Apanteles cosmopterygivorus 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 : 443-446

Apanteles cosmopterygivorus Liu & Chen , sp. n.

Figure 5

Description. Female. Body length ca. 2.3 mm, fore wing length ca. 2.6 mm.

Head. Rather transverse, 2.1× as wide as long (25.0:12.0) and faintly wider than mesoscutum (25.0:24.0). Eye in dorsal 1.4× as long as temple (7.0:5.0). Temple pubescent and indistinctly shallowly punctate, slightly constricted. Face subquadrate, 0.9× as high as wide, relatively shiny, slightly convex with an indistinct sulcus medially, shallowly, indistinctly punctate, less pubescent, inner margin of eyes parallel to subparallel. Apical margin of clypeus emarginate. Posterior tangent to the anterior ocellus touching the posterior pair, ocelli of usual size, distance between fore and a hind ocelli about as long as diameter of hind ocelli, POL:OD:OOL=4.0:2.0:3.0. Antenna distinctly longer than body length, penultimate flagellomere almost 2× longer than wide.

Mesosoma. Length to breadth and height 40.0:24.0:25.5. Disc of mesonotum relatively shiny, heavily but sparsely punctate, interspaces bigger than diameter of punctures. Scutellar sulcus slightly curved, narrow with carinae in between. Scutellum polished with indistinct few punctures along sides. Propodeum highly shiny, uneven with obsolescent indistinct punctures anteriorly, two short arms reached out from orifice. Posteral-lateral field somewhat polished. Mesopleuron highly polished, its anterior half with relatively indistinct and sparser hairy punctures of even size.

Legs. Spines on outer side of hind tibia of two kinds, numerous and close-set. Inner spur of hind tibia slightly longer than the outer one, 2/5 length of basitarsus, while outer spur is 1/3. Basitarsus of hind leg as long as tarsal segments 2–4.

Wings. Pterostigma 2.4×as long as its widest part. Vein 1-R1 (metacarp) 1.3× longer than pterostigma, it is almost close the marginal cell. Vein r arising from middle of pterostigma, as long as width of pterostigma, vein r 1.5 to 1.8× longer than 2-SR, indistinctly angled at their meeting, vein 2-M almost half length of vein 2-SR. 1st discal cell slightly wider than high. First submarginal cell of hind wing trapezoidal, 2.3× wider than high. Vein cu- a somewhat straight and perpendicular to vein 1-1A. Vein 1-1A long, almost half of fold of vannal lobe.

Metasoma. As long as thorax. T1 parallel-sided at anterior half, but abruptly strongly narrowed to apex at posterior half, basal width 1.7× hind width, almost 1.4× longer than basal width. Slightly concave anteriorly, shiny, highly polished without punctures. T2 relatively transverse, somewhat curved into T3, 2.4× wider than long in the middle. T3 1.4× as long as T2 (6.8:5.0). Tergites after T1 relatively shiny, smooth, almost pubescent (except anterior half of T2 and T3). Hypopygium somewhat shorter than apex of abdomen. Ovipositor sheath very short, 2/ 3 of hind basitarsus (10.0:14.8), relatively narrow.

Colour. Body dark reddish brown. Palpi and spurs pale yellow. Tegulae brown. Labrum, mandible light reddish brown. Legs mostly bright reddish brown, fore femur, fore and mid tibiae and tarsi bright yellow, hind tibia and tarsus somewhat fumous. Wing membrane hyaline to slightly fumous, vein 1-R1, C+SC+R and pterostigma brownish, r, 2-SR, 2-M and other veins light brown.

Male. Unknown.

Host. According to the label, Cosmopterix phyllostachysea Kuroko (Cosmopterigidae) .

Material examined. Holotype: ♀, Fuyang, Zhejiang, 1983. VI.18, Cao Jingqian, host: Cosmopterix phyllostachysea Kuroko, No. 835399. Paratypes: 1♀, Zhejiang, 1982. VI.8, Cao Jingqian, host: Cosmopterix phyllostachysea Kuroko, No. 835398; 1♀, Mt. Fengyang, Longquan, Zhejiang, 2007. VII.27, Liu Jingxian, No. 200801287; 1♀, Mt. Fengyang, Longquan, Zhejiang, 2007. VII.26–28, Zhu Yajun, No. 200802818; 1♀, Qingliangfeng, linan, Zhejiang, 2005. VIII.9, Shi Min, No. 200607249.

Distribution. China (Zhejiang) ( Fig. 12 ).

Etymology. The specific name “ cosmopterygivorus ”, referring to that it is a parasitoid of Cosmopterygid larva.

Remarks. This species is an aberrant member of the metacarpalis- group with very long metacarp, relatively transverse T2 and long vein cu-a. It could be a transition between the metacarpalis- group of Apanteles and the laevigatus- group of Dolicogenidea. Besides, it is similar to A. corvinus Reinhard, 1880 , but differs from the latter in having ovipositor sheath very short, 2/3 length of hind basitarsus and parallel-sided (the latter as long as segments 1 plus 2 of hind tarsus); T1 parallel-sided at anterior half but abruptly strongly narrowed to apex at posterior half (the latter gradually convergent to apex); and antenna distinctly longer than body length (the latter as long as).

Figures

FIGURE 5. Apanteles cosmopterygivorus Liu & Chen, sp. n. a head, dorsal view b habitus, dorsal view c head, frontal view d mesonotum and scutellum, dorsal view e propodeum and T 1 – 3, dorsal view f fore wing g hind wing. 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.