Testudobracon imitator Mai & Long & Hiep & Hoa & Duong 2023, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Mai, Pham Quynh
name: Long, Khuat Dang
name: Hiep, Nguyen Duc
name: Hoa, Dang Thi
name: Duong, Tran Dinh
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2023
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Braconidae
Testudobracon
Testudobracon imitator

description: Testudobracon imitator Long, sp. nov.
Figures 5–6
Material examined. “ Bracn. 1034 ” (IEBR), NW Vietnam: Hoa Binh, Mai Chau, Tan Son, orchard, MT, 20°43’10.3’’N 104°59’47’’E, 950 m, 10–15.vi.2010, KD Long.
Description. Holotype, female, length 3.0 mm; antennae 2.9 mm; fore wing 2.6 mm; ovipositor sheath 1.4 mm (Fig. 5).
Head. Antenna with 23 flagellomeres; length of first flagellomere 1.2 × as long as second flagellomere; first, second and penultimate flagellomeres 2.0, 2.0 and 2.0 × as long as wide; head 1.5 and 1.9 × as wide as long medially in anterior and dorsal view, respectively; OOL: OD: POL = 6: 3: 3 (Fig. 6a); oculo-antennal groove indistinct; length of eye 4.0 × as long as temple in dorsal view; height of eye: width of face: width of head = 15: 15: 34; height of clypeus: inter-tentorial distance: tentorio-ocular distance = 2: 7: 4; clypeus with distinct postero-dorsal carina (Fig. 6b); length of malar space 1.5 × basal width of mandible. Face, frons and vertex anteriorly finely rugose; occiput irregularly rugose; temple almost smooth.
Mesosoma. Length of mesosoma 1.2 × its height (Fig. 6g); mesoscutum rugo-punctate, middle lobe with indistinct medial longitudinal ridge (Fig. 6d); notauli complete, anteriorly with depressed area, wide posteriorly, meeting scutellar sulcus scutellar sulcus rather wide, deep, with 6 carinae (Fig. 6d); scutellum convex, smooth; mesopleuron with a deep oval pit medially (Fig. 6g); mesopleuron rugo-punctate, but smooth posterior-ventrally; metapleuron rugo-punctate; groove between metapleuron and propodeum wide and deep; propodeum with a complete mid- longitudinal carina, largely smooth medio-posteriorly, rugo-striate antero-laterally.
Wings. Length of pterostigma 2.4 × its maximum width; fore wing vein 1-SR 0.3 × as long as 1-M; ration of length of fore wing veins r: 3-SR: SR1 = 6: 12: 32 and 2-SR: 3-SR: r-m = 10: 12: 5; second submarginal cell rather long, slightly narrowed distally (Fig. 6h). Hind wing vein C+SC+R with straight hamulus and vein R1 with 3 curved hamuli apically; ratio of length of hind wing veins 1r-m: SC+R1 = 6: 9.
Legs. Length of fore femur: tibia: tarsus = 19: 18: 21; hind coxa smooth, setose; length of hind femur: tibia: basitarsus = 25: 30: 11.
Metasoma. First metasomal tergite rugose, 0.8 × as long as wide apically with a longitudinally impressed area medially; second metasomal tergite basally 2.1 × wider than long with sublateral crenulate grooves, rugose, setose (Fig. 6f); second metasomal tergite 0.8 × as long as third tergite medially; second metasomal tergite rugulose medially, irregularly rugose laterally; third tergite confused rugulose (Fig. 6f); fourth–sixth tergites finely rugose medially, irregularly rugose laterally; sixth metasomal tergite with rounded postero-lateral lobes (Fig. 6e); medial emargination deep, touching suture between T5 and T6 (Fig. 6c) 1.6 × as wide as height medially; ovipositor 0.9 × metasoma in lateral view, and 0.5 × as long as fore wing.
Colour. Antenna brown; head yellow, except stemmaticum and occiput dark brown; pronotum mesonotum yellow; mesopleuron ventrally and propodeum brown; fore and middle legs yellow, except telotarsus yellowish brown; hind coxa brown; hind femur and hind tibia apically brown, except hind femur apically and basally, hind tibia basally yellow; hind trochanters and trochantellus, hind tarsus yellow, except telotarsus brown; wing veins yellowish brown; metasomal tergites 1–3 yellow, except 2nd–3rd tergites medially dark brown; 4th–6th tergites pale yellow dorsally; postero-lateral lobes of 3rd–5th tergites, 4th metasomal sutures yellowish brown; ovipositor sheath brown; ovipositor yellow.
Male. Unknown.
Distribution. NW Vietnam (Hoa Binh).
Biology. Unknown.
Etymology. From “imitor” Latin meaning “copy, mimic”, because the new species is similar to Testudobracon descensus, sp. nov. by having ovipositor abruptly bent downward subapically.
Notes. Testudobracon imitator sp. nov. is close to T. athashi Ranjith, from India but differs from the latter by following characters: 1) Ovipositor 0.9 × metasoma (0.6 × in T. athashi); 2) Vein 3-SR of fore wing distinctly longer vein (1.4 ×) vein 2-SR (in T. athashi vein 3-SR subequal to vein 2-SR; and 3) Propodeum, hind coxa and lateral lobes of third–fifth metasomal tergites blackish brown (propodeum, hind coxa yellow in T. athashi); T. imitator, sp. nov. is also close to T. tatyanae Quicke & Ingram, from Australia, but differs from the latter by the following characters: 1) Second-third metasomal tergites with acute postero-lateral lobes (rounded postero-lateral lobes in T. tatyanae); 2) Notauli deep and wide posteriorly, sparsely cranulate; and 3) Third metasomal tergite 2.8 × wider than long (2.25 × in T. tatyanae).
description: Published as part of Mai, Pham Quynh, Long, Khuat Dang, Hiep, Nguyen Duc, Hoa, Dang Thi & Duong, Tran Dinh, 2023, First record of the genus Testudobracon Quicke, 1986 (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Braconinae) in Vietnam, with description of four new species, pp. 485-500 in Zootaxa 5244 (5) on pages 492-495, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5244.5.5, http://zenodo.org/record/7663880