Chakra bournei Veenakumari, 2022

Veenakumari, Kamalanathan, Sreedevi, Kolla & Mohanraj, Prashanth, 2022, Additions to the genus Chakra Rajmohana and Veenakumari, 2014 (Hymenoptera: Platygastroidea: Scelionidae) from India, Journal of Natural History 56 (41 - 44), pp. 1657-1707 : 1666-1670

Chakra bournei Veenakumari sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:7204D423-5B35-407E-A46E-2A40D8A1E4C7

( Figures 4 (a–f), 5(a–b), 23(c))

Female body length = 1.32–1.67 mm (n = 10); male body length = 1.48–1.57 mm (n = 2).

Colour

Head brown, mesoscutum orange, mesoscutellum black-brown with an orange rim; propodeum orange with a brown border posteriorly; metascutellar spine orange with black lateral markings; T1 orange with red-brown anterior margin; T2 medially yellowbrown, laterally brown-black; T3 anteromedially yellow-brown, laterally and posteriorly brown-black; T4–T6 black; ocelli with black patches on inner margin; radicle, A1–A7 yellow, remaining antennomeres brown-black; all legs yellow-brown, with black apical tarsomeres.

Head

1.2× as wide as high, 1.4× as high as long. Setation on head: dense. IOS: 0.6× head width, subequal to eye length. POL> LOL> OOL: 7.4:5.7:4.2. OOL: 1.9× MOD. Compound eye: large (L:W = 19.5:15.1). Sculpture on vertex: with setose protuberances, furrows between protuberances smooth. Sculpture of frons: entirely with setose protuberances, except for transverse striations medially and on either side of central keel. Central keel: present, 0.2× head height. Sculpture of gena: longitudinally carinate, interspersed with sparse setose protuberances. Facial and malar striae: prominent. Interantennal process: smooth, basally wide and apically narrow.

Mesosoma

L:W of mesoscutum: 20.9:30.6. Setation of mesoscutum: dense. Sculpture of mesoscutum: with setose protuberances, furrows between protuberances smooth. Mesoscutal humeral sulcus: not foveate. Mesoscutal suprahumeral sulcus: not foveate. Scutoscutellar sulcus: laterally foveate. L:W of mesoscutellum: 13.0:18.1 (11.6:19.5). Sculpture of mesoscutellum: with setose protuberances, furrows between protuberances smooth. Setation of mesoscutellum: dense. Sculpture of metascutellum: smooth with longitudinal carinae. Armature of metascutellum: triangular medial spine, 0.4× length of mesoscutellum. Sculpture of metanotal trough: foveate. Sculpture of lateral propodeal area: with weak depressions. Posterior propodeal projection: pointed, directed posteriorly. Sculpture of lateral pronotal area: smooth, except for setose protuberances dorsally and oblique carinae posteriorly. Pronotal cervical sulcus: not foveate. Netrion sulcus: foveate. Speculum of mesopleuron: transversely carinate. Episternal sulcus: foveate. Postacetabular sulcus: not foveate. Prespecular sulcus: foveate. Mesepimeral sulcus: not foveate. Mesepimeral area: smooth, wider than mesepimeral sulcus. Mesopleural carina: present. Sculpture of femoral depression: dorsally smooth and ventrally obliquely carinate, with shallow depressions posterodorsally. Mesopleural pit: present. Sculpture of ventral mesopleuron: with setose protuberances. Sculpture of metapleuron: posterodorsally obliquely carinate, ventrally with shallow depressions. Metapleural sulcus: foveate. Paracoxal sulcus: weakly foveate. Metapleural epicoxal sulcus: weakly foveate. L:W of fore wing: 86.9:29.2. L:W of hind wing: 80.6:14.3. Marginal cilia on posterior margin of proximal fore wing: absent.

Metasoma

L:W of metasoma: 72.0:34.4. Sculpture of T1: longitudinally costate except for a smooth patch posteriorly. Length of T1: 0.8× the length of T2. Horn on T1: absent. Length of T2: 0.5× the length of T3. Sculpture of T2: anteromedially and posteromedially smooth, basal foveae present, remainder entirely costate. Sculpture of T3: longitudinally costate (sometimes with smooth medial patch) and laterally coriaceous reticulate. Sculpture of T4–T6: coriaceous reticulate.

Male

Similar to female. Shape of antennomeres: elongate.

Material examined

Holotype. Female ( ICAR / NBAIR / P4415 ), INDIA: Tamil Nadu: Lower Pulney Hills, Thadiyankudisai , Horticulture Research Station ( HRS), 10.299°N 77.711°E, 990 m, YPT, 26 June 2015.

Paratypes. 3 females ( ICAR / NBAIR / P4416 – P4418 ), Tamil Nadu: Lower Pulney Hills, Thadiyankudisai, HRS, 10.299°N 77.711°E, 990 m, YPT, 26 June 2015 ; 5 females ( ICAR / NBAIR / P4419 – P4423 ), Tamil Nadu: Lower Pulney Hills , Thadiyankudisai , HRS, 10.299°N 77.711°E, 990 m, YPT, 25 November 2016 ; 1 female ( ICAR / NBAIR / P4424 ), Tamil Nadu: Lower Pulney Hills , Thadiyankudisai , HRS, 10.299°N 77.711°E, 990 m, YPT (weeds), 30 January 2017 ; 1 female ( ICAR / NBAIR / P4425 ), Tamil Nadu: Lower Pulney Hills , Thadiyankudisai , HRS, 10.299°N 77.711°E, 990 m, YPT (grass), 26 November 2016 ; 1 female ( ICAR / NBAIR / P4418 ), Tamil Nadu: Lower Pulney Hills , Thadiyankudisai , HRS, 10.299°N 77.711°E, 990 m, MT, 26 June 2015 ; 1 female ( ICAR / NBAIR / P4426 – P4427 ); Tamil Nadu: Lower Pulney Hills , Thadiyankudisai , HRS, 10.299°N 77.711°E, 990 m, YPT (spice plot, bay leaf ( Laurus nobilis : Lauraceae )), 28 November 2016 ; 1 female ( ICAR / NBAIR / P4428 ), Tamil Nadu: Dindugul , Thandikudi , Regional Coffee Research Station ( RCRS), 10.309°N 77.642°E, 1305 m, YPT, 26 June 2015 ; 1 female ( ICAR / NBAIR / P4429 ), Tamil Nadu: Dindugul , Thandikudi , RCRS, 10.309°N 77.642°E, 1305 m, YPT (black pepper ( Piper nigrum : Piperaceae ) plot), 27 November 2016 ; 2 females ( ICAR / NBAIR / P4430 – P4431 ), Tamil Nadu: Dindugul , Thandikudi , RCRS, 10.309°N 77.642°E, 1305 m, YPT (coffee ( Coffea sp. : Rubiaceae ) plot), 29 January 2017 ; 1 female, ( ICAR / NBAIR / P4432 ) Tamil Nadu: Hosur , Uddanapalli , 12.624°N 77.924°E, 758 m, YPT, 30 December 2015 ; 1 female ( ICAR / NBAIR / P4433 ), Tamil Nadu: Coimbatore , Valparai , Uralikkal , 10.329°N 76.892°E, 1068 m, YPT (weeds), 04 May 2015 ; 2 males ( ICAR / NBAIR / P4434 – P4435 ), Tamil Nadu: Dindugul , Thandikudi , Regional Coffee Research Station ( RCRS), 10.329°N 76.892°E, 1305 m, YPT, 26 June 2015 ; 1 female ( ICAR / NBAIR / P4530 ), Tamil Nadu: Lower Pulney Hills , Thadiyankudisai , HRS, 10.299°N 77.711°E, 990 m, YPT, 25 November 2016 ; 1 female ( ICAR / NBAIR / P4538 ), Tamil Nadu: Lower Pulney Hills , Thadiyankudisai , HRS, 10.299°N 77.711°E, 990 m, YPT (banana ( Musa sp. : Musaceae ) plot), 28 November 2016.

Etymology

The species epithet ‘bournei’ is in memory of Alfred G. Bourne, the distinguished British biologist who served in India for many years and was the second Director of the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. The name is treated as a noun in the genitive case.

Diagnosis

Chakra bournei sp. nov. resembles C. sanghamittae sp. nov. but differs from it in having a femoral depression that is dorsally smooth and ventrally carinate and by the absence of a central keel on frons; whereas in C. sanghamittae sp. nov. the femoral depression is entirely carinate and central keel is present on frons.

Figures

Figure 4. Chakra bournei sp. nov. (♀): (a) Habitus, dorsal view; (b) frons; (c) head and pleuron; (d) head and mesoscutum; (e) wings; (f) antenna.