Symplecis kibiraensis Varga 2023, sp. n.
Creators: name: Varga, Oleksandr
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2023
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Ichneumonidae
Symplecis
Symplecis kibiraensis

description: Symplecis kibiraensis Varga, sp. n. (Fig. 4)
Material examined. Holotype: ♀, BURUNDI: Kibira National Park, 2.93315° S, 29.50583° E, 2177 m, mixed forest, Malaise trap, bamboo near small meadow, 29.i–12.ii.2010, leg. R. Copeland (deposited in: MRAC). Paratypes: 1 ♁, 3 ♀♀, the same locality and date as holotype (deposited in: MRAC, SIZK).
Diagnosis. Symplecis kibiraensis sp. n. is characterized by the combination of the following characters: clypeus yellow, almost touching eye (in female) (Fig. 4B) or distinctly distant (in male) (Fig. 4C); mesosoma largely black except orange pronotum; mesoscutum pubescent (Fig. 4D); propodeum with area superomedia not delimited by carinae or carinae indistinct, costulae absent (Fig. 4E); fore wing with vein 3rs-m present; hind wing with nervellus not intercepted (Fig. 4F); hind coxa from outer side granulate; first metasomal tergite 2.7–3.1× as long as apical width; second tergite longitudinally striae (Fig. 4G); ovipositor short, 1.4–1.9× as long as fifth tarsomere of hind tarsus.
Symplecis kibiraensis sp. n. is similar with S matilei in having fore wing with vein 3rs-m present, but differs in having dark mesosoma (largely orange in S matilei), yellow clypeus (dark brown in S matilei) and almost indistinct area superomedia (delimited laterally by distinct longitudinal carinae in S matilei).
Description. Female. Holotype (Figs 4A–B, D–F). Body length approximately 3.8 mm. Fore wing 3 mm.
Head (Fig. 4B) smooth and sparsely pubescent. Antenna with 19 flagellomeres, first flagellomere 5.0× as long as wide. Face about 0.9× as long as wide, granulate; eyes strongly convergent to clypeus, glabrous. Malar space short, 0.3× the basal width of mandible; subocular sulcus distinct. Clypeus 0.7× as long as wide, almost quadrate, granulate. Mandible bidentate, not twisted. Temples short and strongly narrowed behind eyes (dorsal view). Frons and vertex smooth; length of the ocellar-ocular distance 1.2× maximum diameter of lateral ocellus; occipital carina complete.
Mesosoma (Figs 4D–E) smooth and densely pubescent. Propleuron weakly granulate. Pronotum smooth; epomia present reaching mesoscutum. Mesoscutum sparsely, but uniformly pubescent; notauli present, but weak. Scutellum smooth, with carinae present only on basal 0.1; scuto-scutellar groove wide. Mesopleuron smooth; epicnemial carina present; sternaulus deep and long. Metapleuron granulate; pleural and submetapleural carinae present. Propodeum smooth, with only apical transverse carina strong; area superomedia absent, lateromedian longitudinal carina weakly present, but indistinct; apophyses absent.
Legs relatively slender; hind femur 5.5× as long as wide, hind coxa smooth from inner side and granulate from outer side; third tarsomere of hind tarsus 1.2× as long as fifth tarsomere; tarsal claws simple.
Wings (Fig. 4F). Fore wing with vein 2 rs-m short, about 0.45× the distance between 2 rs-m and 2 m-cu; vein 3rsm present; vein 1cu-a opposite to M & Rs; hind wing with nervellus not intercepted, vertical; distal abscissa of Cu absent.
Metasoma (Fig. 4G) strongly sculptured and sparsely pubescent. First tergite 3.1× as long as apical width, longitudinally striae; carinae indistinct. Second tergite as long as apical width, longitudinally striae. Third tergite weakly granulate on basal 0.5; the remaining tergites smooth. Ovipositor short, about 0.2× as long as hind tibia and 1.4× as long as fifth tarsomere of hind tarsus.
Colour. Body generally black.Head black except clypeus, mandible (except apices), scape and pedicel yellowish. Mesosoma black except pronotum and subtegular ridge orange, and tegula yellow. Legs generally yellowish-brown; fore and mid legs yellow, with tibiae and tarsi weakly darker; hind legs brownish except coxae basally and trochanters yellow. Metasoma with tergites 1–2 black; third tergite largely yellow centrally; the remaining tergites brown. Ovipositor sheaths yellow basally, brown apically. Pterostigma and veins brown.
Variability. Body length 3.0– 3.8 mm. Antenna with 18–19 flagellomeres. Pronotum varying from orange to almost completely dark. Third metasomal tergite varying from almost entirely yellow to brown. Hind legs in one specimen almost completely yellowish (except coxa partly brown).
Male. Generally resembles female, but differs by the smooth face, not divergent eyes and longer malar space (Fig. 4C).
Etymology. The new species is named after the type locality, Kibira National Park.
Distribution. Currently known only from Burundi.
description: Published as part of Varga, Oleksandr, 2023, One sample-three new species: an example of species richness of the genus Symplecis Förster, 1869 (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae: Orthocentrinae) in Burundi, pp. 289-296 in Zootaxa 5311 (2) on pages 294-295, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5311.2.8, http://zenodo.org/record/8094472