Basalys leleji, Hou & Xu, 2016

Hou, Zi & Xu, Zaifu, 2016, First record of the genus Basalys Westwood, 1833 (Hymenoptera: Diapriidae) from China, with descriptions of two new species, Zoological Systematics 41 (3), pp. 337-341 : 339-341

Basalys leleji sp. nov. ( Figs 2–3 )

Diagnosis. Head and mesosoma light brown; antenna clava club brown; metasoma brown; head in lateral view prolonged; antenna A10-A12 moderate clava; fore wing with apical margin shallowly incised.

Description. Female (Holotype). Body length 0.9 mm. Fore wing length 0.8 mm.

Color. Body brown with vertex blackish-brown. Fore and hind wings hyaline, veins brown. Legs light yellow.

Head. Head smooth and shining, with scattered hairs; 0.86 times as long as wide (12.0: 14.0) in dorsal view; 0.92 times as long as high in lateral view (12.0: 13.0). Clypeus slightly convex. Antennal shelf well developed, prominent anteriorly in lateral view. Antenna 12-segmented, with club 3-segmented; clavomeres flattened ventrally; relative ratio of length to width as follows: A1(12.0: 2.0), A2(4.0: 2.3), A3(1.5: 1.5), A4(1.5: 1.5), A5(1.5: 1.9), A6(1.6: 2.0), A7(2.0: 2.0), A8(1.9: 2.1), A9(2.0: 2.5), A10(3.6: 4.0), A11(3.9: 5.4), A12(5.5: 4.0). A1 unarmed apically, without sharp apical rim. A12 flat. Toruli at level of lower margin of eye. Eye oval and hairless; 0.93 times as long as wide; 2.27 times as long as malar space (5.0: 2.2). POL: OOL=2.0: 3.3. Temple rounded in dorsal view, 1.22 times as long as eye (6.0: 4.9). Postgenal cushion with tufts of hairs. Occipital carina complete.

Mesosoma. Pronotum with scattered hairs; with curved anterior margin in dorsal view. Epomium absent. Propleuron sparsely hairy. Mesoscutum flat, smooth and shining, with scattered hairs; 0.80 times as long as wide (8.8: 11.0). Notauli absent. Mesoscutellum with distinct basal fovea. Mesoscutellar disc subquadrate, smooth and shining, with scattered hairs, predominantly flat. Mesopleuron almost flat, with scattered hairs. Sternaulus absent. Dorsellum sparsely hairy, with three short keels. Metapleuron rugulose and hairy. Propodeum 0.62 times as long as wide (3.8: 6.1), with strong longitudinal median keel and well defined pilca. Area between median keel and plica predominantly glabrous and smooth. Fore wing fully developed, surpassing apex of metasoma. Fore wing venation distinctly surpassing basal third of wing length, with stigmal vein developed, and basal vein straight, fully pigmented, perpendicular to but never contiguous with submarginal vein. Legs slender, with femora and tibia clavate; fore tibia with one dorsal spine apically; tarsi not compressed.

Metasoma. Petiole cylindrical, 1.41 times as long as wide in dorsal view (4.1: 2.9); 1.11 times as long as high in lateral view; without longitudinal keels on dorsal surface; sparsely hairy ventrally. Syntergite slightly convex in lateral view; anterior margin with narrow stripe of pilosity. Syntergite with anterior margin straight, not excised medially. Metasoma moderately pointed apically.

Male. Antenna 14-segmented; relative ratio of length to width as follows: A1(11.0: 2.2), A2(5.0: 2.7), A3(4.0: 2.1), A4(4.0: 2.0), A5(4.0: 2.0), A6(4.1: 2.0), A7(3.9: 2.5), A8(4.0: 2.3), A9(4.0: 2.8), A10(4.0: 2.5), A11(3.2: 2.3), A12(3.7: 2.1), A13(3.5: 2.9), A14(5.0: 3.0). A2 oval. A4 not sexually modified. A5–A14 with scattered hairs. Metasoma blunt apically. Other characteristics similar to females.

Material examined. Holotype ♂, China, Yunnan, Zhaotong, Yongshan , Huanghua , VIII–X.2012, leg. Shiwen Yang ( SCAU). Paratypes. 20♂, 6♀, same data as holotype ( SCAU) .

Biology. Unkown.

Distribution. China (Yunnan).

Remarks. This new species is similar to Basalys chotti Rajmohana & Narendran, 2006 from India, but it can be separated from the latter by: A11 0.72 times as long as wide (1.20 times as long as wide in B. chotti ); notauli absent (present but faint in B. chotti ); petiole 1.41 times as long as wide (almost as long as wide in B. chotti ).

Etymology. This new species is named after Dr. Arkadiy Lelej to celebrate his 70th birthday.

Funding This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31272351, U0936601).

Acknowledgements The authors would like to thank Shiwen Yang for his assistance of collecting the wasps from Yunnan Province.

Figures

Figures 2–3. Basalys leleji sp. nov., habitus, lateral view. 2. ♀, holotype. 3. ♂, paratype. Scale bar=0.2 mm.