Aleiodes subpallidator Edmardash & Gadallah 2022, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Abu El-Ghiet, Usama M.
name: Edmardash, Yusuf A.
name: Gadallah, Neveen S.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2022
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Braconidae
Aleiodes
Aleiodes subpallidator

description: Aleiodes subpallidator Edmardash & Gadallah sp. nov.
Figs 15 A, B, 16 A–D, 17 A–E urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: FABD3356-A9CD-4B1A-B2DC-D1C389A9CDF1
Type material: Holotype, ♀ (EFC), Saudi Arabia (Farasan Archipelago, Al-Sajid), 16.86026N, 41.932564E, 17.xi.2017, light trap, leg. Usama Abu El-Ghiet & Tarek M. El-Sheikh.
Diagnosis. Head (except black stemmaticum), mesosoma and posterior end of metasoma brownish in colour (Figs 15A, B, 17D); scapus slightly, but distinctly oblique apically, longer dorsally than ventrally (Fig. 16A); OOL about as long as diameter of posterior ocellus; occipital carina well seen ventrally, weak dorsally, reaching hypostomal carina; notauli absent on mesoscutum (Fig. 16D); vein 2–CU1 of fore wing 2.9 × as long as 1–CU1 (Fig. 17A); vein 1–SR very short, connected with vein 1–M at the same level (Fig. 17A), vein 1–M slightly curved posteriorly (Fig. 17A); metasomal T4 superficially granulate to nearly smooth (Fig. 17D); fore wing 2.8mm; malar space 0.2 × height of eye (Fig. 16A); marginal cell of hind wing parallel-sided apically (Fig. 17B); metatibia with inner comb of blunt bristles apically (Fig. 17C).
Description. Holotype, ♀, length of body 3.5 mm; length of fore wing 2.8 mm.
Colour (Figs 15A, B, 16B). Head and mesosoma (except propodeum), as well as end tergites brownish, propodeum and legs straw yellow; tegula pale yellow; stemmaticum black; wings (Figs 17A, B) hyaline, with pale brownish to yellowish veins, pterostigma bright yellow; antenna yellow, with apical half of flagellum brownish (apices broken).
Head (Figs 16A–C).Antennae with broken flagella, scapus oblique apically, longer dorsally than ventrally; face superficially punctulate, shiny; OOL about as long as posterior ocellus diameter, finely rugose; vertex granulaterugose; clypeus somewhat convex, small, finely coriaceous, ventral margin concave; width of hypoclypeal depression 0.3× minimal width of face; face very finely granulate; occipital carina complete, but weak dorsally, meeting hypostomal carina ventrally; clypeus located slightly above lower level of eye; malar space 0.2× as long as height of eye laterally; eye distinctly bulged, with slight, but distinct emergination at uppermost part of inner orbits.
Mesosoma (Fig. 16D). Mesoscutum very finely coriaceous throughout, notauli absent, posterior margin straight; mesopleuron and metapleuron very finely coriaceous-rugose throughout, rather shiny; scutellum somewhat convex, finely and superficially dotted to coriaceous, without lateral carina; propodeum finely rugose, with a complete median longitudinal carina.
Wings (Figs 17A, B). Fore wing: vein r 0.45× vein 3SR; 1–CU1 slightly oblique, 0.34× as long as 2–CU1; vein r–m 0.54× vein 2–SR, and 0.34× vein 3–SR; SMC2 elongate, trapezoidal; vein 1–SR short, straight with 1–M; cu–a rather oblique, somewhat reduced ventrally; vein CU1a distinctly curved at base; vein 1–M slightly curved posteriorly. Hind wing: apical half of marginal cell parallel-sided; vein 2–SC+R very short; vein m-cu greatly reduced, as being just an unpigmented fold; M+CU 1.77× as long as 1–M; 1r–m 0.5× 1–M.
Legs (Figs 15A, B, 17C). Claws simple, setose; hind coxa superficially coriaceous; femora thin and slender; hind trochantellus 2.9× as long as ventrally as apical width; metatibia with an inner transparent comb of blunt bristles apically; inner metatibia spur 0.18× as long as hind basitarsus; two metatibia spurs nearly equal in size.
Metasoma (Figs 17D, E). Metasomal T1 0.84× as long as its posterior width, flattened and lamellate laterally; T1, T2 and base of T3 finely longitudinally rugose, T1 and T2 with strong longitudinal median carina; mediobasal smooth area of T2 absent; remainder of metasomal tergites superficially coriaceous to nearly smooth. Lateral sides of metasomal tergites with fine, short whitish setae. Ovipositor sheath short, slender, tapering at end, nearly smooth.
Distribution. So far Saudi Arabia (Farasan Islands, Jazan).
Remarks. The new species closely resembles Aleiodes pallidator (Thunberg) (based on the description of van Achterberg & Shaw, 2016), but differs from A. pallidator in the following combination of characters: notauli completely absent (Fig. 17D) (in A. pallidator notauli present, narrow, shallow and crenulate (Fig. 15C)); inner apex of metatibia with comb of transparent, blunt bristles (Fig. 17C) (in A. pallidator inner apex of metatibia without comb of bristles); ovipositor sheath not densely setose, very short (hardly seen in lateral view), tapering apically (Fig. 17E) (in A. pallidator ovipositor sheath densely setose, well-seen in lateral view, rounded apically).
Measurements of fore wing veins (Fig. 17A): vein r 0.45× vein 3–SR (0.3× in A. pallidator); 1–CU1 slightly oblique (horizontal in A. pallidator); vein r–m 0.54× vein 2–SR (0.7× in A. pallidator), and 0.34× vein 3–SR (0.4× in A. pallidator); vein 1–SR short, straight with 1–M (angled with 1–M in A. pallidator); cu–a rather oblique, somewhat reduced ventrally; vein CU1a distinctly curved at base; vein 1–M slightly curved posteriorly.
Etymology. The name subpallidator is named with reference to the similarity of this species to Aleiodes pallidator.
description: Published as part of Abu El-Ghiet, Usama M., Edmardash, Yusuf A. & Gadallah, Neveen S., 2022, New species and records of braconid wasps from Farasan Archipelago (Jazan) Saudi Arabia, with notes on Diolcogaster mayae Shestakov, pp. 49-79 in Zootaxa 5104 (1) on pages 72-76, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5104.1.3, http://zenodo.org/record/6257841