Pristonesia sicril Azevedo & Colombo, 2022

Azevedo, Celso O. & Colombo, Wesley D., 2022, Revision of Pristonesia (Hymenoptera, Bethylidae, Pristocerinae), an endemic Afrotropical genus, Zootaxa 5124 (3), pp. 321-340 : 329-330

Pristonesia sicril Azevedo & Colombo , sp. nov.

Figs 2D–F , 5A–C

Diagnosis. This species differs from the others of the genus by having the anterolateral apodeme wide and the base of aedeagal apodeme strongly curved mesad.

Description. Male. Body 4.4–4.7 mm long. Forewing 3.6–3.7 mm long. Antenna 1.4–1.5 mm long. Color. Head, mesosoma and clypeus black; antenna dark castaneous; palpi dark castaneous; mandible black basally and dark castaneous apically; legs dark castaneous almost black, tarsi lighter; metasoma dark castaneous; wings hyaline, veins castaneous to dark castaneous, pterostigma darker.

Head. Subquadrate, about as long as wide. Mandible with five teeth, two ventral most sharpened and larger, otherwise rounded and short, progressively increasing in length ventrad. Clypeus with median lobe rounded; median carina complete, somewhat high and outcurved in lateral.Antenna with dense suberect pubescence, shorter than half flagellomeral diameter, with few erect setae on flagellomeres III-V not outstanding; first four antennomeres in a ratio of about 15:4:7:8. Vertex crest mostly outcurved, with inconspicuus median emargination. Temple evenly outcurved, progressively divergent anterad. Antennal rim wider than long, inter-torular space slightly more than torular diameter. Frons polished, with conspicuous sparse and small punctures. Ocellar triangle with frontal angle about right, anterior ocellus far posterior to supra-ocular line. Occipital carina not visible on dorsal view.

Mesosoma . Dorsal pronotal area with large dense punctures, much shorter than anteromesoscutum, posterior area much wider than anterior one, surface slightly depressed anterad, transverse pronotal carina undefined; cervical pronotal area short, vertical, polished. Notauli well impressed, composed of series of fused foveae, reaching anterior margin of anteromesoscutum and almost reaching posterior one, straight, imperceptibly widening posterad, slightly converging posterad. Parapsidal signums well impressed, but missing anteriorly, almost straight, slightly converging posterad. Mesoscutum-mesoscutellar sulcus evenly arched, slightly narrower medially. Metascutellum polished, lateral margin incurved, surface excavated posteriorly; metascutellar foveae fused, anterior margin straight and posterior one irregular, metanotal fovea somewhat semicircular,carinae of metanotal trough conspicuous. Metapectalpropodeal disc rugulose, 0.8–0.9 × as long as wide, metapostnotal median undefined, borders of rugosities forming median line, lateral marginal carina undefined, transverse posterior carina absent. Propodeal declivity rugulose. Lateral surface of metapectal-propodeal complex rugulose, except strigulate on extreme anterior. Mesopleuron largely foveolate on polished background, callus large and contrastingly smooth, posterior oblique sulcus almost vertical, occupying dorsal half of mesopleural height and not well-delimited. Mesodiscrimen with surface concave. Metasternum with somewhat high posterior margin and with median pair of dentiform projection, without median carina.

Wings and legs. Forewing with poststigmal abscissa of radial 1 about half length of pterostigma, 2r-rs&Rs vein angled and notched where 2r-rs sector connects to Rs sector; anterior medial flexion line long and posterior medial 1 flexion line short, m-cu flexion line straight, claval flexion line weak, r-m flexion line straight. Hind wing with three equidistant basal hamuli, and five equidistant distal hamuli. Claws bifid, basal tooth small, apical sharp and curved.

Metasoma. Opening of spiracle of metasomal segment I drop-shaped and subdorsal. Tergum I slightly longer than tergum II. Sternum II with longitudinal striae which diverge posterad. Epipygium wide apically so that its lateral margins almost touch each other ventrally, posterior margin almost straight, without median emargination, not excavated where epipygium folds ventrad. Hypopygium with spiculum long and tip sharp, anteromedial apodeme absent, anterolateral apodeme progressively narrowing apicad into sharp arched mesad tip, anterior margin conspicuously incurved, posterior margin strongly angularly excavated forming two round lobes without any spine, excavation about one fourth as long as hypopygeal plate, thick median area of inner surface large and slightly progressively narrowing anterad.

Genitalia. Harpe with two apical expansions, dorsal one long and conical with sharpened apex; ventral one very short with rounded apex, dorsal margin evenly incurved, wide basally, ventral incurved; inner margin of ventral side of gonostipes with small rounded median callus, and with few medioapical setae; apical basivolsellar expansion absent; cuspis angled basally, otherwise mostly straight, cross-section subcylindrical, apex slightly dilated and rounded, without any membranous extension; digitus cross-section flat, not cylindrical, apical third strongly arched mesad, apex squamate and not membranous; aedeagus triangular with not so wide base in dorsal profile, ventral valve membranous, not so short, apex posterior to base of cuspis, apical margin sub-blunt, dorsal valve much longer ventral one, its apical membranous extension conspicuously longer than wide, cat whisker-shaped set of setae not so long and somewhat dense; aedeagal apodeme curly and arched mesad, ergot large and sharp; genital ring strongly incurved ventrally.

Material examined. Holotype, ♂, South Africa, W. Cape, Anyskop Farm, (4 km 270° W Langebaanweg) 32°58.611’S 18°06.976’E, S. van Noort, Malaise trap, Fynbos on Limestone , 1♂, 4-11 Sept 2002, LW02-N4-M06 ( SAMC) . Paratype: 1♂, South Africa, same data as holotype, except 11-18 Sept 2002, LW02-N4-M23 ( SAMC) .

Distribution. South Africa.

Figures

FIGURE 2. A–C. Pristonesia querfil sp. nov.; D–F. Pristonesia sicril sp. nov.; G–I. Pristonesia tainatril sp. nov.. A, D, G. Habitus, lateral view; B, E, H. Head, dorsal view; C, F, I. Mesosoma, dorsal view. Scale bars = 100 µm.

FIGURE 5. A–C. Pristonesia sicril sp. nov.; D–F. Pristonesia tainatril sp. nov.; G–I. Pristonesia uvenil sp. nov.. A, D, G. Hypopygium, external view; B, E, H. Genitalia, dorsal view; C, F, I. Genitalia, ventral view. Black = cupula; dark grey = ventral valvae; light grey = apical membranous bubble. Scale bars = 100 µm.