Cryptopimpla parslactis Reynolds Berry & van Noort

Berry, Terry Reynolds & van Noort, Simon, 2016, Review of Afrotropical Cryptopimpla Taschenberg (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae, Banchinae), with description of nine new species, ZooKeys 640, pp. 103-137 : 126-129

Cryptopimpla parslactis Reynolds Berry & van Noort sp. n. Fig. 8

Type material.

HOLOTYPE ♂: South Africa, Northern Cape, Hantam National Botanical Garden, 31°23.802'S, 19°08.799'E, 752m, 23 July– 23 Aug 2008, S. van Noort, GL07-REN1-M43, Malaise trap, Nieuwoudtville Shale Renosterveld, SAM-HYM-P044547 (SAMC).

Description.

Body subpolished. Colour. Head and mesosoma mostly black, with the exception of the medial region of the mesopleuron and the propodeum that is orange. Legs with fore and mid coxae, trochanters and trochantellus black. Terga 2-8 mostly black, tergum 2 medially orange and terga 7-8 white posteriorly. Femora 1-2 black to light orange. Tibia and tarsus of front leg light orange. Tibia 2 light orange, tarsus 2 brown. Femora 3 orange, tibia and tarsus of hind leg brown.

Head. Densely punctate. Frons unarmed. Clypeus profile weakly convex with a curved lip on the ventral margin. Clypeus edge convex. Upper tooth of mandible longer than the lower tooth. Setae on head and clypeus short and sparse. Tentorial pits small and indistinct. Flagellum tapered to a slender apex. Eye in lateral view 0.7 times as long as wide, maximum width in anterior view 0.46 times shortest inter-ocular distance.

Mesosoma. Scuto-scutellar groove broad. Mesoscutum with fewer punctures inward of wing base. Epicnemial carinae present ventrally and dorsally, dorsally converging toward anterior edge of mesopleuron. Propodeum without carinae, its anterior margin with a weak and blunt medial projection. Wings slightly infuscate, venation dark. Fore wing with two bullae close together appearing as one; vein 2m-cu sinuate; areolet truncate-shaped. Hind wing with one basal hamulus and six distal hamuli.

Metasoma. Depressed. Tergum 1 with dorsolateral carinae substituted with longitudinal wrinkles, densely punctate, with posterior margin weakly convex; tergum 2 of metasoma 1.09 times as long as wide posteriorly, spiracle situated at basal 0.28 of tergum (measured in lateral view), gastrocoeli elongate; tergum 6 as wide as tergum 5.

CT 2.3; ML 0.92; IO 2.6; OO 2.0; body length 7.4 mm; fore wing length 7.0 mm.

Differential diagnosis.

Cryptopimpla parslactis is immediately diagnosable from other Afrotropical Cryptopimpla by being the only species to have slightly infuscate wings with darker venation. Cryptopimpla parslactis is distinguishable from closely-related species in the rubrithorax species-group that have a rufous and black colour combination, by having a completely black mesoscutum and a combination of a mostly black metasoma with tergum 1 completely rufescent. In addition, while punctuation on the mesoscutum in the dorsal view is common amongst all the species, fewer punctures on the mesoscutum exist inward of the wing bases of Cryptopimpla parslactis . The metasomal tergum 1 with dorsolateral carinae substituted with longitudinal wrinkles distinguishes Cryptopimpla parslactis from closely-related species Cryptopimpla fernkloofensis and Cryptopimpla neili . Gastrocoeli on tergum 2 are elongate separating Cryptopimpla parslactis from closely-related species Cryptopimpla fernkloofensis , Cryptopimpla elongatus , and Cryptopimpla hantami .

Etymology.

So named because the wings are not quite hyaline, but rather slightly infuscate with a creamy-brown colour, “pars” meaning wing and “lactis” meaning cream. Noun in apposition.

Distribution.

South Africa (Northern Cape).

Comments.

A rare species known only from one specimen. Intensive sampling in other areas of the Cape region produced no further specimens.