Microleptes tehriensis Ranjith & Humala 2024, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Ranjith, Avunjikkattu P.
name: Humala, Andrei E.
name: Priyadarsanan, Dharma Rajan
name: Butcher, Buntika A.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Ichneumonidae
Microleptes
Microleptes tehriensis

description: Microleptes tehriensis Ranjith & Humala sp. nov.
Figs 9, 10
Material examined.
Holotype • male India: Uttarakhand, Tehri, 10.viii.2019, coll. P. Girish Kumar (ZSIK) Regd. No. ZSI/WGRC/IR/INV.27409. Paratypes, 8 males with same data as holotype (AIMB).
Description.
Holotype, male. Body length 4.5 mm, fore wing length 3.7 mm.
Head. Head 1.2 × as wide as long in anterior view (Fig. 9 B) and 1.5 × as wide as long in dorsal view (Fig. 9 C); face flat, punctate, elevated anteriorly below antennal sockets, forming an acute protrusion, setose, 1.8 × as wide as long (Fig. 9 A, B, D); clypeus transverse, smooth, with lower margin slightly convex (Fig. 9 B); tentorial pits round (Fig. 9 B); malar space distinctly long, 1.7 × basal width of mandible, with subocular sulcus (Fig. 9 B, D); mandible broad with single broad tooth (Fig. 9 B); lateral temples smooth, setose (Fig. 9 D); frons and vertex smooth and sparsely setose (Fig. 9 C); eye glabrous, 1.4 × as long as temple in dorsal view (Fig. 9 B, C); OOL: diameter of lateral ocellus: POL = 1.4: 1.1: 1.0; antenna with 17 flagellomeres; all flagellomeres longer than wide (Fig. 9 A); flagellomeres 1–2 with tyloids as longitudinal carinae; first flagellomere 0.7 × as long as second flagellomere, 2.4 × as long as wide; second flagellomere 3.4 × as long as wide.
Mesosoma. Mesosoma 1.9 × as long as high (Fig. 9 F); dorsal part of pronotum crenulated medially (Fig. 9 E); lateral pronotum laterally with a set of subparallel transverse ridges medially, smooth posteriorly (Fig. 9 F); mesoscutum flat in lateral view, punctate, setose with a pair of elongate pits postero-laterally (Fig. 9 E, F); notaulus shallow, present anteriorly (Fig. 9 E); scuto-scutellar groove wide, smooth, without crenulations (Fig. 9 E); scutellum smooth, sparsely setose (Fig. 9 E); mesopleuron smooth, setose (Fig. 9 F); mesopleural furrow widely crenulated (Fig. 9 F); epicnemial carina present, joining with subtegular ridge and forming a crenulated continuous groove anteriorly (Fig. 9 F); metapleuron coarsely rugose, setose (Fig. 9 F); propodeum rugose; area superomedia irregularly rugulose, narrowing basally and apically, costula indistinct; posterior transverse carina present; area dentipara longer than wide, smooth medially rest rugulose; pleural carina complete (Fig. 10 A).
Legs. Femora slender (Fig. 9 A); hind coxa rugose dorsally (Fig. 10 B, C); hind femur 5.6 × as long as wide, somewhat bent upwards in profile; hind tibia 6.5 × as long as wide; hind basitarsus 8.0 × as long as wide.
Wings. Wings hyaline (Fig. 10 F); pterostigma 3.0 × as long as wide; fore wing vein 2 r & RS joining to pterostigma in middle, 2.7 × as long as 2 rs-m; fore wing vein 2 rs-m as long as M between 2 rs-m and 2 m-cu; vein 1 cu-a oblique and distinctly postfurcal (Fig. 10 F); hind wing with nervellus (vein CU) intercepted below middle (Fig. 10 F).
Metasoma. First tergite rugose in anterior half, longitudinally striate in posterior half, setose with indistinct pair of dorsal carinae, 2.1 × as long as its maximum width, spiracle situated at middle of tergite (Fig. 10 B, C); second tergite with distinct thyridium, granulate with indistinct longitudinal wrinkles anteriorly, and subpolished posteriorly, setose, 0.9 × as long as wide posteriorly (Fig. 10 D); third tergite smooth, setose, 0.7 × as long as wide (Fig. 10 D); tergites 4–7 smooth, setose (Fig. 10 D); posterior margin of apical sternite without a median process; gonostyle almost polished, with apico-lateral patch of setae (Fig. 10 C, E).
Colour. Body predominantly black; antenna, mandible, pterostigma, wing veins, metasoma, hind coxa, tibia and tarsus dark brown; maxillary and labial palps, tegula, fore and mid legs, hind femur and trochanters yellowish-brown.
Female. Unknown.
Distribution.
India.
Etymology.
The new species is named after the type locality, Tehri.
Comparative diagnosis.
The new species is similar to M. orientalis. Apart from the differences given in the key it can be distinguished from M. orientalis by the following characters: antenna slenderer, with 17 flagellomeres (16 flagellomeres in M. orientalis) and hind femur 5.6 × as long as wide, concave dorsally (4.6 × as long as wide and convex dorsally in M. orientalis).
description: Published as part of Ranjith, Avunjikkattu P., Humala, Andrei E., Priyadarsanan, Dharma Rajan & Butcher, Buntika A., 2024, Discovery of the subfamily Microleptinae (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae) from India and Thailand with the description of five new species, pp. 1257-1284 in Journal of Hymenoptera Research 97 on pages 1257-1284, DOI: 10.3897/jhr.97.131822