Cerchysiella azeeza Hayat

Hayat, Mohammad, Ahmad, Zubair & Khan, Farmanur Rehman, 2014, Encyrtidae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea) from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Zootaxa 3793 (1), pp. 1-59 : 16-19

Cerchysiella azeeza Hayat , sp. nov.

( Figs 31–40 )

Female. Holotype. Length, 1.26 mm (paratypes, 1.08–1.29 mm). Head black, with dull bronzy shine. Antenna with radicle dark brown; scape dark brown with apex brownish yellow; pedicel dark brown, apex white; funicle segments each dark brown in about basal half and yellowish brown to brown in about apical half; clava dark brown. Mesosoma black, indistinctly shiny, but in some lights mesoscutum appears dull bluish on sides; scutellum bronzy violet, sides and apex dull bluish. Fore wing hyaline; discal setae including the line of setae proximal to linea calva and the line of setae below proximal end of parastigma, hyaline; hind wing hyaline. Legs with all coxae black; femora dark brown, except narrowly whitish apices of fore and mid femora; tibiae dark brown, with base and apical third of fore tibia pale yellow, and base narrowly and about apical half of mid tibia brownish yellow; fore tarsal segments 1–4 white, fifth segment brown; mid tibial spur and tarsal segments 1–4 white, fifth segment brown; hind tarsal segments 1–3 and partly segment 4, white, distal part of segment 4 and fifth segment dark brown. Gaster dark bronzy violet, with about anterior half of TI with bluish shine; third valvula dark brown.

Head. Frontovertex width 0.41× head width; ocellar triangle with apical angle a right angle; posterior ocellus slightly less than one ocellus diameter to eye margin and slightly less than half diameter to occipital margin; POL, OOL, OCL ratios–8.25:2:1.5; in some specimens, OCL slightly more than OOL, but in all specimens posterior ocellus less than its diameter to both eye and occipital margins; head, in frontal view ( Fig. 32 ), 1.18× as broad as high; mouth fossa width (slide, EH.1595) 1.35× frontovertex width; eye height 2.56× malar space; vertex with raised, polygonal reticulate sculpture, and with sparse, minute setigerous punctures; sculpture on frons becomes fine and slightly transversely elongate; malar space anterior to sulcus with elongate reticulate sculpture, but posterior to sulcus appears smooth; setae on head brown. Mandible ( Fig. 32 ) with 3 pointed teeth, upper tooth receding; mandible length (slide, EH.1595) slightly less than frontovertex width (17.5:20). Antenna ( Fig. 31 ) with scape 6.66× as long as broad; pedicel 1.33× as long as F1; funicle segments subequal in length, but gradually increasing in width; F1 1.28× and F6 1.08× as long as broad; clava slightly longer than F4–F6 combined. Relative measurements (holotype, card)—head dorsal width, 39; frontovertex width, 16; head frontal height, 33; eye height, 20.5; malar space, 8; antennal scape length, 15.5.

Mesosoma. Sculpture on mesoscutum and scutellum similar to that in C. arabia Hayat , sp. nov. Fore wing ( Fig. 33 ) 2.16× as long as broad; venation extending to half length of fore wing; ratios of marginal, postmarginal and stigmal veins–2.2:1:2.5; linea calva proximally bordered by a line of 8–9 setae, and a line of 2–4 setae below proximal end of parastigma. Hind wing 3.12× as long as broad. Relative measurements (holotype, card)—mesosoma length, 44; mesoscutum length (width), 21 (35); scutellum length (width), 20 (23). (From slide, EH.1595)—fore wing length (width), 104 (48); hind wing length (width), 75 (24); mid tibia length, 40; mid basitarsus length, 13.75; mid tibial spur length, 14.

Metasoma. Relative lengths of gaster and mesosoma, and the length of the exserted part of ovipositor sheaths vary depending on the way the gastral tergites retract when specimens are killed; in holotype, gaster subequal in length to mesosoma (43:44), in paratypes it varies from 0.92× to 1.17× mesosoma length; the exserted part of ovipositor sheaths, in holotype, 0.22× gaster length, in paratypes it varies from 0.12× to 0.26× gaster length; ovipositor (paratype, slide, EH.1595) 1.38× as long as mid tibia, and third valvula 0.28× ovipositor length or 0.4× second valvifer length; TVII as in Fig. 35 ; hypopygium as in Fig. 36 ; ovipositor as in Fig. 34 . Relative measurements (From slide, EH.1595)—TVII length (width), 41 (39); ovipositor length, 55.5; third valvula length, 16.

Male. Length, 1.2 mm (range, 1.04–1.2 mm). Similar to female in colour and sculpture, except as follows: antenna with radical dark brown; scape dark brown with apex yellow; pedicel dark brown with apex white; funicle yellowish brown; clava brown.

Frontovertex width 0.44× head dorsal width; head, in frontal view ( Fig. 38 ), 1.28× head height; antennal torulus with upper margin in line with or slightly below lower margin of eye, and removed from mouth margin by a distance equal to torulus height. Antenna ( Fig. 37 ) with scape 3.87× as long as broad; pedicel subtriangular, slightly (1.16×) longer than broad, and nearly half the length of F1; F1 at least slightly longer than F2; other segments subequal in length, but very slightly increasing in width, F1 1.16× and F6 1.28× as long as broad; clava 2- segmented, slightly shorter than F5 and F6 combined; flagellum 4× as long as scape, and about 1.36× as long as head width.

Genitalia as in Fig. 39 ; apical part of phallobase enlarged to show parameres and digiti ( Fig. 40 ); phallobase, including digiti, 0.8× mid tibia length, and phallobase to apex of parameres, 0.75× mid tibia length.

Material examined. Holotype ( NPC, registration No. 136/11/157/3), ♀, labelled “ KSA: AL-BAHA: Qunfudah, i–iv.2011, (MT), Coll.: S. Qahtani”.

Paratypes. 1 ♀ (on slide, EH.1488), 1 ♂, with same data as holotype; AL-BAHA: Qunfudah, vi.2012, (MT), Coll. Z. Ahmad (9 ♀, 10 ♂; 1 ♀ and 1 ♂ on slides EH.1595 and EH.1596); Al-Qassim: Unaizah, 30.v.2013 (35F), Coll. F.R. Khan (1 ♀). (1 ♀, 2 ♂, in NPC, registration No. 136/11/157/4A-C; 10 ♀, 9 ♂, in ZDAMU, registration No. HYM. CH.683).

Distribution. Saudi Arabia : Al-Baha, Al-Qassim.

Etymology. The species name is derived from an arbitrary combination of letters and can be taken as a noun in apposition.

Comments. This new species is apparently very similar to C. planiscutellum (Mercet) , but differs in the following characters: fore wing with discal setae, including the two lines proximal to the linea calva, hyaline and difficult to see even in card mounted specimens; ovipositor 1.38× as long as mid tibia; third valvula 0.4× second valvifer length; male flagellum 4× as long as scape, and 1.36× as long as head width. In C. planiscutellum : discal setae of fore wing brown; (relative lengths of ovipositor, third valvula and mid tibia are not known); male flagellum at least about 5× as long as scape, and at least about 1.6× as long as head width ( Noyes 1982). See also the comments given under C. arabia Hayat , sp. nov.

Figures

FIGURES 31 – 40. Cerchysiella azeeza Hayat, sp. nov. (31 – 36, female): 31, antenna; 32, head, frontal view, with mandible enlarged; 33, part of fore wing; 34, ovipositor; 35, TV – TVII of gaster; 36, hypopygium. (37 – 40, male): 37, antenna; 38, head, frontal view; 39, genitalia; 40, apex of phallobase enlarged.