Pseudalomya nepalensis, Riedel, 2019

Riedel, Matthias, 2019, Contribution to the Ichneumoninae (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae) of Nepal, Linzer biologische Beiträge 51 (2), pp. 1119-1162 : 1120-1121

Pseudalomya nepalensis nov.sp. (figs 1-4)

Holotype: ♀ " Nepal, Distr. Bajura, ca 15 km S Simikot, 4100 m, Malikasthan 29°50´42´´N 81°47´25´´N, 07.VII.2001, leg. Creutzburg " ( SDEI).

D e s c r i p t i o n: ♀: Body length 12.5 mm. Flagellum with 29 flagellomeres, stout and filiform; 1 st flagellomere 1.4x as long as wide, all flagellomeres from 3 rd flagellomere on about square. Head almost quadrate and covered with whitish hairs. Temple roundly narrowed behind eye, coarsely rugose, c. 0.8x as long as eye. Ocelli small, distance of lateral ocellus to eye 2x ocellar diameter. Occipital carina complete, low medially and slightly lamelliform widened laterally. Frons strongly and concavely impressed medially, rugose-punctate laterally and transversally striate medially, with a strong tooth-like median extension. Face densely punctate. Clypeus flat, 2.2x wider than long, with scattered punctures; apical margin sharp, rounded. Mandible large and wide, with one blunt tooth with rounded tip. Malar space long, c. 1.1x as long as width of mandibular base. Genal carina reaching the lamelliform hypostomal carina far from mandibular base at the tips of strongly narrowed genae, proboscidial fossa strongly narrowed (as in Alomyinae ).

Pronotum long, with coarsely rugose-punctate side. Epomia short. Mesoscutum rugosepunctate, slightly shining; notaulus long and deeply impressed, present at frontal 0.6 of mesoscutum. Scutellum moderately elevated, 1.2x longer than wide, densely punctate, without lateral carina. Postscutellum without lateral grooves. Mesopleuron coarsely rugose-punctate, partly with coarse striae. Sternaulus strongly impressed in frontal 0.4 of mesopleuron. Epicnemial carina complete, narrow, almost reaching subtegular ridge. Posterior transversal carina of mesosternum shortly present laterally. Metapleuron coarsely rugose-punctate, juxtacoxal carina partly indistinct. Propodeum long, horizontal part almost 2x longer than declining apical part, rugose. Propodeal spiracle oval, 1.5x longer than wide. Apical transversal carina shortly present laterally, propodeum otherwise without carinae. All trochantelli present and clearly separated from trochanters and femora. Hind coxa densely punctate, without scopa. Hind femur rather stout, 3.8x longer than wide, densely punctate. Fore tibia with one apical spur, mid and hind tibiae with two spurs. Claws large, not pectinate, strongly bent (by 90°) apically.

Areolet pentagonal, slightly wider than long; frontal distance of intercubiti 5x their width. 2 nd recurrent vein reaching the middle of areolet. Nervulus postfurcal (by 3x its width). Nervellus of hind wing reclivous, intercepted in 0.75 of its length.

Metasoma amblypygous, strongly depressed and c. 1.4x longer than combined length of head and mesosoma. Sternites completely sclerotized, without median folds. Hypopygium very large, tongue-shaped, almost reaching metasomal apex. 1 st tergite 2.2x longer than wide, without carinae or glymma. Spiracles small, roundish, slightly bulging laterally, situated at 2/3 of tergal length. Postpetiolus moderately widened behind spiracles, without separated fields, with very scattered and fine setiferous punctures, shining. All tergites with very fine and scattered setiferous punctures, strongly shining. 2 nd tergite 1.1x wider than long, 3 rd tergite 1.4x wider than long. Ovipositor sheath short, not reaching beyond metasomal apex.

Colour: Black. Flagellomeres 10-13 with ivory rings. Head mainly dark reddish; scape pale reddish ventrally; mandibular tooth, apical margin of clypeus, frons medially, stemmaticum and occiput black. Mesosoma black with diffuse dark reddish suffusion on collare and upper margin of pronotum, mesoscutum, tegula, subtegular ridge, and wide ventral band of mesopleuron. Coxae black, ± reddish apically. Legs otherwise reddish; tibiae apically and tarsi completely blackish. Wings slightly infuscate; pterostigma black.

♂ unknown.

R e m a r k: The systematic position of Pseudalomya TELENGA has been discussed in the past since it combines several morphological characters of the Alomyinae and Ichneumoninae (see TERESHKIN 2009, QUICKE 2015).

Its general morphology as the long vertex, long pronotum, and elongate horizontal part of propodeum, thickened and large mandibles, depressed metasoma, large tongue-shaped hypopygium and especially the strongly narrowed proboscidial fossa with almost touching genae resembles the genera Alomya PANZER and Megalomya UCHIDA of Alomyinae . On the other hand, the presence of a clearly separate fore trochantellus and two apical spurs of mid tibia are typical for the subfamily Ichneumoninae . Newer molecular data gave evidence that Pseudalomya TELENGA belongs to the tribe Phaeogenini within the subfamily Ichneumoninae and not to the Alomyinae ( LAURENNE et al. 2006). The morphological similarities were therefore considered as convergences or possibly as symplesiomorphies ( QUICKE 2015).

Pseudalomya nepalensis differs from the type species, Pseudalomya praevara TELENGA, 1930 (detailed description and illustration see TERESHKIN 2009: 1328-1330 and plate 1) by a slenderer 1 st flagellomere, smooth and sparsely punctate postpetiolus and 2 nd tergite, black pterostigma and reddish stripe on mesoscutum. The other known species, Pseudalomya takeii KUSIGEMATI, 1984 was not studied here, but probably belongs to a different genus due its unspecialized form of gena and the completely carinate propodeum.