Aplomerus orientalis Varga & Reshchikov, sp. n.
Creators: name: Varga, Oleksandr
name: Reshchikov, Aleksey
name: Broad, Gavin R.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2014
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Ichneumonidae
Aplomerus
Aplomerus orientalis

description: Aplomerus orientalis Varga & Reshchikov, sp. n.
(Figs 1–3)
Type material. Holotype: female, THAILAND, Chiang Mai, Doi Phahompok NP, Kiewiom 2, Montane Forest, 20°3.426'N, 99°8.553'E, 2112 m, Malaise trap, 28.ix–4.x.2007, leg. P. Wongchai, T6162, QSBG. Paratypes: female, Mae Hong Son, Namtok Mae Surin NP, small stream, 19°20.893'N, 97°59.005'E, 293 m, 19–26.viii.2007, Malaise trap, leg. A. Kamkhun, T5871, QSBG; male, same data as holotype, T6158, QSBG.
Description. Body length 7 mm. Head (Figs 1 b, c) depressed, 0.75 times as long as wide, covered with long, sparse setae; clypeus 0.23 times as long as wide, covered with dense punctures on upper 2/3, setae denser than face, apical margin with a distinct median projection; face slightly convex, 0.6 times as long as wide, transversely striate and densely punctate (in apical central part); malar space 0.80 times as long as basal width of mandible, with slightly depressed subocular sulcus (Fig. 1 b); gena covered with long, sparse setae, polished, impunctate (Fig. 1 c); vertex polished, impunctate, setae sparser than gena; OOL 2.55 times OD; POL 1.90 times OD; occipital carina complete, dorsal part weakly concave; antenna with 23 flagellomeres, each flagellomere with sparse and moderately long setae apically.
Mesosoma with sparse setae; pronotum strongly projecting forwards, strongly rugulose; mesoscutum with strong, narrow, foveolate notauli, polished, median lobe covered with longitudinal wrinkles medio-posteriorly; scutellum and postscutellum covered with sparse short setae, polished; scuto-scutellar groove polished; mesopleuron covered with long setae, denser than other parts of mesosoma; epicnemial carina distinct, upper end close to posterior margin of pronotum; subalar prominence distinctly separated by wide and strong crenulate depression, mesopleuron below this depression with some longitudinal wrinkles; sternaulus weak and present on about anterior 1/3 of mesopleuron; metapleuron polished, impunctate; propodeum covered with transverse wrinkles; all carinae except posterior transverse carina indistinct (Fig. 1 e). Legs robust and relatively short, coxae and femora with distinct sparse long erect setae; mid tibia strongly bulging apically, with V-shaped groove ventrally at middle; fore trochanter longer than mid and hind trochanters; tarsal claws simple. Fore wing 5.5 mm and hind wing 4 mm long.
Metasoma polished, entirely impunctate (Fig. 1 d), covered with sparse short setae (only with isolated setae on lateral margins of first and second tergites and denser setae on the remaining tergites); first metasomal tergite 1.4 times as long as wide; median dorsal carinae absent; second metasomal tergite 0.6 times as long as wide; ovipositor 1.2 times as long as fore wing and about 4.4 times as long as hind femur; ovipositor sheath slightly expanded over about apical 1/4 and with dense setae apically.
Colour. Head and mesosoma black; antenna black with basal segments brown; all coxae and femora brown, reminder of legs yellowish; metasoma brown; ovipositor sheath yellow with fuscous apical 1/4.
Male. Body length 7.3 mm. Similar to female except following characters: clypeus 0.35 times as long as wide; face 0.65 times as long as wide (Fig. 2 d); malar space 0.83–0.98 times as long as basal width of mandible; OOL 2.45 times as long as OD; POL 1.80 times as long as OD; head with temples narrowed behind eyes (Fig. 2 b); antenna with 25 flagellomeres; mid tibia simple, without strong bulge or V-shaped groove; fore wing 5.2 mm; metasoma slender; first metasomal tergite 2.6 times as long as wide, entirely covered with dense longitudinal striae; second metasomal tergite 1.4 times as long as wide, covered with longitudinal striae on basal and apical parts of tergite (Fig. 2 c).
Colour. Head and mesosoma black; antenna brownish with basal segments lighter; all legs red; metasoma brown.
Distribution. Thailand (Fig. 3 a).
Etymology. The species epithet refers to the zoogeographical region where it was collected.
Comments. This species resembles, in colouration and its depressed head, the Nearctic species, Aplomerus tibialis (Provancher, 1885), which has brownish metasomal tergites and femora. Aplomerus orientalis differs from A. tibialis in the polished, impunctate vertex and gena, transversely wrinkled propodeum with indistinct carinae and polished first metasomal tergite in females (and third in males), lacking a median longitudinal depression or wrinkles. North American species of Aplomerus (A. lineatulus (Say), A. robustus Townes & Townes and A. tibialis examined in BMNH) all have extensively striate first and second metasomal tergites.
This species can be distinguished from the single Japanese species, A. japonicus, by the following combination of characters: brown metasoma, coxae and femora brown in females and red in males (entirely black in females or tibiae narrowly yellowish in males of A. japonicus); gena and vertex almost impunctate, polished (in A. japonicus gena entirely densely punctate, with some transverse grooves just above mandible sockets, and vertex covered with sparse and irregular punctures); antenna with 23–25 segments (26–30 in A. japonicus); metapleuron polished (rugose in A. japonicus); propodeum with indistinct carinae and transversely wrinkled (in A. japonicus all carinae except median part of anterior transverse carina distinct and strong); metasoma polished, without longitudinal and/ or transverse wrinkles in females (in females of A. japonicus first and second metasomal tergites entirely covered with dense longitudinal striae, third tergite with transverse striae on about basal half of segment) and in males only first metasomal tergite entirely covered with dense longitudinal striae and second tergite with longitudinal striae on basal and apical parts of the tergite, the remainder of the metasoma unsculptured (in males of A. japonicus second metasomal tergite entirely longitudinally striate; third tergite with longitudinal striae on basal 1/2–9/10 and otherwise with moderate-sized punctures; basal parts of fourth and fifth (usually also sixth) tergites, with transverse aciculation).
description: Published as part of Varga, Oleksandr, Reshchikov, Aleksey & Broad, Gavin R., 2014, First record of the genus Aplomerus Provancher, 1886 (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae: Xoridinae) from the Oriental region, with descriptions of two new species, pp. 591-599 in Zootaxa 3815 (4) on pages 592-595, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3815.4.9, http://zenodo.org/record/231371