Phanerotoma conopomorphae Tsang, You

Tsang, Winson, You, Lan-Shao, Achterberg, Cornelis Van & Liang, Guang-Wen, 2011, A new species of Phanerotoma Wesmael (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Cheloninae), a parasitoid of Conopomorpha sinensis Bradley (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae) from South China, Zootaxa 2892, pp. 53-58 : 54-57

Phanerotoma conopomorphae Tsang, You & van Achterberg, sp. nov.

( Figs 1–11 )

Description. Holotype female ( Figs 1–10 ). Body length 3.1 mm, fore wing length 2.6 mm.

Head: Transverse in dorsal view, length of head 1.8 x its width ( Fig. 1 ). Antenna with 23 segments, 1.4 x as long as fore wing, segments near apical third somewhat widened ( Fig. 3 ), scape 2.2 x as long as wide, length and width of scape 1.2 and 1.8 x length of third antennal segment; lengths of third, fourth and penultimate antennal segments 3.3, 2.6 and 1.4 x their width, respectively ( Fig. 3 ). Vertex densely granulate and matt; occipital carina distinct. Eye large, 2.3 x as long as temple, temple directly narrowed behind eye ( Fig. 1 ). Stemmaticum triangular with equal sides, OOL: OD: POL = 21:7:3. Frons slightly convex, densely granulate ( Fig. 2 ). Face and clypeus with short setae. Face rather flat, densely granulate, 2.7 x as wide as high (in paratypes up to 3.0 x). Anterior tentorial pit medium-sized, far above lower level of eyes; clypeus weakly convex and densely granulate, moderately separated from face, 3.5 x wider than high, 0.75 x as wide as face, its ventral margin near lower level of eyes ( Fig. 2 ), nearly truncate and with two obsolescent and widely separated teeth. Malar space about half as long as basal width of mandible ( Fig. 7 ); lower tooth of mandible as long as upper tooth and widely separated ( Fig. 2 ).

Mesosoma: Pronotum entirely granulate, propleuron granulate (fig.4). Notauli weakly developed, mesoscutum with white short setae, mainly rugulose medially and remainder granulate, with weak longitudinal carina posteriorly. Scutellar sulcus shallow and narrow, with 7—8 longitudinal carinae. Scutellum very finely granulate rather matt ( Fig. 5 ). Prepectal and postpectal carinae normal. Precoxal sulcus only posteriorly narrowly impressed, mesopleuron granulate ( Fig. 4 ). Propodeum moderately oblique apically; subbasal transverse carina and forked medial carina present, rugose but basally finely granulate ( Fig. 5 ).

Wings. Fore wing: pterostigma 2.5 x longer than wide, r 0.6 x as long as width of pterostigma, 1-R1 1.3 x as long as pterostigma; r from basal 0.6 of pterostigma; parastigma large and yellow ( Fig. 6 ); r:2-SR:3-SR:SR1 = 10:33:14:88; 2-SR and SR1 straight; r-m as long as 3-SR; m-cu slightly antefurcal; 2-CU1 2.3 x as long as 1-CU1 length of 1-R1 about 16 x distance to apex of fore wing from 1-R1 ( Fig. 6 ).

Legs: Middle tibia slightly widened subbasally ( Fig. 7 ). Lengths of femur, tibia and basitarsus of hind leg 3.6, 4.8 and 4.0 x their width, respectively. Lengths of hind tarsal segments 4.0:1.5:1.2:1.5:1.2; claws small.

Metasoma: Metasoma shorter than head and mesosoma together, elliptical and 1.8 x as long as wide in dorsal view, broadest near apex of second tergite, third tergite 1.4 xas long as second tergite and flattened ( Fig. 8 ). Dorsal carinae short, first and second tergites rather coarsely longitudinal rugose, basal half of third tergite longitudinally striate and remainder densely granulate and matt medially and with rugulae laterally. Ovipositor sheath short, hardly protruding beyond apex of carapace, hypopygium truncate apically ( Fig. 10 ).

Colouration: Body brownish-yellow. Palpi and tegulae pale yellow. Teeth of mandible and ovipositor sheath dark brown. Stemmaticum black. Scape and pedicel yellow to light brown, flagellar segments more or less darkened apically. Wings slightly infuscate; parastigma, veins 1-M, 1-SR, m-cu and M+CU1 yellow; pterostigma (but apically and basally yellowish) and remainder of veins more or less brown. Telotarsi more or less dark brown. Apical two fifths of hind tibia infuscate.

Male: Body length 2.6–3.0 mm, fore wing length 2.0– 2.3 mm. Very similar to female; antenna more elongate, apical half of hind tibia infuscate, paramere medium-sized, slender and parallel-sided, digitus rather long and knifeshaped, apex of aedeagus round and small.

Cocoon: Single, elliptical ( Fig. 11 ).

Host. Conopomorpha sinensis Bradley (Gracillariidae) feeding on leaves of Litchi chinensis Sonn.

Type specimens. Holotype female, China, Guangdong Province, Zhuhai (22°N, 113°E), organic litchi orchard, OIC013, 22.viii.2006, ex Conopomorpha sinensis Bradley (Gracillariidae) on fruits of Litchi chinensis Sonn., Winson Tsang. Paratypes: topotypic, 22.viii.2006 (64 females + 44 males); 10.ix.2006 (6 + 13); 6. ii.2006 (20 + 9); 12.i.2007 (8 + 2); 21.ii.2007 (10 + 4).

The holotype is deposited in the Laboratory of Entomological Ecology, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou. All paratypes are deposited in the same institute, in the Entomological Institute of Guangdong, Guangzhou, except for one female and one male in the Netherlands Centre for Biodiversity Naturalis, Leiden.

Diagnosis. Phanerotoma conopomorphae sp. nov. is unique by the combination of the very transverse face without rugulae, the equal and widely separated teeth of the mandible, the clypeus without medio-ventral teeth (only with two sublateral and obsolescent teeth), the finely serrate lamella of the third tergite apically, the large distance between top of the head and the eye in lateral view (0.4 x height of eye) and length of vein 1-R1 about 16 x distance from vein 1-R1 to the apex of the fore wing. This species is similar to P. n at h an i Zettel, 1990, from India and host unknown, but it has the length of the body 4.4–4.9 mm; penultimate antennal segments about as long as wide and moniliform, antenna of female 1.1−1.2 x as long as the fore wing and robust submedially, vein 1-R1 of the fore wing about 5 x distance from vein 1-R1 to the apex of the fore wing, the ventral margin of the clypeus far below lower level of eyes, the metasomal carapace of female 2.0−2.1 x as long as wide in dorsal view and vein 3- SR of the fore wing 1.6−2.3 x as long as vein r. Phanerotoma conopomorphae sp. nov. is also similar to the East Mediterranean P. permixtellae Fischer, 1968 , from Syria and Greece and reared from Cacochroa permixtella (Herrich-Schäffer, 1854) (Oecophoridae) on Olea europaea Linnaeus , but this species has the vertex coarsely rugose, the antenna about 1.1 x as long as fore wing, the penultimate antennal segment hardly longer than wide, vein 3-SR of the fore wing comparatively short and vein r of the fore wing subvertical.

Etymology. This species is named after the genus name of its host: Conopomorpha Meyrick, 1885 .

Remarks. The larva of the host of the new species, the litchi fruit borer ( Conopomorpha sinensis Bradley ), lives concealed in the leaves, shoots or fruits of litchi trees and considering that the ovipositor is very short, hardly protruding beyond apex of carapace, the eggs are probably deposited in the eggs of the host. Given that one-third of the cocoons of the litchi fruit borer were parasitized in this study by P. conopomorphae sp. nov., further research on this species as a potential biocontrol agent is warranted.

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 7. Phanerotoma conopomorphae sp. nov. 1, Head, dorsal aspect; 2, Head, anterior aspect; 3, Antenna; 4, Mesosoma, lateral aspect; 5, Mesosoma, dorsal aspect; 6, Fore wing; 7, Mid tibia.

FIGURES 8 – 11. Phanerotoma conopomorphae sp. nov. 8, Habitus, lateral aspect; 9, Metasoma, dorsal aspect; 10, Ovipositor and ovipositor sheath (with serrate lamella of third tergite); 11, Adult emerging from cocoon on litchi leaf.