Trathala orchestotrichias Rousse, Villemant et Seyrig

Rousse, Pascal, Villemant, Claire & Seyrig, Andre, 2011, Ichneumonid wasps from Madagascar. V. Ichneumonidae Cremastinae, Zootaxa 3118, pp. 1-30 : 29

Trathala orchestotrichias Rousse, Villemant et Seyrig sp. nov.

( Figs. 13 e–f)

Diagnosis. Trathala orchestotrichias is characterized by its ventrally bilobed postpectal carina, and the rather dense silver pilosity covering the face, clypeus, mandible and dorsal part of the mesosoma .

Description. FEMALE. L: 4.2.

Head. Constricted behind eyes. Temples very short and rounded. Centre of face, frontal orbits and vertex, densely punctate-shagreened. Clypeus smoother and more sparsely punctate. Face distinctly bulging medially. Clypeus transverse (Ci = 1.8) with lamellar apical margin. Ventral part of occipital carina distinctly lamellar. Mandibles stout, malar space short (MLMi = 0.6). Face, clypeus, mandibles and lateral margins of frons with moderately dense silver pilosity, longer on lower part of the head. Ocellar area forming a wide obtuse triangle. Lateral ocelli more distant from each other than from eye margin (IOi = 1.3; OOi = 1). Antenna with 34 flagellomeres.

Mesosoma . Densely punctate-shagreened with silver pilosity. Pronotum almost smooth centrally with basal shallowly striation. Notaulus shallow but distinct, reaching beyond middle of mesoscutum, transversally wrinkled. Mesopleuron with oblique striation in front of the smooth speculum. Scutellum with lateral carinae, its lateral margin transversally wrinkled. Postscutellum angled, its dorsal face almost flat and longitudinally ribbed. Epicnemial and postpectal carinae distinctly rising ventrally, postpectal carina in a vertical lamella bilobed medially. Propodeal carinae rather thick. Area basalis truncate, area superomedia almost as long as wide, area petiolaris more than three times longer than superomedia. Hind femur and tibia enlarged.

Metasoma. Tergite I longer than propodeum, glymma long and wide. Postpetiole aciculate, smoother in the middle. Tergite II finely longitudinally striate. Ovipositor moderately long (OTi = 1.5), slightly downcurved.

Color. Predominantly rufo-testaceous. Head pale yellow with antenna, center of frons, vertex occiput, posterior margin of genae and apex of mandibles black-brown. Center of face rufo-testaceous. Tegula yellow. Legs rufo-testaceous, femora with apical yellow spot, hind trochanter yellow apically, base of hind trochanter and hind tibia, hind tarsus, infuscate. Tergite I–II and ovipositor sheath black-brown. Wings hyaline, pterostigma brown.

MALE. L: 3.9–4.2 (2 specimens) Similar to female. Ocelli larger (IOi = 1, OOi = 0.6). Scape and pedicel yellow ventrally.

Etymology. Refers to the pilose face and the tutu-like postpectal carina, from the Greek words “ορχεστη” and “ριχιασ” which could be literally translated into “bearded ballerina”.

Distribution records. Madagascar (Toliara and Toamasina provinces).

Type material. HOLOTYPE Ƥ ( MNHN EY 3552) “ Madagascar, Behara”, February 1938. PARATYPES 23 ( MNHN EY 6193–94) Ivondro, January 1939, May 1940.

Figures

FIGURE 13. a – b: Trathala flavoorbitalis (Cameron); c – d: Trathala mimouna sp. nov. e – f: Trathala orchestotrichias sp. nov. (left: habitus, right: face).