Urosigalphus whitfieldi Arias-Penna

Carolina, Diana & B, James, 2012, A taxonomic revision of the Colombian species of Urosigalphus Ashmead (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), Zootaxa 3411, pp. 1-54 : 50-52

Urosigalphus whitfieldi Arias-Penna , n. sp.

Figs. 23 A–G

Female.— Body length 3.3 mm.

Body color ( Fig. 23 A): mainly black. Flagellomeres, scape dark brown. Pedicel dark brown, but with a slender light brown stripe in the apex. Annellus, labrum, mandible, labial and maxillary palps light brown. Mandibular teeth red-brown. Projection of metapleuron with dark brown apex. Fore and mid legs yellow except coxa and the fifth tarsomeres light brown. Hind legs dark brown except trochanter, trochantellus and basal third of tibia light brown. Fore wing ( Fig. 23 G): tegula black with central brown spot; stigma dark brown. Membrane of both fore and hind wings light brown and with brown microtrichiae.

Head ( Fig. 23 A–B).—Subquadrate. Antenna with 12 flagellomeres; first three flagellomeres longer than wide (0.20:0.07; 0.20:0.07; 0.20: 0.07 mm); last five, except the last one, longer than wide (0.11:0.07; 0.12:0.07; 0.13:0.07; 0.14:0.07; 0.15: 0.07 mm); apical flagellomere longer than penultimate (0.20: 0.11 mm); scape shorter than first flagellomere (0.18: 0.20 mm) and wider than pedicel and first flagellomere (0.09:0.06: 0.07 mm); pedicel less than half as long than scape (0.08: 0.17 mm). Torulus ( Fig. 23 B) located above midline of the eye. Frons with a deep longitudinal median groove surrounded by high lateral carinae which reach the lateral region of ventral margin of lateral ocelli; groove narrower ventrally than dorsally; inside groove with irregular rugose areolae and some conspicuous semicircular carinae; laterally frons with deep, small punctures and wavy interspaces. Scrobes shallow, wide, not surrounded by carina, with small, sparse, homogeneous punctures; scrobes reaching the dorsal part of median ocellus. Lower face ( Fig. 23 B) strongly convex, without protuberance, and with dense punctures distributed heterogeneously. Fronto-clypeal suture smooth, rounded, strongly impressed. Anterior tentorial pit not embedded within a strong depression. Clypeus convex with some scarce and small punctures; apical part reflexed, shiny and with a strong and wavy carina that runs from one end to the other. Labrum with small and sparse punctures, interspaces smooth. Mandible long, slender, basally with transverse strigae; mandible set with two short, stout teeth; inferior teeth as long as superior; teeth with sharp apex. Maxillary palps much longer than labial ( Fig. 23 B). Ocelli oval; lateral ocelli distant from each other, separated by more than the width of lateral ocellus (0.007: 0.005 mm); surrounded by a dorsal carina. Stemmaticum with a deep longitudinal median groove, laterally elevated; groove with conspicuous semicircular carinae; stemmaticum strongly, higher than vertex, elevated into a conspicuous projection; highest point concave. Eyes ( Fig. 23 B) without preorbital carina. Vertex with deep punctates, but medially larger than laterally, interspaces wavy, shiny, smooth; vertex without longitudinal median carina. Occiput concave, smooth, shiny. Occipital carina present completely. Temple and gena with small, sparse punctures distributed homogeneously.

Mesosoma ( Figs. 23 A, C–E). — Projection of propleuron blunt. Pronotum anteriorly and curvature of pronotum with heterogeneous areolae which are larger than posteriorly. Pronotal lobe ( Fig. 23 E) sloped toward tegula with rounded apex; point of inflection carinated. Mesoscutum ( Fig. 23 C) uneven; lateral mesonotal lobes with small, homogeneously distributed punctures; anteriorly sloped; posteriorly convex; edge with deep areolae of different sizes throughout; median mesonotal lobe convex and distinctively higher than lateral lobes, with longitudinal median carina, which is less than half the length of median mesonotal lobe, carina with highest point at anterior end, posterior end with an elongate fovea; area of convergence of notauli with large, irregular areolae forming an inverted triangle. Notauli strongly impressed with large foveae, round anteriorly, but posteriorly elongate; notauli near edge of transscutal articulation, without additional row of foveae along the entire length. Scutellum triangular, medially convex, projected, higher than mesoscutum ( Fig. 23 E), apex concave, deep and with a carinated depression that bears punctures; scutellum with sparse, small punctures, but laterally lacunose; posteriorly on different vertical plane than posterior scutellar depression, it stands out in profile ( Fig. 23 E); scutellar sulcus with four deep, subequal foveae; posterior scutellar depression smooth with two rounded, large foveae that fill most of the smooth area. Middle part of metanotum, below posterior scutellar depression, with a strong projection conspicuous in lateral view ( Fig. 23 E). Propodeum antero-posteriorly short, symmetrical; crossed by high MLC conspicuous in lateral view ( Fig. 23 E); ATC high, strong, oblique throughout; AMA absent; posterior wall of propodeum flat with small areolates. Metapleuron with large areolates of different sizes. Mesopleuron with epicnemial carina, but lacks sternaulus; mesopleuron convex with shiny, smooth central area; dorsally with foveae, one of them deep, large below the tegula and the other small below the large one; ventrally delimited by the lateral carina of mesosternum, but also with a dent that bears small punctures throughout; anteriorly with sparse, small punctures; posteriorly scrobiculate. Mesosternum ( Fig. 23 D) flat, with small, sparse punctures, with a complete central row of foveae not surrounded by carinae; each lateral part delimited by a strong carina that turns inward in posterior third of mesosternum; mesosternum near fore coxa with a high transverse lamella with two elevations below each coxa; mesosternum near mid coxa with large, deep foveae that form a diamond-like shape.

Wings ( Figs. 23 A, G). — Fore wing ( Fig. 23 G): veins M+CU and markedly curved (sinuate); vein 3RSb tubular, distant from stigma (0.45 mm); subbasal cell longer than basal (1.08: 1.02 mm); stigma short, relatively round. Fore wing: length 2.25 mm, width 0.72 mm; hind wing: length 2.00 mm, width 0.48 mm.

Metasoma ( Figs. 23 A, F). — Carapace in lateral view elongate, fusiform ( Fig. 23 A); anteriorly with strong substrigulae that cross more than half the length of the carapace; area between carinae lacunose. Ventrally apex of carapace with a deep, longitudinal groove with low lateral ridges that form two insconspicuous tubercles ( Fig. 23 F); apex of carapace convex. Ovipositor ( Fig. 23 A) length 0.78mm. Carapace length 1.55 mm.

Male.— Unknown.

Biology.— Unknown.

Material examined.— Holotype, female, Colombia: Bolívar, SFF [Santuario de Fauna y Flora] Los Colorados, La Suiris, 9º54´N 75º7´W, 126m, Malaise, 02–17.x.2000, E. Deulufeut leg., M.763, IAvH-E 34309. Deposited in IAvH-E.

Etymology. — In honor of my Ph.D. advisor Dr. James B. Whitfield.

Figures

FIGURE 23. Urosigalphus whitfieldi n. sp. (A) habitus; (B) head, frontal view; (C) mesosoma, dorsal view; (D) mesosternum; (E) mesopleuron and metapleuron, lateral view; (F) apex of carapace, dorsal view; and (G) fore wing.