Scelio quasiclypeatus Yoder

Yoder, Matthew J., Valerio, Alejandro A., Polaszek, Andrew, Noort, Simon van, Masner, Lubomir & Johnson, Norman F., 2014, Monograph of the Afrotropical species of Scelio Latreille (Hymenoptera, Platygastridae), egg parasitoids of acridid grasshoppers (Orthoptera, Acrididae), ZooKeys 380, pp. 1-188 : 164-165

Scelio quasiclypeatus Yoder sp. n. Figures 377-382; Morphbank 77

Description.

Female body length: 3.60-4.21 mm (n=16). Male body length: 3.20-3.63 mm (n=2). Form of sculpture of frons below anterior ocellus in female: fine dorsoventral striae with few to no reticulations. Distribution of sculpture of frons posterior to anterior ocellus in female: more or less uniform throughout. Color of pilosity of dorsomedial head in female: white or predominantly white. Sculpture of ventrolateral corner of frons adjacent to malar sulcus in male: predominantly dorsoventral. Form of anteclypeus between medial teeth in female: produced, truncate medially. Form of anteclypeus between medial teeth in males: produced, rounded to truncate medially. Form of lateral gena below eye in anterior view in female: evenly rounded towards mandible, not bulging laterally. Sculpture of anteclypeus: smooth throughout. Sculpture of pronotal nucha in female: present throughout. Color of pilosity on mesonotum in female: predominantly white on mesoscutum, predominantly brown on mesoscutellum. Sculpture of mesoscutellum in female: predominantly irregular rugulose to reticulate. Sculpture of oxter: present throughout. Pilosity of metapleuron overlapping or arising within posteroventral quadrant in female: 4 or more setae. Color of fore wing in female: base lighter until marginal vein, sometime strongly contrastingly so, apex darker, division relatively linear and abrupt. Color of fore wing in male: more or less evenly colored throughout. Color of pilosity on lateral T2-T5 in female: T2-T5 white to off-white. Fine pilosity of lateral T1 in female: absent. Distribution of pilosity on metasomal terga 3-5 in female: more or less uniformly present throughout. Form of setae on lateral T2-T5: predominantly thick throughout. Pilosity of anterolateral corner of dorsal T3 in female: sparsely setose to glabrous. Form of medial surface of S3-S5 in males: broadly concave, S3 posterior concavity extending into anterior half of sclerite.

Diagnosis.

As the name suggests, this species is most similar to Scelio clypeatus with which it shares the presence of a projected clypeus and densely setose posteroventral quadrant of the metapleuron. It differs by the presence of weak sculpture on the anteclypeus and the truncate anterior margin of the anteclypeus (broadly bilobed in Scelio clypeatus ).

Etymology.

The epithet is used as an adjective derived from the Latin word for nearly or almost, in reference to the similarities with Scelio clypeatus .

Link to distribution map.

http://hol.osu.edu/map-large.html?id=244623

Material examined.

Holotype, female: CAMEROON: Nkoemvom, 30.XI.1979, malaise trap, D. Jackson, OSUC 212260 (deposited in BMNH). Paratypes: (15 females, 2 males) BOTSWANA: 1 female, OSUC 211264 (CNCI). CAMEROON: 4 females, OSUC 211218, 212257, 212262 (CNCI); OSUC 211223 (OSUC). GABON: 7 females, 2 males, OSUC 212792, 212798, 213159-213160, 213162-213164, 213169 (CNCI); OSUC 213158 (OSUC). KENYA: 1 female, OSUC 214144 (CNCI). SOUTH AFRICA: 1 female, OSUC 212458 (CNCI). TANZANIA: 1 female, OSUC 250958 (CNCI).

Comments.

The sculpture of the frons of this species is slightly more robust than typical and there are several reticulating elements, although it is still dominated by dorso-ventral elements. The fore wing of females appears only slightly lighter at the base. All specimens examined have the pilosity of the mesoscutum white except for 1 or 2 pairs of brown setae posteromedially. The gena is particularly broad, with almost no gap between the eye and the anterior of the head in lateral view. The core series from Gabon and Cameroon are nearly identical. A single specimen from Kenya (OSUC 214144) has the sculpture of the dorsal head somewhat obliterated as often seen in Scelio afer . The specimens from Botswana and South Africa (OSUC 211264, 212458) are slightly less robust, with pilosity less dense. The two males are tentatively included but excluded from the type material.