Soparia oshensis Nastasi, 2024

Nastasi, Louis F. & Deans, Andrew R., 2024, New herb gall wasps (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae: Aulacideini) from Kyrgyzstan, with description of a new genus and a review of the genus Panteliella Kieffer, 1901, Zootaxa 5537 (4), pp. 511-526 : 514

Soparia oshensis Nastasi sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:426D77D5-6402-4639-BD3A-9D3A4A8EA675

( Figs. 1–6 )

Material examined. Holotype female: INHS Insect Collection 288148. Kyrgyzstan: Osh Region, Chon-Byuleolyu Ravine , 40°10′25″ N, 73°37′23″ E (approximately 40.174, 73.623 in decimal degrees). 2050m elevation. Collected 7 July 2000, by vacuum. Field code 00-087-01. C. H. Dietrich coll.

Etymology. The specific epithet refers to the type locality in the Osh Region of Kyrgyzstan. Noun in apposition.

Description of female ( Fig. 1 ). Body 2.0 mm in length. Coloration of head and mesosoma more or less entirely black; metasoma reddish brown. Mandibles reddish brown. Antennae reddish brown, with scape and pedicel much darker than following antennomeres. Wings hyaline; veins brown. Legs yellow except coxae and femora brown proximally to yellow distally and apical tarsomeres brown.

Head ( Fig. 2 ). In dorsal view 1.8× as wide as long; in anterior view slightly subtrapezoidal, 1.2× as wide as tall. Sculpture excluding facial radiating striae coriaceous to reticulate throughout. POL:LOL:OOL:DLO in holotype measuring 12:6:9:4. Toruli situated about mid-height of eyes. Malar space about 0.5× as long as compound eye in anterior view. Facial radiating striae complete, conspicuously impressed and reaching from clypeus to ventral eye margin. Clypeus large, trapezoidal, and moderately projecting ventrally over base of mandibles, with clypeo-pleurostomal lines divergent ventrally. Genae only slightly expanded posterior to eyes.

Antennae ( Fig. 1 ). With 13 antennomeres, about two thirds as long as body length. Conspicuous placodeal sensilla present on F2 and following flagellomeres. F1 2.5× as long as wide. F2 2.8× as long as wide; about 1.3× as long as F1. Apical flagellomere 3.0× as long as wide.

Mesosoma ( Figs. 3–5 ). Moderately convex in lateral view. Pronotum coriaceous to reticulate, with medial height about 0.3× height of lateral margin. Submedial pronotal pits transverse, deep, and clearly separated. Pronotal plate incomplete, with lateral sutures terminating long before reaching dorsal margin. Mesopleuron including speculum entirely striate-reticulate, with sculpture primarily reticulate but with conspicuous striae intermediate to cells of reticulate sculpture. Mesopleural triangle conspicuously impressed, with dense setae throughout. Mesoscutum strongly reticulate throughout, with sparse, scattered setae. Notauli incomplete, narrow, and poorly impressed, most apparent in posterior half of mesoscutum. Median mesoscutal impression conspicuous, strongly impressed in posterior third of mesoscutum. Mesoscutellar disc reticulate anteriorly and medially to rugose-reticulate around outer margins. Mesoscutellar foveae ovate-subtriangular; relatively long, occupying about anterior third of mesoscutellar disc; posterior margins poorly defined but distinctly divergent; without setae; smooth to reticulate within margins; separated by a broad subtriangular area. Metapleural sulcus meeting mesopleuron in dorsalmost third. Metapleuron coriaceous to rugose, more or less densely setose throughout. Propodeal carinae conspicuous, apparent as paired subparallel lateral carinae.

Wings ( Fig. 6 ). Marginal cell of fore wing closed, 2.8× as long as wide; areolet conspicuous but veins weakly sclerotized. Distal margins with conspicuous marginal setae.

Metasoma ( Fig. 1 ). Subequal to combined length of head and mesosoma. Second metasomal tergite with conspicuous anteromedial setose patch. Third and following metasomal tergites with dense micropunctation throughout.

Male unknown.

Biology. Host unknown. Based on morphological similarities to other known Aulacideini (see diagnosis for Soparia ), S. oshensis is probably associated with a plant in the families Asteraceae or Lamiaceae .

Distribution. Known only from Kyrgyzstan's Osh Region.

Remarks. While S. oshensis might at first seem to be an atypical species of Aulacidea due to the closed marginal cell and the presence of a setose patch on the second metasomal tergite, the striate-reticulate mesopleuron more closely resembles taxa in the aulacideine clade containing Antistrophus , Liposthenes , and related genera rather than taxa in the Aulacidea-Isocolus clade (see phylogeny in Ronquist et al. 2015). Regardless, Soparia does not fit within any currently defined genus in Aulacideini , including the current heterogeneous circumscriptions of Aulacidea , Isocolus , or Antistrophus ( Melika 2006, Nieves-Aldrey 2022, Nastasi et al. 2024a, 2024b), thus requiring the establishment of a new genus.

Figures

FIGURES 1–6. Soparia oshensis Nastasi gen. and sp. nov. All images show holotype female INHS Insect Collection 288148. (1) Lateral habitus. (2) Head in anterior view; dotted line indicates ventral margin of clypeus. (3) Mesoscutum in dorsal view. (4) Scutellum in dorsal view. (5) Mesopleuron in lateral view. (6) Wings.