Afrisolia anyskop van Noort & Lahey, 2021

van Noort, Simon, Lahey, Zachary, Talamas, Elijah J., Austin, Andrew D., Masner, Lubomir, Polaszek, Andrew & Johnson, Norman F., 2021, Review of Afrotropical sceliotracheline parasitoid wasps (Hymenoptera, Platygastridae), Journal of Hymenoptera Research 87, pp. 115-222 : 115

Afrisolia anyskop van Noort & Lahey sp. nov.

Figs 1 , 2 , 3

Material examined.

Holotype: South Africa • ♀; Western Cape, Anyskop Farm , (5.5 km 290°W Langebaanweg); 32°57.301'S, 18°05.283'E; 18-25 September 2002; S. van Noort; Yellow pan; LW02-N8-Y282; Sand Plain Fynbos; SAM-HYM-P032464 (SAMC).

Paratypes: South Africa • 1 ♂; data as for holotype except for LW02-N8-Y288, SAM-HYM-P032465 (SAMC) • 1 ♀; Western Cape, Anyskop Farm, (5.5 km 290 W Langebaanweg ); 32°57.301'S, 18°05.283'E; 4-11 Sept 2002; S. van Noort, D. Larsen, E. Bartnick; Pitfall trap; LW02-N8-P04; Sand Plain Fynbos; SAM-HYM-P095169 (SAMC) • 1 ♀; W. Cape, Anyskop Farm, (5.5 km 290 W Langebaanweg ); 32°57.394'S, 18°05.324'E; 4-11 Sept 2002; S. van Noort, D. Larsen, E. Bartnick; Pitfall trap; LW02-N7-P06; Sand Plain Fynbos; SAM-HYM-P095170 (SAMC) • 1 ♂; W. Cape, Anyskop Farm, (5.5 km 290 W Langebaanweg ); 32°57.394'S, 18°05.324'E; 18-25 September 2002; S. van Noort; Yellow pan; LW02-N7-Y277; Sand Plain Fynbos; SAM-HYM-P095171 (SAMC) • 1 ♂; W. Cape, Anyskop Farm, (5.5 km 290 W Langebaanweg ); 32°57.394'S, 18°05.324'E; 18-25 September 2002; S. van Noort; Yellow pan; LW02-N7-Y275; Sand Plain Fynbos; SAM-HYM-P095172 (SAMC) • 1 ♀; W. Cape, Koeberg Nature Reserve; 33°37.622'S, 18°24.259'E; 16 May-13 June 1997; S. van Noort and HG. Robertson; Pitfall trap; KO97-P09; West Coast Strandveld ; SAM-HYM-P095173 (SAMC) .

Description.

Female. Body length 1.05 mm. Colour of body black, with metasoma, antennae, alar sclerites, coxae, fore femur, and fore tibia dark brown, meso- and meta-tibiae, all tarsi, and mandibles yellow-brown; wings appear white due to dense presence of white microtrichiae.

Head in dorsal view strongly transverse (7:24), lens-like, with frons only gently arched; temples straight, strongly receding toward occipital carina; POL:LOL:OOL = 7:3:3. Scape distinctly shorter than interorbital space (5:9) with scrobe absent; eyes with minute hairs, scattered setae on head slightly longer; head with delicate alutaceous reticulation, including posterior of hyperoccipital carina; head in lateral view almost twice as high as wide (5:9), with lower frons gently convex, vertex acute and posterior toruli distinctly raised; eyes oval (13:23) and upper part of gena almost disappearing behind eye; posterior edge of gena defined by crenulate and sharp occipital carina with c. 5 long, posteriorly projecting setae from ventral section of carina; malar space almost as long as eye height (45:55); head in anterior view wider than high (28:21), subtriangular, with vertex almost straight, cheeks distinctly concave, widening towards clypeus and mandibles; interorbital space larger than eye height (45:29); frons evenly covered with delicate punctate-reticulate sculpture and scattered setae; toruli with dorsal carina forming shelf; interantennal process acute, projecting between toruli; clypeus subquadrate, medially gently concave. Antenna with scape much longer than radicle (24:7), scape micro-alutaceous. Clava 3-merous, noticeably longer than combined length of pedicle and flagellomeres 1-5.

Mesosoma distinctly longer than high (11:7), moderately convex dorsally; pronotum and mesoscutum, with delicate reticulation and scattered setae; scutellum polished, twice as wide as long; posterior margin of scutellum crenulate; dorsellum (= metascutellum) about 6 × wider than long, smooth between metascutellar carinae; sulcus separating metanotum from propodeum not raised, only a fine line; propodeum with anteriodorsal transverse concave plate from which the foamy keels arise, extending lateroventrally on each side of propodeum; lateral foamy edges are bent up like flanges; mesopleuron smooth, but with a complete longitudinal striation dorsally accompanied by a few shorter striations in posterodorsal third; transepisternal line present, anterior third arched ventrally to meet mesopleural carina; acetabular and ventral mesopleural carinae delicate; metapleuron with rather dense, long white setae except for around depression and dorsal and posterior edge forming wide foamy area. Fore wing curved over metasoma, only just surpassing tip of metasoma, 1.4 × length of metasoma, very broad (15:7), without marginal cilia, with extremely short pointed white microtrichiae with bulbous base; hind wing (22:5) with distinct marginal cilia only basally.

Metasoma equal in length to rest of body, wider than high (5:2); T1 broadly trapezoidal (11:3), anteriorly covered with dense patch of long white setae; T2 distinctly wider than long (19:10), anterior margin with two broad setose depressions; T3-T6 short; S1 covered with dense patch of long, white setae.

Male. Similar to females except for fore wings of normal shape, not curved over metasoma; head with hyperoccipital carina absent between lateral ocelli and inner margin of compound eye; occiput not excavated; parapsidal lines on mesoscutum present; anterior admedian depressions more distinct than in female, pit-like; tibiae much less robust; antenna filiform.

Diagnosis.

Afrisolia anyskop has a distinctly shaped head as a result of the concave genae, which make the compound eyes protrude laterally; the dorsal pronotal area is significantly expanded with well-developed pronotal shoulders, such that A. anyskop has an obvious ‘neck’, similar to Sceliotrachelus ; notauli far more narrow (7 × longer than wide) and parallel sided than in other species, where the notauli are at most 5 × longer than wide; mesoscutal sculpturing micro-reticulate as in A. quagga , more polished in A. obesa and A. robertsoni .

Etymology.

Named after the type locality, Anyskop farm. Noun in apposition.

Distribution.

South Africa (Western Cape).

Figures

Figure 1. Afrisolia anyskop van Noort & Lahey, sp. nov. female holotype (SAMC) (SAM-HYM-P 032464) A habitus, lateral view (inset: data labels) B habitus, dorsal view C head, mesosoma, lateral view D head, mesosoma, dorsal view E head, anterior view F head, anterior ventral view.

Figure 2. Afrisolia anyskop van Noort & Lahey, sp. nov. female holotype (SAMC) (SAM-HYM-P 032464) A habitus, lateral ventral view B habitus, ventral view C mesosoma, dorsal view D mesopleuron, propodeum, tergites lateral view E wings in situ, dorsal view F wings lifted, dorsal view.

Figure 3. Afrisolia anyskop van Noort & Lahey, sp. nov. male paratype (SAMC) (SAM-HYM-P 032465) A habitus, dorsal view (inset: data labels) B habitus, lateral view C head, mesosoma, dorsal view D head, mesosoma, lateral view E head, anterior view F wings, dorsal view.