Trichacis transversata Arias-Penna & Masner

Arias-Penna, Tania Milena, Masner, Lubomir & Delsinne, Thibaut, 2012, Revision of the Neotropical species of Trichacis Foerster (Hymenoptera: Platygastroidea: Platygastridae), with description of 24 new species, Zootaxa 3337, pp. 1-56 : 39

Trichacis transversata Arias-Penna & Masner , new species

Figures 18 B–18E

Female. Body length: 2.20 mm (holotype); 2–2.20 mm (paratypes, n=2); mean length ± SD = 2.13 ± 0.12 mm.

Black; radicle yellow, base of A1 yellow, distal part of A1 and A2–A10 brown; mandible yellow with apex brown; fore leg yellow; mid leg yellow but with femur apex and tarsi dark brown; hind leg with trochanter yellow, bases of femur and tibia brown and rest dark brown; hind coxa dark brown; fore wing infuscate.

Head, in dorsal view, 2.07 times as wide as long; EH <IOS; interocellar area finely coriaceous and with shallow transverse striae; OOL> LOL; antennal clava 3-segmented; A1 not reaching vertex dorsal margin; A2–A6, A10 longer than wide; A7–A9 as long as wide; base of mandible smooth; frons above torulus weakly coriaceous and with seven transverse striae; clypeus exposed; clypeal margin convex medially; interantennal process surpassing ventral border of torulus; gena striate; lateral region of vertex between posterior ocellus and hyperoccipital carina coriaceous, and between hyperoccipital carina and occipital carina with well-marked longitudinal striae; temple projection absent; hyperoccipital carina almost complete: in dorsal view, hyperoccipital carina surpassing level of imaginary line connecting eye inner margin to posterior cephalic margin; distance between posterior ocellus and hyperoccipital carina shorter than posterior ocellus diameter.

Mesosoma arched; antero-admedian line absent; notaulus anteriorly incomplete; lateral notaular area smooth; inter-notaular area with basal 1/3 coriaceous and posterior 2/3 smooth; posteromedial region of inter-notaular area broadly convex; parapsidal line present; central pronotal area smooth; specialized area of mesoscutellum heartshaped; median projection of specialized area of mesoscutellum subtriangular; mesopleural carina incomplete (length of mesopleural carina/length of mesopleuron = 0.13); fore wing distinctly surpassing apex of metasoma.

Metasoma elongate; combined length of T3–T6 <T2; T1–T2 longer than wide; T3–T5 wider than long; T6 shorter than wide; anteromedial area of T2 smooth and flattened; T3 densely covered by shallow punctuation; T4–T5 and T6 along its anterior border, densely covered by deep punctuation; T6 subtriangular.

Male. Unknown.

Etymology. The name of the species refers to the fine transverse striae located between the anterior and posterior ocelli.

Diagnosis. Trichacis transversata is the single species with the combination of the following characters: interocellar area finely coriaceous forming fine transverse striae; lateral region of vertex between posterior ocellus and hyperoccipital carina coriaceous, and between hyperoccipital carina and occipital carina with well-marked longitudinal striae.

Material examined. Holotype: 1 Ƥ, COSTA RICA, Guan., Cerro de la Muerte, 4 km NE Canon, 2350 m, January 1995, MT, P. Hanson ( CNCI); paratypes: 1 Ƥ, Cartago, 4 km NE Canon, MT, Genesis, 2350 m, February- July 1995, P. Hanson ( CNCI); 1 Ƥ, with same data as holotype ( ICN).

Holotype is deposited in CNCI.

Figures

FIGURE 18. Bright field images of Trichacis species. A: Trichacis sculpturata Arias-Penna & Masner, n. sp., Ƥ, head, dorsal view (holotype). B – E: Trichacis transversata Arias-Penna & Masner, n. sp., Ƥ (holotype). B, head, anterior view; C, habitus, dorsal view; D, habitus, lateral view; E, head and mesosoma, dorsolateral view. F – H: Trichacis triangulata Arias-Penna & Masner, n. sp., 3 (allotype). F, head and ventral mesosoma, anterior view; G, habitus, dorsal view; H, head and mesosoma, dorsal view.