Fidiobia gallica Masner, Popovici & Talamas, 2022

Popovici, Ovidiu Alin, Masner, Lubomir, Lahey, Zachary & Talamas, Elijah, 2022, Revision of the Palearctic species of Fidiobia Ashmead (Hymenoptera, Platygastroidea), Journal of Hymenoptera Research 92, pp. 23-144 : 23

7. Fidiobia gallica Masner, Popovici & Talamas sp. nov.

Figs 80-87 , 304

Description.

Female. Body length: 1.1 mm. Colour of body: bicoloured, head and mesosoma black, metasoma brown with T1 lighter (T1 light brown to reddish) (Figs 80-82 ).

Head (Figs 83-85 ). Colour of head: black. Sculpture of head: reticulate-rugose. Sculpture of occiput: reticulate-rugose. Ocellar prominence: absent. Preocellar depression: absent. Paraocellar depressions: absent. OOL / ocellar diameter: OOL equal with ocellar diameter. Orientation of lower half of inner orbits: visibly divergent. Sculpture of frons immediately anterior to ocellus: reticulate rugose. Sculpture of frons immediately dorsal to toruli: reticulate rugose. Epitorular carina: absent. Distance between toruli: smaller than the transverse diameter of torulus. Setation of clypeus: two setae. Malar sulcus: absent. Antenna (Figs 85 , 86 ). Colour of A1: yellow. Colour of clava: striking differs by the colour of the rest of antenna (clava brown, rest of antenna yellow). Number of antennomeres: nine. Shape of A1: strongly compressed laterally. Ventral (inner) lamella on A1: present along the ventral side of A1, at most as wide as A1. Length of A3 of female: subequal to length of A2. Sensillar formula (A7:A8:A9): unknown.

Mesosoma (Figs 81b , 84 ). Colour of mesosoma: black. Mesosoma: weakly compressed dorsoventrally. Pronotum in dorsal view: present mostly as lateral shoulders. Transverse pronotal sulcus: present as a wide groove along the anterior rim of pronotum. Posteroventral end of transverse pronotal sulcus: not dilated. Lateral pronotal area: sculptured only on the dorsal third. Antero-admedian line: absent. Mesoscutum: weakly convex. Parapsidal lines: absent. Sculpture of internotaular area: absent. Notauli: present, incised. Shape of notauli: dilated posteriorly and rounded anteriorly. Outer edge of notauli: almost collinear with axillular carina. Orientation of inner edge of notauli: not converging posteriorly. Length of notauli: half the length of mesoscutum, measured along midline. Length of notaulus / maximum width of notaulus: at most 1.9 times as long as maximum width. Distance between notauli: greater than the broadest part of notaulus. Transscutal articulation: complete. Scuto-scutellar sulcus: absent. Fovea on scuto-scutellar sulcus: NA. Mesoscutellum: weakly convex. Shape of mesoscutellum: subrectangular. Axillular carina: posterior apex of axillular carinae touching the posterior edge of mesoscutellum. Axilloaxillular carina: present. Sculpture of mesoscutellum: absent. Posterior mesoscutellar sulcus: absent. Metascutellum: visible, partially covered by mesoscutellum. Metascutellar carina: present. Width of metasomal depression: smaller than the length of lateral propodeal carina. Median carina between lateral propodeal carinae: absent. Transverse carina between lateral propodeal carinae: absent. Foamy structure on transverse carina between lateral propodeal carinae: NA. Foamy structure on metasomal depression: absent. Lateral propodeal carinae: parallel. Foamy structure on lateral propodeal carina: present only on the posterior half of the vertical part. Plica: visible. Posterior end of plica: fused with metapleural carina. Foamy structure on plica: present, fused with foamy structure from metapleural carinae. Foamy structure on metapleural carina: only present posteriorly. Foamy structure on ventral metapleural area: absent. Setation of dorsal metapleural area: sparse, long setae in 3-4 longitudinal rows. Setation of ventral metapleural area: dense, long setae on posterior half, a glabrous triangular area anteriorly. Longitudinal striation on dorsal mesopleuron: present, extending ventrally to the transepisternal line. Transepisternal line: visible as a groove on the anteroventral mesopleuron intersecting ventrally with mesopleural carina and dorsally with a pit. Mesopleural carina: present. Metapleural sulcus: present, complete. Wings (Fig. 87 ): macropterous. Apex of fore wing: rounded. Colour of fore wing: infuscate. Transverse brown band on fore wing: absent. Submarginal vein in fore wing: present. Length of submarginal vein in fore wing: as short as tegula. Spectral veins on fore wing: absent. Marginal setae of fore wing: absent. Disc of fore wing: with reticulate sculpture. Legs. Colour of fore tibia: yellow. Colour of fore tarsus: yellow with darker pretarsus. Colour of middle femora: yellow. Colour of middle tibiae: yellow. Colour of middle tarsus: yellow with darker pretarsus. Colour of hind femora: yellow. Colour of hind tibiae: yellow. Colour of hind tarsus: yellow with darker pretarsus.

Metasoma (Figs 81a , 82 ): Tergites posterior of T2 may be retracted under T2. Shape of T1: trapezoidal. Colour of T1: reddish brown. Lateral setae of T1: 3 pairs. Colour of T2: brown. Shape of T2: longer than wide. Anterior pits of T2: distinctly separated. Sculpture of T2, lateral to anterior pits of T2: absent. Colour of T3-T6: the same as T2.

Male. unknown.

Etymology.

This species is named " gallica ", meaning “French”, for the country where the specimen was collected. This species was named after the ancient name of France.

Material examined.

1♀. France: Holotype 1♀, Montpellier , 43.73°N, 3.74°E, 12-18.vii.1981, leg. Vayssières JF. (CNCI).

Distribution.

France (Fig. 304 ).

Biology.

unknown.

Diagnosis.

Fidiobia gallica is one of the most peculiar species of the genus because of the lamellate scape, elongate A3, reticulate pattern on the disc of the fore wing and a narrow metasomal depression (width of metasomal depression is less than the length of the lateral propodeal carina) bordered by lateral propodeal carinae that are nearly parallel and are elevated posteriorly. The combination of these four characters differentiates this species from the remainder of the Palearctic fauna.

Comments.

The development of the ventral lamella of A1 is found in other Palearctic platygastrids, including Iphitrachelus Walker and Amblyaspis Förster. In other regions, this can be found in Sacespalus Kieffer, Platygastoides Dodd, Plutomerus Masner and Huggert, and Pulchrisolia Szabó. The reticulate fore wing can also be found an undescribed species from Madagascar (Z. Lahey, unpublished data).

Figures

Figures 80 - 87. Fidiobia gallica: 80, 81 a habitus, dorsal view (Holotype) 81 b mesosoma, dorsal view 82 habitus, lateral view 83 head, dorsal view 84 mesosoma, lateral view 85 head and antenna 86 antenna 87 wings.

Figures 304 - 306. Geographical distribution of: 304 F. gallica 305 F. hirta 306 F. hispanica.