Arketypon, Guerrieri & Noyes, 2002

Guerrieri, Emilio & Noyes, John S., 2002, An unusual genus and species of Encyrtidae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea) from Australia reared from soft scale insects (Hemiptera: Coccidae), Journal of Natural History 36 (4), pp. 443-448 : 444-445

Arketypon gen. nov.

Gender. Neuter. Type species: Arketypon vaderi sp. nov.

Female

Body slightly dorsoventrally ¯attened.

Head very distinctive, being relatively shallow dorsoventrally, with lateral and posterior projections outside eyes (see ®gures 1±3), in facial view about 2.4 Ö as broad as high, in pro®le about 1.2 Ö as broad as high, with frontovertex and face gently curving towards toruli and mouth margin. Eye naked and reduced, about 2 Ö as long as broad, about 0.25 Ö as wide as frontovertex, and very clearly separate d from occipital margin which is sharp. Malar space about 0.8 Ö as long as eye. Frontovertex about 0.6 Ö head width; ocelli forming a strongly obtuse angle, posterior ocellus slightly closer to occipital margin than to eye. Antennal scrobes absent; antennal torulus very small, in face view separated from mouth margin by a little more than its own length and from other torulus by about 5 Ö its own length; clypeus, in side view, C-shaped, the mouth parts directed backwards. Antennal scape about 0.2 Ö as long as frontovertex width, stout and about 2 Ö as long as broad; pedicel triangular, as long as scape width; funicle with segments (save F1) transverse; clava as long as preceding three segments, three-segmented, apex rounded; linear sensillae on all funicular segments and clava; longest setae not more than about 0.6 Ö as long as diameter of pedicel. Head very smooth, with very super®cial lineolate horizontal sculpture; setae on frontovertex very sparse and inconspicuous and each about as long as diameter of anterior ocellus. Mandible small, with a single apical tooth; maxillary palpus four-segmented; labial palpus three-segmented.

Thorax in pro®le with mesoscutum and scutellum quite ¯at; mesopleuron directed ventrally inwards. In dorsal view, posterior margin of pronotum hardly concave, and clearly visible, not hidden by head; mesoscutum short, about one-third longer than pronotum and about 3.5 Ö as broad as long, with notaular lines absent; posterior margin of mesoscutum straight; axillae ¯at and almost widely separated; scutellum ¯at and shiny, relatively large and triangular, reaching base of second segment of the gaster, about 1.2 Ö as wide as long, and a little more than 2 Ö as long as mesoscutum. Mesoscutum with transverse lineolate sculpture similar to that on frontovertex, covered in sparse, translucent white setae; tegula wide, with some long setae about 0.16 Ö as long as tegula; scutellum similar but with setae becoming longer towards its margin especially towards posterior margin where the apical pair are slightly more than half as long as scutellum. Fore wing (®gures 5±7) about twice as long as broad, strongly infuscate and with a line of thick and long bristle-like setae along the proximal margin of the linea calva from the end of submarginal vein (®gures 5, 7); costal cell subrectangular, about 7 Ö as long as broad with four or ®ve lines of setae dorsally; submarginal vein with a strong, short apical, triangular expansion, and with long setae, marginal vein virtually invisible, about one-third as long as postmarginal vein which is invisible, but indicated by a line of longer setae along anterior wing margin, stigmal vein about as long as postmarginal. Hind wing hyaline with a short brown stripe at the base of marginal vein, about 2.5 Ö as long as broad. Mid tibial spur subequal to basal mid tarsal segment; hind tibia with three, distinct apical spurs, one external, two internal. Legs ¯attened and broad, especially hind coxae and femora; all tibiae with thick setae along dorsal margin. Propodeum with a group of short and thick setae outside each spiracle.

Gaster about as long as thorax; cercal plates almost at apex of gaster; hypopygium not quite reaching apex; ovipositor (®gure 8) stout and short, not exerted, about as long as mid tibia and with outer plates about 1.8 Ö as long as broad; gonostylus fused to second valvifer.

Male

Identical to female but for antenna with an unsegmented clava (®gure 9) and genitalia (®gure 10).

Biology. Parasitoids of soft scales.

Distribution. The genus is known only from Australia.