Dolichogenidea cinnarae Gupta et Lokhande et Soman, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Gupta, Ankita
name: Lokhande, Swapnil A.
name: Soman, Abhay
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2013
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Braconidae
Dolichogenidea
Dolichogenidea cinnarae

description: Dolichogenidea cinnarae Gupta et Lokhande et Soman sp. nov.   
(Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 & 8)  
 In July, Aug. and Sept., 2012, many caterpillars of B. cinnara were field collected in Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu and reared, and a new species of Dolichogenidea was reared from the host Borbo cinnara (Wallace). Borbo cinnara is known as minor pest of the economically important crop Oryza sativa L. (Asian rice) (Kunte, 2000).   
 Diagnosis: Dolichogenidea cinnarae sp. nov. is separated from all other congeners by following combination of characters: small size and hind tibia slightly shorter than ovipositor sheath. Fore wing with pterostigma length/ height = 1.49; 1CUa length/1CUb length = 0.88; first abscissa of radius (2r) meeting transverse cubitus (Rs) at an angle and 1CUb vein with a shallow curve. First metasomal tergal plate longer than wide, smooth and shiny; parallel sided. Second tergum wider than long; shorter than third tergum. Tergite (2+3) distal to the basal area smooth and shiny without any coarse sculpture. Ovipositor sheaths distinctly projecting beyond apex of gaster with well defined apical attenuation. Ovipositor sheaths long and hairy throughout; gently decurved; with well defined apical attenuation. Anterior third of mesopleuron punctate and setose, posteriorly and medially smooth and nitid except for punctate edges. Metapleuron generally smooth, anterior pit deep. Hind coxae laterally and dorsally with shallow punctures.   
 Description: Female. Summary of morphometric data of holotype is given in Table 1. Head and eyes densely setose; setae denser on vertex and clypeal region. Face and frons with medium pilosity and dense punctations; vertex with dense pilosity. Antenna with 16 flagellomeres. Head width = 0.26 mm; compound eye height = 0.13 mm; eye width = 0.06 mm; intertentorial pit distance = 0.03 mm; width of face at dorsal clypeal edge = 0.13 mm; scape L/W = 2.52; length of first flagellomere = 0.07 mm; width of first flagellomere = 0.03 mm; length of second flagellomere = 0.07 mm; width of second flagellomere = 0.03 mm; length of third flagellomere = 0.06 mm; width of third flagellomere = 0.03 mm; terminal flagellomere length = 0.09 mm; terminal flagellomere width = 0.04 mm; penultimate flagellomere length = 0.03 mm; penultimate flagellomere width = 0.02 mm; terminal flagellomere length/width = 1.66; malar space height = 0.05 mm; ocello-ocular distance (0.05)/lateral ocelli distance (0.04) = 1.25.   
Mesosoma: Mesosoma length = 0.36 mm; mesosoma length/width (0.3) = 1.2. Mesonotum with coarse punctate sculpture, punctures separated at distance more than its individual diameter; scuto-scutellar groove distinctly crenulate with 14 costulae; scutellum medial area essentially nitid with shallow punctures and setae near the edges, scutellum laterally with costulate sculpture which become narrower and elongated towards posterior edge; presence of shiny lateral edges beyond the costulate sculpture; posterior band of scutellum polished; metanotum subrectangular; propodeum with clearly defined wide, strong and shiny areola; costulae prominent; shallow scattered punctures on the apical half; spiracles large and oval. Hind tibia length = 0.24 mm; ovipositor sheath = 0.28 mm. Hind tibia 0.87× ovipositor sheath. Fore wing: pterostigma length (0.11)/height (0.08) = 1.4; 1RS length = 0.02 mm; 1CUa length (0.06)/1CUb length (0.07) = 0.86; length RS+Ma = 0.14 mm; length M+CU = 0.33 mm. Hind wing: 1M length = 0.15 mm; 1M length/M+CU length (0.12) = 1.25; length r-m (0.06)/length cu-a (0.07) = 0.85; 1A length = 0.11 mm.  
Metasoma: First metasomal tergal plate 1.6× longer than wide; smooth and shiny black; without coarse sculpture; parallel sided; few scattered punctures on apical half; second tergum wider than long; shorter than third. Tergite (2+3) distal to the basal area smooth and shiny without any coarse sculpture; considerably longer than the basal area itself. Ovipositor sheaths projecting considerably beyond the apex of gaster. Hind tibia slightly shorter than ovipositor sheath. Ovipositor sheaths long and hairy throughout; gently decurved. Metasoma length = 0.44 mm; ovipositor (exserted part) = 0.28 mm; hind femur = 0.22 mm; hind tibial length = 0.24 mm. First tergum length = 0.16 mm; first tergum basal width = 0.10 mm; first tergum apical width = 0.11 mm; first tergum median width = 0.10 mm; second tergum basal width = 0.11 mm; second tergum median length (0.04)/distal width (0.17) = 0.23; third tergum median length = 0.06 mm; fourth tergum median length = 0.04 mm; fifth tergum median length = 0.04 mm; sixth tergum median length = 0.05 mm; seventh tergum median length = 0.06 mm.  
 Color: Head black; scape blackish brown; pedicel dark brown; flagellomeres brownish black; ocelli brown; pale yellowish brown palps. Mesosoma black; tegula brownish black. Fore leg with coxa brown; rest yellowish brown. Mid leg with coxa brown; basal half of femur dark brown; brown infuscation more intense around lateral edges; rest yellowish brown. Hind coxa black; trochanter brownish yellow; femur brownish black (except 1/3rd apical and extreme basal tip pale); hind tibia yellowish brown (except dark brown 1/3rd apical half); tibial spur pale white; tarsus blackish brown. Tarsal claws blackish brown. Wings hyaline. Fore wing veins translucent except pterostigma yellowish brown; C+SC+R with dark brown color; metacarpus (R1) dark brown; hind wing veins translucent.   
Male: Body length = 0.707–0.881 mm. Similar to female in color and sculpture except for the genitalia.  
 Distribution: India (Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu).   
 Holotype: NBAII/Brac/Micro/Dolicho/50912, one female on card, 1.077 mm SL. Type locality: Powai, IIT- Bombay, Mumbai, India; 19.12°N 72.91°E, elevation 50 m (160 ft); 5.ix.2012, bred from parasitized larvae of Borbo cinnara (Wallace) (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae) (Figs. 10, 11, 12 & 13) on indeterminate Gramineae plant, coll. Swapnil Lokhande & Abhay Soman; holotype is deposited in the National Bureau of Agriculturally Important Insects (NBAII), Bangalore, India.   
 Paratypes: NBAII/Brac/Micro/Dolicho/50912 A–C, two females and one male, 3 specimens, 1.324 mm (female), 1.281 mm (female), and 0.881mm (male) SL, collected along with holotype. NBAII/Brac/Micro/Dolicho/ 70812 A, one female, 1.012 mm SL; NBAII/Brac/Micro/Dolicho/70812 B, one male, 0.707 mm SL, 7.viii.2012, bred from parasitized larvae of B. cinnara.   
 NBAII/Brac/Micro/Dolicho/16912 A–B, two females, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India; 13.08389°N 80.27000°E; sept. 2012, bred from parasitized larvae of Borbo cinnara (Wallace) (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae), collected by NBAII team. All types deposited in the National Bureau of Agriculturally Important Insects (NBAII), Bangalore, India.   
 Etymology: The specific name, ‘ cinnarae ’, is chosen after the host Borbo cinnara from which the type specimens were bred.   
 Comments. The new species, D. cinnarae comes close to Dolichogenidea kunhi Gupta & Kalesh (Figs. 5, 7 & 9) in some characters. The latter was discovered from Western Ghats, Kerala parasitic on caterpillar of Thoressa evershedi (Evans) (Gupta & Kalesh, 2012), a rare skipper endemic to southern Western Ghats, Kerala. It resembles D. kunhi in general body color as well coloration of legs and differs from it in having smaller size as well as marked smooth and shiny first metasomal tergal plate and hind tibia 0.87× ovipositor sheath. All other differences are summarised in Table 1.   
 This new species also runs close to a Chinese species, A. lissos Nixon, in key to the Indo-Australian species of the ultor- group of Apanteles Foerster (Nixon 1967). It resembles A. lissos in that both species have a smooth first tergite as well as the well defined apical attenuation of the ovipositor but differs in having a strong and prominent areola in the propodeum (Fig. 8) (vs. weak areolation of propodeum in A. lissos).
description: Published as part of Gupta, Ankita, Lokhande, Swapnil A. & Soman, Abhay, 2013, Parasitoids of Hesperiidae from peninsular India with description of a new species of Dolichogenidea (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) parasitic on caterpillar of Borbo cinnara (Wallace) (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae), pp. 277-290 in Zootaxa 3701 (2) on pages 278-283, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3701.2.8, http://zenodo.org/record/249275