Acroclisoides fusus 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 fusus Tselikh & Mitroiu sp. nov.

Figs 33–40

Type material.

Holotype • female, Ghana, “ Ghana, Tafo 26. IV. 66 Ex. Bathycoelia thalassina C. I. E. A. 982 ”, “ Acroclisoides africanus Ferrière D. S. Hill det. 1966 ”, “ NHMUK 013455986 ” ( NHMUK) . Paratypes • 2 females, Cameroon, “ Cameroon: Nkoemuon , 24. viii – 7. ix. 1980, D. Jackson ” ( NHMUK) • 1 female, Cameroon, “ Cameroon: Nkoemuon , 13. vii – 24. viii. 1980, D. Jackson ” ( MICO) • 3 females, 1 male, Ghana, same data as holotype, “ NHMUK 013455981 ”, “ NHMUK 013455985 ” ( NHMUK) • 4 females, Ghana, “ Ghana, Tafo 21. II. 66 Ex. Atelocera C. I. E. A. 982 ”, “ Acroclisoides africanus Ferrière D. S. Hill det. 1966 ”, “ NHMUK 013455980 ”, “ NHMUK 013455984 ” ( NHMUK, ZISP) .

Diagnosis.

Acroclisoides fusus Tselikh & Mitroiu , sp. nov. belongs to a group of species where females have a fore wing with one spot, but this species is easily distinguished from the others in having the fore wing with a small stigma (Fig. 37 ).

Description.

Female. Body length 1.80–2.20 mm; fore wing length 1.60–1.70 mm.

Coloration. Head and mesosoma dorsally dark blue with diffuse metallic violet luster; head frontally dark blue green with diffuse coppery luster; antenna with scape, pedicel and anelli yellowish brown, F 1 – F 6 and clava brown. All coxae basally brown with metallic blue luster, apically yellowish brown; all femora yellowish brown, tibiae and tarsi yellow. Fore wing with one diffuse spot near S, venation brown. Metasoma dorsally dark brown with metallic violet luster; ovipositor sheaths brown.

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

Head. In dorsal view 2.15–2.19 × as broad as long and 1.47–1.48 × as broad as mesoscutum; in frontal view 1.47–1.54 × as broad as high. POL 0.74–0.80 × as long as OOL. Eye height 1.18–1.23 × eye length and 1.46–1.61 × malar space. Distance between antennal toruli and lower margin of clypeus 4.50–4.90 × distance between antennal toruli and median ocellus. Antenna with scape 0.95–1.00 × as long as eye height and 1.18–1.19 × as long as eye length; pedicel 1.00–1.33 × as long as broad; combined length of pedicel and flagellum 1.05–1.14 × breadth of head; F 1 – F 6 longer than broad, F 1 2.16–2.20 × as long as broad and with two or three rows of sensilla; clava 3.00–3.33 × 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 arched and emarginate.

Mesosoma. 1.21–1.22 × as long as broad. Scutellum moderately arched, 0.74–0.77 × as long as broad, frenal area differentiated by a change in sculpture. Propodeum 0.72–0.76 × as long as scutellum, without costula but with median carina, nucha not small. Fore wing 2.13–2.18 × as long as its maximum width; basal cell and basal vein setose; speculum small and closed below; M 0.70–0.75 × as long as PM and 1.29–1.42 × as long as S, stigma small.

Metasoma. 2.04–2.28 × as long as broad, 1.04–1.15 × as long as mesosoma, 0.71–0.81 × as long as mesosoma and head. Petiole 1.00–1.20 × as long as broad. Ovipositor sheaths projecting slightly beyond apex of metasoma.

Male. Body length 1.80 mm; fore wing length 1.70 mm. F 1 3.25 × as long as broad. Combined length of pedicel and flagellum 1.20 × breadth of head. Fore wing with M 1.40 × as long as S. Otherwise, similar to female.

Etymology.

The name of the species is based on the Latin word fusus meaning broad or diffuse, referring to the brown spot of the fore wing (adjective).

Biology.

Egg parasitoid of hemipterans Bathycoelia thalassina (Herrich-Schäffer, 1844) and Atelocera sp. ( Pentatomidae ).

Distribution.

Cameroon, Ghana.

Comments.

It is important to note that the material from Ghana was misidentified as A. africanus Ferrière by D. S. Hill. Here this material is regarded as A. fusus Tselikh & Mitroiu , sp. nov., because it can be distinguished from A. africanus by the fore wing with one spot near S (vs hyaline); propodeum with median carina and large and smooth nucha (vs propodeum without median carina and with small, alutaceous nucha); lower margin of clypeus in middle part arched and emarginate (vs arched and straight).

Figures

Figures 33–40. Acroclisoides fusus Tselikh & Mitroiu, sp. nov., female, holotype. 33. Habitus, lateral view; 34. Mesosoma and propodeum, dorsal view; 35. Antenna; 36. Head, frontal view; 37. Fore wing; 38. Head, lateral view; 39. Habitus, dorsal view; 40. Head and pronotum, dorsal view.