Ficobracon codonatus Huang

Wei, Pan, Li, Zi, Achterberg, Cees Van, Feng, Gui, Xiao, Hui & Huang, Da-Wei, 2013, Two new species of the genus Ficobracon van Achterberg and Weiblen (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) from China, expanding its host range, Zootaxa 3640 (3), pp. 465-472 : 466-469

Ficobracon codonatus Huang & van Achterberg, sp. nov.

( Figures 1 –18)

Material examined. Holotype Ƥ: CHINA: Hainan, Danzhou, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, VIII.2007, ex Ficus tinctoria gibbosa (Blume) Corner, T. Wu. Paratypes: 4 Ƥ, 3 3, topotypic and same data. All type specimens are deposited in Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Description. Female (holotype). Body length 3.0 mm, fore wing length 3.2 mm.

Head: Antenna with 23 segments (Fig. 9); first flagellar segment as long as second flagellar segment; length of first, second and penultimate flagellar segments respectively 2.5, 2.1 and 2.0 times their width. Height of head less than width across eyes (13:15) (Fig. 2); face with a brown spot malar space approximately one third length of eye (Fig. 2); anterior tentorial pits normal; clypeal ventral margin thin and slightly upcurved, width 0.4 times width of face (Fig. 2); maxillary palp 4-segmented, subequal in length; labial palp 3-segmented, segments subequal in length; POL:OD:OOL = 2:2:7.

Mesosoma: Mesosoma longer than high (10.5:9.0) (Fig. 5); mesopleuron large and smooth, with some setae; metapleuron covered by long setae, with a black posterior rugose margin (Fig. 5); notauli shallow and posteriorly obsolescent (Fig. 3); mesoscutum largely glabrous and smooth but with many long setae along notauli; scutellar sulcus distinctly crenulate, deep, wide and straight; scutellum smooth (Fig. 4); metanotum very short; propodeum smooth, as long as scutellum, with medio-longitudinal carina on its posterior half, and with a dark-black posterior margin (Fig. 5).

Wings (Fig. 7): Fore wing: r:3-SR:SR1 = 5:10:42; 2-SR:3-SR:r-m = 2:2.3:1.3; angle between veins 2-SR and 2-M about 57; CU1a straight and long. Hind wing: M+CU:1-M = 1:4; 2-M as long as 1-M.

Legs: Length of hind femur, tibia and basitarsus 4.2, 7.5 and 5.0 times their width, respectively; length of coxa, trochanter, femur and tibia in ratio of 3:2:5:6 (Fig. 10); hind tarsal segments in ratio of 8:4:3:2:3 (Fig. 10); tibia slightly longer than femur; fore and middle tarsi slender.

Metasoma: Length of first tergite 1.1 times its apical width, medial area largely smooth, bell-shaped and divided by medial groove, posteriorly coarsely rugose (Fig. 6); sublateral grooves rugose-punctate, converging to medial groove at anterior margin; second tergite approximately as long as third tergite, second tergite largely smooth, submedial grooves finely rugose, sublateral grooves absent (Fig. 6); third tergite largely rugose-reticulate; second and base of third tergite with sharp lateral crease; other following tergites smooth and transverse. Ovipositor sheath1.6 times as long as metasoma, 0.76 times as long as fore wing and approximately 3.1 times hind tibia, long setose. Hypopygium long and narrow, apically acute.

Male. ( Figures 11 –18). Antenna 20–23 segments; first tergite apically narrowly coarsely rugose, without medial groove (Fig. 17); third tosixth tergites black, largely with fine punctures and rugose margin dorsally (Fig. 18).

Colour ( Fig. 1 , 11 ). Body yellow, antenna, hind tibiae, tarsal claws, ovipositor sheath, pterostigma, ventral part of mesopleuron, and largely third tergite brown, groove of pronotum, propleuron, scutellar sulcus, side of scutellum, propodeum largely and first tergite and second tergite medially dark brown or black; wings subhyaline.

Variation. Body length 1.8–3.0 mm. Antenna with 20–23 segments (Fig. 8, 9); face may be without spot; groove on pronotum of female, mesopleuron ventrally, propodeum and first tergite sometimes largely yellow; antenna of male sometimes yellow; third to sixth tergites sometimes yellow, sometimes without punctures and rugose margin dorsally, ovipositor sheath 1.4–1.6 times metasoma and 0.67–0.76 times fore wing.

Distribution. China (Hainan).

Biology. This braconid species can be found in both male and female syconia of the gynodioecious fig tree, Ficus tinctoria gibbosa . It seems to be a parasitoid of Neosycophila sp. (Chalcidoidea: unplaced family: Epichrysomallinae ), a phytophagous galler of F. tinctoria gibbosa (Wu et al. 2013).

Etymology. After “codonos” (Greek for “bell”) because of the bell-shaped medial area of the first metasomal segment.

Figures

FIGURES 1 10. F. codonatu s sp. n. Female. Figs 1, 2 and 7, holotype. Figs 3 – 6 and 8 – 10, paratype. 1. habitus, lateral view; 2. head, frontal view; 3. mesosoma, dorsal view; 4. propodeum, dorsal view; 5. mesosoma, lateral view; 6. first and second tergites, dorsal aspect; 7. fore wing and hind wing; 8. antenna with 21 segments; 9. antenna with 23 segments; 10. fore leg and metasoma, lateral view.

FIGURES 11 18. F. codonatus, sp. n. Male, paratype. 11. habitus, lateral view; 12. fore wing; 13. hind wing; 14. head, frontal view; 15. mesosoma, dorsal view; 16. propodeum, dorsal view; 17. first and second tergites, dorsal view; 18. metasoma, dorsal view.