Aphelopus maculiala Olmi, Chen & Ødegaard sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: F4CFEE19-3614-417C-B703-BB7F5D0762BB

Figs 5, 8B

Diagnosis

Male with head and mesosoma black, notauli reaching about 0.7 × length of mesoscutum (Fig. 5C), fore wing with one infuscate patch beneath pterostigma (Fig. 5F), metasoma black to dark brown, distivolsella not in the form of a long straight rod (Fig. 8B); basivolsella with distal apex not widened (Fig. 8B).

Etymology

The specific name is a composition of the Latin names ‛ macula ’ (= ‛spot’) and ‛ ala ’ (= ‛wing’).

Material examined

Holotype CHINA • ♂; Yunnan, Lanping Dist., Mt Lasha; 26.324161° N, 99.256617° E; 2700 m a.s.l.; 10–20 Jul. 2018; Jin-Ku Li leg.; boskage; MT; SCAU 3040513 (SYSBM).

Paratype CHINA • 1 ♂; Yunnan, Tengchong, Jietou; 12 May 2009; Jie Zeng leg.; SCAU 3049744 (SYSBM) .

Description

Male

Fully winged (Fig. 5A–B); length 2.3 mm. Head black, except mandible testaceous; antenna brownblack; mesosoma black; metasoma black to dark brown; leg black to dark brown, except tarsus and fore tibia testaceous. Antenna filiform, with setae about as long as breadth of antennomeres; antennomeres in following proportions: 5:5:6:7:7:8:8:7:8:12; length/breadth ratio of ninth antennomere: 8:2. Head (Fig. 5D–E) dull, granulate; frontal line incomplete, shortly absent in front of anterior ocellus; POL = 7; OL = 3; OOL = 5; OPL = 2; TL = 4; greatest breadth of lateral ocellus about as long as OPL; occipital carina complete. Mesoscutum dull, granulate. Notauli incomplete, reaching about 0.7 × length of mesoscutum (Fig. 5C). Mesoscutellum and metanotum shiny, unsculptured. Metapectal-propodeal disc reticulate rugose; propodeal declivity with two longitudinal keels and median area shiny, unsculptured. Fore wing (Fig. 5F) hyaline, except a small infuscate patch beneath pterostigma. Basivolsella (Fig. 8B) with distal outer process and two subdistal bristles; distal apex of aedeagus not tridentate. Tibial spurs 1/1/2.

Female

Unknown.

Remarks

According to Xu et al. (2013), the male of Aphelopus spadiceus usually has a hyaline fore wing, except a specimen from China (Yunnan, Tengchong, Jietou, 12.v.2009, Jie Zeng leg., 1 ♂, SCAU) showing a small infuscate patch beneath the pterostigma. The above specimen has been considered only a variety of A. spadiceus by Xu et al. (2013). However, a comparison between COI sequences of two males of A. spadiceus from China, 26.324161° N, 99.256617° E, one with a hyaline fore wing and the other with an infuscate patch (Fig. 5F), showed that the two specimens belong to two separate species. This result persuaded us to describe the specimen with an infuscate patch on the fore wing as a new species named A. maculiala Olmi, Chen & Ødegaard sp. nov. (although the genitalia of the new species is similar to that of A. spadiceus). The fore wing of the new species shows a small infuscate patch, so that it is more similar to A. xanthopus Xu, He & Olmi, 1999, than to A. spadiceus . However, in A. maculiala Olmi, Chen & Ødegaard sp. nov. the face is completely black (Fig. 5D), whereas in A. xanthopus it is whitish between the antennal toruli. Following the description of A. maculiala Olmi, Chen & Ødegaard sp. nov., the key to males of the Oriental Aphelopus published by Xu et al. (2013) should be modified by replacing couplet 21 as follows:

20. Fore wing with one infuscate patch beneath pterostigma (Fig. 5A) ............................................... 21

– Fore wing hyaline, without dark patches or bands ......................................................................... 22

21. Face with area between antennal toruli whitish ......................... A. xanthopus Xu, He & Olmi, 1999

– Face completely black (Fig. 5D) .............................. A. maculiala Olmi, Chen & Ødegaard sp. nov.