Apanteles malleus Liu & Chen

Liu, Zhen, He, Jun-Hua & Chen, Xue-Xin, 2014, The grandiculus- and metacarpalis - group of the genus Apanteles Foerster, 1862 (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Microgastrinae) from China, with descriptions of eight new species, Zootaxa 3765 (5), pp. 435-457 : 450-452

Apanteles malleus Liu & Chen , sp. n.

Figure 8

Description. Female. Body length ca. 2.5 mm, fore wing length ca. 2.6 mm.

Head. A little rounded in dorsal view, apparently broad behind eyes, 1.9× as wide as long (26.2:14.0) and faintly wider than mesoscutum (26.2:24.5). Eye in dorsal view 0.8× as long as temple (6.0:8.0). Temple shiny and distinctly thickly punctate, not constricted. Face rather transverse, 0.6× as high as wide, relatively dull, slightly convex with a narrow short indistinct sulcus medially, heavily closely punctate, less pubescent, inner margin of eyes parallel. Apical margin of clypeus more elliptic. Posterior almost tangent to the anterior ocellus hardly touching the posterior pair, POL:OD:OOL=3.9:2.0:5.0. A sulcus extends from anterior ocellus to hind polished zone of vertex. Antenna distinctly shorter than body length, penultimate antennomere 1.4 longer than wide.

Mesosoma. Length to breadth and height 41.0:23.0:29.2. Disc of mesonotum relatively shiny, densely heavily punctate, interspaces not smaller than diameter of punctures. Scutellar sulcus more curved, narrower with carinae in between. Scutellum polished with relative shallow, sparser punctures all over. Propodeum shiny, polished, with trace of punctures anteriorly, two short arms reached out from orifice. Mesopleuron highly polished, its anterior half with shallow hair punctuation of even size.

Legs. Spines on outer side of hind tibia disperse. Spurs of hind tibia of equal size, 2/5 length of basitarsus. Basitarsus of hind leg slightly shorter than tarsal segments 2–4.

Wings. Pterostigma 2.6 times as long as its widest part. Vein 1-R1 (metacarp) 0.7× shorter than pterostigma, it is 1.3× as long as its distance from the apex of the marginal cell. Vein r arising from middle of pterostigma, 1/3 of width of pterostigma, vein r 2/3 of vein 2-SR, indistinctly angled at their meeting, vein 2-M almost half length of vein 2-SR. 1st discal cell almost as wide as high. First submarginal cell of hind wing 1.8× wider than high. Vein 1- 1A short, only 1/5 of fold of vannal lobe. Vein cu-a relatively curved and strongly oblique inwards.

Metasoma. 1.2× as long as thorax (48.0:41.0). T1 strongly narrowed to apex, basal width 2.3× hind width, and short, almost 1.2× longer than basal width. Slightly concave at basal two-fifth, shiny with numerous but sparse punctures afterward. T2 triangular, indistinctly curved into T3 medially, 2× wider than long in the middle. T3 1.5× as long as T2 (7.5:5.0). Tergites after T1 relatively shiny, smooth, and almost pubescent through. Hypopygium slightly longer than apex of abdomen. Ovipositor sheath 0.9× as long as hind tibia (31.0:33.2) (including stem), basal stem very long to half of ovipositor sheath, abruptly expand at hind half (as wide as tarsus segment 4), hammer-like.

Colour. Body black. Palpi, tegulae, labrum, mandible reddish yellow. Spurs pale yellow. Legs dark, hind half of fore and mid femora, tibiae, tarsi, and anterior 1/3 of tibia 3 yellow. Wing membrane hyaline, vein 1-R1, C+SC+R and pterostigma brownish, r, 2-SR, 2-M and other veins light brown.

Male. Unknown.

Host. Unknown.

Material examined. Holotype: ♀, Mt. Xiaowutai, 1200m, Hebei, 2005. VIII.22, Zhang Hongying, No. 200608461.

Distribution. China (Hebei) ( Fig. 12 ).

Etymology. The specific name is derived from the Latin “ malleus ”, referring to the hammer-like ovipositor sheath.

Remarks. This species is similar to A. transtergum Liu & Chen , sp. n. but can be separated from the latter in having eye in dorsal view distinctly shorter (6.0:8.0) than temple (the latter equal to); vein r 2/3 of vein 2-SR (the latter as long as); and vein cu-a relatively strongly curved (the latter straight).

Figures

FIGURE 8. Apanteles malleus Liu & Chen, sp. n. a habitus, lateral view b head, frontal view c fore wing d head, dorsal view e hind wing f propodeum and T 1 – 3, dorsal view g mesonotum and scutellum, dorsal view. Scale line = 0.5 mm.

FIGURE 12. Distribution map of metacarpalis - group of Apanteles species in China. •: Apanteles corvinus Reinhard, 1880; ♦: Apanteles cosmopterygivorus Liu & Chen, sp. n.; ♥: Apanteles dumosus Liu & Chen, sp. n.; ˔: Apanteles incurvus Liu & Chen, sp. n.; ˑ: Apanteles malleus Liu & Chen, sp. n.; ■: Apanteles metacarpalis (Thomson, 1895); •: Apanteles pelopea Nixon, 1973; ★: Apanteles transtergum Liu & Chen, sp. n.