivory protuberance ( Figure 8B,H).

Metasoma

First and second tergites of carapace mainly longitudinally rugose and third tergite mainly densely rugulose and apically flattened and weakly concave, carapace suboval, gradually narrowed apically, 1.6 times as long as its maximum width in dorsal view ( Figure 8E,L) and 1.1 times as long as mesosoma; third tergite 1.9 times as long as second tergite, robust; carapace in lateral view subtruncate apically ( Figure 8C,I); ovipositor sheath largely concealed, visible part 0.04 times as long as forewing; hypopygial protuberance short triangular, robust, and acute apically.

Colour

Yellowish-brown; second tergite laterally, third tergites and stemmaticum black; apical third of hind femur, subbasal ring and apical 0.4 of hind tibia, parastigma, pterostigma largely, veins 1-M, 1+2-CU1 (except distally), 2-1A, r, 2-SR, 3-SR, 2-M and base of SR1 blackish-brown or dark brown; remainder of legs and palpi pale yellowish; 1-R1 much paler than pterostigma; humeral plate yellowish-brown, similar to tegula; scapus dark brown, darker than pedicellus and third antennal segment; wing membrane below pterostigma and near parastigma distinctly infuscate, and remainder subhyaline.

Variation

Length of forewing of 2.6–3.3 mm, and of body 3.9–4.4 mm; scapus 1.5–1.8 times as wide as third antennal segment; clypeus 2.3–2.6 times wider than high, OOL: diameter of posterior ocellus: POL 26–32: 8: 5–8; in dorsal view length of eye 2.0– 2.4 times temple; vein 3-SR of forewing 6–11 times as long as vein r; vein 1-R1 of forewing 1.4–1.6 times as long as pterostigma; vein m-cu of forewing interstitial ( Figure 8A) or antefurcal ( Figure 8G); 8–13 apical segments of antenna dark brown or infuscate; the third to sixth antennal segments partly infuscate or yellowishbrown; the paratypes have the notauli complete, the transverse carina of the propodeum is less lamelliform than of the holotype, and the second tergite dark brown posteriorly; the carapace 1.6–1.8 times as long as its maximum width in dorsal view, the third tergite 1.6–1.9 times as long as the second tergite.

Distribution

East Malaysia (Sabah), West Malaysia.

Biology

Probably a parasitoid of seed-feeding larvae of the family Pyralidae , as Assara albicostalis ( Lepidoptera : Pyralidae ; Table 1), but larvae of related families may be involved.

Notes

Runs in the key to Oriental species by Zettel (1990) to Phanerotoma bicolor Sonan, 1932 , from Taiwan, because of the partly blackish second metasomal tergite, but P. bicolor has the malar space about as long as the basal width of the mandible (about 0.4 times), the mesoscutum and the scutellum punctate (mesoscutum rugulose and scutellum granulate and rather widely spaced punctate), the mesoscutum infuscate (yellowish-brown), the apex and the sides of the scutellum and the metanotum dark brown (yellowish-brown) and the first and second metasomal tergites irregularly reticulate (longitudinally rugose). If the colour of the metasoma is ignored then it runs in the key by Zettel (1990) to Phanerotoma formosana Rohwer, 1934 , from Taiwan, but according to the original description it has vein 3-SR of forewing about three times as long as vein r, the metanotum dark brown, the second and third metasomal tergites yellowish, the pterostigma pale brown basally (in Phanerotoma divergens largely dark brown and basally faintly paler) and the hind tibia only with an apical dark spot. Runs in the key to Chinese species by Chen and Ji (2003) to Phanerotoma grapholithae Muesebeck, 1933 , from Japan. However, according to the original description it has the frons and the vertex mainly finely shagreened and with only some irregular rugae, the temples not receding, the 9th to 13th antennal segments of female faintly widened, the mesoscutum and the mesopleuron granulate, vein 3-SR of the forewing a little longer than vein r, vein 2-SR of the forewing straight, the third metasomal tergite nearly half as long as the second tergite, the hind tibia only slightly infuscate apically and the pterostigma pale brown basally. Zettel (1992) considers P. grapholithae to be closely related to Phanerotoma fasciata Provancher, 1881 , which has its metasoma robust. The new species resembles the Holarctic Phanerotoma acuminata Szépligeti, 1908 , which also has a slender third metasomal tergite but P. acuminata differs by having vein 3-SR of the forewing about four times as long as vein r and vein r of normal width (widened in P. divergens ), the ovipositor sheath long and apically slender (short and rather wide) and the mesosoma partly dark brown (yellowish) and the hind tibia moderately inflated (strongly inflated).

Material examined

Holotype female, ‘‘Malaysia-SW Sabah, nr Long Pa Sia (East), c. 1000 m, 1–13 April 1987, Mal. trap 5, C. v. Achterberg, RMNH’87’’ ( RMNH) . Paratypes: one female, ‘‘W. Malaysia, N. Sembilan Pasoh Forest Reserve , 25 January 2002. From Shorea macroptera seeds, Y.F. Ng and Hosaka’ ’, ‘‘B 16’’, ‘‘Collected (214945)’’ ( UKM) ; one female, same data, but ‘‘B 17’’ ( RMNH) .