Wroughtonia obtusa Yan et van Achterberg

Yan, Cheng-Jin, Achterberg, Cornelis Van, He, Jun-Hua & Chen, Xue-Xin, 2017, Review of the tribe Helconini Foerster s. s. from China, with the description of 18 new species, Zootaxa 4291 (3), pp. 401-457 : 440-442

Wroughtonia obtusa Yan et van Achterberg , sp. nov.

( Fig. 20 )

Description. Female. Length of body (excluding ovipositor sheath) 6.3 mm, of setose part of ovipositor sheath 6.2 mm, of fore wing 5.0 mm.

Head. Antennal segments 35, length of third segment 1.2 times fourth segment; length of third, fourth and penultimate antennal segments 3.0, 2.6 and 1.4 times their width, respectively; scapus slightly longer than wide; length of maxillary palp 1.2 times height of head; head in anterior view 0.7 times as long as wide; length of eye in dorsal view 1.7 times length of temple; head gradually narrowed posteriorly in dorsal view; POL:OD:OOL = 13:8:14; malar suture distinct, crenulate; length of malar space equal to basal width of mandible and 0.4 times maximum width of eye; vertex punctulate and strongly shiny; temple sparsely finely punctate, including area near mandible; occipital carina complete and distinct; occipital carina meeting hypostomal carina near base of mandible and gradually merging; occipital flange rather wide and short; frontal depression deep anteriorly and shallow posteriorly, largely smooth, laterally with rounded border and sparsely rugose laterally but smooth and flattened posteriorly; protuberance in frontal depression near antennal sockets large, obtuse dorsally and with submedial obtuse ledge ( Fig. 20 I, J); face moderately rugose; clypeus densely finely rugulose dorsally and narrowly smooth ventrally.

Mesosoma. Mesosoma 1.9 times as long as high; pronope shallow; side of pronotum medially coarsely crenulate and dorsally densely punctate; mesoscutum in front of tegulum without lateral carina and with narrow smooth groove; notauli narrow and rather deep, crenulate, posteriorly wider, with median carina and coarsely punctate; mesoscutum strongly shiny, finely and remotely punctulate, middle lobe with some coarse punctures near notauli; scutellum mainly smooth except some fine punctures, flat and at same level as mesoscutum and propodeum; scutellar sulcus with 4 carinae; precoxal sulcus absent, except a shallow punctate depression posteriorly; propodeum rugose-punctate, without areola ( Fig. 20 E) and with a short median carina anteriorly.

Wings. Fore wing: 3.4 times as long as wide; 1-R1 of fore wing 1.5 times as long as pterostigma; 1-M slightly curved; 2-SR+M slightly longer than m-cu; pterostigma 3.6 times as long as wide; r:3-SR:SR1 = 7:10:52; 2-SR:3- SR:r-m = 26:20:17; 1-M:m-cu = 22:10; SR1 straight; cu-a inclivous, postfurcal; 1-CU1 rather short; r-m distinctly inclivous. Hind wing: 1-M:1r-m = 10:16; cu-a subvertical and posteriorly slightly curved.

Legs. Length of fore tarsus 1.6 times fore tibia; length of femur, tibia and basitarsus of hind leg 3.3 (excluding tooth), 9.2 and 6.8 times their width, respectively; hind femur shiny, robust, distinctly widened towards level of ventral tooth, ventrally rugose and with a robust and rugose triangular ventral tooth; length of outer and inner hind tibia spur both 0.24 times basitarsus; hind tibia slightly curved ( Fig. 20 D).

Metasoma. First tergite widened posteriorly, its surface smooth (except for dorsal carinae; Fig. 20 C), flattened posteriorly, its dorsal carinae somewhat elevated and distinct in basal 0.7 of tergite, length of first tergite 1.7 times its apical width; second tergite smooth; ovipositor sheath with erect pale yellowish setae, 2.5 times as long as metasoma, 2.6 times as long as hind tibia, 1.2 times as long as fore wing and as long as body.

Colour. Black; palpi yellowish brown but maxillary palp somewhat darkened basally; tegulum, coxae, hind femur (except yellowish base), apical 0.7 of hind tibia and apical half of hind telotarsus dark brown; hind tarsus pale yellowish; remainder of legs yellowish brown; antenna (except black scapus and pedicellus) dark brown; pterostigma and most veins brown; wing membrane subhyaline.

Male. Unknown.

Material examined. Holotype, ♀, China, Yunnan prov., Zhaotong , 1.V.1979, Zheng Weijun. Host: rice borer [= Chilo suppressalis (Walker) ], No. 801707 ( ZJUH).

Comparative diagnosis. An obtuse protuberance of the frontal depression is also present in Wroughtonia unicornis (Turner) , but the shape is different ( Fig. 20 J vs Fig. 24 J), the marginal cell of the hind wing is weakly widened apically (strongly widened in W. unicornis ), the scutellum is flat (protruding subposteriorly), the occipital flange is wider and the posterior crenulate depression slightly widened medially (distinctly widened).

Host. Unknown; the host mentioned on the label is obviously a misidentification. Most likely the parasitoid was accidentally introduced in the rearing cage, e.g. with a branch infested by a wood-boring coleopterous larva. Etymology. Named after the dorsally obtuse frontal protuberance near the antennal sockets and its submedial obtuse ledge (“obtusus” is Latin for “blunt”).

Distribution. China (Yunnan).

Figures

FIGURE 20. Wroughtonia obtusa sp. nov., ♀, holotype. A, wings; B, mesosoma, lateral aspect; C, metasoma, dorsal aspect; D, hind leg, lateral aspect; E, propodeum, dorsal aspect; F, apex of ovipositor sheath; G, habitus, lateral aspect; H, head, lateral aspect; I, head, dorsal aspect; J, detail of frontal protuberance, dorso-lateral aspect.

FIGURE 24. Wroughtonia unicornis (Turner), ♀, China. A, fore wing; B, hind wing; C, mesosoma, dorsal aspect; D, first-second metasomal tergites, dorsal aspect; E, hind femur and tibia, lateral aspect; F, face and clypeus, anterior aspect; G, habitus, lateral aspect; H, head, lateral aspect; I, head, dorsal aspect; J, frontal depression and protuberance, latero-dorsal aspect.