Pediobius tortricida Cao & Zhu

Cao, Huan-Xi, Salle, John La & Zhu, Chao-Dong, 2017, Chinese species of Pediobius Walker (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae), Zootaxa 4240 (1), pp. 1-71 : 34-36

15. Pediobius tortricida Cao & Zhu , sp. n.

( Figs 14 , 33 f)

Diagnosis. Antennal flagellum brownish yellow, with F1 subquadrate, F2 transverse, F3 strongly transverse. Coxae and femora concolorous with body, metallic blue-green; tibiae pale brown to brownish yellow ( Figs 14 c, 14e).

Female. Body length 1.1–1.2 mm. Body small and stout.

Body metallic blue green, except the following parts: vertex, petiole, Gt2–7, which are black. Face metallic green with strongly coppery reflections. Scape concolorous with body, metallic blue green, pedicel brown, and flagellum brownish yellow. Coxae concolorous with body, metallic blue green; femora dark brown, with dark blue reflections; tibiae brownish yellow, sometimes pale brown basally; basal three tarsomeres white, apical tarsomere dark brown; metatibial spur white.

Antenna short and stout, with 3-segmented funicle and 2-segmented clava, and funicle clearly separated from clava. Scape not reaching the median ocellus. Pedicel longer than broad, and shorter and narrower slightly than F1. F1 subquadrate, F2 transverse, F3 strongly transverse, increasing slightly in width; C1 slightly broader than long, C2 slightly narrower than C1 and tapering apically with a terminal spine that indistinct because of long setae ( Fig. 14 c). Relative measurements of scape: pedicel: F1: F2: F3: C1: C2 = 1.5: 0.4: 0.4: 0.3: 0.3: 0.3: 0.3. Face distinctly reticulate in the area between frontofacial sutures and toruli, coarsely reticulate above frontofacial sutures, but meshes delicate near frontofacial sutures, delicately and finely reticulate below toruli ( Fig. 33 f). Toruli nearly at the same level with lower margin of eyes. Scrobal grooves extending separately to frontofacial sutures. Frontofacial sutures diverging at an obtuse angle of about 120° ( Fig. 33 f).

Head distinctly broader than mesosoma (3.6: 2.8) and transverse (3.6: 1.3) in dorsal view. Vertex strongly reticulate and transverse. Ocelli arranged in about a right-angle triangle. POL more than 2× as long as OOL (0.8: 0.3). Occiput distinctly excavated, and margined between eyes.

Pronotal collar smooth, with anterior carina delicate. Mesoscutum short and distinctly reticulate, and finely so in notaular depressions, with the posterior pair of setae situated on notaular depressions. Notauli poorly indicated, distinct only in anterior third; notaular depressions shallow but distinct. Scutellum as long as broad (3.4: 3.4), with sculpture distinct raised; finely and longitudinally reticulate anteriorly, finely so in median part, and then gradually coarsely reticulate posteriorly. Dorsellum large, rounded apically, smooth medially, with two lateral foveae distinct.

Propodeum with submedian carinae parallel; submedian area almost as long as broad, smooth and polished, with depressions distinct along anterior margin ( Fig. 14 a); plicae subparallel; callus with 2 setae. Lateral panel of pronotum, prepectus and mesepisternum, and upper mesepimeron in upper half reticulate and upper mesepimeron in lower half smooth; lower mesepimeron superficially reticulate; transepimeral sulcus, pleural suture and transepisternal sulcus distinct; transepimeral sulcus distinctly curved in lower one third.

Petiole slightly shorter than broad, finely and strongly reticulate. Gaster long-ovate, acute apically, shorter (3.6: 4.1) and slightly narrower than mesosoma (2.6: 2.8); Gt1 occupying about 2/3 length of gaster, with reticulation posteriorly and posterior margin straight; Gt6 about 5× as broad as long, and Gt7 about 4× as broad as long.

Fore wing hyaline, with speculum closed; PMV is difficult to discern due to the coloration of fore wing, and slightly shorter than STV. Relative measurements of SMV: MV: PMV: STV= 3.0: 6.0: 0.8: 1.0. Metatibial spur straight and short, as long as the width of tibia and almost reaching apex of basal tarsomere.

Male. Body length about 1 mm. Similar to female, except for usual sexual differences ( Figs 14 d–e) as follows. Body more vividly green; antenna longer, with F1 and F2 longer than broad, F3 slightly transverse; scutellum longer than broad (3.8: 3.2); submedian carinae slightly diverging, and submedian area longer than broad (1.6: 1.2); gaster blunt ovate, Gt2–7 almost concealed by large Gt1.

Material examined. Holotype ♀, CHINA Shandong, Jinan, Shanghe , 10.X.2013, ex. Acleris ulmicola Meyrick , coll. Jia-He Yan ( IZCAS) . Paratypes: 3♀, same data as the holotype ; 3♀ 1♂, CHINA, Anhui, Anhui Agricultural College, 1983, coll. the Lab of Tea Disease ( IZCAS) ; 8♀, CHINA Shandong, Jinan, Shanghe , VI.1997, coll. Jia-He Yan ( IZCAS), ex. Tortricidae sp. on Styphnolobium japonicum (L.) Schott ; 3♀ 1♂, CHINA, Shandong, Taian, Erguoyuan , V.2015, coll. Qing-Tao Gong ; 3♀2♂, ex. Acleris ulmicola Meyrick (IZCAS); 2♀ 1♂, CHINA Jiangsu, Ganyu , 10.V.1989, coll. Miao Hu ( IZCAS), ex. Tortricidae sp. on Fragaria ananassa Duchesne.

Etymology. This species is named for its hosts, Tortricidae spp., from tortricida = Tortricidae .

Biology. The holotype of P. tortricida is reared from Acleris ulmicola Meyrick ( Lepidoptera : Tortricidae ). Paratypes collected from Shandong were reared from Tortricidae sp. attcking Styphnolobium japonicum (L.) Schott ( Lepidoptera : Tortricidae ) and Acleris ulmicola Meyrick ( Lepidoptera : Tortricidae ), and those collected from Jiangsu were reared from Tortricidae sp. attacking Fragaria ananassa Duchesne.

Distribution. CHINA: Anhui, Jiangsu, Shandong.

Remarks. Compared with specimens reared from hosts, female gaster has Gt1 only occupying roughly half rather than two-thirds length of gaster for those specimens collected from Taian, Shandong by Malaise traps. Variations of the ratio of Gt1 to gaster is probably because Gt3–7 will be more or less concealed for those specimens dried in air (reared from hosts), compared with those preserved in alcohol before dried (collected by Malaise traps). As discussed under P. facialis and P. narangae , P. tortricida is included as one species within the facialis -group and characterized by the brownish yellow tibia, which the other species have tibiae metallic or only pale apically. Pediobius tortricida is more similar to P. narangae and P. facialis , and smaller than them. More differences among these three species are given in the key (couplets 27 & 28).

Figures

FIGURE 14. Pediobius tortricida Cao & Zhu, sp. n. a: female, body in dorsal view; b: female, body in dorsal view; c: female, body in lateral view; d: male, body in dorsal view; e: male, body in lateral view. Scale bar: 0.5 mm.

FIGURE 33. Pediobius spp., head in front view. a: Pediobius bisulcatus Cao & Zhu, sp. n., female; b: Pediobius elongatus Cao & Zhu, sp. n., female; c: Pediobius petiolapilus Cao & Zhu, sp. n., female; d: Pediobius prominentis Cao & Zhu, sp. n., female; e: Pediobius narangae Sheng & Wang, 1994, female; f: Pediobius tortricida Cao & Zhu, sp. n., female; g: Pediobius saulius (Walker, 1839), female; h: Pediobius saulius (Walker, 1839), male. Scale bar: 0.5 mm.