Scelio impostor Yoder

Yoder, Matthew J., Valerio, Alejandro A., Polaszek, Andrew, Noort, Simon van, Masner, Lubomir & Johnson, Norman F., 2014, Monograph of the Afrotropical species of Scelio Latreille (Hymenoptera, Platygastridae), egg parasitoids of acridid grasshoppers (Orthoptera, Acrididae), ZooKeys 380, pp. 1-188 : 112-114

Scelio impostor Yoder sp. n. Figures 257-262; Morphbank 58

Description.

Female body length: 3.20-4.44 mm (n=12). Male body length: 3.80 mm (n=1). Color of scape in female: brown. Surface of dorsal head in female: covered throughout with very fine sculpture. Occipital carina in female: percurrent. Profile of posterior margin of head in lateral view: produced posteriorly, head appearing wedge-shaped. Width of genal setae: narrow to moderately wide. Shape of medial anteclypeus in female: narrow, trapezoidal, not strongly projected medially, apically slightly truncate to very weakly bilobed. Surface of mandible base in female: smooth. Form of mesosoma in female: typically formed, with propodeal shelf moderately elongate and clearly visible in dorsal view. Surface of pronotal nucha in female: sculptured throughout. Transverse pronotal carina in female: developed laterally, absent medially, not percurrent. Shape of mesoscutellum: semicircular to weakly transverse, evenly rounded posteriorly. Surface of propodeal nucha in female: sculptured throughout. Surface of propodeal shelf in female: sculptured throughout. Color of metasoma in female: brown, T5-T6 dark brown. Sculpture of T6: finely longitudinally striae.

Diagnosis.

This species is most similar to Scelio ipomeae which shares a similarly developed clypeus and anteclypeus and similar general habitus. Scelio impostor may be distinguished from Scelio ipomeae by the sparse, narrow pilosity of the gena ( Scelio ipomeae with pilosity of the gena denser, setae thicker) and the brown metasoma (orange in Scelio ipomeae , but see Comments for that species). Individuals of Scelio ipomeae have the head somewhat wedge shaped in lateral view (Fig. 266), whereas those of Scelio impostor are typically more rounded (Fig. 262).

Etymology.

The epithet is used as a noun in apposition derived from the English, in reference to the similarity to Scelio ipomeae .

Link to distribution map.

http://hol.osu.edu/map-large.html?id=244754

Material examined.

Holotype, female: SOUTH AFRICA: Western Cape Prov., 25km N Prince Albert, damp wash, SA-018, Kat River Crossing, 33°05'39"S, 21°49'59"E, 500m, 3. X– 24.X.2004, malaise trap, Irwin, Parker & Hauser, OSUC 250816 (deposited in SANC). Paratypes: SOUTH AFRICA: 12 females, 1 male, OSUC 211315, 212515, 250812-250815, 250817, 250972-250974 (CNCI); OSUC 213944 (OSUC); OSUC 222098, 234715 (SAMC).