Blacus (Blacus) huitepec Sanchez et Wharton, NEW SPECIES
Creators: name: Sánchez-García, José Antonio
name: Wharton, Robert Alan
name: Romero-Napoles, Jesús
name: Figueroa, José Isaac
name: López-Martínez, Víctor
name: Martínez, Ana Mabel
name: Pérez-Pacheco, Rafael
name: Pineda, Samuel
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2010
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Braconidae
Blacus
Blacus huitepec

description: Blacus (Blacus) huitepec Sánchez et Wharton, NEW SPECIES
(Figs 1 a–i)
Description. MALE. Body length: 2.77–2.85 mm. Color: dark brown; mandible, labrum, palpi, and legs yellowish; scape, tegula, coxa and metasoma after first tergite yellowish brown; rest of antenna, apical twothirds of hind tibiae, tarsi, parastigma and pterostigma brown.
Head: ovoid; vertex not convex; antenna stout; 21 antennal segments, third segment 1.29–1.50X longer than fourth, length of third, fourth and penultimate antennal segment 3.00, 2.00 and 1.33X their width respectively; last antennal segment without fusion of two segments; eye length 0.80X longer than temple; maximum width of head 1.50–1.67X its minimum width (dorsal view); frontal and malar sutures absent; malar space 1.33X longer than basal width of mandible; area in front of occipital carina crenulate; frons, vertex and clypeus smooth, with some isolated setae; face smooth, with some setae. Mesosoma: mesosoma length 1.45–1.57X its height; pronotum crenulate except dorsal area smooth; posterior margin of epicnemial carina crenulate; epicnemial area longitudinally reticulate rugose, as its precoxal sulcus; metapleural flange large; notauli crenulate; mesoscutal lobes smooth, slightly convex; scutellar sulcus wide, deep and crenulate; scutellum medially smooth with lateral carina distinct; propodeal tubercle large; propodeum reticulate rugose. Wings: forewing with parastigma large; r inclivous; 3RS weakly curved near the base; 1CUa 0.50–0.61X as long as 1CUb; r 0.21X as long as 3RS; 3RS 3.35X as long as 2RS; first discal cell anteriorly wide; forewing length 2.66–2.76 mm; hind wing with vein cu-a present. Legs: length of femur, tibia and basitarsus of hind leg 5.29–5.83, 9.00–9.30 and 9.00X its width, respectively; hind femur granular; hind tibia not narrowed basally; hind coxa dorsally rugose; arolia large. Metasoma: length of first tergite 2.33–2.55X its apical width, dorsal carinae distinct throughout its length. Genitalia: aedeagus with two apical lobes, bordered by a pavilion with hairs, a medial deep channel and apical striae; gonoforceps curved and more or less rounded apically, with elongate setae medially over apical 0.3 and at apex; digitus with four elongated teeth; cuspis swollen and with small spines, lamina volsellaris with several setae.
FEMALE. Similar to male, a little more robust; length of body 2.85–3.42 mm; forewing length 2.66–2.95 mm; antenna more robust and shorter than male, with most segments wider than in male; third antennal segment 1.12–1.5X as long as fourth antennal segment; length of third and fourth antennal segment 2.3–3.0 and 1.50–2.0X its width respectively; penultimate antennal segment wide as long; 17 antennal segments; propodeal tubercles larger and pointed; length of first tergite 2.0X its apical width; ovipositor sheath 0.32– 0.39X longer than forewing length; ovipositor straight.
Hosts. unknown.
Material examined. Holotype ɗ MEXICO, Chiapas. San Cristóbal de las Casas, Cerro Huitepec, 27-X- 1995, Malaise trap, B. Gómez G. Allotype Ψ same locality as holotype, 2-14-VII-1987, 7440 ft, #97/073 Woolley and González. Paratypes: MEXICO, Chiapas: San Cristóbal de las Casas: 1 Ψ 2-VI-1969, 7200 ft, Malaise trap; 1ɗ, 1Ψ same data as holotype; 1Ψ same locality 2-14-VIII- 1987. 7860 ft, #97/068, Malaise trap, Woolley and González; 1 Ψ same locality 24-VIII-5-IX-1990, 2500 msnm, cloud forest, Malaise trap, R. Jones; 4 ɗ, 1 Ψ same locality 20-IX-1995, Malaise trap, B. Gómez and M. Girón; 2 ɗ same locality 5-X-1995, Malaise trap, Gómez and Girón; 1 Ψ same locality 10-X-1995, Malaise trap, Gómez and Girón; 3 ɗ, 6 Ψ same locality 19-X-1995, Malaise trap, Gómez and Girón; 2 ɗ same locality 3-XI-1995, Malaise trap, Gómez and Girón; 1 ɗ same locality 10-XI-1995 Gómez and Girón; 1 Ψ San Felipe, 4 km W San Cristóbal de las Casas, 10-13-VIII-1990, Woolley. Michoacán: Municipio Ciudad Hidalgo: 1 Ψ: Los Azufres, 19°45’471’’ N and 100°41’339 W, 2561 msnm, 15-XI-2008, L. Flores and J.I. Figueroa. Holotype and allotype deposited in TAMU. Paratypes deposited in TAMU, CNC, CIBE-UANL, JAS and IIAF-UMSNH.
Etymology. The specific name is a noun in apposition to Blacus and is chosen because of the locality where it was collected, Huitepec, Chiapas.
Distribution records. MEXICO (Chiapas, Michoacán).
Comments. This species is most similar to B. paganus Haliday and B. caduceus Achterberg, and runs to the couplet containing these two species in the key to New World species of Blacus (Blacus) in Achterberg (1988:53–55). The three species are distingued by the following modified key:
13 Length of first metasomal tergite of female 2.00X its apical width; hind basitarsus length 9.00X its width ........... ............................................................................................................................. Blacus (Blacus) huitepec sp. nov. - Length of first metasomal tergite of female 1.40–1.70X apical width; hind basitarsus length 3.9–6.0X its width. .............................................................................................................................................................................. 14 14(13) Length of ovipositor sheath 0.33–0.46X fore wing; length of third antennal segment about 1.5X fourth segment; basal 0.25–0.50 of antenna of female yellowish, of male only three basal segments yellowish .............................. ....................................................................................................................... Blacus (Blacus) caduceus Achterberg - Length of ovipositor sheath 0.22–0.24X fore wing; length of third antennal segment 1.00-1.20X fourth segment; antenna largely dark brown ................................................................................. Blacus (Blacus) paganus Haliday
description: Published as part of Sánchez-García, José Antonio, Wharton, Robert Alan, Romero-Napoles, Jesús, Figueroa, José Isaac, López-Martínez, Víctor, Martínez, Ana Mabel, Pérez-Pacheco, Rafael & Pineda, Samuel, 2010, Four new species of Blacus Nees (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Blacinae) from Mexico, pp. 37-46 in Zootaxa 2641 on pages 38-40, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.276166