Austroascogaster elsae, Braet, 2016

Braet, Yves, 2016, New species and new records of Betylobraconinae, Braconinae, Cheloninae, Helconinae and Rogadinae (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) from Papua New Guinea, Mémoires du Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle 209, pp. 407-450 : 430-433

Austroascogaster elsae n. sp.

Figures 33-36, 40-41, 43

TYPE MATERIAL — Holotype female( MNHN),PapuaNewGuinea.ProvinceMadang,MountWilhelm(-5.721022,145.2703) 1200 m, 30-31/10/2012, leg Philip, Alois, Novotny, Leponce, Plot 2, understorey, Malaise, MAL-MW1200B-06/16-d06. Paratype, Papua New Guinea. Female ( IRSNB), Province Madang, Mount Wilhelm (-5.732698,145.2556) 700 m, 06- 07/11/2012, leg Keltim, Uma, Novotny, Leponce, Plot 2, understorey, Malaise, MAL-MW0700B-13/16-d13.

DISTRIBUTION — Papua New Guinea.

FIGURES 28-32

Austroascogaster baitetaensis n.sp., holotype, male. 28, habitus, lateral; 29, head, mesosoma, dorsal; 30, head, mesosoma, lateral; 31, metasoma, dorsal; 32, metasoma,lateral.Scales: 28 = 500 µm; 29-32 = 200 µm.

FIGURES 33-36

Austroascogaster elsae n.sp., holotype, female. 33, habitus, lateral; 34, metasoma, postero-apical; 35, mesosoma, lateral; 36, mesosoma, dorsal. Scales: 33 = 500 µm; 34-36 = 200 µm.

DIAGNOSIS — Metasoma with a transverse curved white band; wings strongly infuscate by large dark patches.

DESCRIPTION (Holotype) — FEMALE: body length 3.4 mm, length of fore wing 3.0 mm. Head. Antenna damaged, 35 flagellomeres remaining; antenna slender; F1/F2 = 1.50; length of first and second flagellomeres 5.00 and 3.30x their width, respectively; ED/TD = 3.00; eyes glabrous; OOL:OD:POL = 8.00:3.00:5.00; frons densely punctate laterally, smooth medially on both sides of a median punctate line; WF/HF = 1.20; MS/BM = 2.40; clypeus, face, gena and vertex finely punctate, median carina present between antennal sockets, presence of a short tubercle in the upper middle of face; WC/HC = 1.30. Mesosoma. Mesoscutum punctate; mid-posterior area of mesoscutum absent; notauli absent; scutellum shiny, finely punctate, weakly convex; propodeum smooth, with short longitudinal carinae and one full transverse carina, anterior areola narrowed longitudinally, anterior lateral areas punctate; mesopleuron shiny and smooth, sparsely punctate, but densely near subalar depression; precoxal sulcus absent; HMS/LMS = 0.83. Legs. Hind coxa finely punctate laterally, smooth dorsally; LHTI/LHTA = 1.08; LPS/LHBT = 0.38. Wings. LW/LB =0.88; fore wing with SR1/PT =1.33; LPT/ WPT =3.75; r: 3-SR: SR1: r-m = 6.00:6.00:40.00:7.00. Metasoma. LMS/LMT = 0.81; in dorsal view elongate, slightly wider posteriorly than anteriorly, WMT/LMT = 0.53; metasoma weakly curved in lateral view; ventral keel of metasoma small along all the metasoma length, weakly sinuate apically in posterior view; metasoma longitudinally rugose on anterior three-quarter, its apical quarter finely punctate and shining. Color. Head, mesosoma, hind coxa and femur, metasoma (except the transverse curved white band) dark; antenna, scapus, fore coxa, fore and mid femora, mid and hind tibiae dark brown; mid and hind tarsus brown; fore tibia and tarsi light brown; apical palp segments, mid coxa and trochanter, small basal ring of hind femur white; wings hyaline with a transverse brown band starting from the pterostigma, weakly infuscate apically at the junction of fore wing vein M+CU1 and 1-M.

VARIATIONS — Paratype female with body length 3.2 mm, fore wing 3.0 mm, and 38 flagellomeres.

ETYMOLOGY — This species is named in honor of my stepsister, Els Quipor.