Phaenocarpa platychora Zhu, Achterberg & Chen, 2017, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Zhu, Jiachen
name: Achterberg, Cornelis Van
name: Chen, Xue-Xin
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2017
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Braconidae
Phaenocarpa
Phaenocarpa platychora

description: Phaenocarpa platychora sp. nov.
Figs 4–5
Type material. Holotype, ♀ (ZJUH), “ [SE. China:] Guizhou, Leigongshan forest, [48°16’E 18°56’S, 950 m], 10.v.1984, Jingxian Liu ”. Paratypes (10♀ 3♂): 3♀ (ZJUH, RMNH), “[SE. China:] Zhejiang, Mt. Longwang, Anji, 26.vi.1996, Weichun Zhao ”; 2♀ 1♂ (ZJUH), id., but 24.vi.1996, Qiang Li; 1♀ (ZJUH), id., but Junhua He; 1♀ 2♂ (ZJUH, RMNH), id., but 25.vi.1996; 1♀ (ZJUH), id., 19.vi.1983, Mt. Tianmu; 1♀ (ZJUH), id., but 6.vi.1989, Xuexin Chen; 1♀ (ZJUH), id., 16-18.vi.1988.
Description. Holotype, ♀, length of body 4.5 mm, of fore wing 5.1 mm.
Head. Robust (Figs 4 A, 5I), width of head 1.7 × its lateral length; antenna incomplete, with 30 remaining segments, segments with few long bristly setae and basal segments mainly glabrous and smooth, length of third segment 0.8 × as long as fourth segment, length of third and fourth segments 2.8 and 4.4 × their width, respectively (Fig. 5 M); length of maxillary palp 1.4 × height of head; eye in dorsal view 1.2 × as long as temple (Fig. 5 I); eye in lateral view about as high as wide; vertex strongly convex and dorsally glabrous (Fig. 5 I); OOL:diameter of ocellus:POL= 17:5:4; face as high as wide, rather evenly convex, with oblique crenulate groove from antennal socket to eye (Fig. 5 H), with some long setae and between sparse punctures smooth; clypeus small, rather flat, semicircular (Fig. 5 H); length of malar space 0.13 × basal width of mandible; mandible moderately widened dorsally, dorsal teeth large and lobe-shaped (Fig. 5 L), lateral teeth rather small and lobe-shaped (Fig. 5 K), middle tooth curved and stout; medial length of mandible 1.9 × its maximum width (Fig. 5 K).
Mesosoma. Length of mesosoma 1.5 × its height; pronope round, medium-sized; side of pronotum smooth except for a few indistinct crenulae medio-anteriorly and posteriorly (Fig. 5 I); mesoscutum without lateral carina in front of tegulae (Fig. 5 C); epicnemial area smooth except for a few ventral crenulae; precoxal sulcus rather narrow, with distinct short crenulae medially, but anteriorly and posteriorly absent; remainder of mesopleuron smooth and glabrous; pleural sulcus finely crenulate; episternal scrobe small, connected by a furrow to pleural sulcus; metapleuron smooth except some ventral rugae, with long setae and a round large pit anteriorly; notauli only anteriorly slightly impressed on disc, smooth and narrow and medio-posteriorly with deep longitudinal depression; mesoscutum glabrous and strongly shiny; scutellar sulcus deep and wide, with one long and 5 short longitudinal carinae and lateral part 1.3 × wider than its maximum length; scutellum rather flat and wide (Fig. 5 D); surface of propodeum areolate, with rather long median carina, its medial areola narrowed ventrally.
Wings (Figs 5 A, 5B). r:3-SR:SR1 = 3:24:60; SR1, 1-SR+M and 2-SR nearly straight; r 0.45 × width of pterostigma; cu-a postfurcal, short and straight; 1-CU1:2-CU1 = 5:11; 3-CU1 horizontal and much shorter than CU1b; 2-SR:3-SR:r-m = 13:15:5; m-cu narrowly antefurcal, slightly curved and slightly converging to 1-M posteriorly; first subdiscal cell 2.5 × as long as wide; M+CU1 largely sclerotised. Hind wing: M+CU:1-M:1r-m = 21:25:20; m-cu absent.
Legs. Hind coxa smooth, without ventro-basal tubercle; tarsal claws rather robust and longer than arolium (Fig. 5 N); length of femur, tibia and basitarsus of hind leg 4.6, 10.6 and 4.7 × their width, respectively; length of hind tibial spurs 0.24 and 0.27 × its basitarsus; ventro-apical appendage of first-fourth hind tarsal segments absent (Fig. 5 N).
Metasoma. Length of first tergite 1.1 × its apical width, its surface distinctly longitudinally striate, its dorsal carinae separated at level of spiracles, medially convex (Fig. 5 E); laterope medium-sized; dorsope rather large (Fig. 5 E); setose part of ovipositor sheath 0.36 × as long as fore wing (total visible sheath 0.4 ×), flattened and setose basally and 1.1 × as long as hind tibia.
Colour (Fig. 4 A). Black; pronotum ventrally, propleuron, mesosoma and scutellum orange brown; antenna, dorsal spot of hind femur, hind tibia (except basally) and basitarsus, and metasoma (except yellowish sternites) dark brown; mandible, tegulae, remainder of legs and palpi mainly pale yellowish; pterostigma and veins brown; wing membrane slightly infuscated.
Variation. Body length: 4.1–5.2 mm, length of fore wing 4.8–5.8 mm, width of head 1.5–1.7 × its lateral length; antennal segments of ♀ 43 (1), 45 (1), 46 (3), 47 (1). Males are similar to females; antennal segments of ♂ 45 (1), 46 (2) segments.
Comparative diagnosis. The new species runs in the key to Chinese species by Chen & Wu (1994) to P. laticellula Papp, 1968. The new species has the vein emitted distinctly behind middle of pterostigma (versus submedially in P. laticellula), vein 1-CU1 of fore wing longer than vein cu-a (versus shorter than vein cu-a), first metasomal tergite dark brown (versus brownish yellow), antenna with more than 30 segments (versus 23-26 segments), hind wing and its marginal cell wide (versus narrow wing and marginal cell) and hind tibia dark brown except basally (versus yellow). In the key to the Oriental species by Papp (1967) it runs to P. flavipes (Haliday, 1838). The new species has a deep incision between first and second teeth of the mandible (versus incision absent in P. flavipes), hind wing and its marginal cell wide (versus narrow wing and marginal cell) and hind tibia dark brown except its ivory base (versus yellow). In the key to the East Palaearctic species by Belokobylskij (1998), it runs to P. tiliae Tobias, 1986. The new species differs by having vein r emitted distinctly behind middle of pterostigma (versus emitted near middle of pterostigma in P. tiliae), second submarginal cell of fore wing short and wide (versus long and comparatively narrow), first metasomal tergite about as long as wide apically (versus about 1.5 × longer), vein 1-CU1 of fore wing longer than vein cu-a (versus about subequal), ovipositor sheath 1.2 × as long as hind tibia (versus 1.7 ×) and first subdiscal cell of fore wing robust (versus slender).
Etymology. After “platys” (Greek for “wide, broad”) and “chora” (Greek for “room, space”) because of the wide marginal cell of the hind wing and the wide and short second submarginal cell of the fore wing.
description: Published as part of Zhu, Jiachen, Achterberg, Cornelis Van & Chen, Xue-Xin, 2017, A new genus and subgenus of Alysiini from China, with the description of two new species (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Alysiinae), pp. 360-370 in Zootaxa 4272 (3) on pages 366-369, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4272.3.2, http://zenodo.org/record/892486