Blacus (Blacus) tianmushanensis Lu, Chai, Achterberg, Tang & Chen, 2024, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Lu, Qian-Yu
name: Chai, Hong-Fei
name: Achterberg, Cornelis Van
name: Tang, Pu
name: Chen, Xue-Xin
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Braconidae
Blacus
Blacus tianmushanensis

description: Blacus (Blacus) tianmushanensis sp. nov.
(Figs 27–28)
Material examined. Holotype: ♀, China, Zhejiang, Tianmu Mtn, Chanyuan Temple, 16.V.1988, Lou Xiaoming, No. 883235 (ZJUH). Paratype: 1♀, China, Guizhou, Kuankuoshui Reserve, 2–3. VI.2010, Tang Pu, No. 201003140 (ZJUH).
Description. Female. Length of body 2.7 mm, length of fore wing 2.3 mm.
Head. Antennomeres 17, slender (Fig. 28C); length of first flagellomere 1.4 × length of second flagellomere; length of first, second and penultimate flagellomere 4.75, 3.5 and 1.8 × their width, respectively; maxillary palp 0.9 × height of head; occipital carina complete; frontal suture distinctly present; OOL: OD: POL = 24: 7: 12; length of eye in dorsal view 0.9 × length of temple; face distinctly rugose (Fig. 28B); malar suture absent, length of malar space 2.4 × basal width of mandible.
Mesosoma. Length of mesosoma 1.6 × its height; side of pronotum largely reticulate-rugose (Fig. 28E); precoxal sulcus complete, wide and reticulate-rugose (Fig. 28E); notauli complete, wide and distinctly crenulate (Fig. 28D); mesoscutal middle lobe sparsely pubescence, lateral lobes glabrous; scutellum rugose, its lateral carina complete, not protruding apically; propodeal tubercles absent; surface of propodeum reticulate-rugose, medial area present (Fig. 28G).
Wings. Fore wing: parastigma distinctly differentiated from vein C+SC+R, first discal cell nearly acute anteriorly; vein 3-SR+SR1 of fore wing straight; vein CUla of fore wing distinctly bent basally, distinctly below level of vein 2-CU1; 1-CU1: 2-CU1 = 1: 4; 2-M present and long (Fig. 28H).
Legs. Hind coxa with a carina dorsally; length of femur, tibia and basitarsus of hind leg 5.5, 10.0 and 9.4 × their width, respectively.
Metasoma. Length of first tergite 2.1 × its apical width, nearly parallel-sided, reticulate-rugose (Fig. 28G); remainder of tergites partly distinctly rugose (Fig. 28G); length of ovipositor sheath 2.4 × length of fore wing, 7.9 × length of hind femur, 5.45 × length of hind tibia (Fig. 28I).
Colour. Brown; half basal of antenna, mandible, palpi, tegulae, all legs and ovipositor yellow; first metasomal tergite yellowish-brown; wing membrane infuscated.
Variation. First discal cell of fore wing acute to narrowly truncate anteriorly; 1-CU1: 2-CU1 = 1: 4 to 1: 6; length of first metasomal tergite 1.9–2.1 × its apical width; hind femur, tibia and tarsus yellow to brown.
Male. Unknown.
Biology. Unknown.
Distribution. China (Zhejiang, Guizhou).
Etymology. The specific name tianmushanensis refers to the collection site of holotype, Tianmu Mtn.
Notes. The new species is similar to B. (B.) longicaudatus Tobias, 1976 because notauli are wide and distinctly crenulate, ovipositor sheath very long, parastigma distinctly differentiated from vein C+SC+R, vein CUla of fore wing distinctly bent basally, distinctly below level of vein, first metasomal tergite nearly parallel-sided, and vein 3-SR+SR1 of fore wing straight, but differs by having scutellum rugose (mainly smooth in B. (B.) longicaudatus), vein 2-M of fore wing comparatively long (comparatively short), medial area of propodeum present (absent), scutellar sulcus with about 4 carinae (about 7 carinae), antenna comparatively slender apically (less slender), length of ovipositor sheath 2.4 × length of fore wing (0.97 ×), and face distinctly rugose (superficially rugose).
This new species is also similar to B. (B.) rugifacialis sp. nov., but differs by having the body brown (black in B. (B.) rugifacialis), length of malar space 2.4 × basal width of mandible (2.0 ×), metasomal tergites partly distinctly rugose (slightly punctate), length of first metasomal tergite 1.9–2.1 × its apical width (1.7 ×), length of ovipositor sheath 2.4 × length of fore wing (1.5 ×) and approx. twice as long as body (approx. as long as body).
description: Published as part of Lu, Qian-Yu, Chai, Hong-Fei, Achterberg, Cornelis Van, Tang, Pu & Chen, Xue-Xin, 2024, The first report of subgenus Blacus Nees, 1819 (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Brachistinae) from China, pp. 501-535 in Zootaxa 5471 (5) on pages 530-532, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5471.5.1, http://zenodo.org/record/12207563