Inostemma popovicii, Buhl, 2006

Buhl, P. N., 2006, Taxonomical And Distributional Notes On New And Known Palaearctic Platygastrid Species (Hymenoptera: Platygastridae), Acta Zoologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 52 (3), pp. 287-311 : 291-292

Inostemma popovicii sp. n.

( Figs 8–11 )

Female – Length: 0.9–1.2 mm. Black, antennae and legs hardly lighter; tarsi light brown. Head from above ( Fig. 8 ) 1.8–1.9 times as wide as long, as wide as mesosoma; occiput and vertex finely and slightly transversely reticulate-coriaceous, with a distinct, moderately deep notch; frons distinctly reticulate on a smooth background with rather large meshes ( Fig. 9 ) OOL slightly longer than ocellar diameter. Head in frontal view ( Fig. 9 ) one and a third times as wide as its greatest height. Antenna ( Fig. 10 ) with A1 0.7 times as long as height of head; A3–A4 about equal, each hardly longer than wide. Mesosoma hardly longer than wide (16:15), 1.2 times as wide as high. Sides of pronotum reticulate-coriaceous, smooth in about lower half. Mesoscutum uniformly, finely and weakly reticulate-coriaceous, with fine but complete notauli. Mesopleuron reticulate above and below, smooth in slightly more than medial third. Scutellum slightly convex. Fore wing clear, just reaching apex of metasoma, 2.4 times as long as wide; marginal cilia short. Hind wing 5.2 times as long as wide; marginal cilia 0.3 times the width of wing. Metasoma ( Fig. 11 ) 1.1 times as long as head and mesosoma combined, 0.8 times as wide as mesosoma. T1 with a longitudinally striated cornutus just reaching occiput. T2 smooth except for weak striation laterally to one-third of length. T3–T5 with faint traces of reticulation, each with a transverse row of superficially implanted hairs (medially interrupted on T3–T4). T6 sculptured all over, 1.0–1.5 times as long as wide.

Material examined: Holotype female: Denmark, East Jutland , Hevring Hede, 6–7.VII. 2004.

P.N. BUHL leg. Paratypes: 2 females same data as holotype. Preserved in ZMUC.

Named after Dr. OVIDIU POPOVICI (Iasi, Romania). Similar to I. bonessi sp. n. but differs from this species in a number of details, cf. above, most obviously in sculpture of frons which has much larger meshes on a smoother background than in I. bonessi . I. popovicii runs to I. melicerta WALKER, 1835 in KOZLOV’ s (1978) key, but it has much shorter A3–A4 than this species. I. popovicii runs to I. contariniae SZELÉNYI, 1938 in SZELÉNYI’ s (1938) key, but it differs from this species in the same way as I. bonessi (and it has distinct marginal cilia of fore wing). I. popovicii runs to I. maurum KIEFFER, 1912 in KIEFFER’ s (1926) key, but it is smaller, darker, and with apical tergites relatively shorter than in I. maurum .

Figures

Figs 8–11. Inostemma popovicii sp. n. female: 8 = head in dorsal view; 9 = head in frontal view, 10 = antenna, 11 = metasoma in dorsal view.