Asobara abyssiniensis Peris-Felipo, 2019

Peris-Felipo, Francisco Javier, Achterberg, Cornelis Van & Belokobylskij, Sergey A., 2019, Revision of the Afrotropical Asobara Foerster, 1863 (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Alysiinae), with the descriptions of twenty five new species, European Journal of Taxonomy 557, pp. 1-146 : 3-4

Asobara abyssiniensis Peris-Felipo , sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:31D53D63-A69D-465B-8DFE-0049596620C9

Figs 1–2

Etymology

The specific name refers to the old name of Ethiopia, where the species' type locality is situated, ’Abyssinia‘.

Material examined

Holotype

ETHIOPIA • ♀; “Abyssinia, 1911”; R.E. Turner leg.; BMNH 459 .

Paratype

ETHIOPIA • 1 ♂; same label as holotype; BMNH .

Description.

Female (holotype)

LENGTH. Body 3.0 mm, fore wing 3.4 mm, hind wing 2.4 mm.

HEAD. In dorsal view, 1.7 times as wide as long, 1.4 times as wide as mesoscutum, smooth, with temple rounded behind eyes, with distinct longitudinal crenulate furrow in middle of vertex. Eye in lateral view 1.2 times as high as wide and as wide as temple medially. POL equal to OD; OOL 3.8 times OD. Face 1.8 times as wide as high, with sparse setae; inner margins of eyes subparallel. Clypeus 2.3 times as wide as high. Anterior tentorial pits long, but not reaching inner border of eye. Mandible 1.5 times as long as its maximum width. Upper tooth round; middle tooth wide and short; lower tooth weakly wider than upper tooth. Antennae more than 24-segmented (apical segments missing). Scape 2.0 times as long as pedicel. First flagellar segment 2.6 times as long as its apical width, 0.6 times as long as 2 nd segment. Second flagellar segment 4.5 times, 3 rd– 5 th segments 3.8–3.9 times; 6 th– 7 th segments 3.4 times; 8 th segment 3.1 times; 9 th– 20 th 2.4–2.5 times as long as their maximum width.

MESOSOMA. In lateral view 1.2 times as long as high. Mesoscutum (dorsal view) 0.9 times as long as its maximum width, smooth. Notauli in horizontal surface of mesoscutum mainly absent. Mesoscutal pit present, very elongate reaching mesoscutum halfway. Prescutellar depression smooth, 1.1 times as long as its maximum width. Precoxal sulcus present, smooth, reaching anterior and posterior margins of mesopleuron. Posterior mesopleural furrow crenulate in lower half. Propodeum sculptured, with long medio-longitudinal carina and small areola in posterior half, with apical half densely sculptured. Propodeal spiracle small, its diameter 0.3 times distance from spiracle to anterior margin of propodeum.

WINGS. Length of fore wing 2.8 times its maximum width. Marginal cell ending at apex of wing, 3.2 times as long as its maximum width. Vein r longer than pterostigma width. Vein 3-SR 4.2 times as long as vein r, 1.7 times as long as vein 2-SR. Vein SR1 1.6 times as long as vein 3-SR. Hind wing 5.2 times as long as its maximum width.

Legs. Hind femur 5.0 times as long as its maximum width. Hind tibia weakly widened to apex, 8.1 times as long as its maximum subapical width, about as long as hind tarsus. First segment of hind tarsus 2.4 times as long as 2 nd segment.

METASOMA. First tergite widened towards apex, 1.3 times as long as its apical width, weakly striate. Visible part of ovipositor 4.6 times as long as 1 st tergite, 1.3 times as long as metasoma, 2.5 times as long as hind femur.

COLOUR. Body, mandible, legs and flagellar segments of antennae and pterostigma brown to dark brown. In dorsal view, head similar colour to mesoscutum. First metasomal tergite similar colour to 2 nd and 3 rd tergites. Wings almost hyaline.

Male

Length. Body 3.2 mm, fore wing 3.7 mm, hind wing 2.6 mm. Antennae more than 26-segmented (apical segments missing). First flagellar segment 3.3 times as long as its maximum width; 2 nd segment 5.5 times and 3 rd segment 4.3 times as long as its maximum width. Hind femur 6.0 times as long as its maximum width. Otherwise similar to female.

Comparative diagnosis

This new species is similar to A. notleyi sp. nov. ( Kenya), but differs from it in having the eye in lateral view as wide as temple medially (1.6 times in A. notleyi sp. nov.), hind femur 5.0 times as long as its maximum width (4.1 times in A. notleyi sp. nov.), mandible 1.5 times as long as its maximum width (1.0 times in A. notleyi sp. nov.), face 1.8 times as wide as high (1.3 times in A. notleyi sp. nov.), vein 3-SR 2.0 times as long as vein 2-SR (2.5 times in A. notleyi sp. nov.), and visible part of ovipositor sheath 1.3 times as long as metasoma in lateral view (0.4 times in A. notleyi sp. nov.).

Distribution

Ethiopia.

Figures

Fig. 1. Asobara abyssiniaensis Peris-Felipo, sp. nov. A, C–F: ♀, holotype (BMNH 459); B: ♂ (BMNH). A–B. Habitus, lateral view. C. Head and mesosoma, lateral view. D. Mandible. E. Antenna. F. Head, front view.

Fig. 2. Asobara abyssiniaensis Peris-Felipo, sp. nov., ♀, holotype (BMNH 459). A. Head, dorsal view. B. Mesoscutum, dorsal view. C. Propodeum, dorsal view. D. First metasomal tergite, dorsal view. E. Hind leg, metasoma and ovipositor, lateral view. F. Fore and hind wings.