Schoenlandella pseudoglabra, Edmardash & Gadallah & Sharkey, 2018

Edmardash, Yusuf A., Gadallah, Neveen S. & Sharkey, Michael J., 2018, Revision of the subfamily Cardiochilinae Ashmead, 1900 (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) in Egypt, with new records and a new species, Journal of Natural History 52 (5 - 6), pp. 269-297 : 291-293

Schoenlandella pseudoglabra sp. nov.

( Figures 1 (i), 6(a – e))

Diagnosis

Generally yellow, with some parts dark brown to black, head with two crescent-shaped spots dorsally ( Figure 1 (i)); galea at most 0.5× height of eye when seen from frontal view; 1-SR+M of fore wing 7.0× as long as m-cu ( Figure 6 (a)), 2-SR+M 2.2× as long as m-cu; stigma 3.6× as long as broad; inner hind tibial spur 1.8× as long as outer one; ovipositor sheath 0.4× as long as hind tibia ( Figure 6 (c)).

Description of female (holotype)

Length of body: 4.6 mm. Length of fore wing: 2.9 mm.

Colouration

largely yellowish; with the following parts dark brown to black: antenna entirely, stemmaticum (slightly), two comma-shaped or crescent-shaped spots around ocellar triangle, hind tarsal segments, metasomal T1 (laterally), T2 and T3 medially, ovipositor sheath (except paler medially). Wings: fore wing hyaline, with very faint infuscation on apical half (or slightly less); pterostigma brownish (yellowish basally), with darker ventral border; parastigma and tegula pale yellow; parastigma hardly differentiated from its surrounding (especially apically), most veins are light orange, veins C+SC+R, 1-R1, 2r, 2 + 3 SR, 4-SRa and 2-M of fore wing are slightly darker, hind wing slightly shiny than fore wing.

Head

largely smooth, with frons, face and vertex finely granulated; antenna with 31 flagellomeres, scape 3.0× as long as wide, F1 distinctly longer than wide and the remaining flagellomeres slightly longer than wide; galea 0.48× as long as height of eyes; glossa deeply bilobed, to about 0.45 of its length; malar carina weakly distinct; clypeal tubercles distinct, clypeus convex ventrally, rounded, weakly separated from face, and 1.8× as broad as high; face 1.58× as broad as high, the area between the antennal bases depressed; frons flat, smooth and shiny; stemmaticum elevated; temple smooth and shiny similar to vertex, narrowed behind the eyes; mandibles not twisted, the inner tooth is greatly reduced but distinct. Eyes in dorsal view about 0.9× as long as temple; OOL:AOL:POL: ØOD = 20:3:2:4; depth of occiput is slightly less than 0.2× the length of the head.

Mesosoma

generally smooth, with fine punctures on the mesoscutum; notauli straight, shallow but distinct, contingous until meeting near to the end of the posterior margin of mesoscutum (V-shaped), mesoscutum completely smooth and shiny, with sparse setae; scutellum 0.45× as long as wide at base, scuto-scutellar sulcus not foveate; sternaulus strongly foveolated; propodeum densely rugose, with a large, nearly touching anterior and posterior borders of propodeum, diamond-shaped, and moderately distinct areola.

Wings

Fore wing with 1-SR+M 6.8× as long as m-cu; 2-SR+M 2.2× as long as mcu; 1-M straight, 1-SR strongly bent near its middle point (forming right angle), junction of 4SRb and 5-SR forming a distinct angle, m-cu 0.25× as long as 1-M; discal cell 0.5× as long as wide; 1-A absent; 1-2A+3A spectral; 1-Cua 0.33× as long as 1-Cub; 2r 0.59× as long as inside height of SMC2, arising 0.5 along the length of stigma apically; stigma 3.54× as long as wide; angle between 4SRa and Rs 125°; angle between Rs and r-m 95°; spectral node of 3r absent; SMC2 0.37× as long as wide; 2 + 3-SR straight. Hind wing with four evenly spaced hamuli, anterior margin with distinct row of hairs basally; 2-Sc +R absent; 2-1A present as a small basal node, 2A absent.

Legs

Fore tibial spur 0.45× as long as basitarsus; hind tibia 6.5× as long as wide apically; inner hind tibial spur 1.65× as long as outer spur, 0.68× as long as basitarsus; hind basitarsus nearly parallel sided in cross section; tarsal claw pectinate with four distinct teeth.

Metasoma

T1 convex in the middle, smooth laterally. T1 about 1.64× as long as broad; stem 0.53× as long as bulb; median field of T2 1.8× as broad as high; T2 and T3 separated by a moderately well-defined groove; ovipositor sheath 0.4× as long as hind tibia, setose along its whole length (denser apically); hypopygium medium sized and slightly desclerotised medially.

Remarks

This species is somewhat similar to S. glabra ; however, in S. glabra the body is much darker, with more rugosity in propodeal areola, ocelli greatly separated from each other, in addition to many morphometric characters (especially that of metasoma). It is also similar to S. variegata (Szépligeti) but in pseudoglabra mesosoma without spot, and venation of fore wing is darker in colour in variegata . It is also similar to Austerocardiochiles punctatus (Szépligeti) , but mainly differs by strong sculpturing of the body (especially the mesosoma), considering that A. punctatus has a spectral node of 3r in the fore wing, resembling many other Schoelandella species ( Papp 2014). It resembles Cardiochiles longiceps too; however, in longiceps stigma entirely black and with much longer ovipositor sheath.

Male

Unknown.

Material examined

Holotype, 1♀, Gebel Elba (Wadi Cansisrob) (22.243°N; 36.366°E), 27 December 1938 (Leg. M. Hussein Selim), light trap [ PPDD] ; Paratype, 1♀, Gebel Elba (Mersa Gereed) (22.20°N; 36.412°E), 5 January 1981 (Leg. M. G.H) [ PPDD] .

Distribution

Egypt.

Host records

Unknown.

Figures

Figure 1. Dorsal habitus. (a) Cardiochiles priesneri (1× scale line); (b) C. pseudofallax (0.8× scale line); (c) C. weidholzi (0.9× scale line); (d) Schoenlandella acrenulata (1× scale line); (e) S. deserta (1.2× scale line); (f) S. glabra (1× scale line); (g) S. maculata (1× scale line); (h) S. obscuriceps (0.9× scale line); (i) S. pseudoglabra (1× scale line); (j) S. variegata (1× scale line).

Figure 6. Schoenlandella pseudoglabra sp. nov. (a) Fore wing, apical two-thirds (1× scale line); (b) frontal aspect of head (0.8× scale line); (c) apex of metasoma showing ovipositor sheath and hypopygium (1× scale line); (d) hind tarsus (1× scale line); (e) hind claw (8.5× scale line).