Brachymeria megaspila (Cameron, 1907)

Narendran, T. C. & van Achterberg, Cornelis, 2016, Revision of the family Chalcididae (Hymenoptera, Chalcidoidea) from Vietnam, with the description of 13 new species, ZooKeys 576, pp. 1-202 : 44-45

Taxon classification Animalia Hymenoptera Chalcididae

Brachymeria megaspila (Cameron, 1907)

Chalcis megaspila Cameron, 1907: 581 (♀, India, (lectotype designated by Bouček 1988) (BMNH) (examined)).

Brachymeria megaspila ; Mani 1938: 56.

Chalcis koebelei Crawford, 1910: 207 (China (Hong Kong), ♀ (USNM) (synonymised with Brachymeria megaspila by Bouček 1988b)).

Chalcis poema Girault, 1927: 324 (Australia, ♀ (SAMA) (synonymised with Brachymeria megaspila by Bouček 1988b)).

Material.

4 ♀ (BPBM), "Vietnam, 7.viii.1961, N.R. Spencer".

Diagnosis.

This species resembles very closely the Palaearctic Brachymeria femorata (Panzer) from which it can be separated by the relatively small pits on the outer disc of the hind femur (pits relatively larger on outer disc of hind femur in Brachymeria femorata ) and in having head compressed from anterior to posterior direction (in Brachymeria femorata head not compressed). Only with long experience in the taxonomy of Brachymeria one can distinguish these two sibling species.

Description.

♀, length of body 4.5-5.0 mm.

Colour. Black; tegula pale yellow; coxae black, hind trochanter reddish brown; fore femur yellow with basal area blackish brown on outer side; mid femur blackish brown at basal two-thirds and clear yellow at remaining part; hind femur yellow or reddish yellow with a black patch in middle; tibiae clear yellow except that outer ventral carina of hind tibia is black; tarsi pale yellow. Pubescence silvery grey.

Head. Head with scrobe reaching anterior ocellus; AOL 0.3 × POL; interocular space at vertex 2.2 × POL; POL 3.8 × OOL. Pre-orbital carina absent; post-orbital carina pre sent, reaching geno-temporal margin; lateral ridges of scrobe produced anteriorly beyond antennal toruli; area below scrobe with a small median smooth and raised portion; height of malar space slightly less than 0.3 × height of eye in profile; anterior genal angle slightly acute, posterior genal angle nearly rectangular. Antennal scape almost reaching anterior ocellus, shorter than F1, F2 and F3 combined; pedicel a little wider than long; F1 to F4 almost equal in length; width slightly increasing from segments F2 to F7; clava 1.5 × as long as wide, a little over twice as long as F7.

Mesosoma. Mesosoma with reticulate, rounded, umbilicate and close pits; interstices narrow and smooth except on pronotum where these interstices are rugose and narrow; scutellum length subequal to its width, fairly high in profile, almost perpendicularly declined posteriorly; apical flange emarginated with dense pubescence.

Wings. Fore wing 2.8 × as long as wide; MV a little over 0.6 × SMV; PMV a little over 0.4 × PMV and a little over twice STV.

Legs. Hind coxa without a ventro-mesal tooth; hind femur a little over 2.6 × as long as wide; its outer ventral margin with a row of 12-13 differently sized teeth; without an inner basal tooth or protuberance.

Metasoma. Metasoma a little shorter than head, mesoscutum and scutellum combined; 1.3 × as long as wide; T1 smooth;T2 with large distinct punctures in the basal half with a smooth area in median region, its distal half in the dorsal region and distal one-fourth in the latero-dorsal regions finely micro-sculptured. T6 subperpendicular, with 6 or 7 cross rows of distinct and deep pits, each row with several pits. Ovipositor sheath slightly visible in dorsal view.

Hosts.

Lepidoptera : Opisina arenosella Walker ( Oecophoridae ), Eurema blanda Boisdual, Eurema hecabe (Linnaeus), Eurema hecale Zuleika, and Delias sp. ( Pieridae ) ( Noyes 2011).

Distribution.

Vietnam, Indonesia (Java), India, Australia ( Narendran 1989), Sri Lanka, Malaysia, China (Hong Kong) and Papua New Guinea ( Noyes 2011).