Austroascogaster kittelae, 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 : 435-438

Austroascogaster kittelae n. sp.

Figure 44

TYPE MATERIAL — Holotype male ( MNHN), Papua New Guinea. Province Madang, Mount Wilhelm (-5.732514,145.2568) 700 m, 07-08/11/2012, leg Keltim, Uma, Novotny, Leponce, Plot 3, understorey, Malaise, MAL-MW0700C-14/16-d14. Paratypes, Papua New Guinea. 2 males ( IRSNB), Province Madang, Mount Wilhelm (-5.732514,145.2568) 700 m, 30-31/10/2012, leg Keltim, Uma, Novotny, Leponce, Plot 3, understorey, Malaise, MAL-MW0700C-06/16-d06. Male ( IRSNB), Province Madang, Mount Wilhelm (-5.732514,145.2568) 700 m, 05-06/11/2012, leg Keltim, Uma, Novotny, Leponce, Plot 3, understorey, Malaise, MAL-MW0700C-12/16-d12.

DISTRIBUTION — Papua New Guinea.

DIAGNOSIS — Antenna slender; wings uniformly very weakly infuscate, with a faint darker patch at level of pterostigma.

DESCRIPTION (Holotype) — MALE: body length 3.0 mm, length of fore wing 2.7 mm. Head. Antenna with 22 flagellomeres; F1/F2 = 1.22; length of first, second and penultimate flagellomeres 3.60, 3.00 and 3.33x their width, respectively; ED/TD = 3.60; eyes glabrous; OOL:OD:POL = 6.00:3.00:4.00; frons punctate laterally, smooth medially with a median longitudinal carina; WF/HF = 0.87; length of malar space twice length of base of mandible; clypeus, face, gena and vertex finely punctate, upper middle of face with a short tubercle; WC/HC = 1.60. Mesosoma. Median lobe of mesoscutum punctate; mid-posterior area of mesoscutum narrow and punctate; notauli present anteriorly, indistinctly punctate medially to posteriorly; scutellum shiny, finely punctate, convex; propodeum smooth, with short longitudinal and cross carinae, anterior areola wide, quadrate, with small crossed rugae inside; mesopleuron shiny and smooth mid-posteriormid-posteriorly, strongly punctate near subalar depression; precoxal sulcus present, complete and largely scrobiculate; HMS/LMS = 0.80. Legs. Hind coxa finely punctate laterally, smooth dorsally; LHTI/LHTA = 1.14; LPS/LHBT = 0.40. Wings. LW/LB =0.89; fore wing with SR1/PT =1.32; LPT/WPT =4.17; abbreviation requireder: 3-SR: SR1: r-m = 6.00:7.00:33.00:4.00; vein r of fore wing starting close to the middle of pterostigma; vein 3CU1 of fore wing angled with vein CU1b. Metasoma. LMS/ LMT = 0.84; in dorsal view weakly rounded, weakly wider posteriorly than anteriorly, WMT/LMT = 0.38; metasoma weakly curved in lateral view; ventral keel of metasoma fine, straight apically in posterior view; metasoma nearly smooth between the two longitudinal carinae anterolaterally, longitudinally striate on anterior three-quarter, its apical quarter finely punctate and shining. Color. Head, mesosoma black; fore and hind coxa, all femur, apical four-fifths of mid and hind tibiae dark brown; scapus, pedicel and first flagellomeres yellowish-brown; fore tibia and tarsi, basal fifth of mid and hind tibia whitish; hind tarsi white but slightly infuscate apically; metasoma with a clear whitish patch anteriorly between lateral longitudinal carinae, black elsewhere; wings hyaline with a transverse brown patch below the stigma.

FIGURES 42-43

42, Austroascogaster missai n.sp., holotype; habitus, lateral. 43, Austroascogaster elsae n.sp., holotype, female; metasoma, dorsal. Scales: 42 = 500 µm; 43 = 200 µm.

FIGURES 44-45

44, Austroascogaster kittelae n.sp., paratype, male; habitus, lateral. 45, Austroascogaster morganae n.sp., holotype, male; habitus, lateral. Scales: 44 = 500 µ; 45 = 200 µm.

VARIATIONS — Paratypes similar to the holotype.

ETYMOLOGY — This species is named in honor of my friend and colleague Dr Rebecca Kittel for her work on Cheloninae .