Acroclisoides simbis Tselikh & Mitroiu, 2025

Tselikh, Ekaterina V., Mitroiu, Mircea-Dan, Lee, Jaehyeon, Dale-Skey, Natalie & Ku, Deok-Seo, 2025, Revision of Acroclisoides Girault & Dodd, 1915 (Chalcidoidea, Pteromalidae, Metasteninae), ZooKeys 1257, pp. 153-214 : 153-214

Acroclisoides simbis Tselikh & Mitroiu sp. nov.

Figs 128–135

Type material.

Holotype • female, Democratic Republic of the Congo, “ REP. CONGO: Dpt. Pool Iboubikro, Lesio-Louna Pk 3°16'11"N, 15°28'10"E 29. vii. 2008 M Sharkey MT ”, “ Univ. Calif. Riverside Ent. Res. Museum UCRC ENT 280631 ”, “ Acroclisoides Det. R. A. Burks ” ( UCR) . Paratypes • 2 females, Malawi, “ Malawi: Kasungu Mtunthama , vii – ix. 1983, J. Feehan ” ( NHMUK) .

Description.

Female. Body length 1.90 mm; fore wing length 1.70 mm.

Coloration. Head and mesosoma dorsally dark blue; head frontally blue green with diffuse metallic coppery luster; antenna with scape and pedicel yellowish brown, anelli and F 1 – F 6 brown, clava with C 1 – C 2 brown and C 3 – C 4 yellow or whitish. All coxae and femora yellow or yellowish brown, all tibiae and tarsi yellow. Fore wing hyaline, venation brown. Metasoma dorsally brown or yellowish brown in the middle, with metallic violet and blue luster; ovipositor sheaths brown.

Sculpture. Head and mesosoma reticulate; clypeus striate-reticulate; scutellum strongly reticulate, frenal area finely reticulate; propodeum reticulate, nucha alutaceous; petiole smooth; metasoma smooth and shiny.

Head. Head in dorsal view 2.00–2.37 × as broad as long and 1.34–1.47 × as broad as mesoscutum; in frontal view 1.47–1.55 × as broad as high. POL 0.66–0.72 × as long as OOL. Eye height 1.04 × eye length and 2.00 × malar space. Distance between antennal toruli and lower margin of clypeus 3.83–4.10 × distance between antennal toruli and median ocellus. Antenna with scape 1.06–1.14 × as long as eye height and 1.11–1.24 × as long as eye length; pedicel 1.33 × as long as broad; combined length of pedicel and flagellum 1.12–1.20 × breadth of head; F 1 – F 6 longer than broad, F 1 2.22–2.54 × as long as broad and with 2–3 rows of sensilla; clava 4.10–4.30 × as long as broad, with small microsetose area on C 3 and C 4. Lower posterior corner of gena rounded. Lower margin of clypeus concave bilaterally, in middle part weakly rounded.

Mesosoma. Mesosoma 1.08–1.17 × as long as broad. Scutellum moderately arched, 0.84 × as long as broad, frenal area differentiated by a change in sculpture. Propodeum 0.66–0.71 × as long as scutellum, without costula but with median carina, nucha small. Fore wing 2.08–2.09 × as long as its maximum width; basal cell with 7–9 setae, basal vein setose; speculum closed below; M 0.58–0.63 × as long as PM and as long as S, stigma large.

Metasoma. Metasoma 1.73–1.77 × as long as broad, 1.29–1.32 × as long as mesosoma, 0.83–0.92 × as long as mesosoma and head. Petiole as long as broad. Ovipositor sheaths projecting slightly beyond apex of metasoma.

Male. Unknown.

Etymology.

The species is named after the African nature spirits – the simbis (noun in apposition).

Biology.

Unknown.

Distribution.

Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi.

Comments.

Acroclisoides simbis Tselikh & Mitroiu , sp. nov. belongs to a group of species that have a hyaline fore wing. This species is similar to A. africanus Ferrière ; the differences between these species are given in the key.

Figures

Figures 128–135. Acroclisoides simbis Tselikh & Mitroiu, sp. nov., female, holotype. 128. Habitus, lateral view; 129. Mesosoma and propodeum, dorsal view; 130. Antenna; 131. Head, frontal view; 132. Fore wing; 133. Head, lateral view; 134. Habitus, dorsal view; 135. Head and pronotum, dorsal view.