Chakra juturna 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 : 1677-1680

Chakra juturna Veenakumari sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:BEEF7E96-FD93-427A-A998-0046585576A3

( Figures 10 (a–f), 23(f))

Female body length = 1.44–1.64 mm (n = 5).

Colour

Dorsal frons brown to black, lower frons yellow-brown, vertex brown; ocelli with black inner margins; anterior mesoscutum brown-black, remainder of mesoscutum and mesoscutellum brown; metascutellar spine and propodeum yellow-brown with red-brown markings on lateral and posterior margins; T1, T2, anterior T3 yellow brown, remaining tergites brown to black; radicle yellow, A1–A6 yellow-brown, remaining antennomeres yellow with uneven black patches; all legs yellow with black apical tarsomeres.

Head

1.2× as wide as high, 1.3× as high as long. Setation on head: dense. IOS: 0.7× head width, 1.3× eye length. POL> OOL> LOL: 7.1:6.6:4.5. OOL: 2.4× MOD. Compound eye: large (L: W = 17.3:11.7). Sculpture on vertex: with setose protuberances, furrows between protuberances with weak rugose sculpture. Sculpture of frons: with setose protuberances, furrows between protuberances with weak rugose sculpture, except for semicircular or arching striations on either side of imaginary central keel. Central keel: absent. Sculpture of gena: with setose protuberances. Facial and malar striae: prominent. Interantennal process: weakly sculptured with longitudinal rows of setae, elongate and gradually narrowing apically.

Mesosoma

L:W of mesoscutum: 26.5:30.6. Setation of mesoscutum: dense. Sculpture of mesoscutum: with setose protuberances. Mesoscutal humeral sulcus: not foveate. Mesoscutal suprahumeral sulcus: not foveate. Scutoscutellar sulcus: foveate laterally. L:W of mesoscutellum: 12.5:20.1. Sculpture of mesoscutellum: with setose protuberances. Setation of mesoscutellum: dense. Sculpture of metascutellum: intricately sculptured with anterior foveae. Armature of metascutellum: triangular spine. Sculpture of metanotal trough: weakly foveate. Sculpture of lateral propodeal area: with depressions. Posterior propodeal projection: pointed, directed posteriorly. Sculpture of lateral pronotal area: dorsally with setose protuberances, medially smooth, remainder with intricate sculpture. Pronotal cervical sulcus: weakly foveate. Netrion sulcus: weakly foveate. Speculum of mesopleuron: transversely carinate. Episternal sulcus: foveate. Postacetabular sulcus: not foveate. Prespecular sulcus: foveate. Mesepimeral sulcus: foveate. Mesepimeral area: smooth, wider than mesepimeral sulcus. Mesopleural carina: present. Sculpture of femoral depression: smooth. Mesopleural pit: present. Sculpture of ventral mesopleuron: with setose protuberances. Sculpture of metapleuron: dorsally smooth and ventrally smooth with sparse setose protuberances anteroventrally. Metapleural sulcus: foveate. Paracoxal sulcus: foveate. Metapleural epicoxal sulcus: foveate. L:W of fore wing: 101.9:31.3. L:W of hind wing: 93.0:16.0. Marginal cilia on posterior margin of proximal fore wing: absent.

Metasoma

L:W of metasoma: 78.7:30.9. Sculpture of T1: longitudinally costate. Length of T1: 0.7× the length of T2. Horn on T1: indicated as a smooth projection. Length of T2: 0.8× the length of T3. Sculpture of T2: basal foveae present, followed by longitudinal costae. Sculpture of T3: medially smooth, remainder weakly longitudinally striate. Sculpture of T4–T6: weakly reticulate to smooth.

Male

Not known.

Material examined

Holotype. Female ( ICAR / NBAIR / P4448 ), INDIA: Tamil Nadu: Dindugul, Thandikudi , RCRS, 10.309°N 77.642°E, 1305 m, YPT, 26 June 2015.

Paratypes. 2 females ( ICAR / NBAIR /P4449–P4450), Tamil Nadu: Lower Pulney Hills, Thadiyankudisai, HRS, 10.299°N 77.711°E, 990 m, YPT (weeds), 28 November 2016; 1 female ( ICAR / NBAIR /P4451), Tamil Nadu: Lower Pulney Hills, Thadiyankudisai, HRS, 10.299°N 77.711°E, 990 m, YPT (in plots of Laurus nobilis : Lauraceae ), 28 November 2016; 1 female ( ICAR / NBAIR /P4452), Rajasthan: Udaipur: Badgaon, 24.636°N 73.680°E, 178 m, YPT (guava ( Psidium guajava : Myrtaceae ) plot), 24 November 2016.

Etymology

The specific epithet ‘juturna’ refers to the Roman goddess of fountains, alluding to the multiple streams of water issuing in parallel arcs from the nozzle of a fountain akin to the pattern of the carinae on the frons of this species. The name is treated as a noun in apposition.

Diagnosis

This species has characteristic semicircular prominent carinae adjacent to the imaginary central keel.

Figures

Figure 10. Chakra juturna sp. nov. (♀): (a) Habitus, dorsal view;(b) frons; (c) head and pleuron;(d) head and mesoscutum; (e) wings; (f) antenna.