Afrisolia robertsoni van Noort & Lahey, 2021

van Noort, Simon, Lahey, Zachary, Talamas, Elijah J., Austin, Andrew D., Masner, Lubomir, Polaszek, Andrew & Johnson, Norman F., 2021, Review of Afrotropical sceliotracheline parasitoid wasps (Hymenoptera, Platygastridae), Journal of Hymenoptera Research 87, pp. 115-222 : 115

Afrisolia robertsoni van Noort & Lahey sp. nov.

Fig. 8

Material examined.

Holotype: South Africa • ♀; Eastern Cape, Februarie Farm, (40.2 km 267°W Kirkwood); 33°33.124'S, 25°03.043'E; 10-12 Feb 2001; S. van Noort; Malaise trap; VB01-R1N-M22; Valley Bushveld (non-trashed); SAM-HYM-P095158 [OSUC 20243869] (SAMC).

Description.

Female. Body length 0.95 mm. Colour of body black, with clava, metasoma and alar sclerites dark brown; rest of antennae, all legs and mandibles yellow-brown; wings basally appear white due to dense presence of white microtrichiae, appear infuscate over distal two-thirds due to dark microtrichae.

Head in dorsal view strongly transverse (5:15), lens-like, with frons only gently arched; temples straight, strongly receding toward occipital carina; POL:LOL:OOL = 8:5:5. Scape distinctly shorter than interorbital space (38:57) with scrobe absent; eyes with minute hairs, scattered setae on head slightly longer; head with delicate alutaceous reticulation, including posterior of hyperoccipital carina; head in lateral view about twice as high as wide (12:25), with lower frons gently convex, vertex acute and posterior toruli distinctly raised; eyes oval (5:8) and upper part of gena almost disappearing behind eye; posterior edge of gena with long, posteriorly projecting setae from ventral section; malar space much shorter than eye height (40:75); head in anterior view wider than high (20:13), lenticular, with vertex gently rounded, cheeks straight; interorbital space larger than eye height (6: 4); frons evenly covered with delicate punctate-reticulate sculpture and scattered setae; toruli with dorsal carina forming medially convex shelf; interantennal process acute, projecting between toruli. Antenna with scape to radicle as 75:20, scape micro-alutaceous. Clava 3-merous, noticeably longer than combined length of pedicle and flagellomeres 1-5.

Mesosoma distinctly longer than high (17:12), moderately convex dorsally; pronotum and mesoscutum with delicate reticulation and scattered setae; scutellum polished, more than twice as wide as long (9:4), anterior margin medially pointed; posterior margin of scutellum smoothly convex; dorsellum (= metascutellum) about 7 × wider than long, smooth between metascutellar carinae; sulcus separating metanotum from propodeum not raised, only as fine line; propodeum with anteriodorsal transverse concave plate from which the foamy keels arise, extending lateroventrally on each side of propodeum; lateral foamy edges are bent up like flanges; mesopleuron smooth, but with a complete longitudinal striation dorsally accompanied by a few shorter striations in posterodorsal third; transepisternal line present, anterior third arched ventrally to meet mesopleural carina; acetabular and ventral mesopleural carinae delicate; metapleuron with rather dense, long white setae except for around depression, dorsal and posterior edge forming wide foamy area. Fore wing straight, not curved over metasoma, extending well beyond tip of metasoma, 1.7 × longer than length of metasoma (19:11), broad (19:10), without marginal cilia, with extremely short pointed white microtrichiae with bulbous base; hind wing (30:7) with distinct marginal cilia only basally.

Metasoma equal in length to rest of body, wider than high (4:2); T1 broadly trapezoidal (12:3), anteriorly covered with dense patch of long white setae; T2 distinctly wider than long (17:10), anterior margin with two broad setose depressions; T3-T6 short; S1 covered with dense patch of long, white setae.

Male. Unknown.

Diagnosis.

Afrisolia robertsoni is overall a dark species as in A. anyskop , opposed to the much lighter A. obesa and A. quagga , which have distinctly paler metasomas; OOL is equal in length to LOL as in A. anyskop , shorter than LOL in A. obesa , longer than LOL in A. quagga ; the straight genae separate this species from A. anyskop , which has a distinct head-shape as a result of the concave genae; notauli broader (5 × longer than wide) than in A. anyskop (7 × longer than wide), and narrower than in A. obesa and A. quagga (3 × longer than wide); mesocutum polished between notauli as in A. obesa , alutaceous reticulate in A. anyskop and A. quagga .

Etymology.

Named after Hamish Robertson, previous director and entomologist at the Iziko South African Museum, colleague and friend of Simon van Noort. Together they implemented the entomological sphere of the Conservation Farming Project through which the type specimen was procured. Noun in the genitive case.

Distribution.

South Africa (Eastern Cape).

Figures

Figure 8. Afrisolia robertsoni van Noort & Lahey, sp. nov. female holotype (SAMC) (SAM-HYM-P 095158 [OSUC 20243869]) A habitus, lateral view B head, mesosoma, lateral view C head, anterior view D head, mesosoma, dorsal view.