Sycophila (Tineomyza) flaviclava Bouček, 1981

Lotfalizadeh, Hossein, Delvare, Gérard, Cruaud, Astrid & Rasplus, Jean-Yves, 2024, Morphological phylogeny and revision of Sycophila and Ficomila (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea, Eurytomidae) associated with Afrotropical fig trees (Moraceae, Ficus), Zootaxa 5401 (1), pp. 1-190 : 145-147

Sycophila (Tineomyza) flaviclava Bouček, 1981

( Figs 103–104 )

Sycophila flaviclava Bouček et al., 1981: 222–223 . Holotype ♀, BMNH, not examined. Type data: Chishawasha nr. Harare (named Salisbury), ii.1977, A. Watsham leg. ex F. burkei .

Sycophila flaviclava ; Berg & Wiebes, 1992: 191.

Sycophila flaviclava ; van Noort, 2004: 227.

Material examined. Paratype ♀: Republic of Zimbabwe, Chishawasha nr. Salisbury (Harare nowadays), ex galls on F. burkei , v.1975, Watsham A .

Diagnosis. In female funiculars as long as broad, fu1 not obconical, as wide as pedicel or nearly so, basal half with longitudinal sensilla ( Fig. 103B ). Basal carina of propodeum inverted V-shaped ( Fig. 104B ). Fore wing with small dark brown spot, costal cell without row of setae, dark brown spot of fore wing reaching base of mv ( Fig. 104E ). Petiole longer than broad, as long as hind coxa; Gt4 much as long as Gt3 ( Fig. 104C ).

Description of paratype ♀ ( Figs 103–104 ). Length 2.0– 3.2 mm. Body yellowish ( Fig. 103A ), except small spots at occipital foramen, gaster, funicle dorsally, propodeum anteriorly with a T-shape pattern and petiole dark brown; pronotum uniformly yellowish; fore wing with a small dark brown spot below mv, reaching base of mv; lower margin of mv obscured by dark brown spot ( Fig. 104E ); gaster entirely brownish ( Fig. 104C ); body setation whitish, setation of fore wing entirely dark.

Head 1.33× as broad as high [HW 180 & HH 135] ( Fig. 103C ); in dorsal view transverse, 1.94× as broad as long [HW 180 & HL 93] ( Fig. 103D ); face and vertex coriaceous with sparse punctures; malar space 0.47× length of eye [ms 42 & EH 89]; malar sulcus distinct, straight ( Fig. 103E ); genal margin regularly curved, edged but not carinate; antennal toruli narrowly separated; interantennal space not raised, not carinate laterally; scrobal depression smooth, reaching the median ocellus, not carinate on margin; POL 2.15× as long as OOL [POL 43 & OOL 20] ( Fig. 103D ); temple rounded; 0.21× the eye length (in dorsal view) [TL 18 & EL 85]; setation oriented downwards on face, outwards on the punctuate frons.

Antenna. Scape reaching lower margin of median ocellus, 4.77× as long as broad [SL 105 & SW 22]; fu1 as long as broad, not longer than pedicel, not bulging dorsally; funiculars (fu2–fu4) with one row of mps and 2 whorls of adpressed setae; fu2–fu4 shorter than broad; fu5 as long as broad ( Fig. 103B ).

Mesosoma weakly arched dorsally, 1.8× as long as wide (180:100), with deep sculpture ( Fig. 104A ); pronotum with coarse umbilicate punctures; mesepisternum without any process or raised sculpture on epicnemium; mesoscutum 0.55× as long as wide (55:100), 0.65× longer than length of pronotal collar (55:85), densely umbilicate punctures; notauli conspicuous, slightly obliterated by mesoscutum sculpture; prepectus bare, smooth medially; mesoscutellum entirely with umbilicate punctures; mesepimeron transversally strigose; metepimeron subtriangular and areolate with long white hairs; propodeum ( Fig. 104B ) with shallow median depression, without smooth median band and median carina; lateral rows of areolae absent; inverted V-shaped basal carina; lateral branches of basal carina relatively straight; distance between lateral carinae reaching each other basally.

Fore wing with long marginal fringe, distal margin round; dark brown spot below mv; basal cell bare or nearly so; mv slightly enlarged, normally broadened, in lower margin concave, longer than pmv; stv not curved; pmv distinct, not longer than stv; ventral side of costal cell sparsely setose, dorsally bare; speculum present; parastigmal bristles absent ( Figs 104E, F ).

Legs. Fore coxa without depression on frontal surface, hind coxa bare basodorsally; fore (30:12) and hind femora (35:10); hind tibia dorsally with 10 setae, setae shorter than tibia width.

Metasoma. Petiole longer than broad dorsally, ventral transverse carina between petiole and St1 absent. Metasoma 1.7× as long as wide (170:100) ( Fig. 104C ), shorter than mesosoma, broad and not compressed laterally ( Fig. 104D ); ventral transverse carina between petiole and St1 absent; petiole in dorsal view longer than wide, shorter than half length of hind coxa; tergites smooth; Gt4 (in lateral view) much as long as Gt3 (at least 1.5× longer), not sinuous posteriorly; Gt5 partly covering Gt6, not sinuous posteriorly; Gt6 sparsely setose ventrally; ovipositor oriented dorsad but not distinctly upturned ( Fig. 104C ).

Male. See Bouček et al. (1981).

Variation. Length 2.0– 3.2 mm. Sometimes dark colour more spread, or less so ( Bouček et al. 1981).

Host plant. Ficus burkei ( Bouček et al. 1981) . Ficus burkei was initially included in the aggregate of F. thonningii ( Berg 1990) , but is now considered a valid species by Burrows & Burrows (2003).

Geographical distribution. Republic of Zimbabwe ( Bouček et al. 1981).

Figures

FIGURE 103. S. (Tineomyza) flaviclava (♀). A, female in lateral view. B, antenna. C, head in frontal view. D, head in dorsal view. E, head in lateral view. F, mesosoma in frontolateral view.

FIGURE 104. S. (Tineomyza) flaviclava (♀). A, mesosoma in dorsal view. B, propodeum. C, metasoma in lateral view. D, metasoma in dorsal view E, fore wing. F, fore wing venation.