Aleiodes (Hemigyroneuron) plurivena Butcher and Quicke, 2011

Areekul-Butcher, Buntika & Quicke, Donald L. J., 2011, Revision of Aleiodes (Hemigyroneuron) parasitic wasps (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Rogadinae) with reappraisal of subgeneric limits, descriptions of new species and phylogenetic analysis, Journal of Natural History 45 (21 - 24), pp. 1403-1476 : 1447-1448

Aleiodes (Hemigyroneuron) plurivena Butcher and Quicke sp. nov.

( Figure 22 )

Material examined

Holotype. Female , “ SOUTH AFRICA, TVL. [Transvaal] Nylsvley Nature Reserve. 24.39 S 28.42 E. 10/ 11.xii.1979. C. D. Eardley ” ( SANC).

Morphology

Length of body 7.5 mm, and of fore wing 7.5 mm.

Head. Antenna with 56 flagellomeres; terminal flagellomere strongly acuminate; head transverse, 1.65 times wider than maximally long in dorsal view; width of head 3.25 times shortest distance between eyes; eyes huge and strongly emarginate; height of eye 2.3 times shortest distance between eyes; frons smooth and shiny, with some faint ridges paralleling antennal sockets, with shallow mid-longitudinal sulcus, without pit in front of anterior ocellus; ocelli enormous and virtually touching eyes, posterior ocellar line: transverse diameter of posterior ocellus: shortest distance between posterior ocellus and eye = 11: 20: 1; occiput finely coriaceous; occipital carina complete, well-developed and smoothly curved.

Mesosoma . Mesoscutum finely coriaceous and densely short-setose; notauli indicated by line of rugae (posterior of mesoscutum obliterated by pin); mesopleuron dull with small punctures, without any concavity indicating precoxal suture; prepectal carina complete though weaker dorsally; scutellar sulcus with seven carinae between the outer ones; scutellum entirely coriaceous with carinae (as extensions of lateral carinae of scutellar sulcus) largely complete; median area of metanotum dull, with narrow weak mid-longitudinal groove; propodeum rugulose with weak mid-longitudinal carina.

Fore wing. Subbasal cell with glabrous, distal oval region demarked by well-developed spurious vein from M+CU, with single, ventrally densely short-setose sclerome; basal part of subbasal cell moderately setose; vein 1-CU1 approximately 1.5 times length of 2-CU1; vein cu-a strongly curved posteriorly, more or less of even width; length of veins r: 3-SR: SR1 = 1.0: 1.5: 4.5; vein m-cu approximately 2 times length of 2-SR+M, forming angle of 120 ◦ with 3-CU1; vein 2-M approximately 2.8 times length of r-m.

Hind wing. Vein M+CU 1.9 times length of vein 1-M; vein 2-SC+R interstitial (quadrate); vein cu-a only tubular for anterior 0.3; basal and subbasal cells and basal part of discal+subdiscal cell evenly setose.

Claws. Qith pecten of five large teeth extending to middle of concavity between basal lobe and claw proper.

Metasoma. Tergites 1, 2 and basal 0.4 of tergite 3 finely longitudinally striate with irregular punctures between striae; 2nd tergite 2.1 times wider than medially long, 1.05 times longer than 3rd.

Colouration

Bright ochreous yellow, antenna and top of head black. Wings with basal half pale yellow and apical half pale brown-grey but with pale yellow transverse band at level of apex of pterostigma almost to posterior of wing; venation in basal half yellow, pterostigma and apical venation brown to black.

Etymology

Named because of the well-developed extra wing vein in the subbasal cell.

Figures

Figure 22. Aleiodes (Hemigyroneuron) plurivena sp. nov., CellD® light micrographs. (A) Dorsal habitus; (B) head, dorsal aspect; (C) mesoscutum, dorsal aspect; (D) detail of fore wing venation.