Helconidea dentipes Tobias, 1967

Yan, Cheng-Jin, Achterberg, Cornelis Van, He, Jun-Hua & Chen, Xue-Xin, 2017, Review of the tribe Helconini Foerster s. s. from China, with the description of 18 new species, Zootaxa 4291 (3), pp. 401-457 : 412-414

Helconidea dentipes Tobias, 1967 reinstated

( Fig. 6 )

Helconidea dentipes Tobias, 1967: 224 –226.

Helconidea duplodentipes Shenefelt, 1970: 198 (renamed because of secondary homonymy with Helcon dentipes Brullé, 1846 [= Wroughtonia ligator (Say, 1824) ] but unnecessary because Wroughtonia is recognised as valid genus); Belokobylskij, 1998: 418.

Description. Redescribed ♀ from Daifeng. Female. Length of body (excluding ovipositor sheath) 10.0 mm, of setose part of ovipositor sheath 13.2 mm, of fore wing 8.8 mm.

Head. Antennal segments 39, third segment almost as long as fourth segment; length of third, fourth and penultimate segments 2.7, 3.5 and 1.4 times their width, respectively; length of maxillary palp 1.5 times height of head; head in frontal view 0.9 times as long as wide; length of eye in dorsal view 0.8 times temple; length of malar space 1.5 times basal width of mandible and 0.6 times maximum width of eye. POL:OD:OOL = 9:13:26; vertex smooth; temple smooth, but reticulate near mandible; occipital carina complete and distinct; frons crest-shaped elevated, laterally rugose-punctate, medially smooth and more or less striate, with a strongly protruding median lamella; clypeus convex, dorsally reticulate-punctate and ventrally transversely striate; face coarsely reticulatepunctate.

Mesosoma. Mesosoma twice as long as high; pronope shallow and wide; side of pronotum coarsely crenulate, but medially smooth; notauli narrow and deep, crenulate and rugose-punctate posteriorly; scutellum anteriorly punctate and rugose-punctate posteriorly; prepectal carina complete; precoxal sulcus slightly depressed, densely punctate and remainder of mesopleuron smooth; mesoscutum punctate and shiny; scutellar sulcus smooth and medially with one carina; metanotum with a complete median carina; propodeum rugose-reticulate, basally smooth and with a short medial longitudinal carina anteriorly.

Wings. Fore wing: about 4 times as long as wide; 1-M curved smoothly; pterostigma 4.5 times as long as wide; r:3-SR:SR1 = 10:17:70; 2-SR:3-SR:r-m = 30:24:15; 1-M:m-cu = 39:22; SR1 straight; cu-a inclivous and interstitial; 1-CU1 absent; r-m vertical. Hind wing: 1-M as long as 1r-m; cu-a inclivous.

Legs. Length of femur, tibia and basitarsus of hind leg 3.7 (excluding tooth), 10.2 and 8.0 times their width, respectively; length of both outer and inner hind tibia spur 0.21 times basitarsus; hind femur largely rugose ventrally and with distinct tooth ventrally ( Fig. 6 E).

Metasoma. First tergite widened posteriorly, rugose-reticulate, posteriorly smooth and dorsal carinae distinct in basal 0.7 of tergite; length of first tergite 1.5 times its apical width; second tergite distinctly striate sublaterally, but medially and posteriorly smooth; ovipositor sheath 2.5 times as long as metasoma, 3.0 times as long as hind tibia, 3.5 times as long as mesosoma and 1.5 times as long as fore wing.

Colour. Black; palpi light yellow; fore and middle legs (except coxae) yellow; tegulum, fore and middle coxae, hind trochanters yellowish brown; antenna, pterostigma and hind femur, tibia and tarsus dark brown; wing membrane light brown; veins yellowish brown to brown.

Variation. Body length (excluding ovipositor sheath) 10–15 mm; fore wing length 8.8–11.5 mm. Antennal segments 39–44, POL about equal to maximum diameter of hind ocellus or somewhat longer; fourth (= last) segment of labial palp subapically, medially or subbasally inserted on small third segment; side of pronotum densely punctate or moderately punctulate dorsally and medially smooth or rugose. Metanotum with a complete median carina and several lateral crenulae; precoxal sulcus largely rugose, punctate or partly smooth; propodeum densely transversely rugose or sparsely rugose with some longitudinal elements. Second tergite of some females weakly striate baso-medially, but rather striate baso-laterally.

Male. Very similar to female. Body length 11–12 mm, fore wing length 9–11 mm. Antennal segments 46–47. In one male the first tergite coarsely rugose-punctate, medially somewhat depressed and in some males the first tergite weakly reticulate-punctate.

Material examined. 2♀ 2♂♂, China, Heilongjiang prov., Yichun, Daifeng , 10.VI.1956, Zhenhua Shi, No. 57104 (34) ; 1♂, China, Heilongjiang prov., Suihua , 15.VII.1977, Junhua He, No.771105 ; 1♀, Jilin prov., Changbai Mt. [= Mt. Baekdu ], VI.1966, Yancheng Zhang, No. 790017 ; 2♀♀, id., but 2 or 3.VIII.1980, No. 2 0 0 0 4059 & 20004060; 2♀♀ 2♂♂, China, Xinjiang prov., Qinghe , VI.1978, Wenliang Ma, No.780952(4) ; 1♂, China, Xinjiang prov., Kaxia , VI.1976, No.860155 (all ZJUH).

Comparative diagnosis. This species is very similar to H. dentator ( Fabricius, 1804) , but differs in having the hind leg largely dark brown (brownish yellow in H. dentator ), the hind femur moderately shiny and its ventral protuberance sculptured (strongly shiny and protuberance largely smooth).

Host. Reared from Tetropium castaneum (Linnaeus, 1758) ( Cerambycidae ; Yu et al., 2012).

Distribution. Mongolia, Russia (Far East), China (Heilongjiang, Jilin, Xinjiang). This species is new for China.

Notes. The name of H. dentipes Tobias, 1967 , has to be used according to ICZN Code (1999) art. 59.4, because the replacement name is dated after 1960 and the secondary homonymy does not exist anymore since Helconidea and Wroughtonia are recognized as separate genera.

Figures

FIGURE 6. Helconidea dentipes Tobias A, fore wing; B, hind wing; C, mesosoma, lateral aspect; D, first and second metasomal tergites, dorsal aspect; E, hind femur and tibia, lateral aspect; F, propodeum, medio-dorsal aspect; G, habitus, lateral aspect; H, head, lateral aspect; I, head, dorsal aspect.