Orthocentrus shieldsi Broad

Veijalainen, Anu, Broad, Gavin R. & Sääksjärvi, Ilari E., 2014, Twenty seven new species of Orthocentrus (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae; Orthocentrinae) with a key to the Neotropical species of the genus, Zootaxa 3768 (3), pp. 201-252 : 211-212

Orthocentrus shieldsi Broad , sp. nov.

Figs 1 F, 6 F, 8 F, 11 F, 13 F.

Fore wing length c. 2.5 mm.

Whole body, especially head, laterally extremely flattened.

Face medially 0.4x wider than high; face smooth, with shallow punctures and scaly, coriaceous microsculpture over entire area anterior of malar space, remainder of head polished except for weak striations on frons, immediately dorsad of antennal sockets, eyes not setose, dorsal ridge of face inbetween antennal sockets very short, without a low ridge; face in profile ventrally almost straight, dorsally slightly rounded, edge of clypeus straight, antennal sockets on a high shelf; malar space lacking groove, with ill-defined band of denser microsculpture; maxillary palp short, reaching to about fore coxa. In dorsal view, head posteriorly very shallowly concave, temples extremely narrow, very slightly protruding posterior of eye, posterior ocelli touching margin of eye, anterior ocellus separated from eye by about 0.3x ocellar diameter, lacking ocellar-ocular grooves. Antennal sockets touching each other; antenna rather thick, curled, with 20 similar-sized and transverse flagellomeres which not gradually shortening towards apex; basal flagellomere 1.3x as wide as high and about 1/5 of the length of scape; scape parallel-sided.

Mesosoma smooth and polished except for fine striations over middle 0.5 of pronotum and along dorsal anterior margin of mesopleuron; posterior 1/3 of metapleuron and very posterior part of propodeum coriaceous; mesoscutum lacking notauli; in profile, scutellum not particularly high, metapleuron not convex; propodeum with only pleural and posterior stubs of lateral longitudinal carinae, spiracles small.

Legs all flattened, broad; coxae and femora polished, tibiae and tarsi coriaceous-granulate; hind coxa 0.9–1.1x as long as first tergite, hind femur 2.2x as long as high, hind tibia 3.3x as long as apically wide; tibiae dorsally with many stout, spine-like setae.

Wings narrow, cells thus comparatively long and narrow; fore wing with areolet closed but 3rs-m weak, areolet longer than high, with 2rs-m shorter than 3rs-m, 2m-cu meeting areolet at apical 2/3, vein Rs straight; hind wing vein cu-a angulate centrally.

First tergite elongate, slightly wider at level of spiracles, about 4x as long as apically wide (difficult to measure accurately on single available specimen); basally polished, laterally and apically coriaceous/faintly strigose, with two median longitudinal carinae detectable on about posterior half, lacking obvious transverse impressions. Posterior third of second and progressive tergites flattened laterally, probably partly artefactually through specimen handling. Posterior tergites largely polished with some very basal, faint coriaceous microsculpture on second tergite. Basal thyridia on second tergite, oval. Ovipositor tip broken in single specimen; ovipositor sheath simply pointed, with sparse setae slightly longer than sheath width, setae not conspicuously backwards-pointing.

Body largely setose except eyes, with setae comparatively long and sparse, but shorter and denser on mesoscutum; very few setae on pronotum, mesopleuron, metapleuron and metasomal tergites.

Brown except mouthparts and sternites creamy to light brown, fore and mid legs largely yellow, hind leg orange to light brown.

Male. Unknown.

Biology. Hosts unknown. The single specimen was collected in southern Brazil. The extremely flattened body of the female suggests that it must emerge from or enter into very confined spaces.

Etymology. This strange and distinctive species is named after Kevin Shields, producer of strange and lovely music.

Comments. Compared with all other species with antennae on a high shelf and glabrous eyes, except for O. anguillae , the face is extremely laterally compressed. Very similar to O. anguillae , which was also collected in ‘Nova Teutonia’ in Brazil, but the large ocelli and more extreme lateral compression in this species convinces us that they are distinct.

Material examined. Holotype female: ‘ Brazil, Nova Teutonia, 27º11’ B, 52 º23’L, 6.IX.1938, Fritz Plaumann, B.M.1938.682’ ( BMNH).

Figures

FIGURE 1. Lateral views: Orthocentrus shieldsi species-group (in part). A: anguillae, B: pentagonum, C: concrispus, D: hispidus, E: quercus, F: shieldsi. Scale 0.5 mm.