Australosema politurae Burks, 2017

Burks, Roger A., Heraty, John M., Mottern, Jason, Dominguez, Chrysalyn & Heacox, Scott, 2017, Biting the bullet: revisionary notes on the Oraseminae of the Old World (Hymenoptera, Chalcidoidea, Eucharitidae), Journal of Hymenoptera Research 55, pp. 139-188 : 144-148

Australosema politurae Burks sp. n. Figs 1-6

Etymology.

Latin noun in genitive case meaning "a polishing," referring to the smooth face.

Diagnosis.

Differs from most Australosema by having an almost entirely smooth face, with the frons not swollen and the dorsal occipital carina weak. It differs from A. synempora in several features, including having a completely sculptured axilla and mesoscutal lateral lobe and a less densely setose fore wing. Matantas koghisiana also has a smooth face and frenum, but A. politurae has four labral digits and a more elongate mesosoma. Additional features include the lateral lobe of mesoscutum almost entirely rugose-reticulate, smooth near posterior edge; axilla reticulate (Fig. 4 ); mesepisternum not swollen anterior to mesocoxae (Fig. 1 ). Propodeum sublaterally nearly smooth (Fig. 5 ), and in the female the F2 is longer than F3 and expanding apically (Fig. 3 ).

Female.

Length 2.2-3 mm. Head and mesosoma dark metallic green, petiole black, gaster brown with faint metallic luster. Scape, pedicel, anellus yellowish, funiculars and clava brown. Coxae metallic green basally, becoming yellowish apically, femora pale brown except yellowish at tips, remainder of leg yellowish. Fore wing venation pale brown, setae dark. Gaster brown to dark brown, with metallic luster.

Head (Figs 2-3 ), 1.1-1.2 × as broad as high. Face almost entirely smooth except for minute setal pits ventrally, dorsally with shallow irregular sculpture near ocellar triangle; scrobal depression narrow and impressed, without dorsal scrobal foveae; without longitudinal furrow between torulus and eye; supraclypeal area and clypeus smooth, supraclypeal area slightly protruding, anteclypeus present; vertex weakly carinate posterior to ocellar triangle. Labrum with 4 digits. Palpal formula 3:3. Flagellum 1.1 -1.3 × head height, with 7 funiculars; anellus transverse; F2 2.0-2.8 × as long as broad, F2 1.4-1.6 × as long as F3.

Mesosoma (Figs 4-5 ). Mesoscutal midlobe densely reticulate, lateral lobe shallowly transversely rugose-reticulate and becoming smooth posteriorly. Axilla rugose-reticulate, with longitudinal carinae posteriorly that extend across the scutoscutellar suture; mesoscutellar disc finely rugose-reticulate, with some wrinkle-like carinae posteriorly; frenal line carinate, frenum rugose-reticulate; axillular sulcus carinate, axillula glossy and very shallowly sculptured aside from a few longitudinal carinae. Mesepisternum anterodorsally mostly smooth but not overlapping posterior edge of prepectus, posteroventrally smooth, not becoming horizontal anterior to mesocoxa; upper and lower mesepimeron mostly smooth except for foveate area at posterior edge, transepimeral sulcus foveate. Propodeum with broad rugose-reticulate median channel, sublaterally nearly smooth; callus smooth, with a few tiny setae. Metacoxa shallowly rugose-reticulate dorsolaterally. Fore wing 2.3-2.4 × as long as broad; costal cell with 1 uninterrupted row of ventral setae; basal cell bare; speculum present; cubital fold with uninterrupted ventral row of setae; subcubital fold setose posterior to speculum, bare posterior to basal cell; stigmal vein 1.5-2.0 × as long as broad, only slightly expanded at uncus; marginal vein about 6 × as long as stigmal vein. Hind wing costal cell with a few ventral setae in apical third.

Metasoma. Petiole 4.0-4.8 × as long as broad, 1.6-1.7 × as long as metacoxa, finely longitudinally rugose-reticulate, with some incomplete longitudinal carinae laterally and ventrally (Fig. 5 ). Antecostal sulcus of Gs1 smooth, very shallow medially; acrosternite smooth, uniformly rounded or with a transverse elevation near midlength. Cercus with a curved seta that is much longer than the others. Hypopygium with a few short setae and a slightly longer posterolateral seta on each side. Ovipositor yellow medially, orange laterally, dorsal valve with 7-8 medially interrupted sawtooth-like annuli; ventral valve with 3-4 weakly defined teeth along lateral carina, and with oblique lateral carina immediately basal to toothed apex (as in Fig. 7 ).

Male.

Length 2.1-2.6 mm. Antennal flagellum (Fig. 6 ) densely covered with long decumbent setae, with longitudinal sensilla extending beyond funicular apices, funiculars separated by stalk-like constrictions; F7 as long or longer than F6, shorter than F8; scape and pedicel yellow, flagellum brown. Mesoscutal midlobe transversely rugose-reticulate; mesoscutellum rugose-areolate with underlying reticulate sculpture. Petiole 5.7-6.8 × as long as broad, 1.9-2.4 × as long as metacoxa, narrowest slightly beyond midlength, finely reticulate but becoming smooth posteriorly.

Material examined.

Holotype: Australia: QLD: Mt. Glorious , 27°19'54"S, 152°45'29"E, 7-13.ii.1998, N. Power, Malaise trap [1♀, ANIC: UCRCENT00091415] . Paratypes: Australia: QLD: Brisbane Forest Pk , 27°25'04"S, 152°49'48"E, 29.xi-5.xii.1997, N. Power, dry sclerophyll, Malaise Trap 3 [1♂, ANIC: UCRCENT00312131]. Lamington Nat. Park , Binna Burra, 28°11'53"S, 153°11'16"E, 10.xii.2002, George, Hawks, Munro, & Owen, rainforest, sweep [1♀, UCRC: UCRCENT00312128]. Mt. Glorious , 27°19'54"S, 152°45'29"E, 10-16.i.1997, N. Power, Malaise Trap [1♀, UCRC: UCRCENT00312135]. Mt. Glorious , 27°19'54"S, 152°45'29"E, 13-24.iii.1998, N. Power, Malaise Trap [1♂, UCRC: UCRCENT00312133]. Mt. Glorious, 27°19'54"S, 152°45'29"E, 24-30.xi.1997, T. Hiller, MT 3 [3♂, UCRC: UCRCENT00312060 - UCRC: UCRCENT00312060-62]. Mt. Glorious, 27°19'54"S, 152°45'29"E, 3-9.i.1998, T. Hiller, MT 2 [1♀, UCRC: UCRCENT00312063] .

Similar species.

A single specimen (gaster missing, likely female; UCRCENT0092152, D0161) from southeast QLD is molecularly similar and is placed as the sister of A. politurae . It is distinct by having a completely smooth face with a strongly swollen frons. Two other series (all males from QLD) likely represent another two species that share similar features to the D0161 specimen. All specimens have a 4-digitate labrum, 7 funiculars, a completely smooth face, and a strongly carinate dorsal occipital margin.

Figures

Figures 1 - 6. Australosema politurae. Paratype female: 1 habitus, lateral 2 head, anterior 3 antennae, ventral 4 mesosoma, dorsal 5 propodeum and petiole, oblique dorsal. Paratype male: 6 antennae, lateral. acl = anteclypeus; acr = acrosternite; acs = antecostal sulcus; apc = anterior petiolar carina; ax = axilla; cal = callus; cly = clypeus; F = flagellomere; fr = frons; Fu = funicular; F 1 / an = anellus; llm = mesoscutal lateral lobe; lpr = lateral propodeal disc; mlm = mesoscutal midlobe; mpr = median propodeal disc; pet = petiole; not = notauli; scd = scutellar disc.

Figures 7 - 12. Australosema verghetta. Paratype female: 7 habitus, lateral 8 head, anterior 9 antennae, dorsal 10 mesosoma, dorsal; 11 propodeum and petiole, dorsal 12 mesosoma, lateral. acs = antecostal sulcus; apc = anterior petiolar carina; axlg = axiullar groove; cal = callus; F = flagellomere; frg = frenal groove; lpr = lateral propodeal disc; not = notaulix; SSS = scutoscutellar sulcus; tsa = transscutal articulation.