Heterospilus (Heterospilus) alternicoloratus, Tang, Pu, Belokobylskij, Sergey A., He, Jun-Hua & Chen, Xue-Xin, 2013

Tang, Pu, Belokobylskij, Sergey A., He, Jun-Hua & Chen, Xue-Xin, 2013, Heterospilus Haliday, 1836 (Hymenoptera: Braconidae, Doryctinae) from China with a key to species, Zootaxa 3683 (3), pp. 201-246 : 205-206

Heterospilus (Heterospilus) alternicoloratus sp. nov.

(Fig. 1)

Description. Female. Body length 2.9 mm; fore wing length 2.3 mm.

Head. Antennae slender, filiform, more than 14-segmented (apical segments missing). Scape 1.4 times as long as maximum width. First flagellar segment 5.5 times as long as its apical width, as long as second segment. Head behind eyes (dorsal view) distinctly and roundly narrowed. Width of head 1.5 times its median length. Eye 2.7 times as long as temple (dorsal view). Ocelli arranged in almost equilateral triangle. POL: OD: OOL = 3: 2: 6. Vertex striate with punctation, frons finely striate laterally. Vertex with sparse, short setae. Face finely rugose, with punctation, its width 1.1 times height of eye, 1.3 times height of face and clypeus combined. Eye glabrous, 1.1 times as high as broad. Malar space 0.3 times height of eye, equal to basal width of mandible. Malar suture absent. Occipital carina complete dorsally, fused with hypostomal carina ventrally.

Mesosoma. Length 1.8 times its height. Mesoscutum ensely striate-rugulose with dense and fine granulation, highly and perpendicularly elevated above pronotum, entirely with dense setae. Notauli shallow, sparsely and distinctly crenulate. Scutellum smooth. Prescutellar depression deep, rather long, with single distinct median carina, 0.5 times as long as scutellum. Subalar depression rather wide, coarsely rugose-striate. Precoxal sulcus deep, smooth, running along anterior 0.7 of lower part of mesopleuron. Propodeum with distinctly delineated by carinae long basolateral areas, with delineated areola, basal carina short; basolateral areas entirely coarsely rugose; remaining part of propodeum coarsely rugose-areolate.

Wings. Fore wing 3.2 times as long as maximum width. Vein r arising before middle of pterostigma. 3-SR forming very obtuse angle with r. 3-SR: r: SR1 = 15: 7: 45. First discal cell 1.8 times as long as maximum width. 1- SR+M distinctly curved. m-cu postfurcal. Hind wing: M+CU: 1-M = 10: 14. m-cu almost straight, oblique towards base of wing, antefurcal, pigmented.

Legs. Hind coxa distinctly striate dorsally, with a distinct basoventral tubercle. Hind femur smooth, 3.5 times as long as wide. Hind tibia with not long and sparse setae dorsally; length of these setae 0.7–1.0 times maximum width of hind tibia. Hind tarsus 0.9 times as long as hind tibia. Hind basitarsus 0.4 times as long as second-fifth segments combined; second tarsal segment 0.9 times as long as basitarsus, 1.7 times as long as fifth segment (except pretarsus).

Metasoma. Almost as long as mesosoma and head combined. First tergite with more or less distinct, weakly and curvedly convergent posteriorly dorsal carinae, densely and coarsely striate, with fine reticulation between them, apical width of tergite 2.0 times its minimum width, length almost equal to its maximum width. Suture between second and third tergites deep and straight. Second tergite entirely densely and coarsely striate, with fine reticulation between striae, median length of second tergite 0.4 times its basal width, 0.7 times length of third tergite. Third tergite in basal 0.3 with distinct, wide, transverse furrow. Third tergite in subbasal depression striate on wide space, fourth tergite striate basally. Remaining tergites smooth. Ovipositor sheath 0.5 times as long as metasoma and 0.3 times as long as fore wing.

Colour. Body brownish yellow. Mesosoma almost brownish yellow, propodeum dark. Metasoma almost brownish yellow, first-fourth tergites dark. Antennae brownish yellow to black, two basal segments brownish yellow. Palpi pale yellow. Legs brownish yellow, all coxae and trochanters pale yellow. Ovipositor sheath dark brown. Wings faintly infuscate. Pterostigma dark brown, pale basally and apically.

Variation. Body length 3.0– 3.3 mm; fore wing length 2.5–2.6 mm. Vertex finely striate with punctation. Prescutellar depression with three distinct carinae. Fore wing 3.1 times as long as maximum width. First discal cell 1.7 times as long as maximum width. Hind femur smooth, 3.4 times as long as wide. Apical width of first tergite 1.9 times its minimum width; second tergite 0.8 times as long as third tergite; fifth tergite with distinct striation in basal half.

Male. Unknown.

Material examined. Holotype: Ƥ, China, Hainan Prov., Jianfengling, 4–7.VI.2007, Zeng Jie, No. 200710919 ( ZJUH). Paratypes. China, Hainan Prov.: 1Ƥ, same locality and date as holotype, Zeng Jie, No. 200711066 ( ZJUH); 1Ƥ, same locality as holotype, 7.VI.2007, Liu Jingxian, No. 200702545 ( ZISP); 1Ƥ, Diaoluoshan, 58.V– 1.VI.2007, Zeng Jie, No. 200806844 ( ZJUH).

Diagnosis. This new species is similar to H. tulyensisi Belokobylskij , but differs in having the mesoscutum entirely with dense setae, mesoscutum densely striate-rugulose with dense and fine granulation, basolateral areas of propodeum entirely coarsely rugose, first and second metasomal tergites longer, antenna with single pale apical segment, pterostigma dark brown and pale basally and apically.

Etymology. From Latin “alternus” meaning “by turns”, and “color” meaning “colour”.

Distribution. China (Hainan).