Andesipolis whitfieldi Shimbori & Gessner

Mitio, Shimbori Eduardo, Souza, Souza-Gessner Carolina Da Silva, Maria, Penteado-Dias Angelica & Richard, Shaw Scott, 2017, A revision of the genus Andesipolis (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Mesostoinae) and redefinition of the subfamily Mesostoinae, Zootaxa 4216 (2), pp. 101-152 : 148-149

Andesipolis whitfieldi Shimbori & Gessner sp. n.

( Figs 13 , 34 , 164–168 )

Female. Body length 2.5–2.6 mm; fore wing length 2.6–2.7 mm.

Head. Smooth and polished, with scattered setae; 1.3x wider than mesoscutum. Face 1.9x broader than long, smooth and polished. Clypeus 2.6x broader than long. Malar space 0.5x eye height in frontal view. In lateral view, eyes 0.96x longer than temple. Maximum width of lateral ocellus 0.37x ocell-ocular distance. Antenna about 1.1x longer than fore wing, 27 segmented; first flagellomere roughly 4.5x longer than wide.

Mesosoma . 1.9x longer than high. Mesonotum 1.3x longer than width of mesoscutum. Pronotum dorsally with arched and weakly crenulate sulcus posteriorly, and distinct mid-longitudinal carina anteriorly; about 0.8x longer than vertex, the posterior region roughly 2x longer than anterior region; laterally smooth and polished, virtually devoid of setae except for a line along posterior margin. Mesonotum smooth and polished; mesoscutum with scattered setae medially and anteriorly, scutellar sulcus bare, scutellum with scattered setae mostly along margin; notauli present on anterior 0.2–0.3 of the mesoscutum, narrow but distinctly impressed and faintly crenulate; mid pit elliptical, 0.48–0.49x the length of mesoscutum; scutellum 1.1x longer than wide, smooth and polished; scutellar sulcus 0.26x longer than wide, with one median carina; mesoscutellar trough smooth. Metanotum without median carina; laterally smooth with sparse setae. Mesopleuron bare on central portion, setae concentrated on anterior corner and ventrally; sternaulus deep, weakly crenulate; anterior corner of mesopleuron smooth. Epicnemial carina present laterally, very weak to absent ventrally. Metapleuron mostly smooth, rugose just near hind coxa, with long and scattered setae. Propodeum mostly smooth; areola indistinct anteriorly, with distinct cross-bridge and two pairs of transverse lateral carinae; median carina short and posteriorly irregular. Hind coxa 1.7x longer than wide, 0.95x as long as metasomal TI. Hind basitarsus about 0.4x as long as hind tibia. Hind tarsal claws without basal lobe.

Wings. Fore wing. Stigma 3.6x longer than broad; vein r arising from middle of stigma. Vein r 0.67x longer than vein 3RSa. Vein 2RS gently sinuate, as long as vein 3RSa. Vein 3 RSa 0.47 x 3 RSb and 1.7x as long as vein rm. Vein 1 Cub 2.5x vein 1CUa. Vein (RS+M)b relatively long and not pigmented. Vein 1-1AC 0.15x longer than vein 2-1 A. Hind wing. Vein M +CU 1.3x longer than 1M. Vein cu-a 0.3x as long as 1M. Vein r-m 0.4x as long as 1M.

Metasoma. TI about as long as apical width; medially mat and weakly rugose, laterally smooth and polished; dorsal carinae apparently forking just basally, one branch extending over most of tergum length basally connected and the other enclosing a roughly semicircular area from which arises a mid-longitudinal ridge; dorsope deep and large. Metasoma beyond petiole weakly sclerotized; TII 2x longer than TIII. Ovipositor straight, about as long as hind tibia; ovipositor sheaths 0.6x longer than ovipositor.

Color. Dark brown. Mandibles yellow, tips dark brown. Palpi whitish. Antenna brown. Propleuron, pronotum dorsally and latero-ventrally, and legs honey yellow. Vertex with a pair of moon-shaped honey yellow patches just above eyes. Mesoscutum with light brown patch mid-posteriorly. Tarsi light brown. Petiole yellow, medially brown. Anterior corner of mesopleuron yellow. Metasoma beyond petiole pale brown dorsally, laterally and ventrally light yellow. Wigs hyaline, veins brown.

Male. Body length 2.4 mm; fore wing length 2.5 mm. Similar to female, with lighter patch on mesonotum extending through scutellar sulcus and part of scutellum. The anterior corner of mesopleuron darker.

Biology. Unknown

Comments. This species has the petiole with dorsal carinae meeting basally and enclosing a roughly semicircular area, also with short mid-longitudinal carina as in A. cacildis sp. n. A. whitfieldi sp. n. differs from A. cacildis sp. n. in the notauli deeply impressed and crenulate dorsally and midpit large and deep, both weakly impressed in A. cacildis sp. n., the honey yellow patch on mesoscutum, which is entirely dark brown in A. cacildis sp. n., the petiole yellow but brown centrally, as compared with entirely dark brown in A. cacildis sp. n., and scape and pedicel brown as flagellum, while yellow and contrasting lighter than flagellum in A. cacildis sp. n.

Distribution. Known only from type locality at Itatiaia National Park, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, at 2,255 m of elevation (montane grasslands).

Etymology. The species is named after our colleague James Whitfield, who described the genus Andesipolis along with Won-Young Choi.

Type material. Holotype, female ( DCBU 51427 ): “ Itatiaia , RJ, Brasil / PARNA de Itatiaia / S 22°23’38.9” W 44°39’59,7” / Armadilha Malaise 0 7 / 20.xii.2013 2255 m / R.F. Monteiro col.”

Paratypes (2♂) (DCBU 210531 – 210532). Same as holotype, different date: 2♂, 30.V.2012.

Figures

FIGURES 2 – 13. Pronotum, dorsal. 2, Andesipolis atlanticus sp. n.; 3, Andesipolis brasiliensis sp. n.; 4, Andesipolis flamengo sp. n.; 5, Andesipolis soaresi sp. n.; 6, Andesipolis longicollis sp. n.; 7, Andesipolis monteiroi sp. n.; 8, Andesipolis masneri sp. n.; 9, Andesipolis chilensis sp. n.; 10, Andesipolis pseudoscapus sp. n.; 11, Andesipolis supernus sp. n.; 12, Andesipolis brevisulcus sp. n.; 13, Andesipolis whitfieldi sp. n.

FIGURES 26 – 34. First metasomal tergum: 26, Andesipolis atlanticus sp. n.; 27, Andesipolis brasiliensis sp. n.; 28, Andesipolis flamengo sp. n.; 29, Andesipolis longicollis sp. n.; 30, Andesipolis bicolor sp. n.; 31, Andesipolis belshawi sp. n.; 32, Andesipolis masneri sp. n.; 33, Andesipolis nothofagus sp. n.; 34, Andesipolis whitfieldi sp. n.

FIGURES 164 – 168. Andesipolis whitfieldi sp. n.: 164, habitus; 165, face; 166, wings; 167, head and mesonotum, dorsal; 168, propodeum and metasomal TI – IV.