Apanteles flavibasalis Liu & Chen 2020, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Liu, Zhen
name: He, Jun-Hua
name: Chen, Xue-Xin
name: Gupta, Ankita
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2020
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Braconidae
Apanteles
Apanteles flavibasalis

description: Apanteles flavibasalis Liu & Chen, sp. nov.   
(Figures 37, 100)  
 Description. Holotype. Female. Body length 3.0 mm, fore wing length 3.7 mm.   
 Head. Transverse in dorsal view, 2.0× as wide as long, as wide as mesoscutum. Vertex between eye and posterior ocellus shiny with extremely shallow punctures. Temple slightly shiny with shallow punctures, slightly constricted. Face 0.9× as high as wide, dull, rough with distinct, small punctures, inner margin of eyes parallel-sided. Ocelli large, posterior tangent to anterior ocellus transecting posterior ocelli, distance between fore and hind ocellus indistinctly shorter than diameter of hind ocellus, POL:OD:OOL=5.5:2.5:5.5. Antenna distinctly longer than body length, loosely articulated, penultimate flagellomere 1.9× longer than wide.   
 Mesosoma. Length:width:height = 60.0:34.5:40.0. Disc of mesonotum slightly shiny with coarse, close punctures, interspaces much smaller than diameter of puncture, punctures confluent at posterior end of notaulic courses. Scutellar sulcus straight, wide with rather sparse carinae inside. Scutellum shiny with relatively dense, distinct punctures, median length much longer than basal width. Lateral polished field of scutellum reaching half length of scutellum. Propodeum much shiny, strongly areolated, V-shaped apically, costulae strongly defined, polished entirely except with some arched carinae around the nuche. Mesopleuron highly shiny, anterior half parts slightly shiny with strong, dense punctures, indistinctly rugulose-punctate above sternaulus.   
 Legs. Hind femur much thinner, 3.6× longer than wide. Hind coxa slightly shiny, indefinitely punctate above (basally). Spines on outer side of third tibia sparse. Inner spurs of hind tibia long, 3/5 length of hind basitarsus, outer spur 1/4. Basitarsus of hind leg about as long as tarsomeres 2–4 combined, claws of normal size.   
 Wings. Pterostigma 2.9× as long as its widest part. Vein 1-R1 rather long, 1.6× longer than pterostigma, 5.5× as long as its distance from apex of marginal cell. Vein r arising slightly behind middle of pterostigma, nearly perpendicular to the latter, 1.4× as long as width of pterostigma, r curved, 1.7× 2-SR, indistinctly angled at junction, 2-M 5/7 length of 2-SR, as long as 1-SR, 2-SR+M as long as 2-SR, cu-a weakly shorter than r. First discal cell of fore wing 1.2× wider than high. Second submarginal cell of hind wing 1.3× wider than high. Vein cu-a strongly curved. Hind wing not narrow, length of 1-M indistinctly shorter than distance between its distal extremity and apex of vannal lobe, and vannal lobe beyond its widest part concave and without setae.   
 Metasoma. Slightly shorter than mesosoma (56.0:60.0). T1 subparallel-sided, weakly constricted at apical third, rather long and narrow, 3.3× longer than hind width, concave at basal third, turned-over part slightly shiny and rugose-punctate, longitudinal trough indistinct rugose, shiny with extremely shallow punctures apically, and apical tubercle shiny and polished. T2 shiny and smooth, semilunar, 2.6× wider than long in the middle, curved into T3 apically. T3 2.3× longer than T2. Tergites posterior to T2 shiny, smooth and sparsely pubescent. Hypopygium not longer than apex of metasoma. Ovipositor sheath 3/5 length of hind tibia, relatively narrow, ovipositor relatively thick, apical attenuation indistinct and short.   
 Colour. Black, except metasoma mostly (excluding basal T1 black, apical third of T1 reddish brown, and apical three segments blackish) bright yellow. Tegula light yellowish brown. Palpi and spurs pale yellowish. Scape and pedicel bright yellow, flagellum yellowish brown. Ovipositor sheath dark brown. Labrum and mandible dark reddish brown. Legs bright yellow, except hind coxa brown mostly (hind tip reddish yellow), extreme apex of hind femur, apical third of hind tibia and hind tarsus brownish to black. Wing membrane hyaline, C+SC+R, 1-R1, pterostigma, r, 2-SR and 2-M brown, the rest more or less pale brown.   
 Variation. Body length 2.8–3.3 mm, fore wing length 3.7–3.8 mm. T4 yellowish brown or blackish brown, only medial-apical part somewhat yellowish brown.   
 Male. Unknown.   
 Material examined. Holotype: 1♀, Mt. Nankun, Longmen, Guangdong, 2004.VIII.7, Xu Zaifu, No. 20053217. Paratypes: 1♀, ditto, No. 20053288l; 1♀, Fengxi, Meizhou, Guangdong, 2003.VII.29, Chen Jujian, No. 20048422; 1♀, Efengfeng, Yangchun, Guangdong, 2002.V.2, Xu Zaifu, No. 20028244; 2♀♀, Naqinxiang, Mt. Shiwandashan (150m), Guangxi, 2001.XII.1, Ma Yun, Nos. 20021623, 20021635; 1♀, Mt. Shiwandashan (310m), Guangxi, 2001. XI.29, Ma Yun, No. 20021545; 1♀, Wanjia, Mayanghe, Guizhou, 2007.IX.27–30, Liu Jingxian, No. 200708325.   
 Distribution. China (Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou).   
 Etymology. The specific name “ flavibasalis ” derives from the Latin “flavus” and “basalis”, referring to the bright yellow scape and pedicel of antenna.   
 Remarks. This species is similar to A. opacus (Ashmead), but differs in the following: T2 2.6× wider than long in the middle (much transverse in latter); ovipositor sheath 3/5 length of hind tibia (as long as hind tibia in latter); and penultimate flagellomere nearly 2.0× longer than wide (at most one and one third in latter).
description: Published as part of Liu, Zhen, He, Jun-Hua, Chen, Xue-Xin & Gupta, Ankita, 2020, The ater-group of the genus Apanteles Foerster (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Microgastrinae) from China with the descriptions of forty-eight new species, pp. 1-205 in Zootaxa 4807 (1) on pages 82-84, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4807.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/3927639